By Foday Moriba Conteh
Lieutenant General Sullay Sesay, Chief of Defense Staff Lieutenant General Sullay Sesay with an entourage of his team of Generals from the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces on Wednesday 2nd September 2020 paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Finance, Jacob Jusu Saffa and his team at the Ministry of Finance on George Street.
CDS Lt. Gen. Sullay Ibrahim Sesay initially thanked the Minister of Finance and his team for their support to the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and the security sector in general.
He thanked the team at the Ministry of Finance for fast-tracking the payment of backlogs on rice, fuel, and other items and highlighted several areas of concern that he will want the support of the Ministry of Finance to consider for the development of the Republic Sierra Leone Armed Forces.
The Chief of Defense Staff expressed concern over the need to look into the conditions of service for members of RSLAF, noting that this has been a very huge concern for them especially in boosting the morale of members of the force.
The Lt. Gen Sulay Sesay raised the issues on Peace Support Operations deployment and equipment, Army Engineering, Training and Recruitment, Agriculture, Accommodation, Health, and other issues for the consideration of the Minister of Finance for the next budget cycle.
In his response the Minister of Finance Jacob Jusu Saffa congratulated the new CDS on his appointment and reassured him of the Ministry’s commitment to work with the Armed Forces to ensure the security of the state.
“Issues regarding the military are very critical to the security of the State and therefore must be given high priority,” he emphasized.
He asked the CDS to work with his team at the Ministry of Finance and look at the financial implications relating to the issues of conditions of service, accommodation, and other issues raised by the Chief of Defense Staff.
The Financial Secretary, Sahr L. Jusu, described the meeting as an opportunity for the economic and financial expert at the Ministry of Finance and that of the security expert at the Ministry of Defense and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces to work together. He appealed to the CDS to engage the Ministry of Finance on major procurement processes before awarding contracts to ensure a smooth payment.
The team of Generals that visited the Finance Minister include; Maj-Gen Peter K. Lavahun (CJF), Brig.-Gen Ronnie B. Charleston, Brig-Gen Yayimba Marah, Brig-Gen Saudi Alph, and Brig-Gen Berber Jalloh.
