January 25, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
In his virtual address to the 58th Ordinary Session to the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State andGovernment, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has urged the Guinean Government to remove restrictions on the movement of people, goods, and services at the Sierra Leone-Guinea border.
This President argues that decision has the effect of enhancing free movement of people, goods and services gearing towards promoting sub regional cooperation, trade and integration.
President Bio further stated that the restrictions imposed from the Guinean end on the free movement of goods have the potential to create a huge economic loss for both countries.
He observed with deep concern the increased instances of incursions by Guinean troops in the Yenga area, acknowledging that such acts of aggression in the undisputed sovereign territory of Sierra Leone must be condemned and resolved.
He noted that the Yenga issue has remained unresolved, and the Guinean counterparts have continued to encroach on Sierra Leonean land and sea borders.
He suggested to the ECOWAS body to urgently create a special committee to look into the unsolved Yenga matter through diplomatic engagement to find a lasting solution to the long-standing boundary dispute between Sierra Leone and Guinea.
President Bio affirms his commitment to supporting peace and security in the ECOWAS community, “despite our sister countries in the Sahel region – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria – continue to experience growing threats of violent of extremism and devastating terrorist attacks from extremist groups…”
He also called for the strengthening of early warning centers in the Community by ensuring that there are adequate tools and analyses to predict conflicts from terrorist attacks to intra-community clashes. He reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s supports for the strengthening of mediation at all levels- geared towards promoting effective dialogue among all stakeholders as a means of reducing conflict and threats to peace and security.
He also commended the Community for its laudable work towards the realization of the ECOWAS Single Currency.
He added that the country is committed to all the decisions taken at the level of Ministerial Committee on the ECOWAS Single Currency Program, as well as the implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff inclusive of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS).
