Mr. King was speaking while handing over the ministry to the new minister Alhaji Alpha Osman Timbo as Minister of Labor and Social Security.
The Minister of Labor and Social Security has been one of the most difficult ministries to run, and it interfaces with all other ministries.
Mr. King who is now deployed to Foreign Service as part of President Bio’s cabinet reshuffle will serve as Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Ethiopia.
Mr. King added that he has been able to review the obsolete Labor laws as part of the medium term national development plan objective for 2019-2020, citing that the Law Officers Department has already completed the process.
“We also intend to promote employment duration with our social partners, employers’ federation and the Sierra Leone Labor Congress to promote industrial harmony,” he said.
He stated that they have launched the national ageing policy and that work is far advanced with the Business Start-Up Act, adding that the Overseas Employment Migration Bill is in parliament for ratification.
He further said that there are critical vacancies to be filled for the Financial Year 2020 in which the ministry has been working on a directorate system.
He continued to say that the ministry has been working on the extension of the social security scheme to the informal sector to achieve goal 17 of the SDGs.
He informed his successor that Sierra Leone has been reporting under Article 22 of the ILO constitution, adding that Sierra Leone had previously not been reporting for more than 20 years.
“We have not been paying our dues to ILO for over 30 years, but under our government we have facilitated the payment of $174, 000 and $ 22,274 to the Africa Regional Labor Administration Center as Sierra Leone’s contribution,” he said, adding that the payment of the above has led to the restoration of Sierra Leone’s voting rights to the ILO after 32 years.
He disclosed that they generated more than seven billion Leones on work permits and factory registration fees in 2018, adding that the ministry has successfully reviewed the fees for work permits for 2019.
In his statement, Alhaji Alpha Osman Timbo said he is set to hold a bilateral meeting with staff of the ministry before setting up a plan to develop the ministry.
He added that he will be striving for the ministry to occupy strategic positions as an overall strategy.
He further said that he will be trying to ensure provision of laws for employer and employee and to also educate them on social security matters.
