By Amadu Daramy & Mohamed Plato Koroma in Maryland, USA
In an effort to move from lethargy to fast-tracked development strides in the chiefdom, the Lower Bambara Diaspora Development Association (LoBDDA) has reached an agreement with the local authorities for a series of interface outreach initiatives moving forward in 2025.
Anthony Quee from London, who apparently is the vice chairman, and Edmund Quee Nyagua from the US, who is the public relations officer, made the trip to Panguma, Lower Bambara Chiefdom, Kenema District, to have the first face-to-face meeting. Included in the delegation were Gbonda Sei, retired Colonel Musa Gbassa, former Member of Parliament Festus Lansana, and current Member of Parliament Mrs. Rugiatu Tarawally Mussafa, respectively.
The meeting was moderated by Sheku Farma, who is the constituency chairman.
On the local front, the Paramount Chief was in attendance, including four Section Chiefs: Panguma Town Chief Mugbay, a representative of the speaker, Youth Chairman, and Panguma Women’s Leader.
The first item on the agenda was the handing over of the constructed Panguma Cemetery.
Chief Barrie, on behalf of the chiefdom, was grateful. In this regard, an appeal was made to the authorities to stop people being buried within the township except chiefs.
The deliberations further focused on the way forward, and a recommendation was made to reinstitute the Chiefdom Development Committee (CDC), which is different from the mining CDC.
This chiefdom development has been in existence and was at some point headed by the late Alfred Sandy-RIP. The aim is to give the committee the mandate to monitor all development projects, including funds and implementation.
On the mining CDC, it was recommended that its composition be reviewed to include all sectors in the chiefdom. A rumor was also circulated about a pending sale of the mining company to a Chinese outfit, but the Paramount Chief stated that he has no knowledge about that.
A recommendation was then made to the Paramount Chief not to append his signature to any future document until he confers with the Chiefdom Development Committee, which is about to be reinstituted.
The welfare of the Paramount Chief was also discussed, especially with regard to his challenged physical health.
A suggestion was made to raise funds for a customized vehicle for which an initial pledge was made to the tune of $500 for the vehicle purchase.
On that same note, it was reported that the American ambassador will be visiting the Dodo Hydro-Electric Dam and will be a guest in the chiefdom. The current Member of Parliament was tasked with facilitating a proposal to the ambassador for the provision of a customized vehicle to the paramount chief.
The focus of LoBDDA now is to ensure that all funds are utilized for the development of the chiefdom. The Member of Parliament spoke about the pending road construction project and requested that everyone, especially the youths, should be on board and further assured that the project is imminent.
