In his opening remarks at the start of the two day conference on Development and Transformation, President Ernest Bai Koroma has declared that “SALONE NAH WE ALL YONE EN NAH WE ALL GO MAKE E FINE” literally translated Sierra Leone belongs to all of us and the responsibility is on all our shoulders to make it better.
In a short 13 minute speech the President maintained that “We must all acknowledge that The good Lord has given this nation a second chance, let us grab it with the fervour of true patriots and the strength, efficiency and perseverance of a people prepared for bolder changes to our methods and practices.”
Adding that “This involves all of us, politicians, civil servants, farmers, school children, mine workers, traders, everyone” President Koroma went on to acknowledge that “…SALONE NAH WE ALL YONE EN NAH WE ALL GO MAKE E FINE.”
Sierra Leoneans from all works of life and friends of Sierra Leone from all over the world, were at the Miatta Conference Hall to give the country “a new face” that ensures peace, stability, prosperity and a reliable future for generations yet unborn.
‘Eh’kushe’, ‘Buwaah’, ‘Walibayna’ ‘N’piari’ are some of the local greetings Isata Kabia employed to welcome delegates including a deputy Chief Minister from India, to the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation at the Miatta Conference Hall at Brookfields.
Reminding the conference that “from Freetown to Kailahun we are one”, Ms. Kabia in a colorful speech reminded the delegates of the path Sierra Leone has taken since independence and called on delegates to come up with a “new face” for Sierra Leone.
Officially declaring the conference open, President Koroma started by informing the gathering that, “the journey of the next fifty years of independence has begun,” and opined that the gathering is to map out how the country should make better her trek in the course of the next fifty years.
The President noted that “It is within our rights to have this vision for Sierra Leone: it is within our rights to want to be in charge of our transformation and it is within our rights to chart the way forward towards this great vision. More importantly the realization of this vision is within our reach, it is within the possibilities offered by our immense natural resources and confident citizens.”
Defending the need for the conference, the President informed his audience that “the vision is already cast; the aspirations made known, and the situation more opportune than at any time since the founding of our nation.” He said Sierra Leoneans all over the country are in agreement that this nation must seize the opportunities inherent in the growing interests in our natural resources and commitment to democracy, while pointing out that the gathering is to map out how to utilize the country’s natural resources, its democracy and its culture to transform it into a middle-income level country and an advanced economy in the next twenty-five to fifty years.
If President Koroma was disappointed that the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) boycotted the conference, his demeanor while reading his speech did not reveal it, as he disclosed the expected economic growth of the country in GDP by over 50% this year as the country is on “the threshold of rapid transformation and growth.”
He pointed out that the country is “now at a position similar to where we were at independence”, highlighting the “high demand for our natural resources, a democratic system of governance, and a populace eager for transform itself.”
The Head of State urged that “We must not be distracted; we must not allow partisan interests or electioneering to derail our collective aspirations for a better Sierra Leone; we must not allow the violent to take the shine off our demonstrated commitment to democratic elections.”
He went on to declare that “The process of transformation has started, and we must sustain it.”
The debate for some people outside the conference hall at the end of the opening session was not so much about the President’s speech or the expectations of the two-day deliberations; rather, it was the right or wrong of the SLPP boycott and whether it is “bad politics.” The conference goes on.
By Winston Ojukutu-Macauley Jnr.
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