Ghana/Sierra Leone calls for Inter- ECOWAS Ministerial Cooperation

Accra, March 10, GNA - Ghana and Sierra Leone on Wednesday called for the deepening of Inter-ECOWAS Ministerial Co-operation to accelerate the political, economic, infrastructure and social development of the Sub-Region.

Alhaji Mustapha Idris, Ghana's Minister for Works and Housing, and Dr C. Boima, Sierra Leone Minister for Works, Housing and Technical Maintenance urged other Ministers of State in West Africa to develop mechanisms to dialogue and exchange ministerial notes.

Alhaji Idris said; "such inter-ministerial mechanisms would enhance the consolidation of development within the Sub-Region; offer Ministers the opportunity to avoid the mistakes of their colleagues and accelerate the attainment of ECOWAS aspirations".

He said the harnessing of both material and human resources for the mutual benefit and development of West Africa was very crucial for catapulting the economies of member countries to economic prosperity.

The Ghanaian Minister was interacting with his Sierra Leonean counterpart when paid a working visit to Accra with a seven-member delegation that also included, the Minister of Lands, Country Planning and Environment, Minister of Labour and Social Security, a Legal Expert with the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) and other technocrats.

Alhaji Idris also tasked ECOWAS Technocrats to implement the noble ideas and policies of Governments by removing the political colours that sometimes served as the basis for the formulation of such policies.

Explaining the objectives of the visit, Dr Boima said the Government of Sierra Leone through the three Ministries was seeking to identify areas of similarity in road infrastructure, housing schemes, and to work together for the benefit of the two countries.

Dr Boima said, "peace is in our country and we are doing all to maintain it. Recovering from the war has been difficult but we are now craving for development," adding, "we are hopeful to learn from you as to how best we can address our shelter problem after the war".

Giving statistics of the devastating effect of the war, the Sierra Leonean Housing Minister said over 350,000 housing units were burnt or destroyed beyond habitation, 80 per cent of rural houses were either burnt or destroyed, 45 per cent of urban houses destroyed and five per cent of houses in the Capital Freetown were also affected.

Dr Boima expressed concern about the Donor Communities inability or lack of interest in investing in the housing industry, which he said was hindering the effort at reconstruction after a decade of civil war. He said the Sierra Leonean Government had created an enabling environment with the passage of an Investment Code that recognises joint venture partnership in estate development.

He said the creation of NASSIT has also opened up an avenue for shelter provision and stressed that the visit would afford its officials the opportunity to interact with their counterparts at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSINT) to find out the relationship between government and the Trust.

He said the road networks in Sierra Leone also needed massive investment, as the volume of traffic was still fall below the pre-war levels of 56,000 cars.

Dr Boima said Sierra Leone would depend on Ghana for technical experts and other logistical support to accelerate the development of their country.