June 30, 2021
On day 3 of his Ministerial tour, Chief Minister JJ Saffa today Tuesday June 29th 2021, met with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources at Youyi building.
Chief Minister Hon JJ Saffa spoke about his political function being more of a facilitator and enhancer rather than a supervisor of Ministries. He noted that the said role is to help them deliver on their sector plans and annual work programs.
Chief Minister Saffa requested from the Ministry a timeline on the delivery of the Ministry’s work program which he said will be on the automated dashboard that will soon be launched.
Hon Saffa urged the Minister and team to develop a PPP model for managing the proposed fish harbor when completed and requested a detailed report on the delivery chain for what it takes for a fish to reach out to the market from the high sea.
CM Saffa also challenged the Minister and team to develop an Artisanal Fish Policy in the next few months to address concerns in that sector. Fish must be available at all times and at affordable prices under the New Direction and as a Ministry you should be able to investigate what could be done to stabilize the price of fish within. There is every need for a market study on intra district fish trade he concluded.
In her statement, the Minister of Fisheries Hon Emma Kowa Jalloh intimated the Chief Minister of the challenges the Ministry is facing especially with international fish certification process, the fish industry emanating from high level smuggling to offshore fish selling.