Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698845047877.pdf (Sierra Leone)
OAU DRIVE, TOWER HILL, FREETOWN P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S ____ [HANSARD] ______________ OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT SECOND SESSION - SECOND MEETING THURSDAY, 14TH MAY, 2020 SESSION – 2019/2020 OAU DRIVE, TOWER HILL, FREETOWN P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S ____ [HANSARD] ______________ OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT VOLUME: II NUMBER: 2 Second Meeting of the Second Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.
Proceedings of the Sitting of the House Held Thursday, 14th May, 2020.

2 CONTENTS I. PRAYERS II.

RECORD OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY SITTING HELD ON TUESDAY, 28TH APRIL, 2020.

III.

LAYING OF PAPERS: A.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE THE EMERGENCY ALERT TELEPHONE CALL REGULATIONS, 2020.

THE CONSTITUTION OF SIERRA LEONE, 1991 [ACT NO.6 OF 1991] CONSTITUTIONAL INSTRUMENT NO.9 OF 2020 B.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE [i] AMENDMENT TO THE FINANCING AGREEMENT, [AGRICULTURE VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT [AVDP] BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, GRANT NUMBER 2000002586 AND LOAN NUMBER 200002587 DATED 27TH NOVEMBER, 2019.

[ii] LOAN AGREEMENT [REVAMPING OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT IN THE GREATER FREETOWN PROJECT] AREA BETWEENTHE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE KUWAIT FUND FOR ARAB ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DATED 17TH NOVEMBER, 2019.
[iii] PROJECT AGREEMENT [REVAMPING OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT IN THE GREATER FREETOWN PROJECT] BETWEEN KUWAIT FUND FOR ARAB ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GUMA VALLEY WATER COMPANY DATED 17TH NOVEMBER, 2019.

[iv] DOLLAR CREDIT LINE FINANCING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF INDIA, DATED 13TH OCTOBER, 2019.
[v] FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT FOR PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE ARAB BANK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA, DATED 17TH NOVEMBER, 2019.

3 C. THE MINISTER OF WATER RESOURCES [i] ELECTRICITY AND WATER LICENCING RULES, 2019.

SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY ACT 2011, [ACT NO.

13 OF 2011] STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO.

10 OF 2019 [ii] ELECTRICITY AND WATER [COMPLAINT HANDLING] REGULATIONS 2019.
SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION ACT 2011 [ACT NO.

13 OF 2011].

STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO.11 OF 2019.

[iii] THE SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION [TARRIF] RULES 2019 SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION ACT 2011, [ACT NO.

13 OF 2011].

STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO.

16 OF 2019.

[iv] THE BOTTLED AND SACHET WATER PRODUCTION REGULATIONS, 2019 SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION ACT 2011 [ACT NO.

13 OF 2011].
13 OF 2011].

STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO.18 OF 2019.

[v] WATER [QUALITY OF SUPPLY] REGULATIONS 2019 THE SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION ACT 2011 [ACT NO.

13 OF 2011].

STATUTORY INSTRUMENT NO.

20 OF 2019.

IV.

MOTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPOINTMENTS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE PROPOSER: HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA SECONDER: HON.


HASSAN A. SESAY 4 BE IT RESOLVED: THAT THE FOURTEENTH REPORT OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPOINTMENTS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE BE ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE AND THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED THEREIN BE APPROVED.
V. GOVERNMENT MOTION THE MINISTER OF FINANCE BE IT RESOLVED: THAT THIS THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE, RATIFIES THE FOLLOWING AGREEMENTS WHICH WERE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THIS HONOURABLE HOUSE ON THURSDAY 14TH MAY 2020: [i] AMENDMENT TO THE FINANCING AGREEMENT, [AGRICULTURE VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT [AVDP] BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, GRANT NUMBER 2000002586 AND LOAN NUMBER 200002587 DATED 27TH NOVEMBER, 2019.
[ii] LOAN AGREEMENT [REVAMPING OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT IN THE GREATER FREETOWN PROJECT] AREA BETWEENTHE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE KUWAIT FUND FOR ARAB ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DATED 17TH NOVEMBER, 2019.

[iii] PROJECT AGREEMENT [REVAMPING OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT IN THE GREATER FREETOWN PROJECT] BETWEEN KUWAIT FUND FOR ARAB ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GUMA VALLEY WATER COMPANY DATED 17TH NOVEMBER, 2019.
[iv] DOLLAR CREDIT LINE FINANCING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF INDIA, DATED 13TH OCTOBER, 2019.

[v] FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT FOR PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND THE ARAB BANK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA, DATED 17TH NOVEMBER, 2019.
5 THE CHAMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE Official Hansard Report of the Proceedings of the House _____________________________________________________________ SECOND SESSION – SECOND MEETING OF THE FIFTH PARLIAMENT OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC _____________________________ Thursday, 14th May, 2020.
I. PRAYERS [The Table Clerk, Mrs Bintu Weston, Read the Prayers] [The House met at 10:15 a.m. in Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Freetown] [The Speaker, Dr Abass Chernor Bundu, in the Chair] The House was called to Order 6 Suspension of S. Os.

5[2] HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, for the edification of the media and the public, we decided to have representation from all political parties due to the COVID 19.

In that regard, the quorum is not as usual and I therefore rise to suspend S.Os.
7, which deals with the quorum.

It says: “The quorum of the House shall be 1/4 of all the Members of Parliament.” In our last meeting, we decided that not every Member of Parliament would attend the sittings.

We will continue in that direction, Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder to that?

HON.

BASHIRU SILIKIE: I so second, Mr Speaker.

[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [The Motion to suspend S.Os.
7 has been carried] THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, I will also explain, so that the general public would understand where we are.

At our last sitting, due to the COVID 19 and in regulating the affairs of the House, I directed that each political party represented in Parliament should reduce their representation by 50% that brought us to a figure of 74 instead of 145 Members.
Therefore, it is based on this number that the quorum we seek is a quorum not from all the Members of Parliament but for quorum 1/4 of that number.

We shall therefore proceed.

COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR II.

RECORD OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY SITTING HELD ON TUESDAY, 28TH APRIL, 2020.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, we go through the record of Votes and Proceedings for the parliamentary sitting held on Tuesday, 28th April, 2020.
As is the usual practice, we shall skip Pages 1 to 5 and start consideration of the record of proceedings from Page 6.

Page 6?

Page 7?

Page 8?

Page 9.

If there are no corrections or amendments would someone move for the adoption of the record of Votes and Proceedings for the parliamentary sitting held on Tuesday, 28th April, 2020 as presented?

7 HON ALUSINE KANNEH: I so move, Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder?

HON.

BOSTON MUNDA: I so second, Mr Speaker.


[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed To] [Record of Votes and Proceedings for the parliamentary sitting held on Tuesday, 28th April, 2020 has been adopted as presented] HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, I want to amend the Order Paper.

Under item IV, I would like the Honourable Bashiru Silikie to be the seconder of this Motion.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder to that amendment?

HON.

DICKSON ROGERS: I so second, Mr Speaker.


[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed To] III.

PAPERS LAID A.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE THE EMERGENCY ALERT TELEPHONE CALL REGULATIONS, 2020 THE CONSTITUTION OF SIERRA LEONE, 1991 [ACT NO.

6 OF 1991] CONSTITUTIONAL INSTRUMENT NO.9 OF 2020 HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, I think the Attorney General and Minister of Justice is not around.

Therefore we shall skip that item on the Order Paper.

Let us proceed with item III [B] B.


THE MINISTER OF FINANCE MD.
PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY [Deputy Minister of Finance]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, with your leave, I beg to lay on the Table of this Honourable House the following Papers: [i] Amendment to the Financing Agreement, [Agriculture Value Chain Development Project [AVDP] between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Grant Number 2000002586 and Loan Number 200002587, Dated 27th November, 2019; 8 [ii] Loan Agreement [Revamping of Aquatic Environment in the Greater Freetown Project] Area between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Dated 17th November, 2019; [iii] Project Agreement [Revamping of Aquatic Environment in the Greater Freetown Project] Area between Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Guma Valley Water Company, Dated 17th November, 2019; [iv] Dollar Credit Line Financing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Export-Import Bank of India Dated, 13th October, 2019; and [v] Framework Agreement for Protection of Investment between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Dated 17th November, 2019.
I thank you [Applause].

C. THE MINISTER OF WATER RESOURCES MR PHILIP K. LANSANA [Minister of Water Resources]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, with your leave, I beg to lay on the Table of this Honourable House the following papers: [i] Electricity and Water Licencing Rules, 2019 Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Act, 2011, [Act No.

13 of 2011] Statutory Instrument No.

10 of 2019 [ii] Electricity and Water [Complaints Handling] Regulations 2019.
Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission Act 2011[Act No.

13 of 2011].

Statutory Instrument No.11 Of 2019 [iii] The Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission [Tariff] Rules 2019 Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission Act 2011, [Act No.

13 of 2011].

Statutory Instrument No.

16 of 2019 [iv] The Bottled and Sachet Water Production Regulations, 2019 Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission Act 2011 [Act No.13 of 2011].
9 Statutory Instrument No.18 Of 2019 [v] Water [Quality of Supply] Regulations 2019 Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission Act 2011[Act No.

13 of 2011].

Statutory Instrument No.

20 of 2019.

I thank you [Applause].

HON.


HASSAN A. SESAY: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, at this juncture, I think we are now conducting other businesses within the House and according to the Standing Orders, when the welfare of a particular Member of Parliament is at stake, it takes precedence over every other matter in the Well of Parliament [Applause].
Mr Speaker, with all due respect to what we are supposed to do now, I think we must try to define certain issues relating to the welfare of our membership in this House.

This is because we are aware that ‘Parliament regulates itself’ and we can always address issues as we wish.

We are not in any way trying to stop what has been agreed upon by Members of this Parliament, but I think we must try to establish certain things because anything that is parliamentary has a kind of humanity.
Well, maybe somebody will tell me that I do not understand, but I think that is where we stand [Applause].

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we have noted the concern made by my colleague, although he did not stand on the specific Standing Orders, but we respect his views.

Thank you, Honourable Leader of the Opposition.

I think we discussed that in Committee Room 1 and that is why we are going to make this sitting as brief as possible.

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.
HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: With your permission, Mr Speaker, listening to what the Leader of Government Business has just said and the issues raised by the Honourable Member from Tonkolili, we spoke and what we discussed has to do with the privilege of a Member.

So, I hope we would expedite this process because this House [not this side], will not tolerate anything that goes against the welfare of a Member of Parliament [Applause].

HON.
HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Thank you very much Honourable Leader of the Opposition.

I am sure the Speaker will have to limit the number of speakers.

10 III.

MOTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPOINTMENTS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE PROPOSER: HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA SECONDER: HON.

BASHIRU SILIKIE HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA [Leader of Government Business]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I present to you the Fourteenth Report of the Second Session of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service: 1.
Introduction Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service that is charged with the responsibility of vetting presidential nominees and selecting the most fitted and qualified persons to serve in public offices met on Wednesday, 23rd April, 2020 and interviewed nine presidential nominees for appointments to the following positions: i.

Chairman, National Commission for Privatisation; ii.

Deputy Director-General, Sierra Leone Roads Authority; iii.
Chairman, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Local Content Agency; iv.

Deputy Commissioner, Sierra Leone Insurance Commission; v. Member, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Local Content Agency; and vi.

Four Members, Corporate Affairs Commission.

2.
Procedure The Committee conducted hearing within the ambit of its established criteria and Members: [i] Requested for public input into the vetting process to ascertain the suitability of the nominees for their proposed appointments; [ii] Requested for specified and reliable documents to be provided by the nominees pertaining to their backgrounds and other related matters; [iii] Ensured that the nominees were cleared of any criminal record by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Sierra Leone Police; 11 [iv] Ensured that each nominee has the relevant qualifications and necessary backup experience to hold his/her proposed appointment; Probing questions put to the nominees covered wide ranging issues pertaining to their track records in other pertinent work situations, their declared assets and liabilities fulfilment of their tax obligations and their visions for a successful and nationally productive tenure.
Issues of unsuitability or otherwise were closely looked into by the Committee.

The Committee conducted hearing within the ambit of its established procedures.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the following nominees were interviewed on oath: i. Dr Prince Alex Harding, proposed Chairman, National Commission for Privatisation [NCP] Dr Prince Alex Harding is a Chemist from Kings College in London, University of London with a PhD in Chemistry.
He is the current Chairman and Leader of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party [SLPP].

Dr Harding has held a number of ministerial positions in the Government of Sierra Leone that include the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Mineral Resources.

He lectured at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone from 2008 to 2017.
Dr Prince Alex Harding was commended by the leadership of the Committee as “a highly respected senior citizen that is over-qualified for his proposed appointment.” In his interview, Dr Harding started off by thanking His Excellency, the President, “for having the confidence in me to serve as the Chairman for the National Commission for Privatization [NCP].

I promise not to betray the confidence reposed in me.
I will endeavour to work hard to achieve those objectives for which the National Commission for Privatisation was established,” he said.

ii.

Ing.

Abdulai Ansumana, proposed Deputy Director-General, Sierra Leone Roads Authority [SLRA] Ing.

Abdulai Ansumana is a seasoned Engineer with vast experience in the development and maintenance of roads, design and work supervision of storey buildings and bridges, 12 environmental impact assessment and mitigation plan, to name a few areas of his specialities.
He has served in various positions at the SLRA, ranging from District Engineer, Senior Engineer, Design Engineer, Chief Regional Engineer, Chief Engineer- Operations to Chief Engineer, Surveys and Designs.

Ing.

Abdulai Ansumana had also served as Project Manager of diverse projects at the SLRA, including the rehabilitation of Freetown-Conakry highway project, Lungi-Port Loko highway project, and the Lungi roads project.

Answering to probing questions, Ing.


Abdulai Ansumana deposed that he was a foundation staff when SLRA was established in March 1992.

“Since then, I have been very active in SLRA and the road Maintenance Fund Administration [RMFA] was sour because there was no strategic plan to coordinate the work relationship between the two institutions.

We have put in place a robust strategic plan.


SLRA now engages the RMFA on the basis of the Strategic Plan and that has worked out well for both Institutions,” he concluded.

iii.

Mrs Sybil D. Bailor, Proposed Chairman, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Local Content Agency Mrs Sybil Bailor has a wealth of knowledge and experience in education, health, governance, gender, youths, social development, and women’s rights.
She has a strong background in organizational development and changed management processes in conflict settings and fragile states, with knowledge and work experience in the UK government [DFID], UN, European Commission [EU], World Bank etc.

Her diplomacy and tact have enabled her to work in multicultural and diverse environments.

Reacting to the concerns of the Committee, Mrs Sybil Bailor asserted that Sierra Leoneans should always be given priority in everything about Sierra Leone.
“Our people are meant for our people are being given to foreigners.

We must put an end to that.

Another issue is the lack of confidence on our local products.

We have preference for imported items over our own local products of the same quality.

As a Board, we will zoom in on that to see how we can come up 13 with policies and programmes that will help promote our local products to help boost our economy,” she said.

iv.

Ing.
iv.

Ing.

Trudy Morgan, proposed Member, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Local Content Agency Ing.

Trudy Morgan is an experienced Engineer with over thirty [30] years’ work experience in project based assignments, consulting and project management skills in the construction, education, and the transportation sectors in both the public and private sectors.

Ing.
Ing.

Morgan recently led a successful bid that won funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering [UK] Africa Catalyst programme, to undertake a pilot project in the training of graduates in necessary cognitive and behavioural skills to enhance their employment prospects.

She was won diverse awards including Inspirational Engineer of the Year, and Female Engineer of the Year 2017, among others.

Addressing the concerns of the Committee, Ing.


Trudy Morgan said that Sierra Leone is having a serious problem with the Local Content Policy.

“The foreign companies are not treating Sierra Leoneans fairly.

I will ensure that jobs that are meant for our youths are not given to foreigners.

Many foreign companies complain that young Engineers from our universities do not meet their standards.
I will work with my colleagues Board Members, to come up with programmes that will help bring our young Engineers to standards to be able to compete both nationally and internationally.

This would however require cooperation among Board Members to ensure that jobs that are meant for locals are not given out to foreigners,” she said.

Answering to further questions, Ing.

Trudy Morgan said, “one of the things that I am very keen on is to buy Sierra Leone, build Sierra Leone, and talk Sierra Leone.
Interacting with foreign visitors, I have realised that as a country, we do have lots of very good things and a lot of very good talents.

In Council, we are working on the Professional Engineers Registration Council Act that will allow the Institution to force foreign companies engaged in engineering works in our country to utilize our people.

We have qualified Engineers, but these 14 foreign companies prefer to bring their own people, most of whom are just technicians.
We will use the Local Content Act to achieve our goal.” v. Mr Sheku Mattia, proposed Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, Sierra Leone Insurance Commission Mr Sheku Mattia is currently the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Kenema District Council from June 2018 to date.
He has a wealth of knowledge and administrative competence from different institutions where he inculcated various skills including water point data usage, effective communication, report writing, time management, project performance and social welfare.
Responding to the Committee’s inquiries, Mr Sheku Mattia assured the Committee that if he obtains the approval of the Honourable House, “I will strictly adhere to the law as provided in the governing Act that established the Commission.” Answering to further questions, Mr Mattia acknowledged the Commissioner to be his boss.

“I will always accord him the respect he deserves and always keep in mind that he is the boss.
I will cooperate with him, so that we will achieve those objectives for which the Commission was established,” he said.

vi.

Mrs Haja Mariama Fatu Myres, proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC].

Mrs Haja Mariama Fatu Myres is an industrious, creative and highly motivated woman whose focus is on making a positive difference in her service to the nation.
She has expertise in Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management with outstanding skills in strategic management, oral and written communication skills.

She is also a private business person and the Chief Executive Officer of Estu Enterprises Construction and General Merchandise, a premier class construction company that has implemented Governmental and non-governmental projects in Sierra Leone.
Answering to probing questions, Mrs Haja Mariama Fatu Myres said, “if I obtain the blessing of approval of Parliament, I will be going to the Commission with new ideas drawn from my work and experience as a business woman, an 15 entrepreneur and as a former Strategic Consultant to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

I have been in business for over eight years in different sectors including construction and Agri-business.
I would also bring in my strategic management skills and my proficiency in Public Procurement.

I shall be there to guide the board on issues like procurement.

Above all, I think my appointment would be good for gender diversity.” vii.

Mr Lloyd Hindolo Jusu Esq., proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC].

Mr Lloyd Hindolo Jusu is an Executive Director, Foundation for Democratic Initiative and Development from 2005 to date.

He is a legal practitioner and partner of the F.C.


Conteh & Associates Law Firm.

Mr Lloyd Hindolo Jusu commenced his interview by thanking His Excellency the President, “for nominating me to serve as a member of the Corporate Affairs Commission.

I do believe that we have a very challenging task ahead.

With my legal background and experience, I will be in the position to advise the Board on legal issues and other related matters.
The corporate world is very complex and is one that requires well guided steps.

I believe, I will be able to guide the Commission,” he said.

viii.

Bro.

Mahmoud Foday Sesay, proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC].

Bro.

Mahmoud Foday Sesay is a private business man and an entrepreneur with a wealth of experience acquired from working in different organisations.

Reacting to the committee’s prompts, Bro.


Mahmoud Foday Sesay deposed that he has had a long sojourn in the corporate world and believed he was up to task based on his expertise and experience.

“I know how the corporate world operates and what it lacks.

I will be there to work with a team of Board members.

I will only call for unity among Board members to ensure that we work together to create the enabling environment for business to flourish in this country,” he said.

16 ix.
16 ix.

Mrs Amy Elizabeth Green, proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC].

Mrs Amy Elizabeth Green is a trained IFC World Bank Group on Governance and Trainer of trainees.

She is a professional Corporate Administrator with several years of work experience in Corporate Governance.

Responding to a very pertinent question, Mrs Amy Elizabeth Green said: “the world is like a market where everybody comes with goods to sell.
The system has led to intense competition between and among business people.

To ensure a smooth and peaceful business place which, I believe we have made.

But we must also have in mind the dynamism of the business world.

In order to move along with that, we must always be monitoring the process and bringing in relevant new policies that will fit the system at every given time.
As a member of the Board, I will be using my wealth of experience in the corporate world in ensuring a stable business environment.

I would like to assure this Honourable House that our activities will be based on the laws as provided in the relevant Act made by this House.

We shall be consulting people of greater knowledge and experience on how we could make improvement as a Commission and as a nation.

Most importantly, I assure this House that I will do the President and the entire nation proud.

4.
4.

Addendum to the Fourteenth Report of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service on parliamentary vetting of presidential nominees.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service met on its usual vetting exercise on Wednesday, 13th May, 2020 and interviewed two presidential nominees for appointments to the following positions: i.

Minister of Internal Affairs; and ii.

Deputy Director, National Youth Service.


The Committee strictly adhered to the procedure outlined in the original report.

The following were interviewed on oath: 17 i. Mr Maurice Panda-Noah, proposed Minister of Internal Affairs Mr Panda-Noah is currently the Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority [SLRSA] with major responsibility to direct and manage the overall growth of the Authority.
He has an international work experience as Director, IT Manager, IT Consultant, Software Developer, and Supervisor among others.

Answering to probing questions on violence and those who incite violence Mr Panda- Noah prided himself to have a strong background in technology and that he was going to use technology in policing.

“We are going to be using a lot of technology to weed out miscreants who are using the social media for doing things that are not right, for inciting, for abusing.
We are going to ensure, through technology, that we find these people and bring them to book.

We will also train the police to be able to use technology to find out who and where activities of such nature are taking place even if outside of this country.

I am not going to be an arm-chair Minister.


I want to go out and experience some of these things and when I do I will reflect on that experience to make appropriate decisions.” Speaking on the issue relating to Yenga, Mr Panda-Noah said that he believed there was a lot of diplomacy going on to resolve the matter.

“But surely we will make our presence felt and ensure that the border is manned.
Sometime ago, we saw how our Members of Parliament were treated with disrespect when they visited Yenga,” he said.

Answering to further question, Mr Panda-Noah said: “when it comes to safeguarding vulnerable people like women and children, I am very personate about that.

I am a respecter of persons and I respect women very much.
I have worked with a lot of women in most of my places of work and I know and believed that they have the right as human beings to live, they have the right to feel safe, they have the right to ride a bike at night when it comes to safeguarding.” 18 ii.

Mr Paul Saffa Tapema, proposed Deputy Executive Director, National Youth Service Paul Saffa Tapema is very knowledgeable in financial matters and has worked as Finance Officer, GRACED Sierra Leone, 2013 to date.
He also served as Cashier, Guaranty Trust Bank, Freetown.

Mr Paul Saffa Tapema was commended by the Committee Leadership for his commitment to duty.

In spite of the commendation, Mr Tapema promised to work to the best of his ability for the success of the National Youth Service.

5.
5.

Recommendations Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee adjudged the following presidential nominees to be adequately qualified for their proposed appointments and they are recommended to the House for approval: [i] Dr Alex Prince Harding, proposed Chairman, National Commission for Privatisation; [ii] Ing.
Abdulai Ansumana, proposed Deputy Director-General, Sierra Leone Roads Authority [SLRA]; [iii] Mrs Sybic Bailor, proposed Chairman, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Local Content Agency; [iv] Ing.

Trudy Morgan, proposed Deputy Commissioner, Insurance Commission Sierra Leone; [v] Mr Sheku Mattia, proposed Member, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Local Content Agency; [vi] Mrs Haja Mariama Fatu Myres, proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC]; [vii] Mr Lloyd Hindolo Jusu Esq.
proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC]; [viii] Bro.

Mahmoud Foday Sesay, proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC]; [ix] Mrs Amy Elizabeth Green, proposed Member, Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC]; [x] Mr Maurice Panda-Noah, proposed Minister of Internal Affairs; and [xi] Mr Paul Saffa Tapema, proposed Deputy Executive Director, National Youth Service.

19 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Fourteenth Report and the Addendum reflect the unanimous view of the Committee.
I therefore move, that the Fourteenth Report and the Addendum of the Second Session of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service be adopted by the House and that the Recommendations contained therein be approved.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, any seconder?

HON.

BASHIRU SILIKIE: I so second, Mr Speaker.

[Question Proposed] HON.

BASHIRU SILIKIE: I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we have nominees presented to this Parliament by His Excellency the President for approval.

As the Committee responsible to interview presidential nominees, we have done due diligence to the process.

We have investigated their backgrounds and we are very sure that the recommendations we have made to this House are the true views of the Committee.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to remind the nominees before us that if approved by the House, they will be occupying enviable positions.

They are going to serve the President and the Republic of Sierra Leone.

We are expecting you to perform well in those offices.

Please make sure that you deliver for the President and this Parliament because the Committee on Appointments has done due diligence and that is why we are presenting you to this House for approval.
We expect you to perform exceptionally well.

I am sure for the past few weeks when your nomination was announced, you have been coming to this Parliament, but as soon as you are approved and eventually take the oath of office, you hardly answer to the call of Members of Parliament.

Sometimes you do not even want to see them and that is unacceptable, Mr Speaker.

This Parliament is going to conduct its oversight activity and it is not going to be business as usual [Applause].
We have a new leadership and we are going to make sure that we position Parliament where it is supposed to be in State governance.

If Parliament summons you, you are supposed to come.

We are going to conduct our oversights as spelt out in the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.

20 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to briefly talk about the Chairman and Leader of the SLPP, Dr Prince Alex Harding [Applause].
Dr Prince Alex Harding was the Secretary General of the SLPP when SLPP was in governance from 1996 to 2007.

He lost that position and the SLPP lost the elections.

As a very lucky man, he was elected Chairman and Leader of the SLPP and we won the 2018 general elections.

Dr Alex Prince Harding is a performer and a winner.

We believe that when he is approved, will perform and win again for His Excellency the President [Applause].

Please sir, make sure you do not disappoint the President and this House.
We are expecting you to perform as you have always done for the SLPP.

I thank you very much, Mr Speaker [Applause].

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member for his contribution.

I am sure ‘brevity is the soul of wit.’ HON.

EMELIA L. TONGI: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

I want to congratulate the President for remembering the women of this country.

We are asking for 30% and we are beginning to realise that percentage.

I have gone through their CVs and I know you will make us proud.
I am not going to say much about them, but I want to talk briefly about the proposed Minister, Mr Panda-Noah.

I want to inform you that we have work to do.

I was going through my mails when I discovered that a lot of people are travelling from one district to the district.

It seems as if we do not have laws in this country.

We do not implement the laws we have in this country.
There was no Coronavirus case in my constituency, Kailahun District, but as we speak, we have recorded two cases because people are not adhering to the laws of this country.

They are not actually taking this Coronavirus serious, but it is killing people.

Guinea has more Coronavirus cases than Sierra Leone, but Sierra Leone has recorded more deaths than Guinea.

As we speak, Guinea has recorded 11 deaths while Sierra Leone has recorded 21 deaths.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, you would agree with me that this is a very serious issue.

It is disappointing to see our security forces, who are expected to protect us are selling our lives for Le20, 000 to Le25, 000.

We have to stop this and focus on the development of this country.

I wrote to the Vice President, asking him to help and he 21 assisted.

I want to remind the proposed Minister that he has a very big job to do.

Once again I want to congratulate the proposed Minister.
I thank you very much.

HON.

DICKSON M. ROGERS: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, I am going to be very brief.

If you look at the nominees in front of us this morning, you will find out that His Excellency the President is trying to achieve the 30% quota of women’s representation.

I want to congratulate all the women before us this morning.

I can say without hesitation that women are performers.
You would agree with me that almost 95% of the women appointed by the President have done well in their various endeavours.

We have not heard lots of complaints about them and this means they are performers.

I want to call on the Government to bring more women into the governance system [Applause].

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I start with Dr Prince Alex Harding, commonly called ‘the Bullet.’ There is no doubt that he is a fine gentleman.
There is no doubt in the minds of the APC and the SLPP that he is ‘a hard nut to crack.’ When it comes to the SLPP, we know he is a winner and a performer.

I am sure our colleagues on the other side know that he is ‘a bullet’ who always paves the way to wherever he wants to go.

I am sure when you get to that office, you are going to serve Sierra Leoneans.

I want to remind you that everybody is your brother and sister regardless of the colour and we expect you to treat everybody as Sierra Leoneans.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, twenty-two years ago, everybody in this country, including me, thought that it was impossible to get people off the streets, particularly Lumley.

Today, you can move from here to Juba in less than ten or fifteen minutes.

That miracle was performed by the proposed Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Panda-Noah [Applause].

People used to spend over an hour to go to Cline Town, but as we speak, you spend less than fifteen minutes to go there.
Mr Panda-Noah is the architect and we must be grateful to him.

He has always been on the streets to ensure that the streets are cleared.

When there was no curfew, he used to be on the streets as early as 6:00 a.m. to clear the traffic.

Today, he will be going to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and I am sure he will do more than what he has done before.

Mr Speaker, let me repeat what 22 I told him yesterday.
I said as Minister of Internal Affairs, he would be responsible for our security; and therefore, he should be accessible at all time.

You cannot give your private line to the public, but you should have a business line where citizens can contact you easily.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Member, I recall very well that you came up to the dais to advise me about brevity.

HON.

DICKSON M. ROGERS: I want to admonish Mr Panda Noah to ensure that you are accessible.
We want you to instil some discipline into the Police Force.

I thank you very much.

HON.

JOSEPHINE MAKIEU: Thank you, Mr Speaker for giving me the Floor.

Again, I would like to extend my profound gratitude to the President for giving us these fine nominees.

Some of us are always happy with the people he nominates to this House for approval.

The President is always in line with what we are asking for and today, he has given us more than what we are asking for.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I would like to start with the Chairman and Leader of the SLPP, Dr Alex Prince Harding.

I am a Member of Parliament because it is his making [Applause].

He made me who I am and I am very grateful to him.

In 1992, I was nowhere, but he brought me up and taught me everything about politics.

Today, I am proud of him and the President did not make any mistake to bring him on board.

Whenever he is disturbed, I am also disturbed and I always feel very unhappy.
He is a very important figure in the lives of the SLPP and even the APC.

I think the SLPP can do it, but without him, we cannot do it as we want it to be done.

Therefore, his appointment is of utmost importance.

I want to congratulate you in advance and I am sure you will continue to perform for the betterment of this country.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I go to the proposed Minister of Internal Affairs.

I want to admonish him to always open his doors for us.
We would want to be around him and we want him to recognise the presence of Members of Parliament because we are always with the people.

We are the representatives of the people and we are always 23 with them.

This means that whatever we tell you is happening in our constituencies.

For example, I got a message from my constituents yesterday, especially from my chiefdom that the people are not adhering to the rules and regulations of the Government.
I told them that if they continue to flout the rules, I will not support them.

I said we have to support the government and support the law enforcement agencies in terms of adhering to the rules as announced by the Government.

I want to congratulate the women for their nominations and I hope they will perform as expected.

I thank you [Applause].

HON.

ABDUL M. LANSANA: Thank you, Mr Speaker for giving me this opportunity.
As always stated, Sierra Leone has never been a gap or a desert when it comes to individual personalities and that is what the President has done for us.

He has nominated wonderful people that would be taking up these positions.

Some of them have delivered before on their own and that has made them to be known today.
As Chinua Achebe said in his book, ‘Things Fall Apart,’ that “those whose palm kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit, should not forget to be humble.” I am sure these individuals have cracked their own palm kernel.

You would agree with me that Mr Sheku Mattia is a wonderful man and he is my ‘komane.’ I do believe his appointment by the President is not a mistake at all.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I go to somebody who is my mentor.

He mentored me very well, Mr Speaker.


I met him some years back in the Baoma Chiefdom, where I was a Scout or a Senior Patrol Leader.

His vision and zeal made me who I am today and that is no less a person but a man commonly called ‘Bullet.’ He is a man of the people and he always believes and trusts in himself.

You would agree with me that anytime he leads a fight, he is always successful [Applause].
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the proposed Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Panda- Noah is my constituents.

The place he comes from is part of my Constituency and he has been a person who delivers and his words and actions are always result-oriented.

For those who will take over him, I believe that if the project he has started continues, we will not need to ask the people off the streets, but doing things that will take them off the streets and that will be a good result.
I want to state here that the position you 24 are going to takeover is one with a focus and zeal, and we believe your actions as Minister of Internal Affairs will bring our country once again in peace and harmony that we always seek.

I want to ask this Honourable House to speedily approve these nominees.

I thank you very much [Applause].

HON.

P. C. F. H. BINTU KOROMA MEAMA KAJUA IV: I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

I just want to thank the Committee for doing a very good job for these nominees.
I hope they will work in the best interest of the President and the country as a whole.

You are expected to help the President to achieve his dreams.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to ask the proposed Minister of Internal Affairs to work closely with the Minister of Local Government by sending very strong and reliable police officers to our chiefdoms.

This is because many people may want to run to these chiefdoms and hide.
We have the byelaws we have put in place, but we need enforcement and support from the police.

This is why we have to work closely with the Ministry of Local Government.

The byelaws should be adhered to if we want the Coronavirus pandemic to go away from our chiefdoms.

I thank you very much, Mr Speaker [Applause].

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Paramount Chief for her contribution.

HON.

DR KANDEH K. YUMKELLA: I thank you, Mr Speaker for giving me this opportunity.
I want to start by wishing the nominees well in their new endeavours.

We hope the man called ‘Bullet’ has a ‘silver bullet’ for solving all the corporate problems in the Parastatals.

To the proposed Minister of Internal Affairs, I missed your interview yesterday because I had left already, before you appeared before the Committee, but I want to remind you that we need you badly at this time because of the unfolding events in the country.

We need your wise judgement.


Honourable Dickson M. Rogers said that many of us had access to your predecessor in terms of phone calls to alert him when things are happening in our neighbourhoods or constituencies.

We hope you will maintain the same relationship with us.

We are the representatives of the people and our constituents are always in touch with us.

I am sure we may want to relay quick information to you and that could help a lot.
It is not an easy job, but this nation needs 25 a lot of wisdom, calm and cool reflection to help our security services function well.

I thank you.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member for his contribution.

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: Mr Speaker, I prefer to remain silent.

THE SPEAKER: In that case, I call on the Leader of Government Business.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Thank you very much for your kind sentiments expressed on behalf of the presidential nominees.
We know they will perform to the best of their knowledge.

They will do their bit in terms of governance and we believe they have a national duty to perform.

We have praised them enough and it is now left with them to perform.

We know that the proposed Minister of Internal Affairs will perform because he has proved to be a performer.

Of course, we do not need to talk much about the man commonly called ‘Bullet.

He is also the political hydromantic or the political philosopher [Applause].
He is of course the political messiah, the political prophet, the king-maker and the winner.

We thank you very much and we hope and pray for God’s continuous blessings.

Mr Speaker, with these kind of sentiments expressed on behalf of these nominees by Honourable Members, I hereby recommend them for approval.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Members for their contributions.
[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Motion of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service has been approved] THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, I thank all those who have been fortunate to catch my eye on this very important item on the Order Paper.

It is now my pleasant duty to add my own voice of felicitations to the nominees.

As I earlier pointed out, the nominees are eminently qualified for the positions they have been appointed.
I want to congratulate Dr Alex Prince Harding for his appointment to serve in his new capacity.

I would also like to admonish Mr Panda-Noah to carefully discharge the duties of Minister of Internal Affairs.

I am sure his entry into that Ministry in the full knowledge of the grave difficulties that awaits him.

Frankly, I do not envy him at all and I would like to implore him to employ every measure that will ensure the safety of the people of this 26 country.
I would humbly ask His Excellency the President to ensure that Mr Panda-Noah subscribes to the oath of office without delay, so that he assumes full responsibility of that Ministry.

His presence there is urgently required and I am sure he will make a world of difference.

I want to congratulate all the nominees once again and I am sure they will go with the proud belief that this House has expressed very kind sentiments and the reasons that prompted the President to nominate you will be addressed.
I am certain that all of you are well suited for the respective roles you are going to play in the Executive.

We wish you well and may God bless and keep you safe.

IV.
IV.

GOVERNMENT MOTION THE MINISTER OF FINANCE MRS PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY [Deputy Minister of Finance]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that this Honourable House ratify the following Agreements which were laid on the Table of this Honourable House on Thursday, 14th May, 2020: Amendment to the Financing Agreement, Agriculture Value Chain Development Project between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Grant No: 2000002586 HON.
AARON A. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, Point of Order.

I rise on S.Os.

26[2].

We have a very important matter and S.Os.

26[2] is very clear on matters that affect privileges of Members of Parliament.

I therefore ask that we discuss that matter before we proceed with any other matter, Mr Speaker [Applause].

Therefore, I move that no other matter is discussed until we discuss an issue relating to the immunities of one of our colleague Honourable Member who is currently in detention.
THE SPEAKER: Honourable Aaron, A. Koroma, you have just moved a Motion and before I call for a seconder to your Motion, I want to bring to your attention and remind all of us about the discussion we had in Committee Room 1 before we came to this Well.

I am cognisant of the importance of the Privilege Motion that you have raised and I am also aware of the facts and circumstances concerning the Member of Parliament in question.
In fact, even before you moved your Motion, you would have noticed that I 27 was on the telephone trying to reach certain individuals and I have already conveyed a message which I hope would be relayed to the right authority about the feelings around this House and this is the feeling right across the aisles.

It is not only attributed to any particular side of the House, but the entire House.
I want to assure you as I did in Committee Room 1 that I am prepared to lead that particular move to resolve the issue to which you have made reference to.

I do not know if that explanation is satisfactory.

I want to promise again that immediately we adjourn the House I will do the needful.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, I do not want any side of the House to personalise this issue.
We have started the discussion since Honourable Lahai Marah was invited to the Criminal Investigation Department [CID].

The entire leadership of this House has been trying to resolve this issue.

All of us are working together.

In fact, we have agreed in Committee Room 1 to do the needful.

I do not play games with people’s emotions.

Today, Honourable Lahai Marah has been invited and tomorrow could be me.

Some years ago, Honourable Foday Rado Yokie was in the same situation as Honourable Lahai Marah.
When we were in Committee Room 1, I said ‘he who feels it knows it.’ This is a matter that concerns the entire Parliament and it has nothing to do with politics.

I do not play with such issues at all.

I am a very sincere human being.

I want to assure that immediately we adjourn the House, I we will go to President.

The Speaker has also assured us to believe in ourselves or to trust ourselves as far as this issue is concerned.
We do not know what would happen after the investigation, but we will go and plead with the President.

We have discussed this in Committee Room 1.

I do not want that Motion to be carried at all, Mr Speaker.

Please trust the leadership of this House.

We have come a very long way and we are in this together.

This issue is not an APC thing, but an issue of Parliament.

I rest my case, Mr Speaker.


THE SPEAKER: I deliberately refused to state your Motion because I wanted you to remember what we discussed in the Committee Room 1.

HON.

AARON A. KOROMA: I am fully aware of our discussions, Mr Speaker.

I did not doubt the level of sincerity and commitment of the Leader of Government Business or the Speaker of this House.

I know that by the powers vested in you by the Constitution 28 of Sierra Leone, you are the head of Parliament, which is a whole Arm of Government.
You were correct when you said that this is not the first issue we have had in this Parliament and it was dealt with as a Parliament.

We have had issues that were very serious than this one and Parliament dealt with them.

The issue was discussed on our parliamentary forum, which is by extension is an extension of Parliament.

We are not going to be political because the sincerity of our leader and the leaders on the other side has been impeccable and we appreciate them.
I want to continue to plead with them that today is Honourable Lahai Marah and tomorrow could be any Member of Parliament.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, during the last Parliament, from 2012 to 2018, the current Clerk of Parliament, Honourable Umar Paran Tarawally, who is seated here had an issue which was very much serious, but we dealt with that issue as a Parliament.

On that note, to whom much is given, much is expected.
Mr Speaker, let Parliament be Parliament and it is by no mistake that the Constitution made provision for a Committee on Ethics and Privileges, so that issues that have to do with disciplinary measures of Members of Parliament are dealt with by Parliament [Applause].

If the Executive are dealing with their own issues as an Executive Arm, I am sure we can equally deal with our own issues as a Parliament.

Mr Speaker, I have no doubt in you because you have the capacity to make things happen.
I am sure you and your able leaders will put this issue to rest.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, this is a very serious matter and we should not treat it with levity.

I appeal to all of you.

HON.

AARON A. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, we have three or four more years to go which means there are many more issues to be brought to this Parliament and we believe we are part of Government as Opposition.
We are not in any way trying to obstruct the Government, but we believe the tensions that are mounting up amongst our citizens should not be the same among us.

This is because we hold the peace and security of this country and I know you are cognisance of that fact.

Mr Speaker, based on the 29 confidence that I reposed on the leadership of this House, I therefore withdraw the Motion whilst I look forward to the settlement of this matter.
THE SPEAKER: I cannot thank the Honourable Member enough for his magnanimity and I extend the same consideration to the leadership and Members of the party to my left.

I thank you sincerely and let me assure this House that I will lead a delegation comprising of the membership of the various political parties at the conclusion of this particular sitting and we shall endeavour to achieve the result that we all anticipate.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: I thank you very much Honourable Member.
We want to speed up this ratification with your leave.

We will give the Minister three minutes; and on our side, we want the Chairman of the Finance Committee to wrap up that debate.

I do not know if that is the consent of the House because we pay more commitment to this particular issue at hand.

I thank you.

MRS PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY [Deputy Minister of Finance]: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that this Honourable House ratify the following Agreements which were laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 14th May, 2020: [i] Amendment to the Financing Agreement, [Agriculture Value Chain Development Project [AVDP] between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Grant Number 2000002586 and Loan Number 200002587, Dated 27th November, 2019; [ii] Loan Agreement [Revamping of Aquatic Environment in the Greater Freetown Project] Area between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Dated 17th November, 2019; [iii] Project Agreement [Revamping of Aquatic Environment in the Greater Freetown Project] Area between Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Guma Valley Water Company, Dated 17th November, 2019; 30 [iv] Dollar Credit Line Financing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Export-Import Bank of India Dated, 13th October, 2019; and [v] Framework Agreement for Protection of Investment between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Dated 17th November, 2019.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I have the honour to inform this Honourable House that on the 27th November, 2019, I signed the additional Financing Agreement of $28.5mln, which is 73% loan and 27% grant.

Additional financing grant was $11.8mln, dated 1st March, 2019 for the implementation of the Agriculture Value Chain Development Project.

The purpose of the additional financing grant and loan is to increase income for small holder farmers for the promotion of agriculture as a business in Sierra Leone.
This specific project has the following components: 1.

Climate Resilience and Smart Agriculture Production.

Under this component, there are two sub-components as listed below: [a] support rice production in the country; and [b] support tree crop production and this component involves working with 9,000 farmers, 5,000 cacao and 4,000 oil palm producers to increase their productivity.

2.
2.

The second component under this project relates to agriculture market development and this component also has two sub-components as mentioned below: [a] improves market access; and [b] Focuses on road infrastructure.

3.

The third and final component is Project Coordination and Management.
Mr Speaker, this specific Project will benefit 45,000 beneficiaries mostly smallholder farmers, including cooperatives partnering with financial institutions, small-scale rural entrepreneurs women, typically between 18 and 35 years old.

It is expected that this Project will reduce unemployment and expand financial services to the rural areas.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the total additional financing is $28.5mln, in which 73% loan and 27% grant.
This project has a 1.4% on service charge payable semi- 31 annually in the Leone currency in US Dollars.

This loan has a maturity period of forty years, including a grace period of ten years, starting from the date of approval of the loan.

Mr Speaker, giving the importance of this Project, I move that this Honourable House ratify this additional financing Agreements as listed above.

I thank you for your attention.

[Suspension of SOs.
[Suspension of SOs.

5[2] being 12:00 noon] MRS PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we still have the second item, which is the Protocol Agreement between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Dated 17th November, 2019.
Therefore, be it resolved that this Honourable House ratify the Protocol Agreement for the Revamping of Aquatic Environment in the Greater Freetown Project Area between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Guma Valley Water Company, Dated 17th November, 2019 which was laid on the Table of this Honourable House few minutes ago.

This Project has a few components.


The first component is Water Infrastructure; the second component is Infrastructure; and the third component focuses on capacity development.

This is a $16mln Loan Agreement.

I therefore move for its ratification.

I thank you for your attention.

THE SPEAKER: Madam Minister, I hope you are done with all the Agreements.

MRS PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY: Yes, Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Please go through as a way of reminding us the amount for first Agreement.
MRS PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY: I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

The amount for the first Agreement is $28.5mln and the amount for the second Agreement is $16.1mln.

THE SPEAKER: Okay, please proceed to the third Agreement.

MRS PATRICIA N. LAVERLEY: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the third Agreement was signed by me on the 13th October, 2019 on behalf of the Government of 32 Sierra Leone and the Exim Bank during the visit of the India Vice President to Sierra Leone.
This Project is intended to finance and implement hydraulics and water management, and irrigation system, including the provision of tractors in the Tormabom and Gbondapi areas.

The Project comprises the following components:  Land and Agricultural Development which include the irrigation system and infrastructural development.

It would include construction of feeder roads in the Tormabom and Gbondapi areas.
 increase rice production, processing, storage, marketing and strengthening capacity building in the geographical area, where the project would be implemented.

In terms of the financing structures of the Agreement, it has 0.5% commitment charge that would be levied annually and it will begin to accrue after a period of hundred and twenty [120] days after the signing of the Loan Agreement.
It has a 1.05% interest charge and the loan has a maturity rate of twenty [25] years after the grace period of five [5] years.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, giving the importance of this Project to the overall Economy and the contribution to the rice sector, I move that this Honourable House ratify the Loan Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Indian Export/Import Bank for $30mln for the implementation of this Project in the Tormabom and Gbondapi Area.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the final Agreement is the Framework Agreement for the Protection of Investments between the Republic of Sierra Leone and Badea, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.

This Framework Agreement between the entities was signed on the 17th November, 2019.

This Agreement is as a result of the request made by the Government of Sierra Leone to Badea for the financing of private sector investment activities.
This Agreement will foster confidence from Badea in relation to investments undertaken by the financiers in the country.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Agreement indicates that the Badea assets, principal amount, interest, commitment fees, property operation, security issues, transactions undertaken by Arab nationals, financing Badea in connection to investments 33 throughout the country shall be exempted from withholding tax or any other form of taxation on any other payment or transaction undertaken in the country.
Mr Speaker, giving the importance of this Project, I move that this Honourable House ratify the Framework Agreement between the Republic of Sierra Leone and Badea.

That concludes the four different Agreements, Mr Speaker.

Therefore, Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that this Honourable House ratify the Agreements mentioned above which were laid on the Table of this House on Thursday, 14th May, 2020.

I thank you very much.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Minister for her presentation.
[Question Proposed] HON.

FRANCIS A. KAISAMBA: I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy Minister of Finance for signing these very important Agreements.

I am sure from her presentations to this House, I want to believe and Honourable Members would agree with me that these are very viable Agreements geared towards addressing serious challenges in the various sectors.
For example, in Agriculture, you would agree with me that we have been in it for quite a while now.

You would also agree with me that there are lots of challenges in the field of Agriculture.

For instance, rice production has always been a challenge in this country.

Therefore, ‘Additional Financing Agreement’ is meant to revamp the Agricultural Sector, so that rice production is increased.
We have stated that for us to be able to feed ourselves with our staple food, which is rice, we have to be able to produce the required amount of rice, so that we can be able to feed ourselves.

So, if we have an Agreement that is geared towards increasing rice production, I think as the people’s representative, we should ratify it speedily.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, there are other benefits from this Agreement.
For example, the Minister said that 45,000 people would benefit from this particular Agreement and it will increase crop production like coffee, cacao, oil palm and rice.

You 34 would agree with me that the market space would be broadened.

These are some of the provisions we will get from this Agreement.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the loan Agreement on Water is geared towards creating more infrastructure or supporting the Guma Valley Water Company.
We must agree that even in Freetown, water supply is still a challenge, despite the amount of resources we have spent on Guma Valley Water Company or SALWACO in the provinces.

So, if we have an Agreement signed by the Minister of Finance that will be geared towards addressing those challenges, it will alleviate the problems of our people.

As the people’s representatives, if we support this particular Agreement, I am sure we will benefit.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the other Agreement talks about Private Sector Investment.

This is because the central Government cannot employ everybody, but if we have a buoyant and viable Private Sector that will take care of other needs, I think that particular Economy will gear towards development.
If we have an Agreement that is geared towards Private Sector activities, signed by the Minister of Finance and brought to the people’s representatives for ratification, I am sure as a reasonable House full of Members of Parliament that are very nationalistic, we will not have any problems with these Agreements.

We will allow the various institutions to ensure that implementation of all of these reach to the actual beneficiaries.
These are the issues and in Parliament, we want to see the implementation of these Agreements because these are loans and some are partly grants.

I am certain that if successive governments that will be paying these loans will want to see how these Loans and grants benefitted the people.

You would however agree with me that the terms of payment and the percentages are reasonable because the Ministry of Finance took into consideration all these issues.
We want to see the intended beneficiaries benefit from these Agreements.

We are all Sierra Leoneans and everybody is entitled to benefit.

I want to encourage Members of Parliament to ratify these Agreements speedily.

Thank you so much [Applause].

HON.

CHERNOR R. M. BAH: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I endorse these Agreements.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, I endorse these Agreements.

35 THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Members.


[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Government Motion by the Minister of Finance has been ratified] THE SPEAKER: Is the Minister of Water Resources still around?

I just want it to be on the records and this should be brought to his attention because increasingly we are beginning to see developments that seem to go against the Constitution of Sierra Leone.

The fact that those Instruments were laid today does not make them law.
I want that to be understood.

Under Section 170, Sub-section 7, they mature into law only after twenty-one [21] days and that has to be complied with because we observe that as soon as MDAs lay Instruments here, they begin the implementation of those Instruments immediately.

They are not yet law because they have to mature into law after twenty- one [21] days provided no Motion is moved by this House, calling for annulment.

I want that to be clearly understood.

I thank you.

V. ANNOUNCEMENTS HON.


UMAR PARAN TARAWALLY [Clerk of Parliament]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I have three announcements to make and they are outlined below:  The first one is to remind Honourable Members that the State Opening of Parliament is still scheduled for the 28th May, 2020.

Since the COVID 19 is still around, we are contemplating on conducting the proceedings on that day via virtual.

The processes and procedures will be explained to Honourable Members in due course.
 The second announcement is to inform Honourable Members that tomorrow will be Friday and next week Monday are days slated for Malaria sensitisation.

It does not mean that because we are battling with the COVID 19 we should forget about other dreadful diseases like Malaria.

This is going to be Malaria sensitisation for Members of Parliament and the venue is in Committee Room 1 at 10:00 a.m. We have decided to invite half of the Honourable Members on Friday and the other half on Monday.
Therefore, Members of Parliament are advised to call the Chairman of the Committee on Health, Honourable Moses Jorkie or the Clerk of that Committee, Mohamed 36 Ngevao to express their interest.

Please do that before the end of today.

The session will be well coordinated.

 The final announcement is to invite all Honourable Members in my office immediately this sitting is adjourned.

The Leadership will be going to State House, but all other Honourable Members are invited to see me in my office.
I thank you very much.

ADJOURNMENT [The House rose at 12.30 p.m., and was adjourned Sine Die] 37