BY THOMAS DIXON (232news.com)
Ruling Party Presidential Candidate who is also current President of Sierra Leone has officially launched his re-election manifesto at Kenema district
The President stated that five years ago, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) under his leadership promised the people of Sierra Leone a “New Direction” in the People’s Manifesto.
“Our Vision of a united, peaceful and progressive Sierra Leone presented in that Manifesto won your approval and vote, and you elected me as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone. When I took the oath of office on my inauguration day, I promised to work tirelessly to make that vision a reality for all Sierra Leoneans, regardless of political affiliation, religion, and tribe,” the President stated.
The President continued that under his leadership that, he has made good on the most critical promises for transforming Sierra Leone.
He explained that as they embarked on setting the country on a new path, the COVID-19 Pandemic broke out with far reaching consequences on the lives of millions in Sierra Leone, testing their resolved to transform the country.
“I am proud to say that we passed that test, with Sierra Leone seen as an exemplary case for effectively addressing the Pandemic when it inevitably reached our shores. We are currently in the midst of a global economic shock resulting from the Russia-Ukraine Conflict that has the potential to upend gains we have made in my first term,” he stressed
He said that in the last five years, they took on big challenges and they succeeded in addressing them even under these unprecedented global challenges, highlighting their gains in human capital investment, health, fight against corruption, electricity and many more.
“Therefore, I am humbled again to lead the SLPP into another election, and to ask the people of Sierra Leone to renew the contract I signed with them five years ago. We are presenting a new manifesto; ‘The New Direction Agenda: Consolidating the Gains and Accelerating Transformation’ which gives account of our stewardship in the last five years and lays out the vision to continue transforming Sierra Leone,” he revealed.
He explained that the new manifesto is an agenda that promises to consolidate the gains they have made, and to take advantage of new opportunities they have created, while addressing emerging challenges.
“Our vision remains to get Sierra Leone to a middle-income status by 2030,” he said.
He pointed out that in the next five years, they will prioritize the following fives initiatives as anchors for faster and lasting transformation; Feed Salone, which entails an ambitious programme to boost staple food production to drastically minimize our reliance on food imports, increase our exports, create jobs, boost economic growth and reduce poverty, Human Capital Development for Nurturing Skills for 21st Century Industry, with a gender focus, a Youth Employment Scheme (YES) that aims to create jobs for through a focused initiative that he will lead; a Tech and Infrastructure Programme to serve as pathways for sustained economic growth, and Revamping the Public Service Architecture, for delivery efficiency and professionalism.
He stated that making progress in these key areas will set Sierra Leone on a path of transformational change, poverty reduction and resilience in the face of external shocks.
“The choice is stark for the June 24th elections. We have presented an account of our stewardship and the responsibility you bestowed on us five years ago. We have also presented a focused agenda for building on the progress we have made. Under normal circumstances, the gains we have made will guarantee landslide electoral victory for the SLPP,” he maintained.
He urged every SLPP supporter and well-wisher to avoid complacency as the opponents will aim to exploit effects of the global economic shock for electoral advantage.
