In Sierra Leone, thousands of young people depend on kekehs three-wheeled motorized tricycles—as their only means of earning a living. Commuters, too, rely on them daily to move around cities and towns. But behind this vital transport sector lies a suffocating monopoly, engineered and protected by a handful of government officials and exploited by a foreign company Shalimar.
Shalimar, an Indian-owned business, has been handed sole import rights for the TVS brand of kekehs and their spare parts. With this stranglehold, the company controls not just who can buy and sell, but also how much Sierra Leoneans must pay. Competing importers have been locked out, often through political connections and alleged bribery within the Ministry of Trade. The result: drivers and ordinary citizens are at the mercy of one company that raises prices at will, while the government turns a blind eye.
Today, a kekeh that once cost far less is now being sold for more than Le 70,000, a price completely out of reach for many struggling Sierra Leoneans. Worse still, the spare parts—controlled exclusively by Shalimar—are reported to be of poor quality. Drivers complain that they wear out quickly, sometimes within weeks, forcing them to buy replacements over and over again.
“Everything spoils too fast—the brakes, the bearings, even the engines,” lamented one frustrated kekeh driver at Lumley. “We spend all our money on fake parts, and by the end of the month, we are left with nothing.”
This deliberate flooding of the market with low-quality parts ensures that Shalimar makes repeated sales, siphoning money from the pockets of the poor. It is an exploitation scheme hidden in plain sight, tolerated by officials who should instead protect the livelihoods of their citizens.
The scandal is not only in Shalimar’s profiteering but in the government’s complicity. Rather than open the market to fair competition and allow other importers to bring in genuine TVS tricycles and spares, authorities have consistently backed Shalimar. Reports of underhand dealings, preferential contracts, and outright bribes raise troubling questions about whose interests the Ministry of Trade and other government agencies truly serve.
While Shalimar rakes in massive profits, sending wealth back to India, Sierra Leone’s transport sector is being crippled. Young men and women who once saw kekeh driving as a path out of poverty are sinking deeper into debt. Commuters, too, feel the pinch as fares rise to cover ever-increasing maintenance costs.
This is more than just bad business—it is a betrayal of Sierra Leone’s people. By allowing one foreign company to monopolize the kekeh market with overpriced tricycles and substandard spare parts, the government has effectively sanctioned poverty. Instead of empowering indigenous businesses, creating jobs, and building a competitive economy, it has sold out to a rogue monopoly that thrives on the suffering of the masses.
Sierra Leoneans deserve better. They deserve a government that opens the market, protects consumers, and punishes exploitation—not one that shields profiteers. Until this monopoly is broken and accountability demanded, Shalimar’s broken rides and fake parts will remain a daily symbol of a broken system.
By Joseph Turay
