Sierra Leoneans are enduring some of the harshest economic suffering in living memory, and at the centre of the storm lies one of the most crippling burdens on the ordinary citizen: the high price of fuel. While global oil prices have fallen significantly on the international market, Sierra Leone’s pump prices for petrol and diesel remain among the highest in West Africa.
In neighbouring countries such as Ghana, Liberia, and even Nigeria, recent adjustments have seen prices reduced in line with the Platts benchmark — the global index used to set petroleum product costs. But in Sierra Leone, fuel marketers have refused to pass on these benefits to the people. Instead, they have locked prices at artificially high levels, leaving transport costs, food prices, and the cost of living spiraling beyond the reach of ordinary households.
The dominant players — National Petroleum (NP), Malador, Leoneco and a handful of other companies — are at the heart of this crisis. These firms operate like a cartel, setting prices that ignore global trends and squeeze every possible Leone from consumers. Sierra Leoneans are currently paying an additional 27 Leones per litre at the pump, a margin that goes straight into the pockets of oil dealers, middlemen, and their political collaborators.
For the average Sierra Leonean earning around 500 Leones monthly, this is nothing short of economic suffocation. Transport fares have skyrocketed, forcing workers to spend more than half their income on commuting. Food prices in markets are climbing daily as traders pass on the cost of transport to consumers. Families are cutting meals, children are walking long distances to school, and the already desperate unemployed youth are sinking deeper into hopelessness.
The global petroleum market is benchmarked on Platts, which sets daily prices for refined products. When Platts prices fall — as they have in recent months — countries across Africa adjust pump prices downwards.
For example , Liberia has reduced petrol to around $1.10 per litre last month and Ghana made two downward reviews in the past quarter, citing falling Platts rates.
Also in Nigeria, despite subsidy complications, still keeps pump prices significantly below Sierra Leone’s.
Yet in Sierra Leone, fuel remains fixed at one of the highest rates in the sub-region. The maths is simple: based on current Platts, Sierra Leoneans should be paying at least 15–20% less at the pump. Instead, marketers and their political enablers maintain inflated prices through a trade mafia scheme that benefits a few elites while crushing millions.
This scandal is not just about greedy oil marketers. It is about a government that has turned a blind eye while its people suffer.
The Petroleum Regulatory Authority (PRA), under the leadership of Baluwa Koroma, has failed woefully in its mandate. Instead of ensuring fair pricing and consumer protection, the PRA appears to be dancing to the tune of the oil companies. Critics accuse Koroma of protecting the interests of NP, Malador, and Leoneco while ordinary Sierra Leoneans drown in poverty.
The Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance, and even the Trade Committee in Parliament are all seen as complicit. Their silence in the face of unbearable pump prices speaks volumes. In Freetown’s streets and provincial towns alike, the whisper is the same: brown envelopes and tips are circulating, greasing the hands of officials while citizens carry the cost.
Fuel monopoly is not new in Sierra Leone. Under the last APC regime, the same NP, Malador, and Leoneco dominated the market in close alliance with ruling politicians. The industry was run like a private club of business moguls and political godfathers, locking out new entrants and maintaining monopoly rents at the expense of the public.
The Bio administration, despite promises of reforms and market liberalisation, has continued the same mafia model. Oil dealers grow richer, politicians collect their cut, and the poor are abandoned to abject misery.
At the core of this scandal lies the Sierra Leonean people. A daily wage earner cannot afford the rising transport fares. Traders and farmers see profits wiped out by the cost of getting goods to market. School children are missing classes because parents cannot pay for fares. The divide between the haves and the have-nots grows wider each day, with the oil cartel and corrupt politicians firmly on the side of the haves.
The question many are asking: What is Baluwa Koroma doing at the PRA? What are the Finance, Trade, and Transport ministries doing to end this injustice? Why is President Bio silent as his citizens are strangled by fuel mafia deals?
The truth is stark: Sierra Leone’s oil market has been captured by corporate gangsters and political collaborators, who profit from inflated prices while the majority sink deeper into poverty. Unless decisive action is taken to break this monopoly, regulate fairly, and bring transparency to the industry, Sierra Leoneans will continue to suffer at the pump, in the market, and in their homes.
For now, the cries of the people echo unanswered. Fuel has become not just a commodity but a weapon of oppression in Sierra Leone.
By Joe Turay
Public Review Newspaper: 1 st September, 2025
