The opposition Chief Whip in Parliament who doubles as Member of Parliament from Kambia District, Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara (AKK) has expressed thanks and appreciation to former President Ernest Bai Koroma for making the “Socfin” project a reality in Sierra Leone.
The MP made the disclosure on Thursday 14th December 2023 in the Well of Parliament, during the Ratification of Agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the SCOFIN Agricultural Company (SL) Limited.
“We need to put aside politics to move the development of the country forward” he said.
He noted that, the previous Government did the right thing in passing the “SOCFIN” Agreement, while calling on the currents MPs to support what President Koroma brought for the people of Sierra Leone.
He said the flagship program of the President is “Feed Salone” and assured the house of supporting the agreement.
“I have visited this company and they have invested hugely. And I acknowledged President Bio’s support on agriculture” he said.
Making her submission to the debate, the Deputy Chairperson of the Trade and Industry Committee in Parliament, Hon Alice Kumbeh from Bonthe District thanked the Trade Ministry for the agreement and went on to highlight the achievement of the company in terms of employment and oil production.
The MP said the Inter-relationship with SOCFIN and other industries such as Jolaks and Kissy Industries as off-takers of the products from other companies has had a great effect on the production of the company.
The Company she said is highly needed and oil palm and others are essential in the country’s day-to-day Affairs.
The Deputy Chief Whip of Government, Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh said, the Committee on Agriculture in Parliament should have been consulted during the agreement process and went on to call on the Leadership of Parliament to do the needful on their oversight functions.
The MP said the agreement is good and called for support for the ratification of the agreement.
He also emphasized that, the investment is good and noted that the narrative of the agreement has to be changed to actual its reality.
“We want to attract foreign direct investment” he said and noted that it would attract more investments in the country and requested MPs to speedily ratify the Agreement.
Making his statement, Deputy Leader of Opposition, Hon Aaron Aruna Koroma said the project is in the right trajectory for the development of agriculture.
He underscored that SOCFIN investment brought about a lot of agricultural opportunities in the country.
He said the company had contributed a lot of income into the GDP of the country.
He said many of these investments were signed by the previous Government and subsequently yields divided in terms of employment and development of the nation.
The MP used the opportunity to call on the Government to support Addax Bioenergy project for the benefit of the people of Sierra Leone.
Presenting the Agreement before ratification, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Ibrahim Alpha Sesay said that the company is a liability company registered by the laws of Sierra Leone and went on to highlight its operational activities in the country.
He said the company had employed many Sierra Leoneans and had also created a palm oil industry with a huge millions of dollars investment.
According to the Minister, the company operates in compliance with corporate social responsibility and went on to note that the company wanted to invest more in its agriculture productivity.