By Alim Jalloh
His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, who was on a two-day working visit to Koinadugu and Falaba districts, on Sunday 15 December 2019 assured the people in that part of the country of his Government’s continued support to their development.
In his welcome address, Paramount Chief Alie Balansama Marah III said that they were pleased to receive the President in the district. He said they were also thankful to the President for giving appointments to many of their sons and daughters for the first time ever and assured of their support to the government.
Koinadugu District Council Chairman, Alex Conteh, said that they were pleased with the government’s free quality education programme, adding that they were also appreciative of the President’s inclusive governance policy that would ensure peaceful co-existence.
Speaking at the Kabala Town Field, President Bio said that Koinadugu was part of Sierra Leone and it deserved to be part of the development process. He said that since his election, his government had worked very hard on a lot of initiatives that would help to better the lives of citizens.
“We have done quite a lot within this short period. We have taken education as a priority programme because we care about the future of this country. Investing in our kids is the best way of laying a solid foundation for sustainable development,” he said.
President Bio also said that he was particularly concerned about the welfare of women and girls, saying that as part of the government’s commitment to empowering women, they were working on introducing a micro-credit system that would help women to be self-reliant and independent.
He also used the occasion to condemn early marriage, rape and all forms of violence against women and girls. He noted that women constitute a major part of the country’s population and must be allowed to realise their fullest potentials, adding that if women were educated they could contribute greatly to the development of the nation.
