Setting Up and Establishment of the Road Maintenance Fund Administration (RMFA)
Background
In most developing countries, investment in the road sector is often neglected due to insufficient funds. Budget allocations from government revenues in many countries often fall short of what is required to maintain basic road infrastructure and crucially keep the roads in good repair to serve the public. This ultimately leads to the deterioration of the road networks and the need for an independent corporate body charged specifically with financing road maintenance.
In Sierra Leone, the Road Fund (RF) was set up as a Special Account within the SLRA in 1989. It was later incorporated into the 1992 SLRA Act. The Account will derive its funding from Road User Charges levied on fuel and Vehicle Licensing Fees to finance road maintenance activities and cover the operational costs of the then Road Transport Authority (RTA); now transformed into the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA).
During this period SLRA was managing the RF Account and implementing the road maintenance programs financed by the RF. It became evident that this was not a contemporary best practice in financial management. With support and pressure from the World Bank; the Government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank in 2004 initiated a study to rationalise further the overall management of the road sector in Sierra Leone.
The study undertaken by Africon Ltd of South Africa and supported by Cemmats Group of Sierra Leone recommended the establishment of a separate independent institution for managing the RF. This arrangement will allow the SLRA to focus on its core function; planning & management of the road network with maintenance programmes outsourced to private contractors. Based on Africon’s recommendations, Parliament promulgated a Road Maintenance Fund Administration Act, which established the Road Maintenance Fund Administration (RMFA) on the 9th of April, 2010.
RMFA started operations in July of 2011 with its newly appointed CEO Mr. Abdul Kalokoh operating from an office within the Ministry of Finance – George Street. In December, the full-fledged operation of the RMFA began with the recruitment of key management staff. The office was later housed at the Maritime House, 3rd & 4th floors, Government Wharf in Freetown.
In 2012 IMC Worldwide an international development consultancy with a specialty in planning, design, and management of global infrastructure projects was contracted by the EU to support the new Administration in setting up the necessary structures and systems for an efficient operation. RMFA stayed under the auspices of CEO Kalokoh till the change of state governance from the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party to the Sierra Leone People Party (SLPP) through an electioneering process in 2018.
The SLPP administration in August of 2018 appointed a new CEO Alhaji Sheku M Kanneh to head RMFA. In March of 2020, the President appointed CEO, Mohamed Kallon who is a seasoned finance/accounting expert with over 20 years experience managing in the public and private sectors.