Sierra Leone Gets $19m From OFID
By Olusegun A. Ogundeji – To boost water supply and proper sanitation in Sierra Leone, the country has signed a US$19 million loan agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) in Vienna, Austria.
Ambassador Stevens flanked by Mr. Kondeh, Head of Chancery and Mr. Breitenthaler, Honorary Consul General in Austria
According to the Sierra Leone Embassy in Berlin, the money will be used to implement water and sanitation projects in the three provincial headquarter towns of Bo, Kenema, and Makeni.
Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Germany, HE Jongopie S. Stevens, who also doubles as Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to all UN Agencies including international organisations in Austria, thanked OFID for ‘the timely intervention to improve the lives of people in Sierra Leone.’
He said the loan agreement will complement the US$61 million grant agreement that had been earlier signed between Sierra Leone and the African Development Bank (ADB), to implement similar projects in the country.
Signing on behalf of OFID, the Director of the African Region, Department of Public Sector Operations, Mr. Fuad Albassam, said his organization was pleased to offer the loan in order to reduce poverty through the provision of safe drinking water and good sanitation for the underprivileged in the country.
