President Bio Ends Working Visit to Kono District

By Theresa Kef Sesay

President Bio has concluded a four-day working visit to Sewafe, Peya, Lei, Toli, Gbanie Kandor, Morfindor, Saiama, Fiama, Nimikoro, Korwodu, Sandor chiefdoms, towns and villages in the Kono district to unveil development projects and discuss major Government activities since 2018.

The President was accompanied by the Honourable Vice President of Sierra Leone, First Lady Madam Fatima Jabbie Bio, who are both indigenes of the district, and other senior Government officials

While addressing the people during a town hall meeting, the President appreciated the people of Kono for their support, saying that he had introduced a lot of reforms since 2018 and some of which had earned the country huge international accolades. He also noted that more than anytime in the country more children had access to education, more teachers were recruited with an unprecedented 22% increase in the budget for education.

”For the first time in the history of this country, my Government has introduced the Student Loan Scheme. The scheme will enable students, whose parents cannot afford university fees, to have access to loan facilities from Government and advance their education.

“My Government has also ensured that there will be no excuse from every citizen to acquire education. This is what a sober Government and leader do for citizens of the country,” he noted.

He recalled that when he took up office as President, there was only 6% budgetary allocation to the health sector, which he had now increased to 11%.

President Bio told every meeting he had in all the places he visited that he was working hard to transform and correct the historical injustices to the people of Kono, adding that the diamond-rich area had added value to the country’s economy for decades.

He said the nation had long relied on the minerals from Kono but that the entire district was deprived of many social facilities like good roads, hospitals, and higher institutions of learning.

He assured that what Kono had lacked from the inception was what his administration is working to implement, but urged the people to embrace education as it would be the only tool they need to correct those injustices.