Berewa spreads wings over Freetown

In an overt bid to regenerate the lost interest in the Sierra Leone  People’s Party (SLPP) that preceded the SLPP’s devastating loss of Freetown during the 2004 Local Government Elections, the Party’s Flagbearer, Vice President Solomon Berewa has been accepting invitations from dozens of Freetown-based small community groups for him to openly face them, answer their questions and sensitise them on the Government’s agenda.According to senior SLPP Executive members, by so doing, the Vice President is, "spreading his wings of assurance" over the inhabitants of the Western Area by accepting all the invitations for him to face the communities, openly answer their questions and reassure them that their needs are being noted. "He is not campaigning. He is merely increasing the people’s understanding of ongoing Government programmes as well as letting them know how hard the Government is working to rebuild the entire Sierra Leone." Hon. Victor Reider stated last weekend. Meanwhile, in the last one week, the Vice President has held successful ‘meet-the-people’ sensitization meetings in the main Freetown city as well as in the rural parts of the Western Area. "The vote of confidence given to us by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations’ Kofi Annan and the British has helped to assure the people of the Western Area that they have a hard working Government." Hon Victor Reider informed this press whilst adding, "What the leader is doing now is reinforcing that rejuvenated confidence in the SLPP once more by eliciting from our people how best they can be served by him and also assuring them of his ever ready support. He is spreading his wings of assurance all over Freetown." During such meetings, most of which were covered by journalists, the Vice President first listened to what were the immediate needs of the communities before he explained the ongoing Government programmes to his audience. Some of the problems highlighted to the Vice President at almost all the sensitization meetings were joblessness for the youth, lack of electricity supply, poor water supply as well as a dire need for more Markets, Community Centers and better roads. In an interesting twist, many of the women informed the Vice President that the women no longer wanted micro credit loans but preferred to set up small cooperatives. (read more)