By Amin Kef Sesay
Horst Gruner, the Ambassador from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany on the 11th May 2021 met with the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt, where he expressed interest of the German support to the restoration of monuments with specific reference to the old Fourah Bay College (FBC) edifice.
Before delivering his statement, Ambassador Horst Gruner presented an excerpt from a brochure to the Minister which justifies that the Germans are the founding founders of Fourah Bay College (FBC), hence the first Principal of Fourah Bay College; Charles L.F. Haensel was a German.
He stated that the relationship between Germany and the Government of Sierra Leone is deeper than it is seen, mentioning that there are lot of German names in Sierra Leone. He said that from the Minister’s presentation during the tour of old FBC together with the President, he was impressed and had the courage to say that the German Government will contribute to the restoration of the Old FBC edifice, noting that he has already told German authorities in Berlin about it for which he has received positive feedback, and that the reason for his visit is to learn a little bit more about what the Ministry and its agencies are planning to do with regards the restoration of the old FBC monument.
In her statement, Minister Pratt told the German Ambassador that the document she received is only going to add to the knowledge about the history of FBC. She said that the Ministry and its agencies have ensured that the Old FBC building is fenced and nobody is residing there and that work has already begun in terms of how to restore the historic edifice.
She maintained that the Ministry is looking at three things to get Old FBC building back on track; immediate actions need to be taken so that the building do not fall apart, restoration work of the outside and fixing utilities, such as electronic archive, display room, toilets, conference room and ICT room.
