By Betty Milton
President Julius Maada Bio has indeed displayed he is “a man of few words with a magnitude of action”. As part of his plans to inform Sierra Leoneans about his 3-year stint as Commander-in-Chief and Guardian of the country’s sacred constitution, President Bio made a surprise visit today to the two main television stations (SLBC and AYV TV), where he took part in their popular morning programmes respectively.
The surprise media visit anchored on the premise to provide citizens with firsthand information on development activities he viewed as a blueprint for Sierra Leone resounding progress.
Startled by the question asked about his commitment to gender affirmative action and knowing the issues affecting women, he was bold enough to explain the underlying issues affecting women and the step his administration has taken to address those issues head-on: “Like any other project, it is a work in progress and an area I want all of us to get involved as a nation. No country will develop without the involvement of the human capital; hence the inclusion of women is key. Our tireless effort is measured by our commitment to making women are safe and ensuring they can work collaboratively and contribute to nation building just like male counterparts.
“For women to actively participate in shaping the development will of Sierra Leone, we have to give them the opportunity to acquire the skills and provide them with the level-playing field to make critical decisions of national importance.
Tangible development like the construction of the first secondary school for girls in the North (Dr Kadie Sesay Secondary School for Girls) presents a whirlpool of opportunities for women’s empowerment. At the end, when discussions relative to development come up, they will bring the dimension that concerns women.
We live in a male-dominated society, for us to keep more than 50% of the population rearward, while trying to move forward is hypocritical to development and completely opposed to what the New Direction stands for,” he emphatically presenter.
