April 12, 2021
By: Aruna Kamara (Bo)
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Panda Noah last weekend visited one of the biggest Ataya Base in Bo district situated at the back of Universal Church in the district and cautioned the youths to refrain from criminality and any forms of violence.
He told the youths that President Julius Maada Bio has rolled out programs to engage the minds of the youth in order to be productive and contribute to nation building.
According to him, the youths form the bulk of the population in Sierra Leone and their contribution towards the development of the country is key, adding that the President has the youths at heart.’’
Mr. Noah encouraged the youths to be involved in agriculture instead of engaging in any criminal act that has the potential to restrict their movement, especially when they are caught and sent to jail.
He said President Bio has taken agriculture as one of the priority areas, and also farm implements including tractors secured, and advise the youths in the rural areas to get-started to embark on agriculture.
Internal Affairs Minister, however, said that he was impressed with the step taken by the cliques in Bo who organized a football ball gala as a way of denouncing violence.
He commended the police boss in the South for ensuring that crime rate in the southern province is reduced and called on the youths to work with the police to expose any form of criminal act in their respective communities, as the police will not be able to provide internal security except the people help the police whose numerical strength is small compared to the public.
Mr. Noah at end of the his visit gave the youths one hundred United States dollar to renovate their Ataya base to serve as a centre to educate the youths to refrain from violence and embark on agriculture.
Some of the youth at the Ataya Base in Bo said that they were happy to have received the Minister to engage them on discussions that will change their lives and contribute towards the development of the country.
Brima Sam said the visit of the Internal Affair Minister was timely as he engaged them at the time of Easter. He added that they are going to serve as Ambassadors of preach, non-violence and any criminal act within their communities.