The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, His Excellency, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, has met with stakeholders in the business community including; the Petroleum Sector, Transport Union, Keke and Okada Riders, Chamber of Commerce, Trader’s Union, Importers and manufacturers, and different Civil society groups advocating on trade, as part of a series of government’s continued interface with big players in the economy, to discuss challenges and opportunities that would boost the socio-economic growth of Sierra Leone.
At the well-attended programme, hosted at State House, President Bio spoke about a range of issues but started by thanking the business community for their resilience during these ‘tough times’ as he called it.
“I have listened and heard all the challenges from the business community and government will act appropriately” he affirmed.
President Bio also urged Sierra Leoneans to be patriotic and be brand ambassadors for their country.
Representatives of Oil Marketing Companies commended government for providing foreign exchange for them to do their business during the fuel crisis and the other forms of support that eased their operations during this global crisis.
A representative of the Trader’s Union, Mr. Vandi Lansana, commended government’s effort in supporting traders during the COVID-19 pandemic with the ‘Munafa funds’ and the Nacsa ‘Fet Po’ project. This according to Mr. Vandi, has changed the lives of many traders.
Other representatives of various sectors delivered similar sentiments and pleaded to government for more assistance.
The interactive session was hailed by many business people in attendance and many asked that government continues on this path.
