By Ruth Yeabu Sesay
The President of Women’s Forum, Sally Adams has described the recent General Elections as free fair and inclusive and that President Julius Maada Bio was a deserved winner.
Adams was speaking at State House during a courtesy visit by various women's organisations to congratulate President Bio on his re-election.
On behalf of the various women’s groups represented, she expressed gratitude to the president for allocating 5 acres of land to the Women’s Forum, which she said will be used to build a training centre, and office space for their organization.
In his reaction, President Bio said women need to be united and work toward making the country better.
The president stated that his administration is not about fanfare and sees his role as a weapon for development and change.
He cited Falaba District as one of the areas ready for the change and development his government had initiated, as he realized during the interaction he had with the inhabitants of Falaba during his campaign trail.
The president stated that when the world shut down as a result of Covid the country didn’t shut down and “while billions of people were dying around we only lost 160 thousand
He told the women that it is high time they go beyond colour and party lines when it comes to developmental issues.
He stated that the greatest honour anyone can have is being elected as president and he attested that he is the only president in the country who has campaigned more than anyone right across Sierra Leone.
On the 30% quota for women-elected parliamentarians, Bio said should the threshold is not met, he would in consultation with the Women’s Forum ensure that the gap is filled.
He spoke highly of his government’s scoring 81% in the Millenium Challenge Corporation grading -a feat that he said the former government could not accomplish scoring just 49%.
Bio questioned why the country should celebrate independence “if we can subject ourselves to validation by other people”.
“We can go to the elections at any time and I will defeat the All People’s Congress. We have to keep the peace but in defense of our nation we have to let certain people know that we are an independent nation and we do not subject ourselves to the will of others”, the president asserted.
Copyright © Politico (05/07/23)
