Conference Room, Ministry of Energy, Freetown, Monday February 27,2023—— Sierra Leone’s Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, has told the visiting Chief Executive Officer of the United States of America’s Millennium Challenge Corporation, MCC, Alice Albright, that President Julius Maada Bio was committed to increasing access to reliable and affordable energy and was not oblivious of the critical role the MCC could play in positively impacting Sierra Leone’s energy sector reforms.
Madam Alice Albright, who is visiting Sierra Leone for the second time, said she was pleased to be back in the country and to be having fruitful engagements with President Julius Maada Bio and other government officials.
“This is my second visit to Sierra Leone. I am so excited to be back here. We are here as a team at a critical juncture in our work with your country at MCC. The threshold we reached a few years ago is nearing its end, and we are excited about the many admirable accomplishments,” she told the Minister, while also reiterating the commitment of her Corporation to helping Sierra Leone realize its Compact Program on energy.
She commended the Ministry of Energy for its strategic sector alliance with partners and spoke of her delight at Sierra Leone’s Compact eligibility.
In his remarks, Energy Minister, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, said the country was pleased with the work and collaboration of the MCC, noting that the threshold program had deepened his Ministry’s insight, increased its knowledge and broadened its horizon.
He said the reforms that came with the threshold program helped the Government of Sierra Leone to set up priorities in the energy sector.
“Government’s direct intervention in the energy sector has been huge. Considering the fact that energy is a capital intensive enterprise, Government has been working with partners like the FCDO, World Bank, European Union, JICA , AfDB, and USTDA. We are massively impressed with these partnerships,” Mr. Sesay noted.
The Minister of Energy gave an overview of the country’s energy sector reforms and catalogued a variety of energy projects and potentials that were being implemented and explored or maximized.
He said the Compact Program resources would be very useful to the country and would help transform its energy landscape. He thanked the CEO for what he described as a historic visit and called on the MCC to continue to support Government’s overall policy objective in the energy sector.
MCC’s Sierra Leone Country Director, Steve Grudda, gave an update and upbeat assessment of the MCC’s work in Sierra Leone.
He thanked the Minister for the support the MCC team in Sierra Leone was receiving.
