Third set of ministers and their deputies has subscribed to the oath of office at a swearing-in ceremony before His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio and dedicated all appointments to the young people of Sierra Leone in fulfilment of the provisions of the 1991 Constitution.
Chief Minister, Dr David Moinina Sengeh, spoke on behalf of his colleagues and thanked God for His grace for their appointment, pointing out that many in the public were qualified to be in their respective positions, but acknowledged that “we are all well aware that it is only by the grace of God and the generosity of His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio that we are in these roles at this moment.
“I have spoken to all of my colleagues, and we are ready, determined, and committed to this call to serve. We are because we believe in your vision and leadership. After all, we know that no matter how educated or wealthy we are, nothing compares to public service and delivery for our people.
“We are committed to the ideals on which our great party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), was formed. ideals of human capital development and education, unity, inclusion, and economic prosperity, and ideals of nationalism and patriotism.”
“It is these ideals, which are embedded in the People’s Manifesto and the New Direction Vision, that are evident in our proud and glorious faces today. My colleagues have already started working, Your Excellency. They are collaborating with each other and are eager to demonstrate that it is possible to transform our nation. This work has been ongoing. In fact, over the last five years, we have reformed policies, laws, regulations, treaties, and more than had been touched since independence,” he revealed.
President Julius Maada Bio, while presiding over the swearing-in ceremony, congratulated the appointees, stating that “It is a difficult and national task that must be accomplished with no excuses. We represent the people, and we have to make sure we deliver for them. Congratulations on a very difficult job.
“It is extremely difficult to take on the task that we have ahead of us. Our State may be independent but not properly formed because the structures have a lot of capacity gaps. We expect you to fill those gaps. You must fill them in whichever way you can, and that is where your work becomes extremely difficult. In the last five years, we have done extremely well by laying a solid foundation for which we have been recognised both locally and internationally. Our human capital development programme started well, and we must take it further.
“I am going to challenge all of you, no excuses. You must perform and take your ministry to the next level. We are far behind, but we have our way with us, and that is what I want to inspire you all to do. We can do it. We can feed Sierra Leone. By 2028, we should not be importing rice into this country. Whichever way we can, let’s take the route to get there,” the President urged.
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