By Politico staff writer
A 20-man delegation from Liberia arrived in Sierra Leone on the 26th of May 2021 in a bid to study the management of the country's road sector, especially the operations of the toll system.
The delegation comprises the Acting Minister of Public Works, staff of the National Road Fund of Liberia, and members of the Liberian Parliament. Upon arrival, the team met with key stakeholders in Sierra Leone’s road sector at the Radisson Blu hotel in Freetown.
Speaking at the engagement, Chief Executive Officer of the National Road Fund of Liberia, Boniface Satu said they were in the country on a fact-finding mission to study the system that Sierra Leone is creating to manage its national road network so that they can be well guided to institute a similar one in Liberia.
"Liberia is at a crossroad of development and the vision of our President is to connect the entire national road network, which is why he has instructed us to come here to see what our Sierra Leonean counterparts are doing," he said.
He informed the gathering that the National Road Fund of Liberia was established in 2016 out of a reform process with a mandate to mobilize revenue in the road sector, including fuel levy, driving license, and toll system, but said much has not been done in revenue generation except on fuel levy.
In his welcome address, the Director-General of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority, Ing. Amara Jambai Kanneh expressed delight to receive the Liberian delegation. He told the visiting team that the Government of Sierra Leone has the Human Capital Development as a flagship programme and that the road sector constitutes a crucial part of that agenda because it is an enabler for the country to be competitive.
He highlighted the structures and operations of the bodies that constitute the road sector in Sierra Leone and admonished the team on the need to strengthen collaboration between the two countries.
The Ambassador of Liberia to Sierra Leone, Musu Graywood acknowledged the efforts of the Government of Sierra Leone to improve its road networks. "I used to take eight hours from Freetown to Gendema by road but I now take six hours," she said.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Works and Public Assets, Mr. Peter Bayuku Konteh, told the visiting team that the mandate of the Ministry of Works and Public Assets is to design, coordinate and monitor the implementation of policies and programs for the development of social and physical infrastructure in the country, and the management of all public assets. The minister gave an analysis on the status of the national road network and the strides made by the government to improve the sector.
The toll operating system in Sierra Leone was presented to the team during the meeting.
The Liberian delegation will visit the toll plazas along the Wellington-Masiaka Highway and also engaged officials of the Sierra Loene Roads Safety Authority yesterday Thursday May 27th. The team will depart Sierra Leone on the 29th of May 2021.
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