Ministry of Information and Civic Education's Press Conference
26th March 2024
The Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah informed the public about the arrest of Abu Bakarr Boxx Conteh for his alleged participation in the November 26th attempted Coup and likely involvement in the trade of the dangerous drug called Kush. Minister Bah made it clear that he is an innocent man until proven guilty just like others who are facing trial for the November 26th attempted Coup. He assured the public of fairness and the rule of law in addressing such matters.
Minister Chernor Bah also disclosed that next week Tuesday, the Ministry will invite CSOs, relevant ministries, religious leaders, Paramount Chiefs, etc, to a major Town Hall meeting on kush at the Bintumani Conference Center, for a conversation about the problem and to find solutions together. Additionally, Minister Chernor Bah called on citizens to bring forward evidence of individuals who are involved in the trade as the government is ready and willing to act.
The Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources Julius Mattai has said that they are working with the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General's Office on the Sierra Leone Mines and Mineral Development Cooperation Act which will allow the government to set up its entity instead of depending on royalties and license fees. This will enhance the government's ability to set up special-purpose vehicles, which allow companies to compete in the sector.
On the Sierra Rutile-SL matter, Minister Mattai disclosed that in 2021, Sierra Rutile-SL approached and informed the government that they are struggling operationally, adding that to keep jobs and protect the company, the government granted Sierra Rutile-SL a mining lease agreement out of goodwill. Minister Mattai revealed that the government reduced minimum turnover tax from 3.5% to 0.5%, royalties from 4% to 0.5%, customs duty from 6.5% to 0.5, fuel import duty from 12% to 1%, and Withholding tax, management fees and interest reduced to almost 0%.
Minister Mattai further revealed that in August 2021, Sierra Rutile-SL did not pay the 25% corporate income tax, adding that, in 2022, Sierra Rutile-SL made a profit of over $76 million and the following year made over $30 million in profit. As a result of this, the Government called on Sierra Rutile-SL to return to where they were in 2021 but Sierra Rutile-SL refused and threatened to suspend operations and make workers redundant.
The Director General of the Electricity and Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) Joe-Lahai Sormana said the current demand for light in Freetown far outweighs the current distribution capacity. He said in 2018 the peak utilization of power was 52MW for 194,000 customers, but the current demand, on the network is about 72MW due to an exponential increase in the customer base from 194,000 to 320,000. He added that over the past 6 years, access to electricity has increased from 16% to 36%.
DG Joe-Lahai said Freetown currently needs over 120MW but the network can only and safely send about 70 to 75MW. However, he revealed that work is currently ongoing to expand the network in the eastern and western parts of Freetown. He called on Citizens to exercise patience as the distribution of power will improve after completion.
DG bemoaned the act of electricity theft and vandalization of the EDSA installations and called on the public to support EDSA in reporting power theft.
DG Sormana commended the government for subsidizing EDSA as the Authority is buying from IPPs at 21 US cents and selling at 18 US cents to domestic users.
The Chairperson, of Western Area Rural District Youth Council Marie Bangura called for capacity training for youths especially in the ICT sector and Green Energy to create an impact in the energy and mining sectors.
Madam Bangura suggested to EDSA to use young people in the fight against power theft. She emphasized the need to engage youths in both sectors so they can contribute to nation-building and not be involved in drug abuse.
Comments
Post a Comment