By Austine Luseni
Communications Specialist
Ministry of Energy
Contact:077377042/034157390
His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has officially commissioned a 1MW Solar Energy Generation Plant in Moyamba,southern SierraLeone,describing the occasion as an achievement that marks a significant milestone in the journey towards sustainable energy and economic transformation in the country.
Welcoming the President and other dignitaries to Moyamba,Paramount Chief of Kaiyamba chiefdom,PC Foday Momoh Gulama,said his people were happy for the facility which would bring an end to the over 40-year wait for electricity in the town. He praised President Bio for the implementation of many other economic and social programs in the district.
While commissioning the facility,His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio underscored the critical importance of energy as an enabler of national development.
“This project is, in many ways,a barometer of the strides we are making in the energy sector.
“The commissioning of the Moyamba solar plant is a shining example of the impact that energy access can have on livelihoods,” he said,noting further that the plant and other solar energy generation sources in the country will engender or induce growth and increase nationwide access to affordable and reliable energy.
President Bio said his government was using the Moyamba solar project as a pilot project,assuring that the initiative will be replicated in other district headquarter towns.
He said the facility will positively impact education,improve quality health-care delivery,and enhance commerce and entrepreneurship.
President Bio praised development partners like the World Bank,UNOPS,African Development Bank,AfDB,and the Japan International Cooperation Agency,JICA,for their support to the country’s energy aspirations and their collaboration with the Ministry of Energy.
“Let us not forget that this project is also an example of the power of partnerships.It has been made possible through collaboration between the government,private sector stakeholders and development partners who share our vision for a brighter and prosperous Sierra Leone,” he noted.
Energy Sector Lead,Dr. Kandeh Yumkella,said the occasion provided a unique opportunity for the country to count and sustain its energy gains.
He praised stakeholders from Moyamba,including paramount chiefs and members of parliament,for their collaboration with the Ministry and the contractors throughout the period of the implementation of the project.
Dr. Yumkella spoke about the Sigimi waterfalls hydropower potentials ,the 1MW solar project at Njala University and the Moyamba Township Electricity Project as some of the energy strides that the government had taken in Moyamba district.
World Bank Senior Energy Specialist,Paul Kagaba, congratulated the government on the milestone,noting that the project was an example of a strategic partnership that the Bank had forged with Sierra Leone.
He said the initiative was part of the Mission 300 project,praising the Government of Sierra Leone for putting together a transformational compact.
UNOPS’ Director for West Africa,Silvia Gallo, said she was happy to witness such a historic occasion,stressing that the ceremony represented a beacon of hope and a catalyst for genuine transformations in the energy sector.
She reiterated the commitment of UNOPS to partnering with the government and other partners in seeking a sustainable energy future for Sierra Leone.
With the energy sector and the Feed Salone agenda being inextricably linked,reforms continue in the sector.
