By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Lisa Chesney MBE has paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt during which she expressed interest in the ministry’s youth development and women empowerment programmes.
Madam Chesney stated that Sierra Leone is a ‘beautiful’ country with a lot of potentials, especially in its tourism dimension. She acknowledged and applauded the strides and initiatives the ministry has embarked on for which she expressed interest in working with the sector. She spoke about the creation of jobs for youths and women engaged in beach cleaning and waste management which she promised will be coordinated by the wider British Chamber of Commerce.
In his welcome address, Dr. Pratt said she was delighted to have the British High Commissioner at her ministry. She noted that since her appointment in 2018, the Ministry has been engaged in a lot of activities especially in rebranding the image of Sierra Leone at the international level.
‘’I have been to the World Travel Market in London three times, but because of the Covid, the focus had been on domestic tourism which has yielded dividend,’’ she said.
The Tourism Minister explained the efforts the sector is placing on wildlife tourism and also expressed interest in working with international organizations in wildlife tourism.
The Minister spoke about cross-ministry coordination and partnerships which have been forged with line MDAs. ‘’My desire was for those engaged in beach cleaning and waste management to be trained and work in bigger cleaning businesses,’’ she hoped. She called for increased private sector investment, saying it is the greatest challenge the sector is facing.
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