KEY HIGHLIGHTS
By: Zacharia Jalloh, Strategic Communications Unit, Ministry of Information and Civic Education
The Ministry of Information and Civic Education held its first press conference of the year on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, highlighting key government achievements from 2024 and outlining priorities for 2025. Led by Minister Chernor Bah, the briefing covered a wide range of topics, including progress on the Safe Motherhood Bill, economic relief measures, foreign direct investments, and plans for promoting peace and national cohesion. The following are the key takeaways:
Engagement on the Safe Motherhood Bill
The Minister of Information and Civic Education, Hon. Chernor Bah, announced that the Right Honourable Speaker of Parliament, Sengepor Solomon Thomas, convened a meeting between the Inter-Religious Council and the Government to deliberate on the Safe Motherhood Bill. During the meeting, the Government presented proposed amendments to the Bill for review. The Inter-Religious Council committed to studying the revisions and presenting a revised position paper. Minister Bah highlighted the council’s commendation of the Government for fostering open dialogue and demonstrating a willingness to listen.
Reduction in Rice Prices
Minister Bah also informed the public about the successful negotiations led by Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, in collaboration with major rice importers, which resulted in the reduction of the wholesale price of a 50kg bag of rice to NLE840. This reduction, achieved through a price formula developed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, underscores President Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s commitment to easing the economic burden on citizens.
Civic Festival Recognition
Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh opened the press conference by expressing gratitude to the Ministry of Information and Civic Education for hosting Sierra Leone’s first-ever Civic Festival in 2024. He described it as one of the year’s most impactful events, bringing together government officials, the private sector, and citizens.
Government’s Achievements in 2024
The Chief Minister highlighted significant milestones achieved in 2024, including foreign direct investment (FDI) totaling approximately $1 billion. Key investments include $480 million from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for transforming the country’s transmission and distribution lines, $412 million mobilized by the U.S. International Development Financing Corporation (DFC) to build a Power Gas Plant in Kissy, Freetown, of which over $200 million has already been disbursed, and over $150 million invested by DFC in the New Freetown International Airport. Dr. Sengeh attributed these investments to President Bio’s leadership and engagement on the global stage.
The Chief Minister praised the Government’s robust macroeconomic policies for stabilizing the foreign exchange rate and highlighted the importance of security in creating an enabling environment for foreign investment.
Vision for 2025: A Year of Bold Action
Looking ahead, Dr. Sengeh described 2025 as a year of bold action across all sectors. Key focus areas include supporting women and girls, advancing education, and emphasizing radical inclusion to ensure all citizens, regardless of social status, are part of decision-making processes. He also clarified his recent social media post about providing affordable tertiary education for all, explaining that it reflects his aspiration for Sierra Leone to achieve free tertiary education for all citizens, no matter your status in society.
Promoting Peace and National Cohesion
Hawa Samai, Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, commended citizens, especially media professionals, for promoting peace in 2024. She specifically praised journalists, bloggers, and TikTok creators for spreading positive messages that countered hate speech and urged everyone to jealously guard the peace in 2025.
National Unity Agreement
Providing an update on the National Unity Agreement, Madam Samai reported that seven of the eight resolutions have been fully implemented. The only pending resolution, related to salary backlog payments, has been prioritized by President Bio. Addressing concerns raised by the APC regarding arrests of their party members, she disclosed that a joint committee comprising representatives from the APC and the Government has been established to address the issue.
2025 Initiatives
Madam Samai announced plans for a fragility study across 190 chiefdoms to identify root causes of conflict. This study aims to transition Sierra Leone from negative peace (absence of violence) to positive peace (sustainable harmony).
