Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the EU who is also accredited to France, Holland, Luxembourg and the Vatican in Italy, Dr. Christian Sheka Kargbo has admonished Sierra Leoneans in France not to be carried away by the niceties they are presently enjoying in the West and forget their roots.
“Today, you are enjoying 24 hours uninterrupted electricity and water supply here, you have good roads, good health facilities etc, but you must not forget the fact that all these facilities are made possible by the citizens of these countries themselves. As Sierra Leoneans, we must therefore always think of how to contribute for our country to match the standards of what we are enjoying here today”, Dr. Kargbo emphasised.
Ambassador Kargbo, accompanied by the Minister Counsellor/Head of Chancery of the mission, Haja Fatmata Binta Wurie, delivered this lecture past Saturday at the Sevran Beaudottes gardens in Paris where Sierra Leoneans living in France had gathered for their annual outing organised by the Sierra Leone 4-me-en-u Association in France.
He briefed the gathering about the massive road construction that is ongoing all over the country. “I can assure you that if some of you visit Sierra Leone by the end of next year, you will see a transformed Sierra Leone. Because by the end of next year, Wilkinson road will be a four-lane road, the Hill side and the Rogbere/Pamelap roads will be ready. So too other major roads in Freetown, Bo, Makeni, Kenema, Kono etc,” he assured amidst deafening applaud.
Ambassador Kargbo also touched on the minor hiccups with the Bumbuna Hydro which he assured has been amended and presently providing electricity in Freetown soon to be followed by Makeni and Lunsar.
Kargbo further highlighted some of the drastic changes the government is putting in place in the educational sector like the reversing of the 6-3-3-4 system of education to 6-3-4-4 and the dissolution of the Access programme to enter university.
The government, according to the Ambassador, is gradually transforming the subsistence method of farming to the more lucrative mechanised system with the importation and distribution of hundreds of Tractors, Power Tillers and improved seedlings to farmers.
Responding to questions on the issuance of Sierra Leoneans passports by the Embassy to Sierra Leoneans, Head of Chancery, Mrs Wurie explained that Sierra Leone Embassies no longer issue passports. “The issuance of passports has been centralised in Freetown. We can only issue a document to explain to the demanding authorities that the embassy does not issue passports”. She also informed the gathering about the availability of the ECOWAS passports in Freetown.
Those who attended the occasion expressed delight and appreciation on the efforts of the Ambassador and staff to address and brief them on developments back home.
Ambassador Kargbo implored them to be law abiding at all times and help portray the image of the country in a positive way.
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