By Josephine W. Lagawo
FREETOWN, July 1 (232News) – Hon. Rebecca Yei Kamara of the Coalition for Change Party and of Constituency 029 Kono District has said that the One Stop Center that was set up by the Ministry of Gender For Rape victims is not very functional and is therefore calling on the said ministry to support the center to become more functional. She noted that she had visited two of those centers and has on several occasions called on government to strengthen the Rainbow Initiative even though they have passed the Sexual Offences Act. She however noted that there were still problems with the said Act. She used the platform to call on government to establish a forensic laboratory that will look into children that have been raped.
Hon. Kamara made this statement on Monday June 28th 2021 at the Well of Parliament while contributing to the Motion of thanks to His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio on the address he delivered on the State Opening of the Fourth Session of the Fifth parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone Chamber of Parliament on Tuesday 18th May 2021. She pointed out that when one looks at Page 19 of the speech it goes to show that government has done well by launching the gender policy through the Ministry of Gender. She added that the ministry was working for the 30% affirmative quotas which they were looking for which will provide the women safer seats in governance.
She pointed out that without women, governance is not functionary and as women they were calling on the president to create a level playground for them to take their rightful position. She also spoke about the Kono University assuring that government will not disappoint the people of Kono. She appealed to government through the Ministry of Basic and senior Secondary Education to provide the schools in Kono with Laboratory equipment because the government has established the DSTI office at state house. Science cannot be done on pen and paper but in laboratory and it needed resources that has to do with innovative.
