The Minister of Works and Public Assets, Hon Peter Bayugu Conteh made a familiarization visit to the Headquarters of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority in Kissy, Freetown.

He was accompanied by a high powered delegation from the ministry that included, the Deputy Minister of Works and Public Assets, Hon Philip Tetema Tondoneh, the Senior Permanent Secretary, Prince Cole, the Professional Head of the Ministry, Ing Paul Bockarie and the Public Relations Officer. The Minister and entourage were received at the SLRA office by the Board of Directors and senior management staff.

The purpose of the meeting was to acquaint himself with the current status of the Authority, its challenges and the way forward within the framework of the New Direction for the attainment of a sustainable road network throughout the country. It is the first official visit of the Minister since his appointment as Minister of Works and Public Assets by the His Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio in May this Year.

During the visit, the Minister and entourage held a closed door meeting with the Board of Directors and senior Management staff of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority as a prelude to a scheduled meeting with the general staff at SLRA Lorry Park. He also visited the offices of the Mechanical Service Unit and Western Region at Kissy Dock Yard in Freetown to inspect the existing facilities.

In his opening remarks at the general staff meeting, the Director General of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority, Ing Amara H J Kanneh, outlined the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the Authority. SLRA he noted is strong in its human resource capacity but is severely constrained in its ability to retain its staff due to poor working conditions and therefore appealed to the government, through the Minister, to address these challenges. SLRA he pointed out, is also facing threats in the execution of its core function as other institutions, such as NACSA, the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Sufficiency are now making roads with little or no involvement of the Authority.

In his presentation, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Sierra Leone Roads Authority, Joseph Samba Keifala, reiterated the need for the government to review the consultancy practice on civil works. He noted that SLRA has a lot of qualified and experienced engineers that are capable enough to provide adequate supervision for civil works in the country. The Board, he maintained, would like to see SLRA engineers taking over the supervision of civil works in all roads projects in the country especially government funded projects. This, he noted, will save funds that are used in paying consultancy firms for the supervision of roads projects in the country.

In his contribution, the Deputy Minister of Works and Public Asset, Hon Philip Tetema Tondoneh, pointed out that the decision of the President, Julius Maada Bio to appoint a new minister, in the person of Hon Peter Bayugu Conteh, is a manifestation of the importance the government attaches to the Sierra Leone Roads Authority. He said that the Minister has a wealth of experience which will be very useful in the transformation of the institution. He therefore appealed to the Board, management and staff of SLRA to fully cooperate with the Minister for the attainment of this objective.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Works and Public Assets, Hon Peter Bayugu Conteh expressed his commitment to providing policy directives to the Sierra Leone Roads Authority as encapsulated in the Vision of the President Infrastructure initiative under the New Direction. He described the Sierra Leone Roads Authority as the nerve center of the development of the country as the roads infrastructure forms the corner stone of the socio-economic development of any nation.

He therefore underscored the urgent need to restore the lost glories of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority. To attain this objective, he noted, requires a high level of discipline and he therefore called on workers to be regular and punctual for duties. He maintained that his administration will not entertain any form of indiscipline. The minister also emphasized on the need for team work and strict adherence to the established chain of command. He also promised to ensure that SLRA operates fully without any undue interference within its mandate.

In their contributions, members of staff expressed delight in meeting with the minister and entourage and reechoed the submissions of the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Director General of SLRA. They are however confident that within the New Direction their welfare and other challenges facing the Authority will be addressed.