“On behalf of my minister and the government of Sierra Leone let me thank the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for implementing the project titled: Reducing the risk of Irregular Migration through Employment Promotion and Entrepreneurship Support for Youth.” 

According to him, President Julius Maada Bio is of the firm conviction that the utmost premium should be put on human capital development; a view I also hold. He is also fully convinced that entrepreneurship is the key to unlock employment opportunities for our youth.

He therefore affirmed that it was no accident that the theme for the 2020 budget process is centered on job creation for human capital development.

Whilst encouraging young people to utilize the available opportunities, Deputy Minister Kallon said, “it’s no secret that irregular migration is a threat to our human capital development, it’s a threat to our future as a people; and this not only affects Sierra Leone but the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.”

He lamented that “it breaks my heart each time I see television pictures of our young men and women, risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of greener pastures. Migration in general, be it regular or irregular, is leading to brain drain in our countries.”

He assured his audience that Sierra Leone cannot afford this mass exodus of human capital.

To the graduates of the certification programme, the deputy minister encouraged them to consider themselves the chosen few to be in the forefront to receive this training.

He said thousands of young people across the country are on standby to benefit from programmes like this.