Former AYV journalist, Amadu Lamarana Bah has advised Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio to attend meetings virtually in order to save on travel expenses.

This suggestion came following a successful virtual meeting between President Bio and the CEO of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Alice Albright, on Friday.

President Bio tweeted about the meeting, stating, “This afternoon, I had an engaging call with the CEO of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation, Alice Albright @MCC_CEO. The MCC team and, by extension, the US Government is a great partner to the people of Sierra Leone. As I stated today, my government remains fully committed to strengthening our democracy and driving our economic development. The Compact that was recently approved by the @MCCgov Board is a critical part of our plan for reforming our energy sector, and we look forward to getting started on implementation.”

In response, Amadu Lamarana Bah commented, “Hopefully, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio will be attending some of these non-statutory meetings virtually to save some money. At least there’s Starlink with some super-fast internet now to make those calls and the office looks comfortable too.”

President Bio has faced criticism recently over frequent international travel since coming into power in 2018. Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah, a prominent lawyer and activist in Sierra Leone, shared data on Twitter revealing the government’s overseas travel expenses since 2018 amounted to approximately USD 28 million spent on overseas travelling by the government over the past six years.

In a recent interview, a senior citizen, who chose to remain anonymous, expressed frustration over the President’s frequent travels, suggesting that the money could be better spent on improving the country’s healthcare system. The citizen criticized the President’s numerous international engagements, questioning their benefits to the nation.

Imran Sillah, a member of the Strategic Communications Unit, confirmed that state funds are used for President Bio’s overseas travel for public lectures. When asked about the financial source for these travel expenses, Sillah acknowledged that state funds are indeed utilized. He also emphasized the importance of the social capital President Bio gains during these engagements.