By Saio Marrah
The Parliament of Sierra Leone has approved a loan agreement between the Government and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for digital connectivity of 523 schools as part of accelerating Covid 19 recovery project across the country.
The First Deputy Minister of Finance, Sheku F. Bangura, told lawmakers on Thursday 27th October, 2022, that the loan agreement is aimed at resorting and restarting edification systems and connecting communities to critical information and opportunities in the digital economy.
He said it also accelerate the post covid learning in the country through a project co-financed by the IDB and Unicef noting that IDB will cover 403 schools and Unicef, 120 .
He said the selected schools are all over the regions in the country and that the project will be implemented by the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).
He said the motivation behind the loan was the emergence of Covid, which forced schools closure that brought constraints in teaching the school kids.
He said the facilities will ensure real -time learning even when pupils are not going to school.
For the payment term of the loan, he said the principal amount will be paid in 25 years with a grace period of seven years.
However, a member of parliament from the main opposition party in parliament, All People’s Congress (APC), Lahai Marah of constituency 042, Falaba District, said even though the intent of the loan and the terms of repayment are all brilliant, it is still a loan, and raised concern considering the country’s present huge debt.
Marah said the public including Civil Society Organisations are calling for the cancellation of the country’s huge debt, which he said is too much for the country.
The lawmaker said the debt is starving the country from getting other services like health and spoke of the rebuke they get from their constituents because of some the agreements they pass in the house of parliament, making reference to the recent data tax.
Marah also observed that the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, which is the implementing ministry also doubles as the head of the DSTI, which he described as the beneficiary of the project as well. According to him, that is unethical.
Another Member of the main opposition, Abdul Kargbo, representing constituency 077, Portloko District, questioned what assurances would they get about the effective implementation of this loan.
But the Acting Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Bashiru Silikie, of constituency 082, Bo District, while responding to the issue of a previous loan for a similar project that was allegedly not properly implemented, accused his colleague parliamentarians of not doing enough in their oversight responsibilities .
He said there is no country on earth that is debt -free, but said the concern should be how the government well manages those debts. He therefore called on the implementing ministry and agency to ensure the effectiveness in executing the project.
Other lawmakers made similar contributions during the debate over the loan agreement.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (28/10/22)
