AYV News February 8, 2023

The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) will today 8th February, 2023 hold its 13th National Delegates Conference at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown to elect its new executive prior to the country’s June 24 elections.

The Party’s National Secretary General, Umaru Napoleon Koroma said the objective of the delegates conference is to help the membership better appreciate the achievement of the SLPP-led government since it assumed the reign of power in 2018.

In addition, he went on, the conference will provide a platform for members to contribute to the Party’s Manifesto for the 2023 Elections.

In a similar development, the National Young Generation Council (NYGC) of the SLPP has developed and adopted a document to be presented to the General Assembly of the Party on the role of the young generation in the country’s democracy.

The SLPP will hold their National Delegates’ Conference in Freetown today and tomorrow. Among other things imbedded in the NYGC resolutions is a request for a 30% quota for young people in elective governance positions.

Being very complimentary of the leadership model of the President in empowering youths, the National Young Generation Council wants President Bio to legalise his legacy so that even after his tenure, future presidents would be compelled by law to empower the young generation.

On Thursday February 2nd, 2022, the membership of the NYGC held a successful one-day conference in Kenema City. Young Generation leaderships at constituency, district, regional and Diaspora levels were all summoned, including other party stakeholders in what has been described as historic given that H E President Julius Maada Bio was himself very passionate about the convergence as he made his presence felt to open and graciously close the event as father of the SLPP and the nation.

The conference had as theme “The Role of The Young Generation in Modern Day Democracy.”  It is aimed at engaging the youths on the crucial responsibility they have as young people in shaping our democracy.

The event was divided into two phases, the first phase was a general session at the Kenema City Council Hall where the young generation leaders’ brain-stormed on several issues which culminated in the unanimous adoption of the resolution developed to be considered a policy document for the National Executive of the SLPP and subsequently, as a national framework.

Among other things, this portion of the NYG Council resolution seeks to have a 30% representative quota for all elective national positions.

Before reading out the key points of the resolutions for adoption, the National Young Generation Leader Ing. Francis Alpha Kallon reiterated that the essence of the Kenema commitment was to demonstrate that the youths are ready, and have proven that they have not misplaced President Bio’s trust in those appointed to work in his New Direction administration.

“We therefore, now crave that the Young Generation of young and exuberant people within the SLPP and Sierra Leone generally, be given the space they deserve in governance,” posited Ing. Kallon. He said they were advocating that President Bio and the SLPP General Body gave due consideration to their resolutions, especially the aspect dealing with the 30% quota by embedding it in our governance structure.

Boldly putting it, Ing Kallon said: “We want President Bio to leave a legacy for which posterity will judge him kindly so that future presidents will be compelled by not only morality, but legality to empower young people”.

Climaxing the occasion was the presentation of the adopted resolutions to the president.

In a special welcoming ceremony where the presentation was made, the Young Generation Conference and thousands of party supporters and well-wishers from across the Eastern Region hailed President Bio and the First National Young Generation Leader, Ing. Francis Alpha Kallon.

They described the event as arguably the biggest educative gathering of young people in our country’s history.

Speaker after speaker agreed that the importance of delegating governance roles to young people needed not be overemphasized, citing that the current SLPP Leader, Rtd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio is the result of an empowered youth who led this nation in his late 20s to early 30s.

That in spite of his youthfulness, he was still able to lead a sharply divided, war-torn country and made it a peaceful country with a functional democracy.

In a final message, the NYGC Leader said: “This conference not only marks the end of an era where young people waited to be called upon, but engenders the emergence of a new generation of SLPP youths poised to craft our path and make our footprint in the sands of time.”