232news –
By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
The government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Information and Communication has hosted the 2nd ECOWAS Commission Ministerial Steering Committee Meeting on the Amilcar Cabral Submarine Cable Project.
The meeting which commenced on Monday 3rd April 2023 at the Atlantic Lumley Hotel in Freetown will end Today Thursday 5th April 2023 with the preparation and finalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ECOWAS Commission and the government of Sierra Leone.
The first day of the meeting witnessed experts from different African countries with the sole aim of fostering a digital economy and the Amilcar Cabral project in the ECOWAS submarine. It is also guided through their first ministerial steering committee meeting.
Project Preparatory Development Unit (PPDU) Director, Kwame Adufo during his opening statement, applauded the Government of Sierra Leone for the warm reception they have received so far during their stay in the country.
He further said that he represented the ECOWAS Commissioner, Sediko DOUKA for Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalisation of the ECOWAS Commission.
According to Adufo, the ECOWAS commission representatives held their first meeting in Cape Verde last December.
He promised that out of the agencies that are in the Telecommunications sector in the region and the six ECOWAS member States that are part of the submarine cable, five countries will instantly benefit from this project including Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
He furthered that the essence of this project is to help governments within the submarine to have strong and effective connectivity to enhance digitalization, infrastructure, and economic benefit.
“We are grateful to our experts, especially those from Guinea, and thankfully enough, they are here in the room with us. Let us give them a round of applause for their resilience and strive towards this project and my desire is for us to work amicably to ensure that the people of Sierra Leone and their counterparts benefit from this project,” he said.
Going further, Adufo said that they will continue, from time to time to update the progress of the project and that they will continue to examine this project and the draft agreement which shall be evaluated on Wednesday.
He also mentioned that their review or evaluation report will be sent to Presidents and ministers in the different countries for action, noting that is the reason, they should critically examine the draft summary that was presented on Tuesday 4 April 2023 by the legal experts.
He thanked their development and financial partners like World Bank, and their Spanish friend Dave Mario, not his real name, for his selfless contribution towards the development of the submarine project.
“Together we shall succeed. Therefore, let us wake up to the development of Africa. Africa is ours. Long live Africa, long live Sierra Leone, and long live ECOWAS”, said the PPDU Director.
In his Keynote address, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, extended the greeting of the president of the Republic of Sierra Leone Rtd. Brigadier Dr. Julius Maada Bio and the government at large.
The minister said the fibre optic cable project is in line with the president’s vision for sustainable development in the digital economy and the promotion of democracy.
He said Sierra Leone only has one submarine cable and with this great innovation, Sierra Leone will benefit a lot as their vision for 2063 is to hit the global standard in the telecommunication sector and the governmental horoscope for nation-building and development.
He assured the guests from the different countries that came under ECOWAS to rest assured of their safety and to enjoy the tourism sector. He expressed his belief that after the participants and experts have returned to their various countries, some will be tempted to come for a vacation in Sierra Leone since there is a new airport in the country and they will be highly welcome.
