By Bampia James Bundu
A group of jobless youths in Bombali are demanding empowerment as reward for their efforts in rendering “beneficial services” to the district.
Executive Director of Job Seekers Unit, Abubakarr Kamara said they had been helping with sanitary activities across the district, and had voluntarily taken over cleaning of the central cemetery and other strategic public places in Makeni.
Kamara said they had been doing the job for three years “without support from either the Bombali District council or the Makeni City council.” He said he had registered 2,000 job seekers and they “are transformed prostitutes, destitute, skilled and unskilled youths who have been working day and night to ensure they get cleaning contracts from local councils.”
The youth leader said that two years ago the youth ministry employed 20 of their members in a cleaning project. He praised the Makeni City council for offering “small” amounts of money while on duty, adding “it is not enough, we want job for our members who are young women and men languishing.” He said President Koroma should consider their impoverished status and their services to the district.
The Mayor of Makeni, Sunkari Kabba-Kamara expressed appreciation for “the wonderful work being done by the job seekers in cleaning strategic areas within the city." She said one of the major challenges the youths were faced with was illiteracy because “I have personally recommended them to several institutions for employment but almost all of them do not have Basic Education Certification Examinations results so they do not meet the average requirements.”
She urged them to be patient as “I will find ways to assist them.”
The mayor said she had been supporting the job seekers personally with money and equipment and had employed some of them as grave diggers and council monitoring officers.
© Politico 19/11/14
