Sierra Leone Telegraph: 6 October 2022:
Last Tuesday, 4th October , British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone – Lisa Chesney met the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kai-Kai at the ministry’s office in Tower Hill, Freetown.
During the visit, the two spoke about various areas of mutual interests, in particular – the climate change dialogue event taking place on the 13th of October in Sierra Leone, national cohesion, and the economy. They also discussed ways of strengthening cooperation between the two countries.
Minister Kai-Kai thanked the UK government for its continuing support for his government’s flagship Free Quality Education programme, health and agriculture, as well as access to renewable energy.
He also spoke about the government’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2019-2023), as well as initiatives the New Direction government is currently implementing to ensure that Sierra Leone continues to have a modern, diversified, efficient and financially sustainable economy.
Lisa Chesney took up her appointment as British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone in August 2021. Emma Spicer, the Development Director of The British High Commission in Freetown was also present at the meeting.
How about reviving King Tom & BlackHall Road & Falcon Bridge electricity power stations in Freetown with repairing the leaking concrete flat roof of The Prince of Wales Scholl Science Block which had all been neglected for decades and continue to be neglected? Seton During
Grateful dialogue…. Though the agricultural sector needs more concentration….
Dr Francis Kai Kai and his boss Peesident Bio continue to sell the same politically microwaved reheated messages to our developing partners .I supposed the British ambassador, Ms Lisa Chesney and the general Sierra Leonean public is sick to the teeth and tired of being fed the same aspirations goals set by this one directionless government four years on with little to show for their investments on this front .Who is fooling who, you will be hard pressed to find anyone that believe in what this one directionless government have done to move the eductionial dial to where it was when Bio took office to what is it today .Since we lost the status of the “Athens ” of West Africa , access to free quality education remains a challenging and a daunting task both for the present generation and future generation . Yes taking a holistic approach the way free education is delivered is not about sitting in a class room carmming your times table , or getting your alphabets right ,
majority of school age going children comes from families that are struggling to feed them .Yes you can trumpet free quality education but is not rocket science to know what matters is the outcomes . And if you are a hungry child , I wonder how you can concentrate or pay attention to your teachers .Back in our days ,our schools used to be supplied with cooking oil and what we called “Blogo ” .During our lunch breaks we used to be fed by the school .And if we remove our political bais hats and compare the Bio government achievement or the lack of by former President Uhuru Kenyatta governments on the same policy offering quality free education and no child left behind policy , there is big difference in terms of academic achievements by Kenyan children and that of their counterparts in Sierra Leoen .And that is exactly the point .When we talked about investment for the future development of our country , education for all should be the corner stone and the guiding principle under which this government or any future government should be judge.The illiteracy rate in Sierra Leone is high .And we can’t develope our country with out education for all.