‘Shekito’ Woos Rwanda’s Support for ICT Growth in Nation

Concord Times (Freetown)

Abdul Karim Koroma

16 June 2011

Ethiopia — Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Information and Communications has received a rousing welcome in Kigali, Rwanda, where he is attending a conference on Telecommunications/ICT Regulation and Partnership in Africa. The conference, bringing representatives from virtually all countries in Africa with the theme “Cloud Computing, development prospects of ICTs: Challenges and opportunities for the policymakers, regulators and ICT operators”, started on 13 June at Lemigo Hotel and ended 15 June.

Deputy Minister Sheka Tarawalie’s presence was specially recognized by the Director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT- ITU), Mr. Brahima Sanou, who said he was impressed with the remarkable progress Sierra Leone was making not only in ICT but general development, and that the attendance of the deputy minister was a powerful message of commitment, prompting a round of applause from delegates.

In his remarks, Mr. Tarawalie said Sierra Leone has a lot to learn from other countries, especially from Rwanda, which has etched itself as a model of progress and development. “I am happy to be here; I am pleased to see the enormous strides being made in ICT by Rwanda. In Sierra Leone, we went through a terrible war that prevented us from benefiting from the earlier ICT developmental activities. So, we are still far behind, as we are yet to land the first fiber optic cable early next year. But we are ready to learn; we are here to learn, especially learning from Rwanda, because I actually have a Rwandan wife,” he said and drew another round of applause.

Tarawalie said President Ernest Bai Koroma’s desire for ICT development in Sierra Leone was exemplified in the fact that the president himself is the head of the ICT Council.

Earlier, the minister met and had discussions with Rwanda’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology in the Office of the President, Dr. Ignace Gatare, and discussed about how to take bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and Rwanda to a new level, including the provision of scholarships to Sierra Leoneans to study ICT in Rwandan universities and the possibilities of establishing diplomatic ties.

Tarawalie was accompanied by the Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, Gilbert Cooper.

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