The Gambian Minister of Information, Communication and Infrastructure, Alhaji A Cham past Friday paid a courtesy call on the Sierra Leone Minister of Information and Communications Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo in Freetown.
The purpose of the visit is to understudy the technicalities used by the Information Ministry in handling both the West African Regional Communication and Infrastructure Programme (WARCIP) and the ECOWAS Wide Area Network (ECOWAN) project.
The Gambian Minister noted that since both countries are dealing with the same projects, it is important for the two countries to share experiences.
The Minister of Information and Communications, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo disclosed to his colleague that the project is completely owned by the government but intends to open it to the private sector, adding that government will sell shares not only to telecommunications companies but also to other qualified investors.
He said the process is ongoing and that they have been working intensely to ensure that the projects are fully operational. “The concepts are there but what we want now is to ensure that they are achieved,” I B Kargbo maintained.
I.B. Kargbo stated that government will liberalize the gateway but stressed that they will put in place a traffic monitoring mechanism system to control the type of information that comes in and goes out.
The Director of Administration Sierra Leone Cables (SALCAB) who doubles as Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications Gilbert Cooper said the ECOWAN and WARCIP projects are going on and they are in the process of recruiting consultants for the ECOWAN project. He said that they would work to ensure that operations start in the Western Area as soon as possible.
By Alhaji M. Kamara
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