By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Ministry of Transport and Aviation has concluded an orientation session for journalists across the print and electronic media in Freetown on the ongoing Integrated Resilient and Urban Mobility Project (IRUMP) being implemented by the Ministry.
The media engagement held on the 9th of July 2020, according to the project Manager, Umaru Katta, is a very important component of the project as it was designed to help keep journalists abreast of the project, so that they are better positioned to effectively report on its progress. Katta said this will also allow for partnership between the media and the ministry to communicate the project’s goals and values to the larger public, especially those who might be affected by the project implementation in one way or the other.
The IRUMP project, according to officials, is a US$50 Million World Bank grant that entails the enhancement and improvement of public transportation in the Western Area. The Sierra Leone government provides a US$2million counterpart fund for he project which will last for five years.
In his presentation of the project to journalists, Katta noted that it entails three main components.
“Component one is the modernization and organization of the public transport sector. You see them now they are disorganized, the Poda Podas, the taxis, the Kekes, the Okadas,” he said.
“With no insult to them, they are not very organized in the way they operate now. So that is one route through which the project is coming in,” he added.
The second component is resilient investment, which in essence is to do necessary corrections on the roads, like the provision of sidewalks, improvement of drainage systems with slabs and railings, pedestrian foot bridges, all geared towards to enhancing fast traveling and ensuring the safety of pedestrians.
The third component has to do with human and institutional capacity buildings of project actors, like the drivers.
Katta admonished journalists to report the project’s activities accurately and in consistent manner.
Rashida Dumbuya, Environmental and Social Safeguard Specialist of the IRUMP project, noted that it comes with a lot of social issues and tensions. Bearing that in mind, she said, they have enveloped policy guide on those issues to effectively guide and monitor the project to ensure it conforms to set standards.
“We are talking about a land space at Lumley (where one of the transport terminals will be created), you would imagine that it might be owned by someone, by a private individual or by another government entity, and that you need to facilitate the acquisition of that land, so the Social Safeguard is to ensure that the project manages all the social needs in the project,” She explained.
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