By Mohamed M. Sesay
In his first official function as Speaker of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, together with his Deputy Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Abdul Kargbo, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Hon. Daniel Koroma, Chief Whip on the government bench Hon. Dickson Momoh Rogers, and the Whip of the Opposition Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara has on Friday the 3rdth of May 2024, received a delegation from the Iceland Parliament where they engaged in bilateral discussion to promote Sierra Leone with regards to illegal fishing, renewable energy and tourism.
In his statement, the newly elected speaker of Parliament, Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, welcomed the delegation from Iceland and expressed his delight at the fact that the Iceland government has an interest in Sierra Leone, noting that the two countries had a longstanding bilateral relationship. He noted that Sierra Leone has so many areas that need support. He emphasized that it is important for them as members of Parliament to have other members of Parliament from other countries expressing interest in Sierra Leone. He noted that Sierra Leone's government is open to any friendly discussion that would help strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two nations.
Speaker Thomas noted that the country is in dire need of an energy supply, and the Government of Sierra Leone would greatly appreciate it if the Iceland Government could help ease the alarming crisis in the country and significantly address that particular sector.
One of the Members of the Iceland Parliament, who also doubles as a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Iceland Parliament, Losi Einarson, applauded the Deputy Speaker and Members of the Sixth Parliament of Sierra Leone for such a fascinating engagement. She particularly congratulated the newly crowned Speaker of the Sixth Parliament, Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, for his resounding election as the House Speaker. Just like Sierra Leone, the Iceland Member of Parliament said Iceland is also a fishing community and expressed readiness to work with Sierra Leone to address the illegal fishing practices done by external aggression. She also intimated that Iceland had made tremendous progress regarding Renewable Energy, and she expressed that Iceland would be very ready to help Sierra Leone. The Iceland Member of Parliament also intimated to the leadership of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone that Iceland is also a champion of promoting gender equality.
Just like Sierra Leone, she inspired Members of Parliament and Sierra Leoneans in general that Iceland used to be a developing country seeking external aid until the 1980s. Since then, she expressed that Iceland had become a developed country, adding that they are working with other nations to achieve the same goal of becoming developed nations. She reiterated that the major areas where Iceland had made tremendous progress are around Renewable Energy, Fisheries, tourism, and Gender Equality.
“So, these are the areas in which we are very excited to work with the Government of Sierra Leone, especially Members of Parliament, to achieve the status of a developed country. I love being in Sierra Leone and I love staying in Sierra Leone. One new sector in Iceland that is doing extremely well is tourism. In this regard, we have also seen a lot of potential for Sierra Leone because you guys have a beautiful country”, she said.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, stated that as a nation that is very good at fishing, the government of Sierra Leone is very pleased to welcome the delegation from Iceland. He added that Sierra Leone had received a lot of support from the government of Iceland, and prominent among the support was the construction of a fishing coast for the people of Tombo.
According to him, this is an opportunity to collaborate and the beginning of a journey that would be beneficial for both parties because it is essential for the state to use what it produces, especially its natural resources such as fish. Currently, he said, the state is struggling with getting the fish out of Sierra Leone due to a few conditionalities that the government has worked so hard on.
Commenting on the current challenge in the fishing sector, which has to do with illegal fishing along the coast line, he noted that collaborating with a country that is an expert in fishing would greatly improve some of the weaknesses that have been watering down the sector, and the state would be able to secure its full revenue from the fishing sector, which had been lacking over the years.
In terms of tourism, he elucidated that Sierra Leone has a beautiful landscape and many attractive tourist sites worth visiting. Looking at the cost line up to Bonth Island, there are still slave shelters, the old Fourah Bay College building, and other attractive tourist sites across the country.
On his part, the Deputy opposition leader in parliament commented on the need for renewable energy. He mentioned that the world is now at the red stage regarding global warming and that everything will eventually crash beyond the red stage. According to him, the world is at an emergency stage that needs urgent attention. He noted that there is a need to promote renewable energy in order to address global warming, stating that Sierra Leone is more than ready to stand up in the fight against global warming because the current state of the world, he said, is a critical one.
He encouraged world leaders to implement stringent measures to nip the problem in the bud before the worst could happen. At the local level, he admitted that the high level of deforestation, environmental impacts, and mining activities are also contributing immensely to global warming.
He said that industrialized countries cause over 80% of global warming. He noted that these countries are somewhat better off because they have the capacity to switch from generator-based sources of power to renewable energy.
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