Sierra Leone Telegraph: 12 April 2018:
After much anticipation from the people of Sierra Leone, and criticisms too for delaying the appointment of his cabinet ministers, president Julius Maada Bio has today announced his first wave of ministers and senior officials, who will help him govern a divided and economically bankrupt country.
In putting his cabinet together, president Bio has gone for a mixture of experience and novice. But he has certainly brought into government, some of his most trusted and loyal servants, such as Jacob Jusu Saffa, whom he has appointed as Minister of Finance.
Charles Francis Margai (Photo) – the leader of the opposition People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) has been appointed Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Charles Margai is a renowned Barrister and his expertise will be crucial in providing much needed advice to president Bio and his government.
It is expected that Lawyer Margai will now be studying the Supreme Court Petition filed by the opposition APC’s Dr Sylvia Blyden, challenging the election results and calling for fresh elections to be held. Margai will be expected to represent president Bio in Court.
Alpha Osman Timbo has been appointed to the position of Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, with responsibility for transforming president Bio’s election promise of free education for all school children in the country into reality.
Timbo will also be expected to prioritise the raising of educational standards across all education sectors.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation will now be headed by Dr Alpha T. Wurie, who will be expected to focus on reducing child and maternal mortality in the country, one of the highest in the world.
Wurie will need to take a close look at the former APC government’s private health insurance scheme and how best it can be made to work to the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans, irrespective of income.
But he will need to balance private healthcare insurance with the need for universal access to community and secondary healthcare, so as to avoid a national crisis.
Also, on today’s list of cabinet appointees is: Kanja Sesay – Minister of Energy, who will need to hit the ground running, as the capital Freetown is now in a state of darkness, due to power cuts which started on the night Julius Maada Bio was sworn as the new president.
Many in Sierra Leone say that the power cut is a deliberate act of sabotage by the defeated APC, who are still refusing to accept the election results.
Supporters of the SLPP are calling for those responsible for criminality to be held accountable for their actions.
Dr. Jonathan Tengbe has been appointed as the 
Minister of Water Resources, a position that will be closely watched, given the country’s poor performance in terms of access to clean and safe drinking water, with over 60% of households without pipe-borne water. Dr Tengbe is an engineer by profession and is considered as one of the best brains in the Bio government.
Other appointees include, Yusuf Keketoma Sandi – who has worked tirelessly as head of the SLPP communications unit, now taking on the role of Government Press Secretary; Mohamed Swaray as Minister of Information and Communication. (Photo: Dr Tengbe).
Emma Kowa has been appointed Minister of Marine Resources, with the task of reviewing all fishing contracts and agreements, tightening the country’s fishing regulations, and ensuring that the coastal waters are adequately protected and secured by the marine police, so as to curb illegal fishing by foreign trawlers.
Sierra Leone is losing over $50 million in revenue from fishing every year.
Adekunle Joliff Milton King is the new Minister of Labour and Social Security; Baindu Dassama – Minister of Social Welfare, Gender, Children’s and Religious Affairs; Edward A. Soluku – Minister of Internal Affairs; Retired Brigadier Simeon Sheriff – Deputy Defense Minister; and Sahr Lahai Jusu – Financial Secretary.
President Bio says that he will be making further appointments soon.
H.E. The President Rtd Brig Dr. Julius Maada Bio is a wise man that is why he is called MAADA meaning GROUND-PA in mende language.
Above all, HE is GOD’s chosen one. So he is under GOD’s direction. All I know is that PAOPA SALONE for BETTEH, because we are dealing with “Prompt Action On Poverty Alleviation”. Long live Wise One that is Ground-Pa aka Maada. Long live SIERRA LEONE.
Better appointments this time. It reminds me how EBK was appointing Ministers because of family lineage or friendship.
Look at the former Resident Minister for the North, Ali Wasco Kamara, who was the most uneducated and reckless Minister ever in the history of Sierra Leone.
Are beg, Boss Bio go ahead and give us a better representation. I am pleased with your appointments.
The people of Sierra Leone will punish APC Crooks and their reckless regime for the next 30 Years and they will not govern us. They own NOT this nation. They are responsible for the highest bankruptcy and looting of our resources. They have killed our economy totally. They are unpatriotic rogue men and women, and thats why they got kicked out. Mr president, do not allow these people into your INCLUSIVE Government. They pretend to be allies, but are plotting to kill your plans.
I am with the National Grand Coalition and KKY. I am Themne who has always been suspicious of both SLPP and APC. I believe they are one and the same under the guise of different names. They both bear equal responsibility for the melancholic state of the country.
Let me repeat a statement which I have written in the past to illuminate and reinforce my point : when APC are in power they dislodge the sun from its position of ninety three million miles away from earth to bring it close enough to scotch us mercilessly. Its blaze makes it impossible for us to open our eyes , during which time they dive into the Treasury and other places to cart our wealth out of the country and use some of it to build mansions.
When SLPP are in power , they grow the branches of the palm tree bigger for them to cast a long shadow over us, producing a cool wind which lulls us into a slumber.This is when they take everything away which should benefit the nation as a whole.
I couldn’t care less who President Bio appoints to his cabinet if in his assessment he believes that such people would nudge the country forward. As he said himself the other day , he already has less than five years to go before facing the electorate again.
Too many PhD holders in his cabinet may well spell his doom as these so-called educated people may well be lacking in common sense when needed the most,the type of common sense which the market women at Krootown Road apply all the time that makes them successful ; they can smell a beneficial deal from a mile away.
Our focus now should be on the President’s performance to ascertain whether or not he will break away from the norm and carve his name into the history books as the man who took over a listless country and turned it into a proud entity.
As a country we have seen leaders who came in as tigers but who very quickly turned to butterflies. Earnest Korma fell into this category. Equally we have seen those who came in as race horses but who were very quickly whipped to a trot. His Excellency Major-general Doctor Joseph Saidu Momoh fell into this category.
May the Almighty help our dear country. I still believe in KKY. Our chance is not too far away.
Long live our President, long live Mama Salone. I pray that these guys will work hard for the benefit of our beloved Salone. I pray for transparency And accountability.
Folks, opposing a seating government is of no essence. Mama salone has been wrecked by various selfish individuals who thought nothing but embezzling what is meant for the nation. Our current situation as a country is pathetic economically with debts Worth trillions of Leones. As patriots, our concern should be about how to revive and build our economy, instead of condemning.
This time around we need illiterates in our Cabinet, because this is not a literate government. This is President Julius Maada Bio’s government.
President Bio’s appointment has created an impact in the lives of Sierra Leoneans. long live Bio, long live Sierra Leone.
Bio thank you for the job.
So far, this is a good start; the list seems to be full of credible, responsible people; and not mediocre appointments. We need selfless people who are mindful of their credibility and family name and ready to stand up for what is right irrespective of who you are.
We are tired of sycophants, having seen the dangers this might cause for the people of Mama Salone. “Having learnt how sycophancy can lead to the personalization of power in the hands of one man and undermine effective leadership, President Bio and his administration should be open to receiving and giving feedback to all categories of people, including his critics and the political opposition” (IGR, 2018)
Imagine the statement of H.E Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio at the IMF meeting today. There is virtually nothing to show for such unrealistic and unreasonable debts caused by the Ernest Koroma administration, after inheriting zero debt from his predecessor with huge reserves.
Now the current administration will have to struggle with not only the economic austerity but an external debt of two billion dollars, internal debt of 4.3 trillion Leones and an overdraft of 160 billion Leones used for the payment of salaries. What was the revenue that was collected, spent on. It is worth reading this piece by the Institute of Governance Reform (IGR) titled “DIVORCING WEALTH FROM POWER: HOW SUCCESSIVE REGIMES FAIL SIERRA LEONE”.
There is a reason he was elected president. He was there before and he saw the pot empty and he left. He is back, thinking the pot is full of money. He must be crazy. Free everything….it will soon backfire. Let us wait. APC supporters should not sit back and being abused by SLPP supporters. APC supporters should start fighting. Let us bring war back to Sierra Leone.
BJ, this is a warning from the management and editor of the Sierra Leone Telegraph, that we do not take kindly to anyone calling for the people of Sierra Leone to go to war. Please refrain from spreading such message. The people of Sierra Leone do not want war. So please do not send any further comment here to promote instability in Sierra Leone. Thank you.
Bj – you have limited intelligence, but you do not have limited stupidity. Pity on you, because if war happens you will be one of those persons to be held accountable.
BJ surely you’re an enemy of the state. But you won’t succeed in your mission at all, trust me. One of the real Sierra Leoneans has advised you not to use that kind of indecent and vulgar language. Look at the destruction and damage APC has left us. His Excellency Bio met nothing just the garbage trash.
APC will never rule this country again. APC is over. You will never come back to power. Just a shame APC vandalized all the government vehicles. What a disgrace. Because of power they even insulted the International election observers, accusing everybody. The whole world has seen your disgrace.
BJ you should take a rifle and go and live the rest of your life in a forest as Foday Sankoh did. If you don’t know what to say to bring peace and pray for development for the country, then please be quiet. H.E.J.M. Bio is a former military man and he’s not afraid of anyone.
I am sure you are seating somewhere peaceful enjoying everyday life. Certainly the poor people of SL who suffered the brunt of the last war will not dream of another war. If you have a conscience you should bury your head in shame. Now the grapes is sour because you and yours are not in the driving seat.
That does not mean SL should disintegrate because some AR-WAN-GUT dem loss PAWA. ( Da tem way una bin day say Live 4 ever don pass). Now na democracy the youths of SL are watching your every move and they are determined not to be fooled by anyone. If Bio sef form crase dem get tick behen doe for wap. Lonta.
Please let us upkeep democracy as-of; for the nation by the nation and of the nation in the mode of traditional APC sustainable standards thereby avoiding copy-cat dramatic scenes of some other unprogressive nations.
The foot-print of war is a looming indicator of global air pollution in terms of unpredictable Climate/change initiative.
I appreciate the items of work the nominees have to do:
(1) energy…LIGHT (2) water resources (H2O) (3) sanitary (Health services) (4) education. Many old africans all over Africa studied in Sierra Leone.
But agriculture (FOOD) and transport are not mentioned as a key agenda for the starting point.
But overall, it is a good beginning for the new government. Thanks to the people of Sierra Leone who voted for change. This is my first time of making comments on a website after the elections in Sierra Leone. I am from Italia…ITALY
I do not think that this is the inclusive government that President Bio had promised. Granted he still has to fill the following Ministries: Works, Agriculture, Foreign, Transport and Aviation, Economic and Development, Sports, Youth, and Political Affairs, which means we have nine remaining. But so far, the above is a Southern and Eastern populated cabinet apart from Kono District that is not represented.
Tengbeh and Sahr Lahai Jusu are Kissies, Kanja Sesay and Mohamed Swaray are Mandingoes, while Dr. Wurie and Alpha Timbo are Fullahs, and Adekunle King is a Krio. The rests are Mendes. This is not good.
There is no Themne, Limba, Kono, Yalunka, Susu, Kuranko and Shebro on the list. I hope that president Bio would look at that when he is making his other appointments. An inclusive government would make everyone feel welcome and on board.
President Bio should look at the fact he garnered very good votes from places like Falaba, Port Loko, Tonkolili, and Kambia that enabled him to torpedo his rival in the APC.
He should not make the same mistake that the APC under Koroma made, when he erroneously deciphered that the South and East were not relevant for his ascension to power in 2007 and 2012. This winner takes all ideology will not help heal the divide that the APC has left with us over the last ten years.
Why is Charles Margai on this list? The guy is responsible for everything that went wrong during the last ten years. He went to bed with the APC without making sure the rules of the marriage that would benefit the country were properly spelled out.
When the then newly elected APC in 2007 and 2009, raided and burned the SLPP office killing one inside and raping women, Charles Margai could not summon the courage to hold his partners in the then coalition responsible, or to rein in on them to stop.
So why should he benefit from a party that he tried to drown 10 years ago? SLPP has many legal luminaries to draw from for this position. Charles is a spent and wasted force. Bio ought to know better.
Oooo Wise H.E Bio He Has Taken Another Way In The New Direction By Appointing JJ Saffa As Finance Minister And Charles Margai As Justice Minister. One Can Really Sense The Difference Between A Competent Cabinet Of Bio And That Of Ernest’s Cabinet Which Was Full Of Illiterates
This is the start of the success of this great country. Thank you H.E. Rtd. Brig. J.M.Bio..good start. Long live Bio, long live Sierra Leone.
President Bio is very nationalistic, patriotic, objective and constructive in his appointment. I surely believe Sierra Leone will change under the Rtd. Bridg. JMB.
With my point of view here – the president H.E Julius Maada Bio has chosen a perfect cabinet, because all the appointees are inclined in their fields and I can call them ACADEMICALLY BOLD
This is the change we have been waiting for. Good luck President Bio.
I only hope and pray that these people will work vehemently in the interest of the People of Mama Salone.
And I believe that President Bio has not done any wrong Selections Those are Great Sesquipedalians and Wise men from the Countryside.
Good luck President Bio. I wish you all the best, and I decree that any evil conspiracy that tries to distract would be ashamed of him or Herself.
I do believe the new president is doing the right things necessary for the country and the poor. Cases and injunction about the election of the president is out of the question and as seen the president is choosing ministers from all angles.
We should all join him to make Sierra Leone a country to live in without being pursued. I am 100% sure that Sierra Leoneans have chosen the right president for all. Let us all help him.
Well aid. I proudly tilt my hat to our newly elected president with strong conviction that his disciples and our private citizens will exercise patience, courage and trust to walk and work with him trustingly.
Augustine Santigie Sesay, Professor, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Dept. of Educational Leadership, Management and Planning, Haramaya University, Ethiopia, East Africa.