By Alpha Abu
Five new regulations forwarded by the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) to Parliament have been approved which will enhance service delivery by telecom providers and harmonise their operations for the benefit of the people. This news was disclosed by Information and Communications Minister, Abdul Rahman Swarray at a two day Bo retreat for senior Journalists organised by his Ministry to review the manifesto commitments of the Bio –led government since it assumed power two and half years ago. This latest endorsed regulations would now remove cross call barriers and other challenges mobile phone users face in dealing with competing telecom companies. The Minister also spoke about a bill his Ministry has tabled before Parliament that has gone through first and second reading and which if approved, will address cyber- crime and other forms of misuse of the internet, a move that he said would help to sanitise the system. It was also revealed that NATCOM will move into the new office building under construction, next year. The event provided the platform for representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to highlight their achievements, challenges and pending projects.
The Chairman Office of Presidential Infrastructure Initiative,Dr. John Tambi spoke about the various projects earmarked by his department across the country, including the bridge that is to be built across the Freetown Bay that will link the capital city with the Freetown International Airport. According to Dr. Tambi the bridge project was to have gone to cabinet this week, a statement that gave added credence that the most ambitious post-independence infrastructural project ever undertaken will be actualised. He said the government will not be spending a penny for the bridge which will be financed by investors. The Engineer gave a rundown of the numerous projects within the sphere of his office that are in the offing and spoke of placing premium on what he called Integrated Infrastructure Development that makes provision for every major infrastructure project, accompanying facilities such as optic fibre connectivity, pipelines for gas and water supply and other modern era services that will add value to the project that becomes what he referred to as “increased utility”.
Chief Minister Professor David Francis as keynote speaker at the event, claimed the government has achieved twenty-eight of its thirty-eight manifesto commitments, whilst also highlighting the government’s twenty- two additional development interventions that were separate from the documented promises the President presented on his campaign trail. He said Journalists would serve as the best vehicle to bring to the people a fair assessment of the mid-term review of the present administration. He spoke of the constraints faced by government during the Covid-19 pandemic but that they ensured prompt payment of salaries without use of overdraft. Professor Francis said so impressed were their overseas partners that they secured grants with no strings attached, which he described as unprecedented. Buttressing his argument of the government’s prudent and efficient managing of the economy, he explained about the injection of more cash into the country’s foreign reserves which increased to $700m, further improving the international credibility of the Bio administration.
He however admitted that the administration fared poorly in the Mining and Manufacturing sectors but promised they would address the challenges in those areas. Officials of institutions such as the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, Anti- Corruption Commission and Petroleum Regulatory Agency made presentations on their achievements and challenges at the Bo retreat which Ministry of Information and Communications officials are hoping would be transformed into an annual event.
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