Njala University will be expected to confer an honorary doctorate degree on one of the country’s most accomplished public servants, the Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, on Friday, September 15, 2023, at the Bo Campus.
The recognition of Mr Kanja Sesay is as a result of his long years of distinguished service to the country, especially at some of its most difficult times in history.
At a time when Sierra Leone was at a crossroads, caught in a vicious civil war that claimed the lives of thousands of its citizens, Alhaji Kanja Sesay was a ready partner willing to offer his services and deploy his skills in navigating the country’s way out of the conflict.
When the late President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was looking for a Sierra Leonean with the requisite knowledge and temperament to lead the transition from post-war recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation to social action, he didn’t look beyond Alhaji Kanja Sesay.
At the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), he set up systems and structures that successfully attracted funds that were used to provide social services for an immediate post-war country. He left an indelible mark in that institution which has stood the test of times.
When President Bio won the March 2018 presidential election, he immediately recruited Mr Kanja Sesay as the Minister of Energy, in full knowledge of the challenges and the task of providing energy in developing countries. It was a deliberate pick by President Julius Maada Bio, after carefully scanning the country for a man with the ability and capacity to do the heavy lifting in that critical sector. The results have been mind-blowing ever since.
When he took over office as the Energy Minister in June 2018, electricity generation was at a mere 258 megawatts nationwide. In five years, Mr Kanja Sesay improved generation to a whopping 850 megawatts.
He inherited electricity transmission lines of a mere 740 kilometers and took it to 2010 kilometers and still counting.
Renewable energy supply now stands at 80% from a meagre 35% in 2018, when he took office. Eight out of 17 rural towns now have energy supply, and per capita electricity generation has increased to 250 kilowatts from 50 kilowatts in 2018. Through effective supervision and dedication to service, 100 mini-grids have been made functional giving access to energy to 250,000 households in the country.
Alhaji Kanja Sesay used his diplomatic skills to successfully negotiate the commissioning of the TRANSCO CLSG project which has provided energy for Bo, Kenema, Kono and other parts of the country.
These and many more endeared the Court and Senate of Njala University to deem him fit for an honorary doctorate degree.
