The Government of President Julius Maada Bio has committed to replace over 13 moribund ferries across the country with modern bridges. The European Union, according to the Government, has expressed interest in such a project.
This commitment was disclosed to Members of Parliament by the President during the State of the Nation’s Address in Parliament. The President noted that intra-district trade in agricultural products has often been hindered by unreliable ferry crossing services in several parts of the country.
The building of these ferries, according to the President, is expected to facilitate trade in various districts, increase access to social services and also enhance movement of people.
President Bio espoused the marked reforms in the Agricultural sector, noting that a total of 3,800 hectares of oil palm is now planted all over the country.
A total of 2,000 hectares of cocoa plantations, he continued, are also being rehabilitated, 52 Agricultural business centers selected for transformation and 26 of them have received complete post-harvest and processing machines with start-up capital.
He emphasized his Government’s commitment in increasing public spending to agriculture to 10% in the next two years in line with the Maputo Accord.
Sierra Leone’s independence had inherited local and manually operated ferries to access major areas in the South and Northern parts of the country, but these facilities have become almost inaccessible with major faults. They have become very obsolete; they have not been able to accommodate the traffic that commits through such routes on a daily basis.
Farmers, especially from the South across to the Liberian border, have not been able to utilize the ferries with their goods and hence prefer to trade with Liberia.