State House, Freetown, Friday 18 August 2023 – Chief Minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr David Moinina Sengeh, has met with executives of key union groups in the country as part of his ongoing engagement with stakeholders, traditional and religious leaders, talking about government’s Big Five Agenda.
The groups included the Drivers’ Union, Market Women Association, Bike Riders’ Union, Petty Traders, Kekeh Riders, and Traders Union. The meeting was also a platform for the Chief Minister to get the various players involved in the actualisation of the President’s agenda for the country.
Chairman of the Commercial Drivers and General Motor Owners’ Union, Alpha Bah, thanked the President through the Chief Minister for engaging them on government priorities, noting that amidst the global economic crisis, Sierra Leone was better off in terms of the availability of basic foodstuff.
The Chairman of the Traders’ Union, Lansana Vandy, on behalf of his membership expressed their gratitude to President Bio for taking the bold steps to appoint more than 30 percent of women in his cabinet. He said that as a union with the largest membership nationwide, they are ready to support the government in ensuring the Big Five agenda is achieved.
“Chief Minister, I am assuring you of our unwavering support for President Bio’s government, and I also want to assure you that we are going to embark on large-scale farming to help in actualising the Feed Salone dream. In those days, we used to extract cocoa to drink tea, and it minimised the purchase of tea leaves and cocoa. I am of the view that if we return to those practices, it will help local farmers, and our economy will grow,” he assured.
Chief Minister, Dr Sengeh, while responding to the union heads, thanked them for making a day to meet with them and for their determination, courage, and show of commitment to working with the President for the actualisation of the Big Five Agenda.
He urged the unions to remain steadfast in demonstrating and putting into action their support for the transformation of Sierra Leone, noting that the government was appreciative of all the grassroots support he had been receiving from all sectors across the country that were geared towards transformation and the development of Sierra Leone.
Chief Minister thanked the union executives for their resilience in building up a better, more prosperous, and brighter future for their children and the nation in particular. He reminded them of how the government was operating an open-door policy on all fronts, irrespective of tribe, region, or political affiliation, which he noted was demonstrated in the recent appointment of young and vibrant ministers from across the country.
He called on the unions to continue contributing their best toward the development of the nation, stressing that no matter how small or big such contributions were, the general picture must be in the interest of Sierra Leone.
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