By Amin Kef Sesay
Daniel Kaitibi, the Director-General of the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) on Wednesday 26th August 2020 donated 4 hand washing Milla water tanks, liquid soap, boxes of tissue and dustbins to the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology Polytechnic (MMCET) Goderich Campus at a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the campus.
The donation was personally made by Daniel Kaitibi and not NATCOM.
Kaitibi disclosed that he lectured for 12 years at Njala University, that he believes in quality leadership, integrity and transparency, that the President puts premium on quality education and pledged his unflinching support and loyalty to the President’s flagship education project stressing that he believes in result and performance and promised to improve the telecommunications sector by extending network facilities in remote parts of the country as well as reduce the cost of communications.
He also pledged to make similar donations to the other two campuses of the Milton Margai College as well as look at other constraints of the college.
The NATCOM Director of Regulatory Administration, Mr. Smart Kokofele observed that the college was in a deplorable state but has been transformed to an enviable institution which he attributed to the quality and astute leadership of the Principal and appealed to all not to allow politics to divide the nation.
Dr. Philip John Kanu, Principal of the MMCET, revealed that he is delighted to welcome Daniel Kaitibi and delegation to the college, that the college is very grateful for the gifts, that Daniel Kaitibi and NATCOM are household names in the country, that Mr. Kaitibi means good for Sierra Leone and that he has made similar donations to other institutions throughout the country stressing that the donated items are not small.
Dr. Kanu furthered that the donated items is a demonstration of support to Government’s Free Quality Education flagship project, that the college is the premier teacher training college in the country and recalled its establishment in 1963 by Sir Milton Margai, the first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone who paid for the land.
The Principal continued that it was during the presidency of Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah that the college started offering degree courses and was upgraded to a polytechnic and that the same SLPP Government now wants to transform it to a Technical University underscoring that Government is very keen to support human resource development.
Dr. Kanu also assured that when transformed to a Technical University, the college would not deviate from been the premier teacher training college in the country articulating that he wants the college to be autonomous to produce telecommunications experts from Diploma to Degree levels as well as job creators and not job seekers stressing that the donation came at the right time to save the lives of students and staff.
The college’s Registrar, Sheriffu Bangura, chaired the ceremony while the Dean of the Brookfields Campus, Alima Jumu earlier welcomed all to the ceremony asserting that NATCOM is a true friend and has been very supportive to the college, that the administration is working relentlessly to transform the college to a Technical University, concluding that the fight to end the global corona virus pandemic is a national one and that the donation would help to contain the outbreak.
The vote of thanks was rendered by the President of the Students’ Union, Alphonso During, who assured all that the items would be used for their intended purpose and that they would enforce the rules and regulations to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
