Mike Arbuckle World Bank Mission Lead and Senior Fisheries Special has who are in the country to oversee the World Bank mission with the aim of looking into progress of the West African Regional Fisheries Programme for Sierra Leone (WARFP-SL) commended the work of the fisheries programme in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing after the submission of a draft memoir marking the end of the World Bank Implementation Support Mission past Friday at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Conference Hall, the Specialist said that their purpose is to look at the progress of the WARFP project and also helping in with the management and functional review.
He added that they are also to assist in areas of public reform unit and governance therefore looking at the current function and structure of the ministry and updating the review that was done between the World Bank and the Government of Sierra Leone.
Mike Arbuckle stated that the objective of the project is to increase the wealth in fisheries and also to capture and also the wealth in other countries that have fisheries “therefore this is a very important project and one that we are very well understood and keep providing assistance to so as to maintain contact. So we have looked at some of the progress of the projects and the actions and they are going on well. Particularly the work of the compliance group is proceeding very adequately.”
The World Bank Specialist disclosed that they are also looking at the future thereby providing a report, memoire and agreement with the government to help u where they agree to go and what is achievable.
On the area of the review, he disclosed that on the area of management and function review and this work is in progress “we have asked to do an evaluation and come out with an initial report and we have done lot of work with staff of the ministry on the documents and have come up with a management and future review which will be submitted to cabinet for the different stages.”
On the review he said “it is a review that is far reaching and forward looking and transformational in nature, and it’s introduce a high level of transparency and accountability in the Ministry. And the proposed structure will separate functions related to policy, from those that are related to licenses and from those that are related to services like research and in particular separate the roles that are related to compliance and enforcement. This is a practice worldwide and it is good to see Sierra Leone tighten the lead to this kind of work.”
The Minster of Fisheries and Marine Resources Dr. Soccoh Kabia said the World Bank team is going to look at Ministry in terms of management and the ability to look certain areas which needs to be restructured and that this agreement is a supplementary as the previous one has been done.
On the area of the project the Minister said that this project has three components which and these are: strengthening governance of the fisheries as they key components is a preparation of a five years policy action plan including restructuring of the ministry in order to support implementation of this plan and that at least four territorial use right fisheries will be illegally established in targeted coastal fisheries.
The second components is reducing illegal fishing as this aimed at continued operation of the Fisheries Protection Unit of the Joint Maritime Committee, frequent fish catch and activity reporting to Joint Maritime Committee, and that percentage of all licensed vessels that are observed fishing within the 6-mile inshore exclusion zone is reduced by 50%.
And the third components is that increased local value added indicators, that the volum of exports from the coastal demersal fisheries and from the shrimp fisheries increases by 10% from the baseless by the closing date.
Speaking about the reform Dr. Soccoh Kabia maintained that the reform will ensure good management as the ministry is under capacitated, they need to have a strong support and that the expertise and system be put in place to meet their mandates, so a proposal was sent to the World Bank and they observed that it was overdue and that it was timely and they came in.
He commended the World Bank for the support they have been the Ministry as they have also provided funds for the construction of a fishing habour to ensure that transshipment be taking place at these harbours as this will bring development to fisheries ministries and also to the country.
By Betty Milton
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