By: James Kamara-Manneh
President Julius Maada Bio told Aljazeera in an interview range of successes his government has made over the past four years and with all that Sierra Leone is heading for greater days if they reelected into office come 2023. The interview touches on various issues affecting the growth of its citizens and the country, the interviewee was poised in outlining his scorecard and promise more development.
The recent issue discussed was the August 10 insurrection and described as a politically motivated protest not based on the high cost of living. He said the chant of the protesters was never based on the high cost of commodities because his government has been working assiduously to ease the burden on its citizens.
He never denied that there is no hardship in the country but that his government ids trying to alleviates the high rate of poverty in the country. Though hardship is not only in Sierra Leone, the President told the world that his government is working towards providing a better life for its people.
“It is my duty as the President of Sierra Leone to cater for the needs of my people but what is happening around the world has a limit to what we can address, such as the world economic crises…, in respective of the fact that we have taken off waved on duty on essential commodities and to make them available,” President Bio noted.
Based on price control, he said his government is very sensitive to prices and has reduced the prices of fuel twice in one day.
He affirmed that the protest was politically motivated because the protesters were chanting for him to leave and to push for overthrowing him, which was the desire of the organizers. He said to lessen the burden on women his government issues a macro credit grant called MUNAFA to cushion the economic effect on the family.
He referred to the unscrupulous individuals residing in the diaspora in sighting violence together with their collaborators in Freetown who are well place politicians in society using the present hardship to wreak mayhem in the country.
Presently, the President said his government is on nationwide engagement with all state partners, traditional leaders, religious leaders and Paramount Chief etc, and said he is very optimistic for lasting peace. He some of the marauding gangs who were going to the police stations to steal motorbikes and causing obstructing in the country, and that is not a peaceful protest, he described. “We are going to provide security henceforth, going to work with a political party to make sure that the unfortunate situation will not reoccur,” he said.