By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The European Union (E.U) has offered to support Kenema District Council construct a Funeral Home at Bandama, Small Bo Chiefdom, in the Kenema District.
At an engagement to mark the launch of the work, civil society activist, Augustine Allie Sannoh said the presence of a bigger funeral home in that part of the country would bring relief especially when the mini-mortuary would at times be short of electricity, forcing people to take corpses of their loved ones to Bo and Freetown. He said nobody should ignore the importance of a mortuary and assured them of civil society support for any institution that focuses on development.
He told the contractors that the people expect a good job and that civil society will be part of the monitoring to ensure value for money with due diligence.
Paramount Chief of Small Bo Chiefdom, Mohamed Dhaffie Benya commended the E.U, and the government of Sierra Leone through the Kenema district council for taking such development to their chiefdom. He said as chief he will always consult with his people in offering land for national development.
PC Benya said the project was timely as, over the years, the bodies of their loved ones were not accorded the dignity due to them, but that with this project, respect will be given to the dead.
‘’We did that in consultation with the management of the government hospital to provide dignity and more accommodation for corpses,’’ he stated.
He revealed that the council has signed an agreement with Columbia Davies Funeral Home for the management and sustainability of the facility.
In his Keynote address, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Tamba Lamina expressed delight over the valuable development projects undertaken by the Kenema council. He said that gives confidence to the leadership of the local government that local councils can do better if given the platform for service delivery.
He said turning the sod for the funeral home was to demonstrate value for money that will directly reflect on the lives of the people. ‘’We are ensuring governance is taken closer to our people through the local councils’’ said Lamina.
He admitted that the Ministry and EU are impressed with the performance of the council on the implementation of EU projects and therefore encouraged the people of Kenema to pay their taxes as part of revenue generation for additional service delivery.
He acknowledged the support of traditional leaders in offering the land free of cost, which he said was a manifestation of their preparedness for development. He appealed for thorough monitoring of the work to avoid substandard work.
The turning of the sod by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development climaxed the event.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (18/07/22)
