Bank of Sierra Leone’s deputy Bank Governor, Alhaji MS Fofana, has assured brilliant student of the bank’s support.
In his keynote address at the scholarship award ceremony of the bank’s Charity Trust Fund on Friday, Mr Fofana averred that, “we hope that by providing for those who have the ability to achieve academic excellence but can not do so for lack of financial support, we can help restore the academic prowess for which Sierra Leone was known in the continent.”
The deputy governor assured “everyone, not only those in secondary schools, but also institutions and individuals who have the talent and the commitment to demonstrate outstanding performance…will get our attention and support, if deserving.”
The deputy governor explained that, “the idea of a charity trust fund was conceived by the bank in the wake of the devastation caused by the decade old civil conflict…”
“We are convinced that the future for a better Sierra Leone and a decisive turnaround in the state of the economy lie largely in education taking its rightful place in the development plan,” Mr Fofana stressed.
“As the nation’s central bank”, he said, “we have a pivotal role to play in the development aspirations of the country.”
“That is why as a cooperate body, we have recognised our responsibility in the discharge of our duties to honour our corporate social responsibility,” he maintained.
“We are therefore doing all in our power to compliment the efforts of the government and other well-meaning partners to help forest economic and social development.”
“To this end,” he heightened, “our corporate social responsibility is focused on providing a stimulus that will help promote excellence in every aspect of our development, but more so in education.”
He however emphasised that there were daunting challenges ahead and “if we are to progress as a nation we should have a capacity to provide trained and skilled manpower on a sustainable basis.”
The deputy governor appealed to development partners who had not yet come onboard to do so “so that together we can build a better Sierra Leone, one that can compete with the global market,” he anticipated.
He thanked the board of trustees of the charity for working tirelessly and assiduously “to actualise the objectives of the bank,” and also congratulated the awardees- Rashidatu Caulker and Bobson Sesay of the Annie Walsh Memorial School and St Augustine Secondary respectively for being the proud receivers of the bank’s scholarships.
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