Fondation Hirondelle

Parliament on Tuesday ratified a memorandum of understanding and agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and ADDAX and ORYX Holdings for the setting up of a Bio-energy project in the Bombali district.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, David Carew, who presented the document in parliament, said the project would among other things improve the country’s Gross Domestic Product and generate economic benefit for the people.

“It’s a very important project because it is going to employ about 4,000 people,” Mr. Carew said in the House on Tuesday.

He said the bio-energy project would also have an investment of about three to four hundred Euros. “It would also provide ethanol for export and power for the national grid,” he added.

Opposition MP, Bernadette Lahai welcomed the project. She said “as the world is looking for clean energy, Sierra Leone is still using fuel wood and fossil fuel.” But she questioned the sustainability of the project as far as the supply of land was concerned, especially when agriculture was being considered as a priority.

Honorable Moses Sesay of the All Peoples Congress said “Sierra Leone has joined other countries like Brazil that has benefited a lot from bio energy.” He said the government was keen in attracting investors in order to provide job opportunities for the youth.

Meanwhile, Honorable Victor Chukwuma Johnson of the APC has been re-elected to serve as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament for another term.