By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
The independent Member of Parliament for Constituency 104 in Pujehun District, Shiaka Musa Sama, has completed the construction of a building meant for his constituents.
Hon. Sama, whose constituency consists of the entirety of the Malen Chiefdom and two other sections in neighboring Sowa Chiefdom, said he built the Constituency Office to serve as a platform for interaction between himself and his constituents.
"I want to remind people that government provided MPs with Le69million to build or rent office spaces," Hon. Sama told Politico in an interview, noting that that amount accounted for 50 percent of the cost of constructing the building. He revealed that he personally provided the remaining 50% of the construction cost.
The labour, he said, was provided by the people through fetching of water, cooking for the workers during the construction and other manual labour,
The office is located at Geoma Junction, a popular intersection linking the Pujehun headquarters town and Sahn Malen, the chiefdom headquarters of Malen.
The lawmaker promised to install a solar system and a generator for lighting of the facility.
Sama thanked the New Direction administration for providing part of the funds and he singled out for praises a member of the Constituency Development Committee, Alex Lamin, who is also the SLPP chairman in the constituency, for putting country above his party’s interest by supporting the development initiative.
The MP also had praises for Paramount Chief Lahai A. K. Sowa of Sowa Chiefdom, for his role in ensuring the completion of the construction work.
The office, according to Mr Sama, would be officially opened early in the New Year, hopefully by President Julius Maada Bio. He also intends to invite high profile officials to witness the inauguration, including the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Abass Bundu.
With the completion of this project, Hon. Sama joins a small group of MPs to have lived up to expectation with regards the funds provided by the Parliament to lawmakers to facilitate their interaction with their constituents. This fund has in the past been a major source of controversy with accountability campaigners questioning the judicious use of the funds.
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