Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 February 2021:
President Dr Julius Maada Bio has today concluded his two-day working visit to Conakry, Guinea where he and his Guinean counterpart signed an agreement to re-open the land border that has been closed since early last year.
The communique states that: “Based on mutual reassurances and enhanced mutual confidence, the President of the Republic of Guinea Professor Alpha Conde has reviewed the security situation in his country and has agreed to reopen its borders with the Republic of Sierra Leone, effective from Thursday 18 February 2021 at 8:00 hours GMT”.
“The two leaders also agreed to reactivate the Joint Technical Committee on Yenga, which shall commence sittings in Nongowa, on 3 March 2021. They also agreed to implement the agreement to Joint Border Patrols along the common border areas from 5 March 2021,” the document reads, adding that the two foreign ministers will immediately restart the holding of the Joint Commission of Cooperation meetings between the two countries.
The communique also contains a raft of bilateral agreements to cooperate with each other on security, defence, public health, ICT, mining, justice, transport, private investments, and cultural exchanges.
The Heads of State further pledged to use their good offices to provide the necessary capacity to address the current and emerging public health emergency, such as COVID-19 and Ebola in the two countries.
“The two Heads of State expressed their satisfaction with the strategies by the two countries in the COVID-19 pandemic and reaffirmed their determination to coordinate their efforts in obtaining vaccines for their respective populations,” says the communique.
At the sub regional level, President Bio and President Conde welcomed the latest decision for the return of Mali to constitutional order, in accordance with the provisions of ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, and reiterated their continental commitment to always defend the African interest.
“They also welcomed the decision of the African Union Heads of State and Government for launching the first operational stage of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement…and commended the implementation of the 2063 agenda and other reforms initiated at the African Union,” the communique adds.
President Bio, whose government delegation also included deputy leader of the main opposition All People’s Congress in Parliament, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo and former APC Minister of Public Affairs, Information and later Mines, Alhaji Alpha Sahid Bakar Kanu, will return to Freetown today, Tuesday 16 February 2021.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then we can see these two Presidents are not the best of buddies. Alpha Conde is slumped in his chair, like Bio is holding him hostage in his office. He would rather be anywhere else but trapped in his office with a former soldier. The way Bio is resting his hands, his body language suggests, he was not comfortable either. He would rather be somewhere else. I hope the memorandum of understanding that they reached will out last both their ptesidency. Let no one fool you, Alpha Conde, was spoiling for a fight, over what he claimed, without evidence of election interference. Our VP Juldeh Jalloh, was in his cross hairs. So far he has not provided a shred of evidence on the matter.
The Guinean economy has tanked, with no clear set policies in place to bail him out. Bio, is having simlar economic meltdown, exacerbated with widespread corruption. If there is one thing they both share in common, it is the level of unchecked corruption in both countries. The issues here is nothing to do with Yenga. Both governments promised they will tackled corruption, for which the voting public trusted them with their vote. Unfortunately, here we are, in both countries the standard of living has nose dived dramatically. In both countries, events have turned for the worst.
Covid19 has not help either. So you have two leaders that have made it their childhood dream to lead their nations as presidents. Either they lack the conviction or are incompetent, that they cannot bring themselves and accept the realities facing them that, they are not born to rule. Or why pick a fight with a country like ours, that shares almost the same ethnic make up. We are traditionally closer to Guinea than Liberia. But when things are not going well in your country, and your people are demanding change, why not try and divert their attention, by summoning their nationalists feelings, and start a fight with your next door neighbour. My only advice to Bio, this time the agreement should be guaranteed by ECOWAS.
Thank God it has reached this level. One thing I want my audience to note is the content of the bilateral agreement between the two countries that made this discourse very important. I want to believe that several bilateral agreements have been made between these two countries before now, but how many of these agreements actually touched on issues like mining, ICT, Security, Defense, Transport, Private investment among others. Yenga border issue is solved if all the areas mentioned in this new bilateral agreement is put into force.
Kudos to Mr. Kai- Samba and Mr. Gassama of the SLPP. I read those articles on this newspaper months ago
May the Almighty continue to cement the peaceful existence between these two countries.
Open the borders between Guinea and Sierra Leone on the 18th of February when another infectious, deadly disease is showing up in Guinea? I should expect that border to stay closed, to keep the outbreak where it is. You can in this modern times perfectly work together without being close to each other.
I know that president Bio reads my comments on social media. When the Guinean leader closed his country’s border, president Bio initially responded by appealing on ECOWAS to intervene. I wrote suggesting that president Bio himself should instead take with him a high powered cross party delegation to sit down with the Guinean leader and iron out the misunderstanding. I am pleased to know that this is what has happened.
Brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone; Liberia and Guinea; why not unite these three proud nations as one state? Believe me this state will be one of the superpowers in Africa after South Africa and Nigeria. Lovely people, hard working class and proud nations.