By Amadu Barrie
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Rtd. Brig. Julius Maada Boi, has, on Friday the 25th of January, 2019, assured the people of Kailahun District of providing them with development by his New Direction Government.
He made the assurance during a day’s official working visit and thank you tour to that district. The President was received at Tonclola Junction by the Resident Minister east, Hon. Andrew Fatorma, the Kailahun District Council Chairman, Keke Sahr Lamin, traditional rulers, stakeholders and school going children.
Before the President proceeded to Kailahun Town, he first visited the Bunumbu Teachers College in Bunumbu and the Nixon Memorial Hospital, which is owned by the Methodist Church in Segbwema. He did so to get firsthand information and to also assess the college and hospital.
Addressing the people of Kailahun District, at the town field in Kailahun Town, the President expressed thanks and appreciation to the people for their support during the 2018 Presidential election that made him the President of Sierra Leone
He said Kailahum District have suffered a lot in the hands of the past APC government led by ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma. He maintained that the District will, in the near future, benefit from various developmental programs, including 24 hours’ electricity, pipe borne water, construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools and hospitals across the District.
The President told the people of Kailahun that his visit to Bunumbu and Segbwema was for him to witness the condition of the Bunumbu Teachers College and the Nixon Memorial Hospital so that his New Direction government can take full control by improving on their status.
He said the Bunumbu Teachers College is one of the oldest colleges in the country. President Bio assured the people that the College is going to be transferred to its original campus in Bunumbu soon. He said Government is now in full control of the Nixon Memorial Hospital and that the rehabilitation work on the hospital will commence in early May 2019.
He added that the Kailahun Government Hospital will also be rehabilitated in May 2019, noting that the funds are already available for rehabilitation.
President Boi said the delay in the completion of the Pendembu /Kailahun road is due to the fake arrangement the former APC regime made with the CHICO Company. According to him, the past government failed to pay the company for the work.
He encouraged the people of Kailahun district to be patient as the New Direction Government will soon address the issue and complete it within six months. He said for the feeder roads within the district, the Kailahun District Council, through NACSA, will award contract to contractors for them to be rehabilitated.
President Boi told the people of Kailahun District that the Manowa Ferry, which is a problem for vehicular traffic in the District, is going to be transformed into a bridge and the road linking from Pendembu to Mendekema is also going to be rehabilitated.
In his free and quality education message to the people of Kailahun, President Boi said his opponents said it was impossible to introduce the free education in the country.
He said to build up the human capacity was his dream, which, is in his manifestation, he prioritized the free and quality education for the children of Sierra Leone to enhance quality education so that country will develop.
The President reminded the people that his Government has also launched free and quality education school textbooks and learning materials to all government and government assisted schools across the country. He said Kailahun town have benefited 200 solar lights poles, which, according to him, are already being assembled at the Kailahun District Council.
The President furthered that the Koindu international market is going to be rebuilt so that the cross border trade between the Mano River countries will start as it used to be in those days. He pointed out that the New Direction is going to change the face of Kailahun by transforming it into a model district in the country.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of the Kailahun District Council, Keke Sahr Lamin, expressed profound gratitude to President Bio and his government for the introduction of the free and quality education in the country. He said that most of the schools and teachers in the district are not approved and therefore called on the President to come to the aid of the district in that direction.
He also thanked the President for providing the free education textbooks and learning materials, which, according to him, the District recently received.
The District Council Chairman said youths are pillars of development of any community. He therefore called on the Government to build up their capacity so that they too can join in the developmental process in the country.
Chairman Lamin said they were happy to receive the President in Kailahun for the first time after his election. He thanked the government for its sustained plans and steps in the fight against corruption in the country and pledged their support to the Government in the pursuit of political accountability. He said fighting and ending corruption was the only way to assure the country of lasting development.
President Bio Assures Kailahun Of More Development
