Mr. Baraytay said since the all People’s Congress (APC) came into governance in 2007 they have never promulgated any state of emergency because there was no need for a state of emergency. He said since 2007 to date they have been always promoting good governance, which he said was as a result of the fact that Sierra Leone has been ranked high in terms of promoting human right and rule of law by the MO Ibrahim Index and Transparency International, qualified for the Millennium Challenge in 2012 and that the Human Right Commission of Sierra Leone has been given a class ‘A’ status by the United Nations.
The government, he said is not just pushing an agenda that will maximize the economic livelihood of the people but it is also has respect for civil liberties which is why, he argued, the government came up with the state of public health emergency following the Ebola outbreak. He said even when the president invoked Section 29 of the 1991 constitution to institute the state of public health emergency he ensured that it was endorsed by Parliament.
He said the state of emergency was invoked following consultations with international health experts and saw that there was need to institute it. He noted that the stipulated period of the state of emergency is coming to an end but that the government is going to review by involving stakeholders including international health experts.
