By Morlai Sesay
The Chief Minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, on Tuesday, the 9th of January,2024, outlined President Bio's development plans for the year 2024. The Minister analyzed this in a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference Hall at Tower Hill, Freetown.
As part of the follow-up mechanism on the Dakar 2 Summit held early this year in darker Senegal, the Chief Minister wasted no time in informing the public that two directors from the agriculture department of the African Development Bank (AfDB) President a mission in Freetown on a three-day working visit to engage the Government of Sierra Leone on the validation process of the government priority and financial commitments hold a roundtable meeting with development partners and private sector players in the agriculture value chain which he said is president Bio's top priority in his next five years.
Minister Sengeh highlighted the need for the government to have a clear implementation plan for the agriculture compact, coordinate development partner’s interventions, and promote private sector involvement in the agricultural sector, emphasizing the commitment of the President and Government to the compact implementation, focusing on rice, cassava, and livestock.
He spoke about a blueprint for agriculture that will consolidate the interventions of all players in the sector to ensure that Sierra Leone is food sufficient.
Minister Sengeh further updated all present on the policy and structural reforms the government is undertaking to de-risk the sector, thereby opening the space for private sector investments. He stated that the government intends to consolidate gains made in Education and Health and put agriculture at the center of all development projects like roads, energy, and infrastructure.
The Minister also noted that the government is also geared to fast-track the setting up of the Presidential Council to monitor the Compact implementation and reiterated the need for the government to consolidate development partners’ interventions to create the desired impact in President Bio's feed Salone project.
In another development regarding President Bio's vision for 2024, the Chief Minister disclosed President Bio's desire to construct the Lungi Bridge this year and how it will indelibly transform Sierra Leone's economy.
For over 62 years since the country gained independence from Britain, the airport, he said, has been across the peninsula at Lungi, and the capital city of Freetown is on the other part of the estuary, which is about 12 nautical miles apart, from coast to coast, with severe challenges, in terms of seamless transfer from the airport to the city.
For one to get to Sierra Leone, the Minister highlighted that you must exhaust virtually all modes of transportation, air, sea, and land, which is not acceptable to attract investments. According to the Minister, that puts the bridge at the top of President Bio's agenda for the people of Sierra Leone from this year onwards.
Quite apart from that, he noted that the area in which the airport is located, Port Loko, has the highest GDP ratio per productivity because of the area's iron ore mining and agricultural activities. That, he said, is where the importance of the proposed bridge comes in, too, not only for the airport but also for goods, services, and the easy movement of people.
According to the Minister, the government will not spend a dime on the bridge’s construction. The bridge would pay for itself between 10 to 18 years. “The cash flow of the bridge is the guarantee, and the asset is the security. The asset is owned by the investors who put the money into its construction. The investors will then transfer ownership to the government upon completing the duration of operations", he assured.
As the economic benefits are immense, Sengeh proudly stated that no forward-thinking government will shy away from this development since the project aims to develop the people, and that is why many governments across the globe run huge projects of such magnitude.
What is more about this enviable project, the Minister said it would create an opportunity for a new city. This new industrial hub will be named a free trade zone, with a size of about 5,000 acres, and hotels and auxiliary services will be established in the chiefdom.
On job creation, he said that the project could provide 5,000 jobs for the people of Sierra Leone per year.
When completed, the Chief Minister asserted that the project Would transform the country’s economic landscape. He, therefore, implored all Sierra Leoneans to keep the peace so that President Bio could continue to make Sierra Leone a better place for everyone.
Female educationist Dr Fatou Taqi stressed the need for Sierra Leoneans to embrace peace and put the country’s interest above themselves or any politician. Speaking about what she aspires to see this year, Sierra Leoneans, especially the youth, must develop the habit of hard work and distance themselves from any misguided information from any politician whatsoever. She expressed that there is no better way of venting one's anger than going through the law, which is supreme in the land.
The eloquent gender activist entreated the government to do everything within their powers to construct the long-awaited Lungi Bridge project. According to her, this project has been one of the projects that every successive government has spoken about but, in the end, worked out of office without any implementation. "I am calling on the government to ensure this project is done and dusted for the people of Sierra Leone. Just like what the Chief Minister has just said, the Lungi Bridge is expensive, but at the same time, it has so much economic impact that it is bound to transform the country. Apart from that, even government workers could still rush up to work in Freetown without worrying about being late for work in their respective offices because they no longer have to wait for ferries where they would spend over an hour at sea," she stated.
Taqi expressed her profound appreciation to President Bio for giving young women the opportunity to participate fully in governance. Such moves by President Bio, she said, have been what she has always been clamoring for. "We, the campaigners for gender empowerment, would like to make known our deep appreciation to the president, and we hope that such development in female appointments in trusted government positions could continue this year and successive governments could emulate similar steps,” she noted.
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