Concord Times (Freetown)
Alhaji Jalloh
19 November 2008
President Ernest Bai Koroma has intensified his call for Sierra Leoneans in the Diaspora to come back home and serve the country or contribute from afar, as clearly stated in his maiden speech to Parliament.
Inspired by this commitment, individuals representing various Diaspora groups met with the President on Friday October 12 2007 and introduced an initiative entitled Engaging the Diaspora for a New Sierra Leone."
The aim of this initiative was to lay the foundation for a productive and mutually beneficial partnership between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Diaspora.
On 17 September 2007, following the Presidential Elections of August 2007,President Ernest Bai Koroma was declared winner and the new President of Sierra Leone. As the new president he came in with a mandate for the next five years.
In this mandate he has identified six broad priority areas as the primary focus for the government to work on and specific results targets that have been articulated by the responsible Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).
Focuses will be in the areas of energy, infrastructure, youth employment, growth sector, social services and capacity development.
This was a historic moment in Sierra Leone and a clear indication of the President's commitment to engage the Diaspora in national Development. As a result of the meeting and the Presidents vision to engage the Sierra Leonean Diaspora in National Development, the 0ffice of Diaspora Affairs was created under the Office of the President.
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