Sierra Leone And Liberia Hand Over Sites To The Ecowas Commission For The Detailed Engineering Design & Construction Of A Joint Border Post At The Jendema-Bo Waterside Border

Sierra Leone And Liberia Hand Over Sites To The Ecowas Commission For The Detailed Engineering Design & Construction Of A Joint Border Post At The Jendema-Bo Waterside Border To Facilitate Cross-Border Trade And The Free Movement Of Persons And Goods Along The Corridor

JENDEMA Border, 12^th May 2023 – The Governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia officially handed over two sites on both sides of the Jendema-Bo Waterside border to the ECOWAS Commission, for the design of a modern Joint Border Post to facilitate cross border trade along the corridor. The two countries in the company of ECOWAS and the design Consultants undertook inspections, reviewed site benchmarks, and kicked-off the detailed engineering design studies by a Consulting Services firm, marking the beginning of the construction of a Joint Border Post (JBP) at the Jendema-Bo Waterside.

The event was attended by very high-level officials representing both countries. Sierra Leone was represented by the Honorable Minister of Planning & Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kai-Kai, while Liberia was represented by the Honorable Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Augustus J. Flomo, Comfort Sawyer, Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Minister for Operations- MPW, Clarence Wilson, Assistant Minister for Technical Service- MPW, Aaron Vincent, Assistant Superintendent for Development, Hon. Cletus Noah, Chief of Office Staff at the Office of the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, along with the Heads of the ECOWAS National Offices from both countries. The meeting and site visits were attended by various government officials, including engineers, architects, land surveyors, customs officers, immigration officials, national security personnel, and other border agencies.

The ECOWAS Commission’s Resident Representative in Liberia, H.E. Josephine Nkrumah, led the mission, accompanied by Mr. Chris Appiah, Director of Transport, Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalization, ECOWAS Commission, and Mr. Ashoke Maliki, Principal Program Officer for Roads, and Railways.

In his welcome address, PC Mustapha J Massaquio III of Soro Gbema Chiefdom welcomed the respective delegations to the meeting at Jendema town. He expressed his profound gratitude and appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission, the Government of Liberia and particularly His Excellency, President Rtd. Dr. Julius Maada Bio for his continuous support to ensure that JBP project is successful. PC Massaquio III also extended a warmly thanks to the Zombo Land Owning Family for providing the 20.0278 acres of Land for the project. He admonished all present to embrace the development and further reiterated his assurance of guaranteed security and cordial working relationship with the ECOWAS engineers and contractors hired for the work.

Amb. Josephine Nkrumah conveyed warm fraternal greetings from the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, and acknowledged the historic milestone in deepening regional integration achieved by both countries. She commended the governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone for their commitment to the ECOWAS vision and their continued cooperation with the ECOWAS Commission. She also recognized the communities and community elders who have made sacrifices for the greater good, emphasizing their shared vision with their respective countries and ECOWAS in contributing to accelerated economic growth.

Amb. Nkrumah highlighted the opportunities for job creation and the establishment of micro and small businesses that the Joint Border Post would bring, given that a sizable portion of urban residents in West Africa live and work within 100 km of a national border. She expressed confidence that engaging border communities rigorously would facilitate the design, construction, and operationalization of the Joint Border Posts.

Mr. Augustus J. Flomo, the Honorable Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in Liberia, expressed immense pleasure and conveyed felicitations from the government and people of Liberia. He thanked the ECOWAS Commission for this commendable initiative, which promotes collaboration between officials from both countries in managing border control, customs procedures, and facilitating the movement of goods, services, and people across the border. He hailed the commitment of President George Oppong Weah to the development of communities along the corridor as well as the JBP project and has directed the efficient support for the process and mentioned that Liberia has fulfilled all the necessary procedures to ensure the availability of land for the project.

Dr. Francis Kai-Kai, on behalf of His Excellency, The President, Rtd. Dr. Julius Maada Bio, and the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone, took the opportunity to extend special greetings, profound thanks, and appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission, the Republic of Liberia, and the people of Jendema and Sorogbema Chiefdom as a whole for their dedication to ensuring the construction of the Joint Border Post between the two sister countries.

He briefly reiterated the background of the project, particularly on the Sierra Leone side, and highlighted President Bio’s exceptional leadership and commitment in accelerating the vision of the ECOWAS Commission. President Bio has translated words into actions, fulfilling all requirements for the commencement of the construction of the JBP. The Minister emphasized the significance of the project by explicitly elucidating that the construction of the Joint Border Post and the newly constructed Bandajuma-Liberia highway will enable the border town of Jendema to become a commercial hub. He intimated that President Bio was well determined to bring the much-needed development to the people of Jendema and Pujehun District as a whole in line with his ‘Talk and Do’ vision of development and economic integration across the countries.

Dr. Kai-Kai gladly assured the ECOWAS Commission that the Government of Sierra Leone had already paid compensation packages to the land-owning family, as requested by ECOWAS, and that all necessary documentation has been completed. The 20 acres of land have officially been transferred to the government for the JBP project. He ended by stating that “As the government and the Ministry in charge of ECOWAS Affairs in the Republic of Sierra Leone, we are delighted about this project and always ready to fully cooperate with both ECOWAS and the Republic of Liberia for its success. In this regard, the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone is pleased to grant the ECOWAS Commission unlimited access to the demarcated site,” says Dr. Kai-Kai.

The Ag. Director of Transport, Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalization, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Chris Appiah expressed his contentment for Government Ministers, senior officers, and Traditional Leaders from both countries for their untiring support to the JBP project. Mr. Appiah stated that the tripartite meeting was convened for both Governments to hand over the lands to ECOWAS Commission for the kick start of conducting Detailed Engineering Design Studies of the Jendema – Bo Waterside Joint Border Post. Like other speakers, Mr. Appiah highlighted the huge economic benefit the project will bring for both countries, and therefore requested everyone to embrace the project. He requested both Governments to ensure that the ECOWAS Commission is given unhindered access to both sites that will be handed over for the JBP project. The Director statement was made through a PowerPoint presentation of the project outlook. This was followed by official hand over of sites to the ECOWAS Resident Representative to Liberia, Ambassador Josephine Nkrumah on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission.

The ECOWAS Commission conducted a physical inspection and identification of benchmarks on the demarcated lands provided by both countries. The consulting services team will present a detailed engineering design to the ECOWAS Commission within six months.