Salone, Liberia Revamp Vital Trade Link

Mano River Bridge

By Tanu Jalloh
Concord Times

[Freetown, Sierra Leone, June 7, 2007] -- The government of Sierra Leone yesterday released a statement announcing the official re-opening of the Mano River Bridge which takes place Today at Jendema, the bridge that serves as a channel for establishing economic activity between the two countries, in the Pujehun District.

The Mano River Union (MRU) was created in 1973 to establish closer economic cooperation in the Mano River Union Basin by bringing together heads of state of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The objective, according to the release, was to exploit the full potentials of this grouping; the development of basic infrastructure already identified and the construction of the Mano River Union Bridge to become the Union's first project.

"Although the bridge was completed in 1976, plans to establish a Freetown/Monrovia highway to connect the two countries were delayed because of the outbreak of hostilities in the sub-region," it stated.

That notwithstanding, the government believes the re-opening of the Mano River Union Bridge will signify the existence of peace in the sub-region, thus facilitating the movement of goods, vehicles and people between member states and strengthening the relationship between member states to secure a fair distribution of the benefits of this economic cooperation.

The ceremony is expected to be graced by senior officials of the government of Sierra Leone, the Mano River Union Secretariat, the Office of National Security, the Sierra Leone Police, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, and the British International Military Advisory Training Team (IMATT).

Also in attendance will be representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) both of which have supported the project.