By Nasratu Kargbo
Parliament on Tuesday July 16 approved nine presidential nominees for various positions ranging from Ambassadors, High Commissioners, board members and heads of parastatals, among them, Daniel Kaitibie who now moves to the position of Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration.
The IT specialist burst on the national stage after the 2018 election when he took up a post in the then National Telecommunication Commission, NaTCOM. He would eventually head the institution, and during the period initiated several administrative and legal reforms that made it possible for the institution to meet regional standards. This was captured by some of the MPs who spoke on the approval motion.
Kaitibie played a pivotal role in the West Africa Telecommunication Assembly which announced during the week that it was “working on initiatives to facilitate infrastructure sharing among West African countries to lower the cost of internet for telecom subscribers across the region.”
The organization’s Executive Secretary Aliyu Aboki argued that “lower cost of internet across West African countries would enhance the digital economy for the respective countries in the region and increase the consumption of data by the citizens, which in turn generate more revenue for telecom operators.”
At the Appointment Committee stage, Kaitibie told MPs he would deploy his technical and administrative skills to make the Maritime Administration more efficient using digital technology to improve revenue generation for the national purse. He succeeds Paul Massaquoi who now proceeds to South Korea as ambassador.
Member of Parliament from Tonkolili District Rosemarie Bangura said the sector is significant in facilitating the nation’s development towards the blue economy, noting that if the nation can make use of the blue economy, the country will prosper.
She stated that there are a lot of challenges in the sector, especially in the aspect of the environment. Bangura explained that the ocean is heavily polluted with plastic, which when consumed by fishes will contaminate them and at the end of the day those fishes are eaten by the masses.
The MP therefore asked Kaitibie to work with related bodies to curtail sea pollution.
Moyamba District MP, Ben Alpha Mansaray said: “We have seen frequent turnover in the Maritime Administration, and for us who are administrative professionals, the high rate turnover is costly for any organization”.
He advised the appointee to endeavour to understand what his predecessors did wrong and deviate from them, in order to retain his position.
The Deputy Leader of Government Business, Bashiru Silikie assured the nominee that parliament will do all it can to help him ensure the sector grows, asking him to take laws and regulations to parliament for the betterment of the sector.
Silikie acknowledged that the institution is faced with series of challenges saying “We hope this new maritime will not be the normal maritime”.
The MPs present heaped praises on the former Director General of National Telecommunications Authority (NatCA) for the stringent policies he made in his previous job to improve the sector.
The other nominees approved included Professor Osman A. Sankoh, Edna M. Jones, Dr. Lawrence S. Babawoh, Haja Alimatu Abdullah- all Commissioners at the Tertiary Education Commission. (TEC). Paul S. Massaquoi, and Alhaji M. Koroma are now the ambassadors of South Korea and Kingdom of Morocco respectively, whilst Abdul Aziz Turay and Martha C. Kanagbo are the Deputy Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and High Commissioner to The Gambia respectively.
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