" [1]Freetown, Sierra Leone, 16 February 2012- The New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), in a bid to maintain fishing sanity in Africa, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Fisheries and Martine Resources, through its special budget program, “West Africa Pilot Project (WAPP)”.
The MOU, according to Dr. Kabia, was signed in October 2011. The Minister said the support is in the form of a grant, to the total value of US$1.4 Million, for a period of four years spanning from September 2011 to September 2014.
Minister Kabia further revealed that, his ministry has already received the first phase of the grant, which is US$210,000. According to him, the arrival of the grant signifies the beginning of NEPAD’s support to the West Africa pilot program. He complimented ongoing activities in the West Africa Regional Fisheries Program (WARFP), whilst hoping that NEPAD’s support programme, will address key activities that will lead to the designing of a five year strategic action plan for the Fisheries Ministry in Sierra Leone.
The Minister also disclosed that, a Fisheries Sector Strategy Paper (FSSP) in 2007, considered opportunities for the promotion of successful fisheries development in Sierra Leone, adding that, FSSP also reported the current value of fisheries in Sierra Leone, to be very limited.
However, he went on, preliminary estimate, gave a potential value of the fish resources, to the sum of US$735Million.
In addition, Minister Kabia furthered, the FSSP also shed light on the economic impact of the fisheries sector in Sierra Leone. He said it indicated that, currently, the fisheries sector provides direct and indirect employment for over one hundred thousand people and that it has helped to strengthen the livelihood of about five hundred people in Sierra Leone.
The minister used the forum to extend appreciation to the two partners, whilst reaffirms his ministry’s commitment to ensuring that the fisheries sector contribute significantly to the sustainable development of the country.
Source: Awareness Times Newspaper
