By Ragan M. Conteh
The Member of Parliament from the Coalition for Change, in Kono District, representing Constituency 027, Hon. Francis Bhendu, has expressed consternation over the failure by the House of Parliament, especially the Leadership, to ensure that the House of Parliament is disable friendly.
“I am yet to see one institution, even the House of Parliament, which should be an example. There is nothing to write home about. I felt bad when I saw the children of the Honorable Member of Parliament carrying their father down the steps from the canteen to get in the car. I shed tears,” Hon. Bhendu said.
He urged the Speaker of Parliament to create a disable access in the Parliament Building and provide them with ramps.
“You never know, before the life span of this Parliament, who will be next? No one is happy to be disabled. Everyone is prone to disability,” he warned.
The MP said, over the years, Kono did not enjoy such opportunity. He pleaded with the minister to consider Kono District in the distribution and provision of structures that are disabled friendly in Sierra Leone.
On youth empowerment, Hon. Bhendu says eight (8) billion Leone allocation, for Car Wash facilities, against five (5) billion Leones allocation for economic empowerment.
“How many youths are going to benefit from the Car Wash opportunities? Youths in big town/cities, where such projects are viable, are benefitting, but what about those youths in remote communities?” He asked.
“This government should focus on the Youth in Agriculture, which is more sustainable than the Car Wash,” he noted.
On the road network, he said, the Krubonla-Kabala road, initially, should come through Kono Bumpeh Junction, adding that the Minister of Finance should tell him what happened to the Kono side of the project or whether it has been cancelled or what.
“Please tell us, we want to know because for the past years we keep talking about the Kabala-Krubonla road,” he requested of the SLPP government.
Hon. Bhendu concluded that the local courts, in Sierra Leone, need serious consideration. He informed that the Chiefdom Administration used to hire and be responsible for local courts in their various chiefdoms until when they passed a Bill that all locals should be paid by central government. This happened before the passing of the Act that removed the responsibility from the local courts.