Honorable Mann also congratulated President Bio on his victory in an election he described as democratic and credible, adding that that showed clear signs of how much the country has developed democratically. Hon. Mann stated that the British Parliament is delighted with the strengthening of cooperation between the British Parliament and its Sierra Leonean counterpart.

“We are aware of your free quality education, which is a laudable venture, and we anticipate that there will be development in other sectors as well. We are delighted about your democratic values and how our two parliaments have cooperated. We recognize the significance of democracy here and the close ties between our two countries,” he said.

Another member of the delegation, Angela Rayner, MP, also praised President Bio for his leadership style and what he has achieved so far. “We are very impressed and excited to see what you have done,” Angela said. As the UK Opposition Spokesperson for Education, Angela commended President Bio for his vision on free quality education.

On his part, President Bio thanked delegation for their visit to the country. He said the nature of the present parliament is a strange phenomenon but that his government has adapted quickly because of its level of inclusion. He assured the delegation of his determination to work with the Opposition for the development of the country, noting that the new government is fully committed to peace, democracy and inclusive governance.

He disclosed that his government inherited a nearly bankrupt economy which was making the development process very challenging and that he had to institute tough revenue generation drives, one of which was the single treasury account, which he added has been able to help support government’s priority programmes.

President Bio informed the delegation that he has been very tough on addressing democratic accountability and fighting corruption. He said corruption was very pervasive and was depriving the ordinary people of basic amenities. President Bio added that he was using the rule of law to hold people to account and nobody will be victimized, adding: “We have to address corruption and I am very committed to doing that”. 

He reiterated his commitment to the fight against corruption after a certain UK MP had engaged in a series of actions to smear Sierra Leone and the Government.