By Kemo Cham
The World Bank’s position on the liberalization of Sierra Leone`s international telecommunications gateway is non-negotiable, new country manager Parminder Brar has said.
The global lender is on a collision course with Sierra Leone whose government appears to have reneged on an agreement that saw the Bank poured millions of US Dollars into its fiber optic project.
Sierra Leone is one of 23 countries connected in the 17,000 km-long fiber optic cable which runs from France to South Africa under the US$700m African Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable.
The World Bank funded Sierra Leone`s connectivity to the cable under the West Africa Regional Communications Infrastructure Project.
The ACE was designed to improve internet connectivity and cut down on cost for voice calls in beneficiary countries. The agreement was signed back in 2010 and Sierra Leone was expected to complete its libralisation by ending monopoly on the international gateway for voice calls in September 2012 in exchange for the US$31 million World Bank funding to subsidise its connection.
Sierra Leone failed to meet a second deadline set for 5 July 2013, and until the beginning of this year, it had not met the bank`s expectation.
The Telecommunications Amendment Act 2015, passed in March 2015, replaced part of the 2006 Telecommunications Act which gave monopoly of the gateway to Sierratel which has been fighting to unfetter itself from its moribund status.
But the World Bank says that doesn’t constitute full libralisation.
“The Government knows that the Bank’s position about multiple gateways is non-negotiable, and the Government of Sierra Leone has given its commitment that this will be so,” Brar said.
Mr Brar sounded apprehensive, however, over the fact that despite the shift from satellite to fibre optic, the cost of both voice and data was still high in Sierra Leone. And he blames this on the lack of total libralisation.
Sierra Leone is one of seven countries that for the first time got joined to a fiber optic connection when the ACE cable landed on the shores of Freetown in 2011. The other countries include Liberia, Gambia, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Sierra Leonean officials have raised concerns over constraint in manning the gateway if handled by multiple players.
The management of Sierratel had also said the end of the international monopoly would be disastrous for its finances.
Public disagreement between the government and private Internet Services Providers last year led to the suspension of the Bank`s funding to the project.
The World Bank country boss said multiple gateways have worked in many countries, including Ghana, and dismissed fears as to why it shouldn’t work in Sierra Leone.
“We are insisting that more players be brought in and a more level playing field be created regardless of the financial standing of the company vying for a share in the gateway,” the Indian who assumed office in Sierra Leone in September told journalists last Friday.
It was his first meeting with the local media since his redeployment to Sierra Leone where he replaced Ghanaian Francis Atto Brown.
At the meeting at the Bank`s conference hall in Freetown, Brar outlined the Washington-based lender`s programme for the Ebola-ravaged country in the next months to come.
The bank will provide USD126 million to help fund the country`s post-Ebola recovery development, much of which has been dedicated to strengthening the health sector.
Despite expressing optimism with the revenue generation strength of Sierra Leone, the World Bank said corruption remained an issue. Nonetheless, he praised the effort of the Anti Corruption Commission in fighting graft.
Proper oversight on development project was needed, he said, mentioning parliament as the best placed institution to play that role.
(C) Politico 16/11/15
