Ministry of Trade Holds Two Days Training for 30 Northern Region Trade Monitors

BY: Ibrahim Kanu

The Ministry of Trade and Industry in collboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, on Monday commenced two days training for trade monitors from across the Northern Province of Sierra Leone on cross-border trading best practices at the Bombali District Council Hall at Magbema on the Makeni – Freetown highway.

The training attracted 30 trade monitors working for the Ministry of Trade and Industry from all the districts in the Northern province including; Bombali, Tonkolili, Port-Loko, Kambia, Koinadugu, Karena and Falaba district for revamping the trading sector after being greatly affected by the Ebola virus disease. Madam Mary Hawa Turay, a Lecturer at the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) who has vast knowledge in trade and Entrepreneurship was among the expereinced facilitators of the training, which offered a number of trade guidelines to the thirty (30) trainees who will serve as eventual trainers of locals among others doing business in their respective district

Speaking on the importance of the training, Mr Abdul Kamara, the export promotion and regional integration officer from the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that the purpose of the training is to train monitors who will serve as leading facilitators for the local communities. He went further to say that the project, Post Ebola Recovery Social Mobilization is funded by the African Development Bank (ADB) with the sole aim of engaging and guiding the people on how to go about their business activities especially women whose business activities were badly hit by the pandemic.

Additionally, the Ministry’s Export Promotion and Regional Integration Officer reassured the government of Sierra Leone's commitments to improve trade in Sierra Leone especially in rural areas that were mostly hit by the Ebola pandemic outbreak in the country eight years ago.