His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has assured the people of Kailahun district that his government will construct the bridge over the Manowa river to connect Manowa and Pendembu and other communities. “Agricultural activities in this region will thrive and also movement will be swift.” President Bio stated.
The president has formally launched the construction of the Manowa Bridge at the manual cable ferry crossing point in Pejeh Bongre chiefdom, Kailahun district.
The project is under the Smallholder Commercialisation and Agribusiness Development Project (SCADeP).
President Bio thanked the people of Pejeh Bongre chiefdom for supporting the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and encouraged them to continue doing so.
He said the ferry crossings had been there in various parts of the country since independence and that it is only now under his government that modern bridges will be constructed to replace them and ease movement.
“This ferry system has been here since 1961 and in this modern age, we should be thinking about bridges to connect communities. This is why my government will construct this bridge over the Manowa river to connect Manowa and Pendembu and other communities.
Agricultural activities in this region will thrive and also movement will be swift,” President Bio underscored.
The Manowa cable ferry crossing links the people of Manowa and Pendembu as well as other surrounding villages across the Moa River in Kailahun district.
The bridge when built will increase agricultural activities, enhance productivity and marketing, reduce travel time in accessing various communities and market centers, improve access to health facilities and save locals the risks associated with the ferry crossing.
The bridge is one of four (Two in the Eastern Region, one in the South and one in the North) being constructed by government at ferry crossing points. It costs $7,458,318.61.
The funds are provided by the Government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank and it is expected to be completed in fifteen months’ time.
In a similar development, President Bio has inspected the brand new ultra-modern hospital in the Jojoima township, the chiefdom headquarters of Malema chiefdom in the Kailahun district.
The structure is an ultra-modern 45-bed facility with a unit to cater for pregnant women and lactating mothers and their children and a laboratory unit for tests, a blood bank unit, a surgery and an isolation unit that would be used in an event of an emergency outbreak.
The hospital has a morgue facility and staff quarter that hosts doctors and nurses.
President Julius Maada Bio said he was happy to be with the people of Jojoima, adding that he was particularly appreciative of their support for his government and their belief in the New Direction agenda.
“As a leader of this great nation, I am of the view that the handwork of my government should be felt in every district of the country. I am doing so because you the people are at the centre of my leadership. This is why I am here today to inspect the hospital that will be of great help for the entire chiefdom and even beyond,” he said.
President Bio also encouraged them to embrace the free quality education programme that his government was providing, noting that more emphasis should be placed on the girl child.
“Parents should allow their children to go to school and should discourage their communities from giving them into early marriages. When a girl child is educated there will be rapid growth in the development of that community or locality,” he urged.
