PRESIDENT BIO MAKES HUGE SUCCESS
By Joseph S. Margai
President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Brigadier (Rtd.) Dr. Julius Maada Bio, has made tremendous success since he was elected president in 2018.
Addressing Vulnerability in the face of Covid 19
Several projects, which gear towards the transformation of lives and subsequently improve the standard of living of many Sierra Leoneans, have been successfully implemented under President Bio’s government.
His response to vulnerability in crisis has been remarkable.
His introduction and implementation of the ‘MUNAFA Fund’, which will benefit small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has received lot of commendations and admirations.
‘MUNAFA’, which in Sierra Leone’s local dialects means ‘prosper’, was on 12 February, 2021, unveiled by President Bio in Magburaka town, North-Eastern Sierra Leone.
The whopping sum of one hundred billion Leones (Le100bn) was unveiled in order to cushion the economic loss caused by COVID-19 to SMEs.
This National Microcredit Scheme will run from 2021-2023.
President Bio’s response to vulnerability in crisis was also extended to the tourism and hospitality sectors.
A whopping sum of 4.8 billion Leones was provided to the above-mentioned sectors for the revenue and jobs they lost since the advent of COVID-19.
Similarly, in February 2020, President Bio unveiled the national social safety net program to tackle poverty and inequality in Kenema.
Promoting vibrant, free and democratic Press in Sierra Leone
President Bio’s three-year in office has seen the sudden rise in free speech and press freedom by expunging the criminal libel law.
The 55-year-old law, which had previously criminalized free speech and stifled journalism, was neglected by President Bio’s predecessors.
But, on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, he publicly signed the amended law, which repealed the seditious libel section of the 1965 Public Order Act.
Today, many Sierra Leoneans have the privilege to make audio, video and text messages and circulate them on both traditional and social media without harassment, even though some unscrupulous ones have been misusing the opportunity.
Protecting our Women and Girls from SGBV
On 7th February, 2019, President Bio declared a national emergency on sexual and gender-based violence in an effort to create a safe and protected environment for every girl and woman in Sierra Leone.
He declared that sexual penetration of minors is punishable by life imprisonment and that all government hospitals must provide free medical treatment and certificate to every victim of rape and sexual abuse.
One-stop centers, which are not only providing psychosocial support but legal reporting, access to safe homes, diagnosis and counselling, and toll line of 116 to report all cases of rape and gender-based violence, have been established across the country.
On 24th July, 2020, President Bio launched the first-ever Sexual Offences Model Court in Sierra Leone.
Improving the welfare of the Workforce and their living conditions
Another milestone in the three-year-reign of President Bio is the payment of salaries to Mayors, Chairmen and their deputies of Local Councils in April 2020, for the first time in 16 years, when the Decentralization Secretariat was introduced.
There had also been a 100 percent increment in the salaries of all core staff of Local Councils, which has drawn lot of attention to the once nicknamed ‘difficult ground’ to work.
In an effort to improve the conditions of service of lecturers in the universities in Sierra Leone, President Bio’s recently announced 75 percent increment in their salaries, having done an earlier increment of 25 percent for teachers in primary and secondary schools.
Similarly, there is a 75 percent salary increase for the military come April 2021, which automatically demonstrates government’s commitment to improving conditions of service for military personnel.
The Police, Office of National Security (ONS), Central Intelligence and Security Unit (CISO), Correctional Center and Fire Force, have a 25 percent salary increase.
Unlocking Human Capital potentials of our Children: Free Quality School education
President Bio’s flagship program is the free quality education (FQE).
Currently, this program consumes 21 percent of the national budget, all in an effort to ensuring that Sierra Leonean pupils in primary and secondary schools get access to quality education as enshrined in the United Nation’s Sustainable Develop Goal 4 (SDG4).
The FQE comprises free tuition fees, free meals in school, free teaching and learning materials, and school buses to ease the movement of pupils from their homes to their respective schools nationwide.
Dividends of Political will to fight Sierra Leone’s No. 1 enemy: Corruption
Since 2018, Sierra Leone’s rating on the fight against corruption has improve significantly.
Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer for Africa 2019 Report, ranked Sierra Leone 3rd out of 35 African countries surveyed, on Government’s effectiveness in the fight against corruption, ahead of all other West African countries and behind only two countries in Africa.
In the Global Corruption Barometer for Africa-2019 Report, 66 percent of Sierra Leoneans in 2019 believed that the government was doing well in the fight against corruption.
This is an improvement when one takes into consideration that in 2015, only 19 percent of citizens held this view.
In the 2020 Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index Country Rankings, Sierra Leone moved two places upwards, moving from 119 in 2019 to 117 in 2020 out of 180 countries surveyed.
Looking into the immediate future: Prosperity on the horizon
What next? Boom! Sierra Leone has become the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact eligible.
Sierra Leone is now set to commence work on full proposal developments that will be funded from the MCC Portfolio.
In December 2020, the MCC of the United States of America’s Board of Directors selected Sierra Leone, under President Bio’s administration, as eligible to develop a compact. MCC’s US$44.4 million threshold program will be implemented in Sierra Leone to improve access to clean water and reliable electricity, and to support reforms designed to limit opportunities for corruption.
Cravings for reliable and sustainable energy availability and access
President Bio’s government pioneered the signing of a contract between the Ministry of Energy and Winch Energy-an off-grid utilities provider-in March 2019, to provide electricity to 24 villages located in North-Eastern Sierra Leone- Koinadugu, Bombali and Tonkolili districts.
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the off-grid energy provider electrified a further 12 community health centres, giving them free power to ensure patients and healthcare professionals could reliably access clean water, lighting and specialist equipment such as ventilators.
Chiefdoms’ electrification project is under implementation.
Many districts and chiefdoms, which have been benefited from electricity supply, are beginning to see electric poles being stringed with cables.
Promoting inclusive and participatory Governance: Focus on Community engagements
Since 2018, President Bio had developed the culture of citizens’ engagement through regular district visits, thereby reaching to places where his predecessors have never been.
For instance, in Magbass, a town in Tonkolili District, North-Eastern Sierra Leone, where no president has never been, President Bio commissioned the first secondary school to the admiration of the inhabitants.
Gbinti, a town in the Karene District, North-Western Sierra Leone, President Bio commissioned many projects including schools, health centers, community centers, among others.
In all of his visits to the provinces, he always encouraged Sierra Leoneans to develop the habit of farming so as to be food sufficient in the country.
For instance, in Moyamba town, the district headquarters of Moyamba District, Southern Sierra Leone, and President Bio said his government would have to support Paramount Chiefs (PCs) to establish Chiefdom Farms.
Strengthening infrastructure for human security and development
Infrastructure is another sector that has been significantly transformed under President Bio’s administration.
Timely and quality construction and rehabilitation of roads and bridges have been prioritized since 2018.
The Savage Street Bridge, Gbaima Songa Road, the Limkokwing-Regent Road, Zimmi Makpele township roads, Hillside Bye-Pass Road, Bandajuma-Pujehun Road, the Moyamba-Junction-Moyamba Road, the Funkia Road in Goderich, the Lumley-Tokeh Road, the Atlantic Bridge at Lumley, Mabang Bridge in Moyamba District, including many feeder and trunk roads, are either completed or under construction.
Investing in our Youth
The youth sector has also seen significant transformation in the last three years.
Car wash centers, equipped with modern facilities including access to water and electricity, have been built for youth across the country.
The Sierra Leone Premier League, which was halted during the reigns of the All People’s Congress (APC) political party, was revamped and funded by President Bio so as to enable our youth to earn from their God-given talents.
The National Youth Service (NYS), which caters for unemployed university graduates, has seen the sudden rise in intake of youth, who have been attached to various government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
They are getting job experience as well as earning some stipend at the end of each month.
Addressing drugs and substance abuse
This government has strengthened the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to mount campaigns against drug misuse and abuse, thereby targeting the youth in Sierra Leone, who are most times involved in drug intake