By: Austine Luseni
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay,has at a meeting held at Grima, Tinkoko chiefdom, Bo district, told the people in that part of the country that plans were afoot to provide mini grids to six communities in the district, including the towns of Grima, Kpetowoma, Upper Saama, Lower Saama, Serabu and Niagolihun.
Alhaji Kanja Sesay said President Julius Maada Bio was committed to providing sustainable and affordable electricity for citizens in every part of the country, noting that when the New Direction Government assumed the mantle of leadership in April 2018,it set itself the immediate target of trying to provide constant electricity for the regional headquarter towns of Bo and Kenema.
He said Bo and Kenema were faced with daunting generation and transmission challenges which made it difficult for the government to address their electricity concerns in three years. He said he was now standing at Grima with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction knowing full well that Bo and Kenema were now enjoying constant electricity supply and its attendant social and economic benefits.
The Minister of Energy stated that the mini grids the six communities were going to benefit from was the product of an earnest appeal or request made by the Government of Sierra Leone to the Government of Japan. Mr. Sesay noted that government was aggressively pursuing mini grids to complement the national grid and to provide for the electricity needs of rural or remote communities.
He said fifty-four communities had been completed during the first phase with support from the British government, adding that government had also secured funding for some forty-four communities, while the European Union and the World Bank were poised to provide support for sixty communities. He informed the people that the American government had also funded a study which was targeting some forty-five communities.
Mr. Sesay said the six communities in Bo district were exclusively going to benefit from the support from the Japanese government, noting that Grima had been identified as the hub for the implementation of the project. He concluded by praising the Government of Japan for the support and implored the people in the six communities to own the project.
Resident Minister South, Mohamed Alie, said Grima was a strategic community which had played an instrumental role in helping President Bio assume power.He praised Alhaji Kanja Sesay for the positive strides in the energy sector.
Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Hon. Kekura Vandi, said the New Direction Government had good plans for the people of the country and urged all to continue to support the government.
The energy sector reforms continue.
