By Gibril G. Koroma, Toronto, Canada
The Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh (photo) On Saturday April 8 delivered a masterful lecture (not a normal speech) at a zoom meeting organised by the Canadian branch of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party to give an update on the activities of the branch and that of the party. The meeting was open to all Sierra Leoneans both home and abroad.
Frankly, I have only heard a few Sierra Leonean politicians critically analyse the country’s innards -like a sorcerer- in the way Dr. Jalloh did. I have heard or read thousands of speeches and went into the meeting expecting a dull and boring speech, but the VP, after the usual niceties and protocol, immediately launched into his expose without wasting any time, building it around three fundamental and extremely important pillars: 1. Education, 2. Health and 3. Agriculture. He commenced the meeting by recognizing the tremendous work the SLPP Canada Branch members are doing to support development in Sierra Leone despite their busy schedules.
He said when the SLPP came to power in 2018, they realised that the country was in a complete mess, and that they had to mount a quick rescue operation around those three fundamentals. They knew that no country could develop without an educated citizenry with the necessary skills to operate in the 21st century, while moving forward and competing with the rest of the world. An educated population, he noted, will also be productive enough to create a better future for themselves, their children, and the rest of the country. So they established the Free and Quality Education that has already produced overwhelming results with thousands of children going to school all over the country.
On healthcare, Dr. Jalloh, who spoke for about 30 minutes from Freetown, Sierra Leone, said when they took over the country’s healthcare system had completely broken down with babies dying at unacceptable rates all over the country. Most hospitals did not have the most basic equipment needed to ensure safe deliveries. All of that is now gradually changing with maternal mortality decreasing because of more hospitals and clinics being built all over the country. He also spoke of plans to dramatically increase the number of doctors trained in the country with the establishment of more teaching hospitals.
The SLPP government led by Brigadier (Retired) Julius Maada Bio, he noted, is quite aware that food is a very important complement of education and health. That is why, he said government is paying serious attention to Agriculture. He highlighted that despite global economic challenges, steps taken by the current government is the reason why Sierra Leone has the cheapest price per bag of rice in the sub-region. Gains have also been made by increasing rice production and that the country has started exporting agricultural products like cooking oil and other products.
Dr. Jalloh also talked about many other things including the MCC which is providing over 450 million dollars that will be used to help improve the energy sector of the country. The performance of Dr. Jalloh was so impressive that some members of other politics had nothing but praise for him.
One of the attendees, who has been away from Sierra Leone for over 20 years, told the Patriotic Vanguard that he never knew Dr. Jalloh was so powerful until he heard him speak on Saturday. He is an asset to the SLPP, he concluded.
In attendance also was the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Abu Bakarr Karim, who gave brief details on the key projects of the Ministry and progress made to date. Other distinguished guests included Mr. Daniel Kaitibi, Director NATCOM, Mrs. Princess Dugba, Deputy Minister of Health, Prof. Andrew Baimba, Prof. M.T Lahai, Ambassador Dr. Sidique Wai and many other dignitaries.
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