By Ralph Sesay
Orange Sierra Leone has on Wednesday, 6th November, 2019 signed a partnership agreement with the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority to use Orange Money platform for the payment of fines for traffic offences across the country.
David Mansaray, CEO Orange Money during the launching at John James Hall, Upgun in Freetown, lauded the vision and leadership of the current management at the SLRSA for using the latest technology to improve its various services to customers and clients.
He cited the various services Orange Sierra Leone is providing for various institutions such as EDSA and Guma Valley Water Company, noting that these institutions have been able to increase in terms of revenue mobilization and also lower their cost in the collection and mobilization of revenue.
Mr. Mansaray lauded the partnership between Orange Sierra Leone and SLRSA and recounted that it will increase the transparency and accountability process in terms of the management of the finances of the SLRSA while opening-up the space for fairness and ease in doing business.
Executive Director, SLRSA, David Panda Noah noted that the partnership between Orange Sierra Leone and the SLRSA was designed out of the need to increasingly use the available technology to ease the payment for various services to the SLRSA.
Head of Public Relations, Annie Wonnie Katta and other senior members of Orange Sierra Leone at the ceremony
He disclosed that his MIS team and Orange Sierra Leone Orange Money team have been able to work together to develop a system wherein people within the sector such as motorists, keke and okada riders would now have the opportunity to pay their fines even off banking hours.
Mr. Noah recounted that it has been a challenge for customers to pay their fines especially those in distant areas from their offices at Kissy Road and other outlets.
As a result of this the Authority, according to him, has been losing millions of Leones on an annual basis.
He noted that the new partnership with Orange Sierra Leone which is expected to cover more of their other services will lead to a greater generation of revenue.
A representative of the Board of Directors who also doubles as a representative of the Vehicle owners, Mr. A.B Fofanah, noted that the role of vehicle owners is very critical to the new partnership between Orange Sierra Leone and SLRSA.
He appealed to the SLRSA to seriously consider the issue of flying tickets and also urged drivers not to disobey Police or Road Safety Corps’ stop signals.
The National Traffic Coordinator, Supt. Mbalu Gbla, Drivers’ Union President, Alpha Amadu Bah, all made meaningful commitments throwing their support behind the SLRSA for the new move to digitize the services of the organization.
The Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation, Sadiq Sillah, officially launched the platform while Glen Cole, Head of IT, SLRSA and Abibabatu Baxter of Orange Sierra Leone made presentations on how the platform works.
The Orange Money platform will provide ease for drivers who are on default with the SLRSA to pay their fines apart from the normal banking process that was available.
Customers of SLRSA will also use the platform to check how much they are indebted to the SLRSA in terms of tickets.
The platform will salvage the normal practice by the SLRSA to catch-up with drivers who are in default with the SLRSA when they turn-up to license their vehicles at the Authority at the end of the year.
It is expected that the SLRSA will move towards digitizing most of its services in the coming future.