By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Fourah Bay College (FBC) Students Union Government (SUG) has unveiled a brand new 6-seater Honda Bus on campus. The bus was donated to the student body by Leone Rock Metal Group through the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources.
Addressing the gathering at the unveiling ceremony, the Vice President of the SUG, Mohamed Rex Bonapha spoke of how overwhelmed he was, to see one of the many promises they made to their colleague students in their campaign manifesto, accomplished. He said the issue of transportation has always being a discomfort to not just the students’ union government, but also the college administration.
“When we assumed office, we met three broken buses that we wanted to repair but they were beyond repair. The college administration advised us not to spend more money on those buses,’’ he said.
He said it was on that basis they met with the country’s minister of mines to solicit his assistance not just for the SUG, but every FBC student as he is also an alumnus of the institution. He said it was so appalling seeing students walk from Model Junctiion through the mountainous road to FBC, for lectures.
Bonapha explained that there are more than two thousand students taking lectures at FBC on a daily basis and admitted that a single bus cannot solve the transportation issue on campus. He made an appeal to the government, private companies, and philanthropists to emulate what the mines minister and Leone Rock Metal Group have done to ease the issue of transportation on campus.
In his remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) of FBC, Professor Lawrence Kamara said the administration has been collaborating with the student’s union government to ensure that they continue to work in the interest of students’ unionism on campus. He acknowledged the transportation constraints faced and thanked the student administration for actualising the interest of their colleagues on campus, and the donors, for coming to the aid of the students.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Leone Rock Metal Group, Gilbert Zhao stated that they are not just in the country to mine it’s mineral resources but to transform them into a national profit which involves many stakeholders, most notably Sierra Leoneans. He said students are the pillars of any country’s development and urged them all to take their studies seriously.
‘’We are ready to receive you at Leone Rock upon the completion of your studies,’’ he said.
He noted that they are always ready to fulfill their coorporate social responsibilities in every facet of society as a sign of appreciation to the country.
In his statement, the Mines Minister Timothy Kabba recalled the terrible road accident that occurred prior the last graduation ceremony hosted by the university which led to the death of one of the graduating students.
He said after that incident, he was approached by a representative of the SUG to support them with cash for the repair of broken buses that have been packed on campus for so long. But he said he had the desire of doing something bigger than just repairing the buses.
“I said to the SUG representative that this could be the correct moment you are here for help of that nature because right now in my office is a private sector company (Leone Rock Metal Group) whom I think might be of help to fulfill their corporate social responsibilities,’’ he said.
He said he immediately approached the Director and the CEO of the company and explained to them the accident that occurred at Model as a result of the lack of transportation on campus. He said they therefore decided to have a bus on campus in the memory of the late Emad Rogers who died tragically a day before his graduation.
He urged the SUG to take full responsibility for the bus and to always be accountable to the administration which he said will pave the way for more developmental projects to be directed at FBC.
A ride on the bus comprising the mines minister, the DVC, CEO of Leone Rock, and the SUG executive, from the amphitheatre area , down the male hostels onto the ‘airport’, climaxed the event.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (27/06/22)
