By: Uncle Sankara
The Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr. Francis KaiKai in an exclusive interview with this medium on Wednesday January 4th 2023 at O.A.U Drive Headquarters has thanked President Julius Maada Bio for separating his Ministry from its Finance Counterparts.
This is true today, because the Mid-Term Development Plan with eight clusters has relieved the nation from the austerity strangulation left behind by the former government to a prosperous economic nation in the making.
Minister Dr. Francis Kaikai said the plan has no single policy as it involves all line Ministries with diverse functions and they as a Ministry are mandated to coordinate all structures for the success of these policies be it on education which deals with Human Capital Development, Mining, Agriculture, Fishing, Marine and Water Resources, Energy, Statistics, Working with Non-governmental Organizations (NGO), International donor Community, Bilateral Agencies, China, Created District Council Coordinating, Committees.
The Private Sector has a wide range of developments to foster rapidity and success in the area of implementation alongside the combating the problems faced by society through collective engagement.
He said the unprecedented global challenges such as the Russian/Ukraine war and Covid-19 which has strangled many economies in both developed and developing countries.
Sierra Leone has never been hard hit as compared to other countries globally. A case in point he says is that there is nothing you want to buy that is not in the market place, meaning President Bio’s initiative to introduce the Mid Term National Development Plan is to enhance strategic Economic Planning as detailed in his manifesto for speedy economic recovery.
He said like the Free Quality Education, President Bio has promised that from this year, Agriculture will be his government priority to ensure food sustainability for the people of Sierra Leone and ensure that he supports locally produced crops to be exported to other countries which will enable us to discourage the dollar fluctuation against the currency.