NaTCA Drives National Dialogue On Digital Inclusion
The National Communications Authority (NatCA) on Friday, 22nd May 2026, hosted its 7th Consumer Parliament at the Kenema City Council Hall, bringing together key stakeholders from government, telecommunications companies, Parliament, civil society organizations, regulators, and consumers to discuss critical issues affecting Sierra Leone’s telecommunications and ICT sector.
The high-level engagement served as an important platform for dialogue, accountability, and collaboration aimed at improving service quality, strengthening consumer protection, enhancing affordability, and accelerating digital inclusion across the country.
Delivering the keynote address, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation, Madam Salima M. Bah, highlighted significant strides made in the telecommunications sector over recent years. She disclosed that network coverage has now expanded to nearly 90 percent nationwide, while 4G coverage has surpassed 88 percent, alongside the gradual rollout of 5G services in Sierra Leone.
Despite these achievements, the Minister acknowledged that major challenges persist, particularly in the areas of quality of service, affordability, infrastructure resilience, and last-mile connectivity to hard-to-reach communities.
She noted that frequent network outages, fibre cuts, vandalism, and damage to telecommunications infrastructure continue to negatively impact service delivery nationwide. Madam Bah therefore called on communities to support efforts aimed at protecting critical telecom infrastructure from theft and destruction.
The Minister further admitted that although internet and fibre service costs have significantly reduced over the years, the affordability of mobile data remains a serious concern for many Sierra Leoneans. She assured consumers that government remains committed to implementing reforms designed to make telecommunications services more accessible and affordable.
Madam Bah also commended mobile network operators for their continuous investments in the sector, contributions to government revenue, job creation, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. However, she urged operators to intensify efforts toward improving customer care and overall user experience.
She additionally revealed that government is actively considering infrastructure-sharing reforms among telecom operators as a strategy to reduce duplication of towers, cut operational costs, improve efficiency, and ultimately enhance service delivery nationwide.
Speaking at the event, NatCA Director General, Amara Brewah, emphasized that the regulator’s primary responsibility is to maintain a fair and balanced relationship between government, service providers, and consumers.
He explained that telecommunications regulation goes beyond punishment, noting that NatCA relies on consultation, monitoring, engagement, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure accountability and fairness within the sector.
Mr. Brewah acknowledged growing public frustrations surrounding poor network quality, billing concerns, dropped calls, and service disruptions, but assured participants that NatCA follows established procedures for investigating complaints, engaging operators, and taking regulatory action when necessary.
The Director General also disclosed that NatCA has recently commissioned a new modern office complex equipped with advanced monitoring systems, which he said will significantly strengthen the institution’s capacity to monitor operators and improve service delivery across Sierra Leone.
In her remarks, Chairperson of the NatCA Board, Madiana Samba, stressed the importance of consumer participation in building a responsive and accountable telecommunications sector.
She noted that the Consumer Parliament provides citizens with a valuable opportunity to voice concerns, offer feedback, and directly engage service providers on issues affecting them.
Madiana Samba further highlighted NatCA’s role in promoting consumer protection, dispute resolution, fair competition, and quality service delivery, while emphasizing the growing importance of cyber security awareness, digital literacy, and expanding connectivity to underserved communities through the Universal Access Development Fund (UADF).
Throughout the discussions, speakers unanimously agreed that although Sierra Leone has recorded notable progress in its digital transformation journey, considerable work still remains in improving network reliability, affordability, accessibility, digital literacy, and consumer protection.
The 7th NatCA Consumer Parliament concluded with renewed commitments from government, regulators, Parliament, telecom operators, and other stakeholders to work collectively toward building a more inclusive, affordable, resilient, and consumer-centered telecommunications sector in Sierra Leone.