Market Women & Fishermen Are The Backbone of Sierra Leone’s Coastal Communities …Says Ady Macauley
Market women and fishermen are the backbone of Sierra Leone’s coastal communities, and APC flagbearer hopeful Ady Macauley emphasized their critical role during a visit to Tombo this week. Speaking with traders and families, Macauley noted that rising food prices, policy restrictions, and foreign trawler exploitation are squeezing households that rely on fishing for income and sustenance. Many market women also juggle paying school fees, household expenses, and community responsibilities.
The high point of visit to the Tombo market and fishing communities was when Macauley met with fishermen, market traders, youth, and community elders, listening to stories of hardship. They explained that periodic fishing bans, intended for conservation, often last weeks, leaving small-scale fishermen, fishmongers and youths that depend on the sector for their livelihood without income, while foreign trawlers continue to operate unchecked.
“These women and fishermen are pillars of our economy,” Macauley said. “They look after homes and feed the nation; they deserve policies that protect their livelihoods. The Tombo community suffers from inadequate cold storage, limited access to financing, and unreliable electricity, challenges that hamper productivity. Macauley vowed to implement transparent and equitable fisheries management, enforce rules against illegal foreign trawlers, support market women and fishing families through sustainable policies and compensating for loss earning through social safety net cash payments during periods of periods of closures and invest in infrastructure to support local communities.
“We must ensure Sierra Leone’s natural wealth benefits Sierra Leoneans first,” he said. The visit highlights the human side of economic policies, shining a spotlight on the lives of those who are often overlooked in national debates.
