President Bio’s Positive Radical Transformation - As I See It
Part 1 - By Geneba BM Koroma - Roving Reporter
President Julius Maada Bio (pictured) has been in office for almost five years and this is my first written commentary on his government’s performance.
In 2018 President Bio and his new direction government came in with optimism of rebranding Sierra Leone. The game plan was to shut down the austerity propaganda that was making waves by the Ernest Bai Koroma regime, presenting Sierra Leone to the world as peaceful, investor ready, and a land full of natural resources.
First Encounter with President Julius Maada Bio
His political adroitness, repertoire and camaraderie landed him several trips to overseas, among other things.
Even though I was at the airport to report on his arrival in the USA, in September 2018, my first encounter, when he became President was in March 2019 at Harvard, on International Women’s day. He had just been bombarded by panelists and he was working on his responses, when I approached him that we the women want to take pictures with him for International Women’s day. Immediately I started walking down to his side, I felt eyes gazing at me. With boldness, I leaned on the barrier and made my request.
At the end of the day Ambassador Sulimani made it possible at a cocktail, where few of us took pictures with him.
At Harvard in 2019, I first heard President Bio in person speaking. I mean as President. He had his blue eye boys with him, as he was on a mission to rebrand Sierra Leone to the world. You can tell that they had done their homework based on the interactions in the hall.
President Bio’s Cabinet
My interest in the rest of his team grew more and how was his administration going to continue free quality education, minimize child abuse, restore law and order, clean the environment, resuscitate a maladroit health system, decrease unemployment, human capital development and the list goes on.
Stay tuned for more on this topic.
The writer, Geneba Koroma
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