By Nasratu Kargbo
Members of Parliament were in a reminiscing mode during their debate on aviation agreements brought to the House, as they wished for the then aviation facilities such as internal flights and cheap international tickets amongst other to be revived.
The Acting Leader of the Opposition called on the government to reconsider and undertake the Mammah Airport Project in a bid to improve the aviation sector.
The agreements that were debated on the 18th July 2024 are: Agreement between the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the Government of Sierra Leone, bilateral Air Services agreement between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a bilateral agreement between the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethopia and the government of Sierra Leone.
The Acting Leader of the Opposition Daniel Koroma said: “I want to urge this government to reconsider the decision in respect of Mammah airport, having more than one airport in a country can in no way be a bad policy for any country. In other countries in the sub-region, they have three or four airports”
He stated that the Sierra National Airlines (SNA) has been in coma for years and hopes that it can be resuscitated. He recalled that the country used to have internal aviation system with air taxis that travelled with passengers from Western area to different parts of the provinces.
The MP said that the agreement before them and other agreements were in preparation of the Mammah Project, saying “We’ve refused over the years to aspire for the greater good and ignored the continuity aspect of governance in terms of our aviation industry. I will tell you for free if the Mammah project had continued, it should have been completed by now”.
Koroma explained the project would have been completed during President Maada Bio’s first term and that the country would have been enjoying benefits now at his second term, noting that it would have laid the platform to revive the SNA.
He said what the country needs is the political will and bilateral agreement to achieve that, insisting that the country does not need direct cash to operate an airline
Speaking on the relevance of having another airport, he explained that it creates employment and more revenue for the nation.
The Chief Whip of the Opposition Abdul Karim Kamara compared the country’s ticket pricing with other countries in the sub-region, stressing that ours is very expensive
“It high time as a minister of transport that you start engaging our internal partners that our country is no more a threat zone and we must be removed from that zone” he said. He mentioned how people in Sierra Leone have to pass through Guinea to travel overseas.
Highlighting some of the benefits of the agreements, Chairman of Committee on Transport Maada Lebbie said they will boost international trade, tourism and enhance cooperation between Sierra Leone and the countries they’re entering into the agreements with, amongst other benefits.
The Acting Speaker of Parliament Ibrahim Tawa Conteh reechoed the need for reduction in ticket prices because Sierra Leoneans are now inculcating the habit of travelling, saying that these days when one wants to travel from the country one would hardly find a flight because they are fully booked.
The Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation Rex Bonapha agreed with what the Acting Leader of the Opposition stated about negotiating with partners for the country to have an airline, revealing that it is their ambition and that they are working towards that.
He said that they are faced with challenges, explaining that most of the airfields are been encroached, but promised that they will make improvements.
Parliament ratified all three agreements and hoped for developments in the sector.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (22/07/24)
