By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The World Bank Country Director Parminder Brar has announced the injection of US $4 million into Sierra Leone’s fishing sector.
Brar told journalists yesterday that the move was aimed at boosting the economy through the fishing sector which he said was largely underexploited.
“The money will focus on raising value added services in the fishing sector,” he said.
World Bank officials said the project was still in its design phase but that it was set to unfold by the end of this year under their Project Implementation Unit covering West Africa.
The Bank, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), started collaborating in the fisheries sector in 2009. But, say officials, the collaboration was halted in 2014 after a disagreement between the two was sparked by a procurement violation by the government. According to Mr Brar, this happened after ministry officials bypassed procurement procedures in acquiring a fishing monitoring vessel.
World Bank figures show that Sierra Leone’s fishing industry contributes up to 10% of the annual GDP. Nevertheless the sector is seriously threatened by illegal fishing activities costing the state more than it is earning from it.
In 2012 the Fisheries ministry, in partnership with other agencies, established the Joint Maritime Committee (JMC) to monitor fishing activities in Sierra Leonean waters through satellite connection. Two years on, the base of operation has not been maintained and equipment like the radar has been damaged.
The World Bank country chief said he only recently got to know, through their investigations, that the place had no electricity or even internet connection and that the staff were ill-equipped to do their job.
“Their operation is so basic,” he told journalists at the conference hall of the World Bank office located on Howe Street in Freetown.
Currently there are up to 80 illegal vessels fishing in Sierra Leonean waters and their activities can only be monitored with the right equipment like the radar and a reliable internet service, the World Bank official said.
Sierra Leone produced 134,000 tons of fish last year which the World Bank chief said was 10 times more than what Liberia caught in their waters. This number highlights the importance of the fishing sector, Brar said, but warned that this rate of fishing should be managed or the country risked “over fishing”.
This latest announcement of support comes as a big boost to the government after Sierra Leone’s economy contracted by 20% last year, mainly because of the drop in mining activities because of Ebola. With the serious revenues that fishing generates it could be explored as a viable revenue source, experts say.
Brar however urged the government to explore more ways of maximising profit in the fishing sector.
Concerns were raised about the country’s current licensing system which only takes into consideration one percent of the value of the fishing vessels. To fix this, the World Bank boss suggested, the MFMR should organise a public auction for these licenses, a step he said countries like Liberia were moving towards.
Fishing is a huge industry in the country with over 230,000 people believed to be employed in the sector, but even with such huge money coming in to the industry there are concerns that the ordinary fishermen may not be benefitting.
(C) Politico 11/02/16
