By Donstance Koroma
President of the Association of Little People Sierra Leone, Abass Sheriff Koroma, has accused the National Commission for Social Action (NACSA) of deliberately depriving his association from the half bag of rice and two hundred and fifty thousand Leones that were doled out to various physically challenged groups across the country.
Koroma continued that his association is legally registered with the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs and that it was established to, among other things, advocate for the rights of its members, address their welfare issues and the social and economic discriminations they have been facing over the years.
He noted that the four billion Leones dished out by the government to help in the recently concluded three days lockdown was a step in the right direction but that the manner in which the distribution was done was wrong by the ‘New Direction’ administration.
Abass Sheriff Koroma pointed out that the Financial Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disability (NCPD) had on three different occasions instructed him to communicate to his membership that NACSA, the Disability Commission and representative of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will be donating the said item and cash to his association for the three days lockdown but that, to their dismay, never showed up.
The President further registered his disappointment over the fact NACSA and other relevant stakeholders allowed his members to waste their resources and time for three days waiting for a donation that they thought they deserved.
NACSA’s Information Communication and Technology Manager, Yamba Williams, told this medium that they have concluded the distribution and that a press conference will be called to allow all players in the distribution process to make a statement where the many allegations will be responded to and clarifications made were possible.
Sierra Leones’s Little People Association is a group of people suffering from stunted growth.