The National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) will today Friday 8th November, 2019 wrap up their 2019 end of year Board and Senior Management Retreat holding at Dorwaila Hotel in Kenema; Eastern Sierra Leone.

The 2019 retreat was geared towards discussing successes and challenges, and plan of activities for 2020.

Making a statement in opening session, Board Chairman Alhaji M. Fuad Sheriff urged the senior management and staff to work harmoniously to in enhancing improved service delivery to the public.

He lauded the management team and staff members for the successes they have achieved together under the New Direction.

The Board Chairman spoke on time maximization for accessing licenses and other services from the commission and appealed to management to cut down on the time of issuing license to customers to ensure members of the public trust the process and have confidence in the activities of the commission.

The Director General of NATCOM Maxwell Hinga Massaquoi stated that since he took over office on 27th August 2018, the commission had embarked on massive transformation drive that has not been seen in past years.

“NATCOM has been paying a colossal amount of 550 million Leones every year for the supply of water to the commission’s office in Freetown, under my watch we have been able to get bore hole that will supply adequate water to the commission with only 141 Million Leones; saving government a huge amount of money every year. We inherited a huge debt to our international partners like the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU). We made commitment to pay and we are proud to say we have paid these debts which have increased our standards in the international scene. For the very first time in the history of NATCOM, Sierra Leone was given the podium on the international stage because of the work we are doing.”

“The hosting of the CTO Conference in Freetown few months ago is a testament of the work we are doing at the commission and how our standards is rising in the international scene. The legal department in the commission with all due respect has been relegated to only reviews of contracts instead of fighting litigation all the time. 2019 is the year of fulfilment of promises in the commission, we promised parliament and the people of Sierra Leone that we will present four regulations before the year ends. We are happy to also inform this gathering that we will be presenting six regulations to parliament and we are working on the seventh regulation on interconnectivity before the year ends if God wills,” DG said.

DG Massaquoi furthered that his management inherited five regional offices which have been increased to eight across the country for effective and efficient delivery of core services to everyone and every region across the country.

He added that in 2020 the commission will acquire a Regulatory Information Management System (RIMS) to enable the distribution of information across board and they will work with schools and universities to improve internet connectivity.

"I promise to take internet connectivity to Yele, Kailahun and other remote places across the country. Internet penetration in Sierra Leone presently stands at 13.5% which was higher than Liberia few years ago, Liberia now has over 75% penetration of internet connectivity; if they can do it, we can also achieve that," he averred.

He further registered commitments that NATCOM will have more women in strategic offices in the not-too-distant future and ensure to improve the welfare of staff to the highest possible level.

Director of Regulatory Affairs, Sahr Sewoh said NATCOM has completed the review of the draft Communications Act, and Cybercrime and Cyber Security Bill, Policy and Strategy. “Five Telecommunications Regulations have been developed and forwarded to stakeholders for comments, suggestions and recommendations – licensing, type approval, spectrum management, subscriber registration and quality of service (QoS) - uploaded on the commission’s website (www.natcom.gov.sl).”

He further catalogued that 4G licenses have been issued to all operators and increase in licensing of ISPs, TVs, FM and ship stations. Increased VHF, HF and Type Approval authorization.

He noted that nationwide compliance checks on all service providers leading to increase in revenue, SIM/UIM card registration is in advanced stage across the country by all operators.

Highlights of the retreat included the delivery of activity presentations by all the directorates of the Commission, followed by plenaries to accommodate comments, suggestions, clarifications, questions and answers.