Standard Times (Freetown)
19 May 2004
The European Commission (EC) will dispatch a mission to Freetown in May this year to embark on a programme to improve the quality of local fish products and make them fit for export to EU member countries.
Thus was one of the points that came out during a meeting last Friday between a Sierra Leonean delegation headed by president Kabbah and officials of the EU at the Commission's headquarter in Brussels.
Outlining what he referred to as the 'Still outstanding issues that are critical to Sierra Leone's reconstruction programme', president Kabbah welcomed the EU's inclusion of Sierra Leone in a sub regional project expected to manage and monitor fish stocks in the sub-region.
He looked forward to reaching a fishing agreement with the European Commission, and expressed concern about the widespread illegal fishing by foreign vessels in the country's territorial water, depriving Sierra Leoneans of an essential item in their diet and of national income.
He said that the proper management of maritime resources was very crucial to the realisation of his declared national food security goal by 2007.
President Kabbah was actually deeply concerned about the need to properly address 'critical areas of EU assistance to Sierra Leone,' including the country's post-conflict budgetary support; financial support to the Sierra Rutile Mines; rehabilitation of the Masiaka-Bo Road, re-grading of the Songo-Moyamba Junction road as well as maintenance of trunk roads.
Already, EC support to the National Population Census and the re-opening of the Rutile Mines have been approved for funding in addition to previous EC funding approvals for the Freetown-Conakry Highway, the Health Sector Support Programme and the Linking Relief Rehabilitation and Development Project.
Nonetheless, president Kabbah indicated that delays in releasing funds under the Post Conflict Budgetary Support Programme had caused problems in the economy and urged the Commission to expedite their auditing process so that government would have access.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 Standard Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
