By: Mohamed Jalloh
This is not the funds that were deliberately siphoned by way of connivance with government officials and contractors to construct the Magbele, Mabang bridges, and hill bye pass road in Freetown but was squandered under the reign of the previous APC regime. These infrastructural projects were only completed under the astute leadership of president Bio. It is neither the 30% government share in Sierra Rutile that was sold and bought at the same time by APC big guns. Perhaps these are some of the bottle necks that stifled economic growth under the APC regime, which led the then government to declare an austerity before they were kicked out of power by the electorate.
Actually, this is about a DFID donor funded project that could have securitized national identification, thereby placing law enforcement officials and criminal networks and terrorist organizations.
The project can also be vital for socioeconomic planning that could lead to national progress and development. Such an unpatriotic act is a clear testimony to know that the previous APC regime was a “Squandergate” government.
Therefore, president Bio at the SLPP young generation conference held in Kenema district, decided to spill the beans, he even went further to open the can of worms by way of exposing the corrupt practices of the Ernest Koroma`s regime.
President Julius Maada Bio stated that the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) had given to the APC Government of former President Ernest Bai Koroma-led APC Government, huge amounts of money to produce national securitized ID cards which they transformed to private gains.
He added that his (SLPP) government after lobbying the UK government was also given money by DfID for the same purpose which his government never misappropriated but utilized in producing highly securitized National ID Cards, ECOWAS ID Cards and ID Cards for foreign nationals.
He intimated the gathering that the money was given to the APC government in 2015.
The first gentleman added that, “because my government is a responsible government, we are doing the correct things responsibly for the general good of all the people of Sierra Leone.”
President Bio told the mammoth gathering especially the young generation to focus on education because when you fail to be educated you will suffer.
He went on to say that the draconian Criminal Libel law and the Death Penalty have been removed from our law books, adding that for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Sierra Leone during the rule of the APC failed the MCC scorecard but that when his government came to power, the SLPP has always been on top of the MCC and meeting the required thresh-hold for grants and loans from the USA and from the international community.
The commander in chief urged his audience to consider the tremendous progress and development initiatives, completed infrastructural projects such as roads and bridges, improvement in agriculture, the incredibly successful free quality education programme among many other developments the SLPP of President Bio has achieved and based on this, they must re-elect him and the SLPP to do more in his second term in office.