May 5, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
The Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman, Yusuf Keketoma Sandy has showered praises on the new Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa saying he has already set the foundation and pace for prudent fiscal management having increased revenue by 67% compared to the 40% scorecard of the previous government.
The Press Secretary went on that JJ Saffa brought many gains as Minister of Finance citing that he recruited five thousand teachers, four thousand nurses and stabilized the inflation rate from 15.3% in 2017 to 8.95% as of March 2021.
Keketoma Sandy maintained that the transfer of JJ Saffa to one of the highest seats would yield more dividends in terms of his fight over the “bread and butter” issue. He said as the Chief Minister; the third in command in the Bio’s cabinet, there is no doubt that he will perform extremely well to make things better for Sierra Leoneans.
According to the Presidential Spokesman, in governance, reshuffle is not about promotion or demotion as believed by skeptics. He said the SLPP cabinet has been the best one the country has had. He noted that the Constitution section gives the President the power to hire and fire at his will. He described the transfer of Prof. Dr. David Francis, the former Chief Minister, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the will of President Bio. He said with his experience as Consultant to the UN and the government of Rwanda, Dr. Francis, will increase the country’s good image internationally.
Meanwhile, concerns are being raised by members of the public over the lack of a Deputy Minister at Lands and Country Planning which has gone for months without a Deputy Minister. However, the President has filled in the gap at the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education by appointing Sajor Aziz Kamara as Deputy Minister.
It could be recalled that precedence was being set by the previous APC administration wherein President Koroma used his power to withhold the appointment of the Minister of Defence when Paolo Conteh was transferred to manage Ebola business. The position of Minister of Trade and Industry was for months with no holder until it came out clearly that Hon. Osu Boie could not return to retake his seat.