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Sierra Leone just took a big step toward landing its first international undersea fiber optic cable.

By Bai-Bai Sesay

On July 20, Sierra Leone’s Parliament ratified two fiber optic agreements that will allow the country to move forward on landing the first international submarine fiber cable in Freetown.

Sierra Leone is among a handful of countries in the region not connected to the global network of broadband optical fiber infrastructure. Civil unrest and fragility prevented the country from participating fully in SAT-3, the only existing submarine cable system serving West Africa. Connectivity between Sierra Leone and the outside world relies exclusively on expensive satellite, with limited availability of high-capacity bandwidth. This, coupled with a lack of national backbone infrastructure, has created a difficult environment for expanding the availability of internet services and advanced applications.

Joining ACE and Hiring SALCAB

The first agreement ratified by Parliament would make Sierra Leone a member of the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) telecommunications consortium. ACE is a consortium financing a submarine communications cable system which consists of 23 telecommunications operators, including Sierra Leone Cable (SALCAB). A map of the ACE cable system is to the right.

The second agreement is a construction and maintenance agreement with SALCAB, the company the government wants to hire to implement the ACE submarine cable construction.

The ACE submarine cable system will stretch from France to South Africa, connecting all participating countries along the West Coast of Africa either directly for coastal countries, or indirectly through terrestrial links for landlocked countries like Mali and Niger. The consortium will configure approximately 17,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, install a branching unit for SALCAB and construct a landing station along the coast of Freetown.

The Parliament’s action clears the way for SALCAB to receive a loan of US$30 million from the World Bank to assist in financing the ACE construction project. Landing an undersea cable in Freetown will provide Sierra Leone with faster internet and lower-cost telephone service.

Opposition Party Objects to Agreements

As would be expected, the two main political parties’ representatives were split in their reaction to the Fiber Optic Agreements.

Members of Parliament from the main opposition party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party, raised several concerns about the agreements, including their size and complexity and the lack of time allowed for reviewing them.

Hon. Elizabeth Lavalie of the SLPP pressed the point that SALCAB -- the company the government of Sierra Leone is entering the agreements with -- should demonstrate their capacity to handle a project of this size, “because if they prove unable to implement their part of the project, it is the country that will be at a loss.”

Another SLPP member cited the possibility that party favoritism would influence the hiring for the project. “My other worry is the management structure; let it be fair and devoid of partisanship when it comes to recruitment of workers, “said Hon. Eric Jumu.

Majority Leader Hon. Sheku Bashiru Badara Dumbuya, of the ruling All People’s Congress party, said other countries have already ratified their own agreements on fiber optic, and Sierra Leone is only catching up.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Communications, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, sought to reassure members of Parliament. He said Sierra Leone stands to benefit considerably from fiber optic connectivity. “And let me say that the satellite system is not going to be given up, so that we can have something to fall back on if the fiber optics fails,” he said.

The information minister said companies like Sierratel, Zain, Comium, Africell and others can benefit and buy shares in SALCAB.

“Once we start raising money it can be ploughed back into the system. And we are sure to raise enough money to pay back our loan,” said Minister Kargbo.

Bai-Bai Sesay is an independent journalist from Sierra Leone, who has written for the Independent Observer Press, the Legacy Magazine, Panos and Africa News Online.

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