The road stretching from Baratalo to Atori in East Kwara’ae, Malaita, has significantly deteriorated, creating major challenges for the local community. Recent heavy rainfall has further degraded the already poor conditions, leading to disrupted livelihoods and escalating transportation costs.

Small business owners are feeling the brunt of the situation.

Gideon Maeaoa, a local entrepreneur, expressed frustration. “The condition of the road has really affected our business. My stock is running low, but I can’t travel to Auki to replenish it because the road is impassable.”

Maeaoa added, transport operators are now charging high prices because of the bad road.

“Transportation has become a costly affair, with transport operators hiking fares due to the road’s poor state. The one-way trip from Auki to Atori, which previously cost $100, has now surged to $250.

“There are also only a few trucks running, and they are very expensive,” he said.

Additionally, goods transportation incurs extra charges, further straining local businesses.

David Mae, a cocoa buyer from East Kwara’ae, voiced similar concerns.

“The bad road has affected my business. I had cocoa beans ready for delivery to Auki, but it took three days to secure transport.”

The reason is that transport operators don’t want to carry heavy loads because of the bad road, he added.

Jack Ofasia, a transport operator with Borae Transport, reported that their three-ton truck has been taken off the road, with only Land Cruisers in use.

“We need the authorities to fix the worst parts of the road so transport services can continue.

“If repairs aren’t made soon, the road will become completely unusable, and we may have to cease operations,” he warned.

Last week, a transport owner shared footages with In-depth Solomons, showing local villagers repairing the most damaged sections of the road and charging vehicles $500 to pass.

Ofasia defended their actions, saying the fee was justified given the improvements they made, which significantly sped up travel on the deteriorating road.

“Don’t blame them. They’ve done a great job—work that should have been completed by companies that were paid millions to fix the road,” he stated.

In-depth Solomons has learned that the stretch of road from Baratalo to Atori was typically maintained by the East Malaita Constituency-owned Eastern Esteem Construction (EEC) Company. However, sources report that EEC has not conducted any maintenance work since the first quarter of the year.

The last repairs took place before the Joint Elections in April 2024.

Since then, the road has deteriorated significantly, with no further action from EEC, raising concerns among local residents who rely on this critical route for transportation.

During Malaita Day celebrations, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele mentioned ongoing talks with China to tar-seal the road from Dala to Atori.

Current efforts by Trade Transformation Company (TTC) focus on repairing the section from Dala to Baratalo, but the stretch from Baratalo to Atori remains a critical concern.