By Septimus Senessie in Kono
The National President of the Kono Students‘ Union (KONSU) has called on President Ernest Koroma to “honor and fulfill his promise” made to the people of Kono district during the launch of his political campaign for the 2012 polls at the Konomayi lorry park, Koidu city. Prince Lamin Boima made this statement during their national students‘ union meeting at the Koidu Secondary School in Koidu. Boima said that the president had “promised and assured Kono people of the establishment of a university in the eastern region of Sierra Leone with its headquarter in Kono District should they vote him for the second time.” He said the promise and assurance accounted for the votes he and his party polled in the district at the November polls. The KONSU president said that the president’s promise was a “covenant between him and the people of Kono district,” adding that the voters had fulfilled theirs and that “it is high time President Korma fulfilled his part before his tenure expires.” Boima said President Koroma was not under “duress” when he made that commitment to the people and therefore, “he should fulfil” it. He said he should not use as an excuse to the people of Kono the fact that the vice president is from Kono in addition to a couple of ministers. "Our people did not vote him into office for ministerial positions but he was voted in to bring development to their district,” he said. Boima commended the few tertiary institutions in the district which are mostly running on a distance-learning basis for the growing number of graduates from senior secondary schools who lacked the financial means to leave the district for further studies. He said the only way to improve on education in the district was to provide a university based in the district that would help train the much-needed manpower to fill in the gaps created by the “poor education facilities“ in the district. The students’ union president of the Woama Campus of the Eastern Polytechnic, Kono District, also said that the structures already existed on campus and that all the government should do was to improve on those existing structures. Tamba Senesie alleged that the government was giving subvention to students at the Bunumbu and Kenema campuses of the polytechnic but that students at the Woama campus in Kono were being left out. “This is an act of both marginalisation and discrimination by the government,” he said and called on government to extend the resources and facilities to all the campuses of the polytechnic. © Politico 20/08/13
