The Ministry of Information and Civic Education on Monday, March 24nd, Tuesday, March 25th, brought Kambia town to a standstill as it rolled out the first of the Civic Day Activities to the district. Kambia town, a district normally buoyant at the border crossing point with Guinea at Gbalamuya, was gripped by the MOICE team as it brought governance to the people.
Speaking on the theme Salone Big Pass We All, Minister of Information and Civic Education Chernor Bah said it espouses the country’s National Pledge and Anthem and that the Civic Day events were intended to bridge the gap between the people and the government.
On the first day, school pupils from across the various primary and secondary schools in Kambia thronged the hall of the Kambia District Council, together with other dignitaries like the Paramount Chiefs, Civil Society Activists, the media to witness firsthand the role of the government and the responsibilities of the citizens to ensure government is kept on its toes and development is cascaded to the intended beneficiaries.
It was a day that the people owned the process as they were allowed to express their understanding of civic duties and what the government interface with them should be like. The occasion was peaked by the display of knowledge of the country and beyond by pupils from the schools of Kambia as they quizzed and debated on a wide range of topics. The quiz and debate sessions particularly thrilled the audience as pupils from Kolenten, Mandortala schools showed understanding and depth of many topics. The girls, in particular, justified President Bio’s inordinate belief in the education of the girl child, as they swept every first prize available on the day. The debate was a ding-dong affair as the topic was a choice of free quality education versus feed salone. The girls presented a compelling argument for either topic, but eventually, Fatmata Yansaneh, who spoke on the merits of tree quality education, emerged as the winner.
Before the presentation of prizes for the winners, Minister of Communications, Technology and Innovation, Madam Salima Bah, gave an inspirational talk on her Ministry’s roles and the impact on the different sectors of the country, including education and feed salone. Madam Bah spoke of the massive improvements in internet access and the efforts and resources ploughed into bringing the underground cables, the infrastructure to embark on the fibre backbone and the moves to increase access and affordability of the internet.
Another speaker, Statistician General Mr. Johnny gave a pep talk on the advantages of the census and why the people should make it their civic responsibility to ensure they are counted. He assured them oninnan in-depth all the following day.
The distribution of the prizes and certificates formed the highlights of the day’s session.
The second day was a gathering of the cremè de la cremè of society as Ministers, Directors, and Commissioners had a face-to-face dialogue with the people from all walks of life in Kambia, ranging from Paramount Chiefs to CSOs to school children. It made the people realize that there was a thin divide between them and the government and that they formed a part of the government.
Information and Civic Education Minister Chernor Bah was at his usual best, as were the other speakers. Minister Bah told the people that President Julius Maada Bio mandated them to move from their desks in Freetownto the people who elected them into office.
Speakers included Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs MrTamba Lamina, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture 1 Madam Theresa Dick, the Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security Alhaji Dr Kamdeh Yumkella, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay Esquire, Head of the National Public Health Agency Dr Sahr Foday, Statistician General Mr Johnny, Assistant Commissioner for Border Control Mr Amara, Deputy Minister of Energy 1 Ing. Nonie and others. Speaker after speaker dilated their roles in bringing development to the people. The topics were wide-ranging, and the speakers did justice to every issue they were confronted with.
The audience was spellbound as they listened keenly to every speaker’s talks on food security, energy, census, community affairs, border control and security, tripartite and justice, the medium-term national development plan and many more.
In the end, the people left satisfied and glad that they had been allowed to listen to government officials and had also expressed their feelings about certain issues affecting them. It was a win-win situation for all.
