By JOSEPH G. BANGALI – Senior Staff Writer
On Thursday, 28th July, 2022, the formal handing over ceremony of Chinese donated furniture and IT items to the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) took place at the headquarters of the ECSL at Tower Hill in Freetown. The brief ceremony was called to order by the Director of External Relations who formally introduced the Chief Electoral Commissioner Mohamed Konneh, Commissioners and senior members of staff as well as members of the Chinese delegation.
The Executive Secretary of the ECSL William Addo Davies in his statement of purpose declared that the gathering was summoned to witness the donation of items from the Embassy of the Peoples’ Republic of China. The Deputy Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, HE Li Xiaoyong in his statement dilated on the long existing friendship between China and Sierra Leone that has now blossomed into a family relation and referred to both countries as brothers and sisters. He affirmed China’s commitment to support Sierra Leone as the country is working very hard to consolidate its democratic gains.
The Deputy Ambassador confirmed that their embassy has always had a good relation with the ECSL and therefore the donated furniture and IT items were a token of the existing friendship between both entities. HE Li Xiaoyong further noted that in spite of the hard times being experienced around the globe and in Sierra Leone in particular, he admires the citizens of this country for their perseverance and resilience as well as determination to ensure that the tenets of democracy are upheld.
The Chief Electoral Commissioner graciously accepted the donated items and in his brief statement thanked the Chinese delegation and by extension the government and people of the Republic of China. He recalled visiting the embassy on the 14th of June this year where he made a formal request to the Chinese Ambassador for furniture and fittings and is extremely pleased that a little over month after, his request has been granted. Your Excellency, the Commission very much appreciates the donation which is very timely just about the time when our regional offices are nearing completion’ the CEC stated and expressed happiness to acknowledge the following items donated to the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone:
Five (5) Huawei Ipads
One (1) conference table
Twelve (12) conference chairs
One (1) office table
One (1) office chair
Two (2) P1106 printers and two cartridges.
He furthered that the 12 generators previously donated would be distributed to all district offices across the country and again thanked the Peoples’ Republic of China for offering a full scholarship to Nyande Fania, the Assistant Director of Internal Audit who recently returned after graduating with a PhD from one of the prestigious universities in China.
As per tradition a gift of appreciation was also presented to the Deputy Ambassador by the Commissioner Eastern Region, Mrs. Marian Sia Nyuma-Moijueh while the vote of thanks was rendered by Dr. Nyande Fania.