Five presidential nominees to serve as deputy ministers with three as ambassadors as well as the Bank Governor and the Lotto Board Chairman yesterday faced the Appointments Committee.
The five proposed deputy ministers, Leonard Balogun Koroma, Musa Tarawally, Kadija Sesay, Jenneh Kandeh and Dr Algassimu Jah to serve as minister of state in the Vice President’s office, resident minister south, employment and social security, social welfare gender and children’s affairs and education youth and sports were interviewed.
The nominee to serve as Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone, Dr Samura Kamara, told the Appointments Committee that his vision would be to ensure domestic price stability and stable economic policy backed by a sound financial policy.
Asked how he would be able to let the Leone be equaled to the dollar and when the country would have value for its money, Dr Kamara said if it were possible for the central bank to reverse that it would be fine. But stated that it was not possible as there were factors that drive the value of a currency. “It is every body’s wish to have a high value of the Leone but it cannot stand on its own without being supported by other factors,” he said.
“What is more important than anything else,” he went on “is the stability of the exchange rate. You will wake up tomorrow and the exchange rate is not erratic, then you look out for investors but the value also functions on the inflation.”
The three nominees to serve as ambassadors to the United States, China and the High Commissioner to Ghana were also interviewed.
The proposed ambassador to China, Alhaji Dr Abdul Karim Koroma, said with the current posture of China to Africa Sierra Leone would continue to subscribe to China’s policy, while Osman Foday Yansaneh who is to go to Ghana considered Ghana as a trail blazer for peace to Sierra Leone and a tiger of West Africa that should be embraced.
Bockarie Stevens is proposed to go to the United States.
The proposed nominee to serve as board chairman of the Sierra Leone State Lottery, Chief Songu Aiah M’briwa, said he would promote Lotto and would ensure that the company be profitable for the good of the nation.
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