By Politico staff writer
Outgoing United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone, David Reimer says President Julius Maada Bio is the President of Sierra Leone but called for dialogue between the Government and the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) and other parties so that the country can move forward.
Speaking during a radio interview in Freetown on Wednesday 16th August, the ambassador said they would like to see the government dialogue with civil society and political parties.
He said the US is reviewing all of their government-to-government programmes but equally noted that “what is not going to change is the work that we are doing with the people of Sierra Leone, it’s really our focus here to help the people of Sierra Leone’’.
He said US health programmes in the country will even be expanded and they will continue to help improve the lives of the people.
On the possibility of Sierra Leone getting a Compact from the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the US Envoy said: “It has not been cancelled outright; what we’re doing is we’re slowing down, taking a pause. We’re going to see what the government of Sierra Leone does next before we move forward with the compact’’.
On the rising cost of living in Sierra Leone, Reimer said it’s not the fault of the government as the world is experiencing economic shocks exacerbated by the Ukraine–Russia war, admitting that even the United States is experiencing inflation.
“It's been a tough couple of years for the economy in Sierra Leone. And a lot of it is not the government's fault. There have been shocks to the system, due in part to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This has triggered a lot of supply chain problems as well as inflation. My country (United States of America) has suffered from inflation as well,” he said.
In response to the US Ambassador’s interview about the just concluded election-related concerns, Chief Minister Dr David Moinina Sengeh in a verified social media post acknowledged that Sierra Leone and the United States have a deep history of mutual respect and shared aspirations for our people.
“When we invest 20% in education, we do it for our children. When we pass global corruption indices, we do it for our future. When we invest in girls’ education and human rights, we do it for ourselves. Make no mistake that as leaders of our country, our sovereignty and our national security is more important than anything,” he said.
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