September 23, 2021
By Mohamed Jalloh
President Bio has graced the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly with a thrilling speech by highlighting the successes of his government since assuming the mantle of president over three years ago.
The president started by commending the current president of the UN general assembly Mr. Abdulla Sahid for his civic responsibility in steering the work of the assembly, and assured of Sierra Leone`s fullest support during his tenure.
He further congratulated the UN secretary general Antonio Gutierrez on his reappointment.
President Bio thanked the UN Secretary General for his leading role in coordinating the response to global challenges such as Covid -19 and climate change to tackle poverty and inequality.
He said Sierra Leone`s drive to prosperity and a brighter future have been challenged over the last two years due to the unfavorable consequences brought about by the Covid 19 pandemic.
He assured of Sierra Leone`s commitment to multilateral resolutions in tackling the Covid-19 scourge and its socio economic costs.
The president further commended Multilateral partners such as China, France, USA and the Covax facility for making available Covid vaccines that was administered to his citizens.
“In order to recover from the post Covid 19 fragility, my government has enhanced private sector participation, boosted international trade and instituted a robust fight against corruption that would increase investor confidence and create a conducive business environment”, the president disclosed.
President Bio said the health sector have been revamped through the adoption of science and data driven solutions to save lives and protect livelihoods.
He said he longer wishes Sierra Leone to be perceived as a nation saddled with tragedies and failures of the past, as according to him his government has supported the vulnerable through inclusive policies, building infrastructure and the opening up of the democratic space.
“The establishment of the National disaster Management Agency is geared towards the strengthening of state institutions to build resiliency that could respond to unforeseen disasters”, the president said.
The president revealed that pregnant girls and children living with disabilities are benefitting from the free and quality education that was launched by his government.
To ensure justice for all and to expedite trials, he disclosed that his government has established the model sexual offences, corruption, and fast track National Social Security and insurance Trust Courts.
President Bio said he has pursued a more democratic and good governance agenda that has witnessed the repeal of the death penalty and the half a century old criminal and seditious libel law.
As the chairman of the group of 10 African countries charged with the responsibility of championing reforms at the UN Security Council, the president made a clarion call for urgent reforms of the Security Council to reflect the hopes and aspirations of African states.
“54 countries and 1.2 billion Africans are unrepresented at the UN Security Council which is regarded as unfair and undemocratic to the African continent”, president Bio pointed out.
