Statement by Hon. Alhaji B Kargbo, Minister of Information
A STATEMENT BY HONOURABLE ALHAJI BEN KARGBO, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION FOR SIERRA LEONE ON ACE PROCUREMENT GROUP MEETING ON THE 18TH OCTOBER 2010.
Salutation
Government has recently developed a National ICT policy which serves as an instrument for the enhancement of a knowledge-based information society. We are aware that communication through fiber optic cable supports sustainable socio-economic development of any country.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is worthy to note that the civil unrest which lasted for 11 years prevented the country from participating fully in SAT3, MAIN ONE, GLO ONE and other submarine cable infrastructure serving the Atlantic Coast of Africa. Connectivity between Sierra Leone and other countries relies exclusively on expensive satellite communication with limited bandwidth. It is against this background that Government formed Sierra Leone Cable Limited (SALCAB) to participate in ACE consortium to land the submarine fiber cable.
Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that on the 5th June 2010, SALCAB on behalf of Government signed ACE Submarine cable construction and maintenance agreement under the provision of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) making SALCAB a full member of the ACE consortium. Government is aware of the fact that ACE submarine cable system will span over 17,000 Km from France to South Africa and the ultimate capacity of wet segment provided under the supply contract is 1.92 Terabits per second but upgradeable to a maximum design capacity of 5.12Terabits per second.
We believe that landing the cable in Sierra Leone will make communication cheaper and affordable to all and will encourage private sector participation and promote competition in the management of the International Gateway and as well improve the Quality of Service (QoS).
Ladies and gentlemen, Government has put mechanisms in place to liberalize the international gateway and likewise divest some percent of shareholdings in SALCAB to the private sector. We believe that a liberalized gateway system will improve quality of service, healthy competition and affordable telecommunications services for not only people leaving in the urban areas but for the last mile.
It has become abundantly clear the world over that lack of access to low price, high capacity and quality of telecommunication services to some extent are factors that have impeded the production of goods and services and as well as the knowledge-base of peoples.
Additionally, bringing a quantum of bandwidth through optical fiber cable to the landing station in Freetown cannot provide effective and efficient usability of the services. Rather, plans are underway to install and commission fiber optic Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and terrestrial fiber backbone. This will introduce an array of opportunities for the effective utilization of the internet by both public and private sectors. It will also usher in opportunities for the far-flung areas of the country to access internet facilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are cognizant of the fact the ACE consortium has several committees responsible for various assignments. The ACE Procurement Group (PG) which is one of the committees is responsible for the implementation of supply contract with suppliers, examine, test and inspect equipment, materials, supplies and installation activities.
I have no doubt that the representatives of this Committee will stand the test of time and safely and smoothly accomplish the responsibilities assigned to them for the actualization of the fiber landing for all members of the four segments in ACE. Within this group, we are also honoured for the appointment of one of the SALCAB members as Vice Chairman of the Technical Working Group (TWG).
As you have accepted our invitation to host this PG meeting, I wish to welcome you to Sierra Leone, “the Lion Mountain”. I have the fervent belief that your five days deliberations will yield a fruitful dividend.
I thank you.
BACKGROUND
The Minister of Information and Communication, Hon. Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo on Monday 18th October, 2010 formally opened the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) Procurement Group (PG) meeting held in the Conference room of Hotel Bintumani.
You would recall that on 5th June, 2010 in Paris, France, the Minister of Information and Communication on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone signed the ACE Construction and Maintenance Agreement to land the submarine fibre optic cable in Sierra Leone by 2012. The Hosting of the Procurement Group meeting in Sierra Leone is an attestation to the Government of Sierra Leone’s commitment to make communication cheap and affordable to every citizen of this country.
The 25 member ACE Procurement Group comprises of representatives from USA, France, Portugal, Cote D’Ivoire, Sudan, The Gambia, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone happens to be the Vice Chair of the ACE Procurement Group.
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