Boat to link Freetown, Dakar

Senegal’s new Minister of Fisheries and Maritime, Haydar EL Ali has assured that a Senegalese commercial boat will start plying the waters between Dakar and Freetown before the end of the year, according to the information attaché, Ralph Ese’DonnuSawyerr, He said this to Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Senegal, KhadijatuBassirin a meeting at his office in Dakar. Ali said that he had deeply studied the handing-over notes of his predecessor on the issue and given it a pass mark. He said he would seek the approval of President Macky Sall. The minister explained that in addition to one of their newly-acquired three boats, one of which will be assigned to the coastal route linking Dakarto Cassamance, Banjul, Conakry and Freetown, the other two would be used for oil and passenger travel. “I am also in the middle of a discussion with a private owner of a 3,000 tons transport boat to consider plying the same route. Air transportation costs are high and as a result our capital low business peoples cannot afford it. Therefore this is a wise venture that must commence now” he noted. Ambassador Bassir expressed confidence in Senegal’s capacity to engage Sierra Leone in serious trading as that would “further cement the bilateral ties and exchanges of cultures and family affairs between our different countries and even beyond”. She said the realisation of such a transport venture would strengthen ties between the two countries and boost African integration. She noted that the region’s businesspeople had to go through difficulty on land, especially on the Freetown- Conakry–Dakar route considering the poor state of the roads. She said the early start of boat transportation between the two countries would be greatly advantageous to their peoples, adding that the French-speaking country had an improved economy that her country could benefit from. This, she said, included trade in cement, paint, textile and building materials. (C) Politico 24/10/13