Sierra Leone’s Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay has spoken on the need for sector efficiency with a view to helping achieve the Big Five Agenda.
He was delivering the keynote address at the Energy Sector Stakeholders’ Workshop, where he spoke on the consolidation of the gains of the past five years, the conscious strides to increase access to energy, the plans for the next five years, the current challenges.
“The timing of this event is critically important. I would like to thank all of you representing the various entities in the energy sector for the hard work, commitment and individual sacrifices made to ensure that the vision of the sector was achieved,” Mr. Sesay remarked, while acknowledging the significance of the newly created Office of Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security.
The Minister of Energy catalogued the gains made in the past five years with respect to institutional achievements, generation, transmission and distribution and renewable energy.
He said Sierra Leone gained the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Program eligibility status in 2021, noting that the Ministry of Energy was poised to secure about $500 million for investment in the energy sector.
Mr. Sesay noted that his Ministry had increased access rate to energy from 16% in 2018 to 33% in 2022, adding that EDSA had also increased cost viability to almost 40%.
He spoke about the privatisation of the purchase of meters and their availability, operationalization of vending machines and the introduction of corporate tax exemptions and GST waivers for rural mini grid operators.
Speaking on the areas of generation, transmission and distribution, Mr Sesay said that the Western Area Power Generation Project, the Bo-Kenema Network Rehabilitation and Expansion Project, the Transco CLSG project, the RESPITE Project, the Seven Districts Electrification Project, the Energy Sector Utility Reform Project, the Bumbuna Phase II, the Bekongor Hydroelectric Project, and the Renewable Energy or Mini Grid Project have had and would have stunning impact on the country’s drive towards providing sustainable energy.
The Minister of Energy sounded upbeat about the future and catalogued strategies that have been devised to enhance and sustain administrative and operational efficiency to help in the realisation of the Big Five.
Chairman Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, spoke about the crucial importance of renewable energy and the need for collaboration among the various sector players.
He said it was necessary for the government to set energy targets and assured of his office’s commitment to fully collaborating with the Ministry of Energy.
