By Mabinty M.Kamara
The Sierra Leone government has defended President Julius Maada Bio’s much criticized frequent travels, with Minister of Information Mohamed Rahman Swaray saying they have brought a lot of benefits to the country.
Swaray urged Sierra Leoneans to appreciate the President for this, noting that he is doing all of it for the growth and development of the country.
The minister made this statement at the weekly press briefing held at the conference hall of the Ministry of Information and Communication.
“If the President does not travel, this country will crash considering the kind of economy we inherited,” he said.
“So in the name of patriotism, we should be urging him to travel more as these travels bring bumper harvests. These travels bring executive outcomes. So when we analyse the president’s travels, we should do it in a cost benefit analysis,” he added.
The Minister noted that President Bio had been the biggest image maker for Sierra Leone as he had made the country attractive for investors, which is why Sierra Leone had the likes of Idris Elba coming to the country with an intention of bringing in investments.
“Many countries are competing for the attention of Idris Elba, but the President has always been able to make good case for this country and it’s beginning to look attractive. The country has had an odious reputation abroad. When you call Sierra Leone, what comes to mind is they think of stinking corruption, Ebola, civil war disempowering each other and mudslide,” he said.
Swaray further explained that it was as a results of his many state visits that President Bio was able to turn the sod for the construction of a 5-story building of 104 bedrooms for single Military Officers, and in 2018 he secured a 30 million dollar loan for the fiber optic backbone project that was renegotiated with a 1% interest rate, with additional benefits during the Forum for Africa China Corporation.
There have been lots of criticisms about the president’s frequent overseas travels, which some people believe is causing more harm to the economy of the country than the benefits it is supposed to be bringing.
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