By Hassan Alimamy Kamara
Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, due to the gains made in the electricity sector, has assured Sierra Leoneans that by June 2023, the country will realize fifty percent (50%) of the electricity supply when the new substations may have been completed.
He added that negotiations and arrangements have been put in place to ensure that this is achieved within the stipulated time frame. Explaining further he said when they took governance in 2018, the electricity supply in the country was below 20%, but said that has been improved to over 34% which is indeed laudable.
With this commitment made, the vice president assured that the effective generation, distribution, and transmission of electricity supply will be ensured as with effective electricity supply comes development.
His Excellency Juldeh Jalloh made this proclamation when making a statement at the Ministry of Information and Communications annual media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) retreat at the Kenema City Council Hall in Kenema, on Friday 25th November 2022. He added that it is a move to extend electricity to other provincial areas in Sierra Leone.
As this annual retreat is a way of the government to showcase to the public what it has achieved and planning to achieve in the future, especially policies surrounding the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP). Stating further, the vice president said 22% of the annual budget has been dedicated to the Free Quality Education (FQE) which is the government’s flagship program, he said Sierra Leone is one of the few countries in the world to make such commitment. This he claimed 2.6 million kids across the country are beneficiaries of the facility.
To ensure for food self-sufficiency, he mentioned that 24% of local food production has been achieved. He continued that however the strides made so far, they have been challenged by the global pandemic of the Covid -19 which he said has left so many businesses to a standstill; also coupled with the Ukraine- Russian war, impacting the economy of many countries. On this, he ended by calling Sierra Leoneans to promote peace to ensure for democracy to thrive and thus development.
Making statement at the retreat, the president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, said the retreat is a laudable event which he said will promote accountability and democratic good governance, hence the platform to scrutinize the activities of government. This he said will help to inform the public about the activities of government. He added that the media is a tool for democratic good governance dispensation. With the media having such a tendency, he called for Journalists to be professional in executing their mandates.
Calling for professionalism, Mr Nasralla called for the encouragement of more women into the practice as he said the media is a free space for all, as long as the ethical consideration and professionalism are acclaimed. To ensure for an effective and vibrant media for holding government officials accountable, he expressed his dissatisfaction over the cost of printing materials and production cost. Away from the media, he expressed how Sierra Leoneans are challenged in trying to make ends meet for them in the country, taking into account the living conditions in the country; and therefore called on the government to act towards building that capacity to salvage such a worrisome situation in the country.
Coming from the CSOs angle, the director of the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR), Andrew Lavalie, mentioned that, “the government can’t do it alone.” On that note, he called for a shared and collective responsibility for the development of the country for they as CSOs, they are not in competition with the government, neither are they in bedfellows. He emphasized that they are not supporting the government, neither do they want to present themselves as opposing force, but said they stand for what is right. He intimated that all and sundry has a role to play to ensure that the good things happen. Mr Lavalie stressed that when they try to put government on its toes, they are branded as opposition; and when they promote government policies, they are also be viewed as sympathizers of the government. However, he said they stand for what they believe is right.
Stating about the relevance of the event, he said the theme for this year’s retreat is tactfully captured in ” consolidating democracy: our collective, shared and patriotic responsibility.”
