By: Mohamed Jalloh
The Chief Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa has expounded on the new 2023 SLPP manifesto and he purposefully noted that the bread and butter issue has been tackled.
Jacob Jusu Saffa explained that it could have been worst under the reign of another government but went further to exclaimed that the Bio led government has kept the prices of goods of services within the range of sub-Saharan inflationary index which is 35%.
The 2023 SLPP manifesto is dubbed the “people`s manifesto” which is meant to prepare the minds of Sierra Leoneans about how the government of President Julius Maada Bio intends to rule Sierra Leone again for the next five years. According to the chief Minister the 5 Big Game Changers Unveiled in SLPP is anchored on five key initiatives for building an inclusive and prosperous Sierra Leone and for faster and lasting transformation. The chief minister articulated the SLPP’s big five game changers as follows: 1. Feed Salone: An initiative to boost agricultural productivity to ensure food security and inclusive economic growth. President Bio’s top priority in his second term is for Sierra Leone to be food self-sufficient. The next SLPP Government will boost agricultural productivity by increasing investment, which will fuel inclusive economic growth, boost food production, reduce hunger and poverty, create jobs, boost export earnings, and build our resilience in the face of climate change.
2. Human Capital Development: Nurturing skills for 21st Century Industry. Inclusive economic growth relies on skilled and educated human capital. In the next five years, the SLPP Government will invest in developing the technical and vocational skills required to grow the economy focusing particularly on creating equal opportunity for women. We will invest in health systems to develop a healthy and capable workforce for a 21st century economy.
3. Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES): A Presidential Initiative to create 500,000 jobs for the youth in five years. YES, is a Presidential Initiative to harness the energy of Sierra Leone’s youth by creating 500,000 jobs in the next five years. These lobs will include skills and unskilled, long-term, and seasonal jobs across all sectors. This will be done by providing incentives to the private sector to hire, train and upskill especially young women and girls.
4. Revamping the Public Service Architecture: Delivery, Efficiency and Professionalism. In the next five years, the SLPP Government will continue its mission to fostering a professional and meritocratic public service that is fit for purpose and delivers on its mandate. Our goal is to attract support and retain the best and the brightest to serve the people of Sierra Leone. 5. Tech and Infrastructure: Pathways for Sustained Economic Growth (TIPEG). The SLPP Government will accelerate its inclusive growth agenda by investing in infrastructure, technology, and digitization. This will be done by investing in energy generation and transmission, the construction of roads and bridges, expanding energy access across the country, and making it easier to link production centres and markets.
The chief minister said the SLPP have delivered all on the 2018 New Direction Manifesto which including education, electricity, water supply, human capital development, petroleum products, agricultural inputs, interconnectivity of big towns/ cities to Agricultural areas. He added that the promised where embedded in the new direction manifesto which were delivered.
He disclosed that the new manifest or which is architecture by himself the Chief Minister, is a people centered manifesto and that the manifested would definitely stand the test of time. He encouraged all the SLPP Party stewards to hold the new manifesto into high esteem. He said he was convinced that the manifesto when implemented by President Bio, it would eliminated death related poverty.
The Chief Minister expressed thanks to the party for given him the opportunity to once again lead on the development of the SLPP manifesto for the June 24th 2023 elections. He said the manifesto was also supervised by the SLPP National Chairman. He added that the process started by soliciting views and contributions from the public, did a stock taking in the effort to develop the manifesto. He said even the issue of the traditional rulers, youth, written reports from Ministers were all captured into the manifesto. He said they also benefited from the NGC Alliance in terms of development of the content of the manifesto. He assured the president that the process which led to the development of the manifesto was participatory and inclusive which is geared towards providing better opportunities for citizens.
Jacob Jusu Saffa said five years ago he launched the New Direction manifesto which paved the way for an SLPP victory. He said serving the SLPP has been the greatest thing that had ever happened to him and he is marketing the new manifesto with great humor.
He revealed that the SLPP New Direction Agenda achieved tremendous goodies in the last five years
The Chief Minister assured of improving the lives of the old and young and went on guarantee that development programmes will not be distributed by color or party sentiments.
He stated that when the SLPP took up governance in 2018, the economy was in shambles but noted that when he became chief minister he has changed the narrative.
He added that the SLPP prioritized human capital development through the free quality education and has made tremendous improvement in the maternal mortality rate index by reducing the scourge by 60%.
He said the Munafa Fund coupled with the free cash transfer by NaCSA, helped cushioned the economic impact of women and less economically powerful across the country.
