Sierra Leone: No nation develops without robust transport Sector

During last year’s Presidential elections, Leonard Balogun-Koroma was the chairman of the campaign committee that charted President Koroma’s victory back to power. The extremely vociferous and vocal Balogun-Koroma, fondly called Logus, is Minister of Transport and Aviation and a key member of the government. He spoke to ABUBAKAR HASHIM on a number of issues

Since you assumed office, some semblance of sanity in the Transport sector is taking place in the SLRTA, seaports and airports, to name a few. Could you explain the strategies employed so far?

This Ministry is pivotal to development of any nation. We have eight parastatals and three projects. No nation will develop without a robust transport, land, sea or air. To move agricultural products, mineral resources, to name a few. It is the life blood of the nation’s economy. There are World Bank projects like the construction of jetties at Kissy, Targrin and government wharf with terminal buildings worth US$2.6 million. They were commissioned by the President last November.

Phase II of the project is going to finance two brand new ferries and upgrade the roads from the jetties to the airport.

We are going to commission a new international airport at Mamama, in the east of Free Town, in 2017. I’ll partially move my office to the new airport site.

We are planning another deep sea port to accomopdate large vessels to transport iron ore and other minerals to the international markets.

How would you assess, in all honesty, the Koroma-led administration in the past six years?

In all honesty, it is an enviable record. A record of performance. Achievements. Delivery. Keeping to campaign promises. When we came to power in 2007, Freetown was the darkest city in the world. The State House was abandoned. The roads, health and educational systems were on a decline. Our President was confused when we came to power in 2007.

He then prioritised five key areas: Education, Energy, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Health. He started with energy. He delivered electricity to the city of Freetown within his first 100 days in office. This achievement was transferred to the districts through the solar light programme. On education, the Professor Gbamanga Commission has tackled the teething problems in this sector. On agriculture, we now have food self-sufficiency in the country. Farmers now farm for business, with 194 Agricultural Business Centres in all the districts. On health, there is a free health care system, though with some administrative challenges.

Is there a working relationship between the transport sector in Sierra Leone and that in Nigeria?

We are trying to establish a working relationship. We stand to benefit immensely in this direction.

How does the future look for the transport sector in Sierra Leone?

The future is bright. For instance, once the new airport is completed, it will reduce the stress of going to Lungi. There will be a new city at the new airport site. Lungi will now be an industrial zone and an airport support base for ECOWAS. Specific flights will inter-connect  with the industrial zone at Lungi. There will be light rail along the coast to Aberdeen, with dual tracks. There will be new investments, with new airlines coming in.