Parliament Summons MOS and NSA
The Parliamentary Committee on Sports summoned the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Authority on Tuesday, 23rd June 2026, at the Administrative Building, Tower Hill, Freetown.
The purpose of the summon was for the NSA to provide a status update to the Committee on the ongoing National Stadium rehabilitation project being undertaken by Chinese contractors.
In her opening statement, Hon. Racheal Pessima congratulated the NSA Executive Director, Mohamed Alphaka Conteh, Esq., on his appointment. She welcomed the delegation and assured them that the Committee’s aim was to receive a status report on the project and to identify areas where the Committee could intervene where necessary.
Hon. Pessima commended the Ministry and the NSA for what she described as renewed synergy and collaboration between both institutions. “The Committee has observed, through the media, that the Ministry of Sports and the NSA are working closely together. I urge this sector to sustain this momentum with the objective of developing sports in the country,” she said.
Director of Sports at the Ministry Haroun Mustapha Korgie commended the Committee’s leadership for consistently bringing the Ministry of Sports and the NSA together, especially on issues of national importance.
Dr. Abdulai Rahman Swaray, Deputy Executive Director of the National Sports Authority, gave a detailed status update to the Committee. He said the project, which was launched in February 2022, has exceeded its implementation timeline, attributing the delays to a lacuna in the project agreement document.
“We have been disadvantaged by the delay in the project. We missed out on hosting matches in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers because of the stadium rehabilitation. For the first time in our nation’s history, we accumulated up to 15 points in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers,” he said.
Mohamed Alphaka Conteh, Esq., Executive Director of the NSA, told the Committee that the completion of the rehabilitation project requires two things: political will and practical action. “What we need for the stadium completion at this moment is decisive political action,” he said.
Conteh used the opportunity to formally present himself to Parliament and apologised for the past misunderstandings between the Ministry and the NSA. “Under my leadership, decorum will be maintained within the sector. The mandate I have is to restore professionalism and unity in the sector,” he said.
The Executive Director called on the Sports Committee of Parliament to intervene in the rehabilitation project, and suggested three practical solutions for the completion of the stadium rehabilitation including;
Identifying private partnership involvement, presentation of supplementary budget to government and a political willingness
Alie Sesay, Director of Corporate Operations, presented a detailed brief to the Committee on the current status of the rehabilitation.