The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) under the Sierra Leone Community Driven Development Project (SLCDDP II) last Thursday 5th October, 2023 trained engineers of its prospective contractors for the construction of water irrigation and harvesting (dam system) for Bolilands conservation infrastructures held at the Commission’s conference room at Charlotte Street, Freetown.
The project seeks to identify the potential public irrigation infrastructure that can be developed for the benefit of farmers. The focus in this area will be on public infrastructure built on a watershed basis to be managed by water users and farmer groups.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training, NaCSA Deputy Commissioner, Jimmy Batilo Songa, congratulated the prospective winners of the bid for the construction of the dam system to aid agricultural productivity throughout the year.
The Deputy Commissioner however admonished the contractors to work in the interest of the citizens and actualize one of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio’s Five Big Changers - Feed Salone - through agriculture.
Mr. Songa disclosed that the SLCDDP II will come to an end on 18th April, 2024 and that the solar panel irrigated dam system construction is a sub project to enable crop cultivation right through the year.
SLCDDP II Project Manager, Momoh Juana, underscored the importance of the training of contractors’ engineers, pointing out that the project is highly technical and the engineers are required to ask all the pertinent questions relating to the dam system construction.
He said SLCDDP II is a project funded by Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for a five-year period and that the livelihood and economic infrastructure irrigation development is one of the components of the project.
Mr. Juana furthered that the project is very important for enhancing food security and developing the livelihood of the communities.
He told the contractors that there is exigency of time to complete the project on record time without failure as an option, adding that the first tranche of payment has been made to prospective contractors to commence work at once because the project is critical to the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) to reduce rice importation in the country.
