Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698083319296.pdf (Sierra Leone)
PARLIAMENT BUILDING OAU DRIVE, TOWER HILL FREETOWN E-mail: sierraleoneparliament@hotmail.com/admin@parliament.gov.sl 28th APRIL, 2022 PRESS RELEASE PARLIAMENT RATIFIES ZOODLABS AGREEMENT The Parliament of Sierra Leone has on Thursday 28/04/2022 debated and ratified the Zoodlabs agreement for the development of Sierra Leone.

The following agreement was ratified by Parliament: 1.
Contract between the Ministry of Information and Communications and Zoodlabs (SL) Ltd. for the Management of the Cable Landing Station.

Presenting the agreement to Parliament, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Solomon Jamiru Esq.
said the agreement is geared toward the operation and maintenance of the landing station of the fiber cable; adding that, the process of awarding the contract was in the competitive bidding process and it was a cabinet decision for the unbundling of SALCAB, in order to have an effective internet connectivity.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Information and Communications, Hon.

Boston Munda said the agreement has lot of opportunities for the people of Sierra Leone.
He said the liability that was incurred by SALCAB management has been paid by the management of Zoodlabs.

On his part Hon.

Latiff Sesay said he is one of the people who were in opposition to the dismantling of SALCAB, but after realizing the bad shape of latter, he concluded that, government had taken the right decision in awarding the contract to Zoodlabs.

He commended the management of Zoodlabs for improving internet connectivity in the country.

Hon.
Hon.

Joseph William-Lamin spoke on the standard performance of Zoodlabs and applauded their operational activities in the country.

Hon.PC Bai Kurr Kanagbaro Sanka III questioned the operation of Zoodlabs, prior to parliamentary approval of their agreement and went on to decried certain aspects of the agreement.

Hon.
Hon.

Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said the ideas of the agreement was to improve on the technology of the state and used the opportunity to give a historical background of the landing of the fiber optic cables in Sierra Leone.

He commended the Ministry of Information and Communications for providing an alternative that is geared towards the improvement of internet connectivity and noted that, the agreement is "non-controversial".

Hon.Dr.
Hon.Dr.

Mark Momoudu Kalokoh commended the Zoodlab's agreement and referred to the agreement as "a good one".

Rounding up the debate, the Leader of Opposition Hon.

Chernor R.M.

Bah said there are no perfect agreements, but reiterated that Zoodlabs agreement is a good one.

He encouraged the Minister of Information not to delay agreement of this nature in the future.
He said since there are clauses in the agreement that talk about reviewing; he requested the Deputy Minister to inform the House for any future challenges, in order to address them.

In concluding the debate, Leader of Government Business Hon.

Mathew Shar Nyuma commended the opposition Party and colleagues MPs for mounting pressure for the laying and approvals of the Zoodlabs agreement,in light of its procedures.
He accentuated the positive effects of the agreement on the socio-economic development of the state, whilst underscoring a proper oversight on Zoodlabs operations.

Parliamentary and Public Relations Department Parliament of Sierra Leone +23278495023/+23276625960/+23278426851/+23278697776