By Sulaiman Jalloh

The Minister of Communications, Technology and Innovation, Madam Salima Monorma Bah has, during the recent government’s weekly press briefing held at the conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, disclosed that government is in consultation with private companies in order to privatise the country’s telecommunication entity, Sierratel.

Speaking as a guest at the government’s weekly press briefing, the minister further disclosed that now that Africell, Orange and Qcell are operating in the country it is but prudent to privatize Sierratel to enable them compete with the private sector. She noted that the government is working to put measures in place in making sure that Sierratel continues to sustain itself until the privatization comes to reality. “In order to attract investors, you need to know what is on the table because it is good to know the asset, infrastructure and liability of Sierratel,” Minister Bah asserted.

It could be recalled that for the past five years Sierratel has been facing challenges to pay salaries of workers and continue with their operations due to lack of resources. The minister therefore noted that her ministry is working closely with management to improve the welfare of workers, operational cost while assuring that government is work with the National Commission for Privatization (NCP) to go through the privatization process.

In another development, Madam Salima Monorma Bah also informed journalists that investors have shown interest in establishing a digital payment system with Google, a monetization process that will help government achieve the Five hundred thousand jobs creation.