May 27, 2021
A 20-man delegation from Liberia is in Sierra Leone to study the management of the country’s road sector, especially the operations of the toll system.
The delegation comprises the Acting Minister of Public Works, staff of the National Road Fund of Liberia and members of the Liberian Parliament. The team, on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, met with key stakeholders in the road sector at the Radisson Blu in Freetown.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Road Fund of Liberia, Mr. Boniface Satu, told stakeholders that they were in the country on a fact finding mission to study the system that Sierra Leone is creating to manage its national road network so that they can be well guided to institute a similar one in Liberia.
“Liberia is at a crossroad of development and the vision of our President is to connect the entire national road network that is why he has instructed us to come here to see what our Sierra Leonean counterparts are doing.”
He informed the gathering that the National Road Fund of Liberia was established in 2016 out of a reform process with a mandate to mobilise revenue in the road sector, including fuel levy, driving licence and toll system, but much has not been done in revenue generation except on fuel levy.
In his welcome address, the Director General of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority, Ing. Amara Jambai Kanneh expressed delight to receive the Liberian delegation. He told the visiting team that the Government of Sierra Leone has the Human Capital Development as a flagship programme and road sector constitutes a crucial part of that agenda because it is an enabler for the country to be competitive.
He highlighted the structure and operations of the bodies that constitute the road sector and admonished the team on the need to strengthen collaboration between the two countries.
The Ambassador of Liberia to Sierra Leone, Ms. Musu Graywood acknowledged the tremendous effort made by the Government of Sierra Leone to improve its road sector. “I used to take eight hours from Freetown to Gendema by road but I now take six hours,” she said.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Works and Public Assets, Mr. Peter Bayuku Konteh, told the visiting team that the mandate of the Ministry of Works and Public Assets is to design, coordinate and monitor the implementation of policies and programs for the development of social and physical infrastructure in the country, and the management of all public assets. The minister gave an analysis on the status of the national road network and the strides made by government to improve the sector.
Presentations and discussions were done on the toll system in Sierra Leone, operations of the toll system, and the toll and axle load policies.
The Liberian delegation will visit the toll plazas along the Wellington-Masiaka Highway and further engage the Road Maintenance Fund Administration, the Sierra Leone Roads Authority, China Railway Seventh Group and other key stakeholders in the road sector before they return to Liberia.
Contact :
Keifa Mohamed Jaward,
Communications Specialist, SLRA.
kmjaward05@gmail.com
+232 78 252906