(FEATURE)
By: Precious Miracle Kargbo (Intern)
President Bio and Wife Fatima made a triumphant return home after a lengthy period of successful diplomatic engagement and interactions with partners and developmental oriented agencies all in the interest of promoting national development in the country.
His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio and delegation arrived in New York for the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, joining colleague Heads of State, Government and other global leaders to rebuild trust in the 2030 Agenda. Under the theme, “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability for All”, the President as expected proactively engaged his colleague Heads of State, Government officials attending UNGA, Heads of International Financial Institutions, Philanthropic Organizations and the media.
Bamboozled and delighted by President Bio’s return majority of Sierra Leoneans gathered at the National Airport to welcome his Excellency on his well productive trip, women spread their wrappers just for the President and his entourage to step on just to show as a sign to show support and appreciation for all the good things they have been doing in the country. President Bio committed everyone present that he has met with a lot of international leaders and Heads of states such as the President of Slovenia, South Korea,Vice President of China and the former President of Tanzania. President Bio also had fruitful engagement with the ICC prosecutor and the CEO of the MCC scorecard in which all of the representatives really praised President Bio’s Leadership and commitment towards sustainable development.
President Julius Maada Bio Showcases Sierra Leone’s development strides and highlights his Government’s vision for sustainable transformation for the next five years.
The president with his charisma of leadership also engaged with key stakeholders before the commencement of Sierra Leone’s tenure as a Non-Permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term 2024-2025.
Through Bio’s sustentative leadership Sierra Leone is expected to assume the UN Security Council Presidency in August 2024. The country, voted for by 188 countries out of 193 UN member states on 6 June 2022 and is returning to the Council in that category after 53 years, a demonstration of respect for the small West African nation.
Sierra Leone is now among other countries like Algeria, Guyana, Republic of Korea and Slovenia to join the premier body for maintaining international peace and security. This stride by President Bio is all in the manner to ensure that Sierra Leone is recognized and will continue to be at the apex of peace building, transparency and accountability to the people of Sierra Leone at all time. It is a very string move after all the detached coups that have been taking place in neighboring francophone countries, President Bio is bent on running a government administration that seeks for total peace and sanity at all time and running an inclusive government.
It is very discretional, that President Julius Maada Bio is working with the governments new direction plans and policy which resonates with this year’s General Assembly theme of rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity. At the conference, President Bio gave a resounding statement which covered his first five-year tenure of office and included the major activities that he has involved in namely, corruption, abolishing the death penalty, increasing education funding by 22 percent and providing tuition free access to all school age children and secondary school levels.
He further highlighted Government’s action on gender issues, with special commitment to and recognition of 18 November as the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence. Under the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act of 2022, 30 per cent of elected and appointed seats are compulsorily slated for Sierra Leonean women. He further gave a forecast of his five-pillar-based second term to cover food security, human capital development, youth empowerment, technological advancement and public service reform.
Calling on Member States to uphold the United Nations Charter in order to foster international cooperation and urging accelerated action on the Sustainable Development Goals, President Bio said “the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development isn’t merely an outline; it is a solemn pact we’ve entered, committing to crafting a world steeped in peace and prosperity”. He spotlighted the rising spate of insecurity and coups in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region and joined his voice to regional and international calls against illegitimate changes in Governments of the region, stressing that “while we emphasize the importance of dialogue, we can’t ignore a crucial reality: the ongoing threats to our Continent’s constitutional stability are signs of deeper problems”. He proffered educational and human capital development measures such as job creation, poverty alleviation and government industry support as tools to successfully combat the current state of things.
Echoing the unequivocal dissent of ECOWAS towards any extra-constitutional changes of Government, President Bio adds by speaking against “threaten the stability of individual nations and the fabric of our collective African identity”. Ongoing threats to the continent’s constitutional stability are signs of deeper problems, ranging from past and present injustices to the burdens of poverty, widespread unemployment and discrimination. “Our duty is clear: We must lift our people from poverty,” he said. “Together, we must envision an Africa where our Governments are not removed by unconstitutional means — not because they forcefully prevent them, but because the underlying causes for such challenges no longer exist”. He instituted a National Electoral Systems Review Committee to address historic challenges to his country’s electoral process and strengthen electoral integrity. He regretted a certain Member State’s introduction of unilateral coercive measures, including visa restrictions, on some Sierra Leonean citizens in the aftermath of the 24 June multi-tier elections. Member States must respect the sovereignty and political independence of one another, he stressed, urging dialogue and open channels of communication on all matters.
Conclusively, President Bio ensures his commitment to upholding international peace and security, with a bias for insecurity and democratic governance ideals in West Africa and the Sahel, stating that “our goal remains to thwart the seeds of conflict before they sprout, to ensure sustainable resources for African Union-led peace operations and to silence the guns decisively and forever in Africa”. He also called for reforming the Council, particularly echoing Africa’s demands for two permanent and five non-permanent seats. He concluded by calling for global solidarity in confronting the issues of our day, with special attention on the triple planetary crises of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. President Bio’s return is nothing but a complete overhaul of success and unending development for Sierra Leoneans.
