Minister of Information and Communications has stated that the country’s mineral rich resources have woefully failed because they were yet to provide the necessary benefits expected by the people
Mohamed Bangura was speaking last Saturday (August 13) during a press conference hosted by his ministry and the World Bank in honour of the bank’s Executive Director of Sierra Leone, Dr. Louis Rene Peter Larose.
During the presser that was hosted at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Freetown, the bank’s Country Manager, Parminder Brar announced support of a 4500,000 project to have sustainable internet connectivity in universities and secondary schools across Sierra Leone.
According to Mr. Bangura, the brutal civil conflict which the country suffered for 11 years was as a result of the rich mineral resources, which he said have not yielded any dividend.
He assured that the information and communication technology sector, which the World Bank was ready to support, would not be the same as the country’s mineral resources, adding, “ICT will not let us down. We will benefit from it. It should be the bread basket of this country.”
The information minister described the project that would provide internet connectivity in universities and schools in the next six months, as historic not only for his ministry but for the country as a whole.
“This is a project that everybody can see and feel. This time around, school going pupils will now have the opportunity to browse the web quick and fast. We are not going to let you down,” he assured the World Bank.
He commended the bank’s Country Manager for his support in helping change the ICT landscape in Sierra Leone, and further that as a government, they would make sure that every project that comes from the bank, would be prudently managed.
Managing Director of the Sierra Leone cable limited (SALCAB),Mohamed Sheriff said: “The idea of this project was developed by SLCAB .We took it to the World Bank and the Country Manager was excited about it. We will work hard to see that internet access reaches everyone. We are going to reach out to four schools in the western area, as well as two each in the east, north and south.”