In smiling and joyous tone, Minister of Energy and Power Haja Afsatu Kabba has disclosed that significant progress has been made over the past 12 months.
She said that under “the emergency energy programme, improved electricity is being supplied to Freetown and its surrounding areas”. She made this disclosure at the weekly press briefing organized by the Ministry of Information.
Highlighting the achievements, prospects, and challenges of key sectoral agencies and projects under her Ministry, Haja Kabba said that,”the phase one of the Bumbuna Hydroelectric project has been on-going for almost 30yrs”
She noted that, following the assumption of office of President Koroma, a major resource mobilization effort was achieved in October 2007, when President Koroma appealed to our development partners and the International Community to provide funds for the completion of the project.
98% of the project, she said, is now completed as reported by President Koroma in his recent address to Parliament on the 10th October.
Afsatu Kabba said that the job of her Ministry is to meet this new challenge, assuring all that everything is on target.
She disclosed that the Bumbuna power generation company has been established and registered; the Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority Act 2008 has been passed in Parliament; Cabinet has also approved the Bumbuna trust deed and the completion of the project is expected by April 2009.
“Though we are faced with the challenges of rehabilitating the transmission and distribution lines which were stolen, we are working towards the targets set by the President for the completion of the project in April” she said. She intimated that the prospects for the water sector as expressed by President Koroma to rehabilitate water supply systems country wide and extending accessibility to pipe borne water to provincial regions and rural communities including Kabala, Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Lungi is a reality.
By Abibatu Kamara
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