Sierra Leone News: After years of neglect…Bonthe District family hosts development symposium

Sports

The Bonthe District Family will organize a Symposium on the repositioning of Bonthe District in a positive trajectory in the “New Direction Development Agenda on the theme “No Bonthonian Left Behind” at the District Council Hall, Mattru Jong, on Saturday June 23, 2018. According to the Head of House, Bonthe District Family Floyed Davis the purpose of the Symposium is to identify the problems facing Bonthe District and to develop a strategic roadmap that will prioritise the needs for its development which will serve as a blueprint to present to the government and donor agencies for support. “Over the past years successive governments are largely responsible for the current state of disrepair of our beloved district,” Davis said. Bonthe District has been neglected in all facets of development. After the war ended in 2002 and the re-introduction of local government in 2004,it was expected that development would be rapid in the district since almost all the critical infrastructures in the district were destroyed. But even with the re-introduction of the local councils development is moving at a snail’s pace and there have been massive deprivation and under-development in the district especially in mining communities where serious environmental damage has taken place, Davis lamented. There is no major paved road in the whole of Bonthe district, no pipe borne water supply, no electricity etc. etc. In the areas of service delivery there is very little to show more especially in the health and education sectors. According to the Demographic and Health survey of 2013 Bonthe District has among the highest recorded instances of infant, maternal and child mortality in the country. The transportation sector in the district is grossly under-developed particularly sea-transportation. There is only one sea ambulance in the district whose effectiveness in transporting pregnant women is highly questionable. “The district is plagued with exploitations by rogue politicians, corporate gangsters and multi-national corporations as their activities are causing serious environmental degradation that threatens the livelihood of our people,” Davis said while appealing for political will to support the District especially when the current President is a descendant of Bonthe. The main objective of the symposium is to identify the development challenges facing the district so as to proffer workable and realistic solutions to those challenges facing the district and draft a precise and concise report to present to President Julius Maada Bio for onward consideration in his “New Direction” Development Agenda. The Bonthe District Family was established in 2009 and inaugurated by late Peter Tucker to bring together descendants of Bonthe to undertake development projects and also complement government efforts in promoting socio economic development. SB/21/6/18 By Saidu Bah Friday June 22, 2018.

Fill the forms below to register

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.