The Minister of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED), Madam Kanyah Barlay, and the Ambassador of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Sierra Leone, Mr. John Azuma, officially handed over the site for the construction of a market in Wai Village, Sorogbema Chiefdom, Pujehun District, to the contractors, Sierra Brothers Construction Services (SL) Limited, on Monday, 17th November 2025.
The Wai market is strategically located between Sulima and the border with Liberia, aiming to facilitate trade and cross-border economic integration between West African countries. In her statement, Madam Barlay revealed that the agriculture sector aligns with the government’s five big game changers, including feeding Sierra Leone, the engine of growth, human capital development, and the wealth of any nation. She appealed to parents to send their children to school and highlighted other priorities in the five big game changers, such as access to healthcare, youth employment schemes, and infrastructural development.
The ECOWAS Ambassador, Mr. Azuma, extended fraternal greetings from Dr. Omar Alie Turay, President of the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, and emphasized that ECOWAS prioritizes economic cooperation and people’s development. He noted that the market project is a product of collaboration between various stakeholders and affirmed ECOWAS’s commitment to supporting Sierra Leone.
The project contractor, Mr. Ibrahim Kowa, guaranteed that the project would be completed within four months and that the market would open up opportunities for good road networks, benefiting women traders and farmers. The Paramount Chief of Sorogbema Chiefdom, Mustapha Massaquoi, expressed gratitude for the market’s location in their community and appealed for more development projects in the chiefdom.
The event was marked by cultural performances, presentation of traditional country cloths to the ECOWAS Ambassador and the MoPED Minister, and a vote of thanks by Musu Kabia, who stated that the project would benefit more women.
