In his Christmas and New Year addresses to the nation, President Bio has clearly expressed that there are economic challenges undergone by the people of Sierra Leone.

He admonished people to be careful during the festive season as there are “many of our compatriots across the country suffering from hardships, neglects, ill-health, homelessness, joblessness, difficulty in business or employment.

The President went on to state that despite all those challenges, he was hopeful that the next government will address the critical development challenges and urgent needs of all citizens.

In his defense to the President’s statements, a member of the Strategic Communication Unit, Minister of Information and Communications, Imran Sillah, while speaking at the Sierra Leone Broadcasting corporation (SLBC) Morning Coffee program, emphasized the government’s development strides undertaken under the 4 and half year.

He explained that the government of President Bio has made a lot of development strides despite the economic difficulties, noting that the differences were as a result of the Covid and the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war.

Sillah, stated that it’s as a result of his government disciplinarian stance in running the economy that’s cushioning the effect. He further explained that other countries have their challenges as well, but is requires a considerate and deliberate work to be done, especially in Sierra Leone.

He continued that President Bio’s Christmas and New Year messages centres greatly around unity.

“President Bio’s Speech talked largely around unity; it urged every Sierra Leone to be united especially now that elections are around the corner,” he mentioned. He added that it was as a result of that unity, that President Bio invited the leader of the National Grand Coalition Kandeh Kolleh Yumkellah and the All People’s Congress’ Alpha Khan, to the New Year’s Eve celebration at his church in Freetown.

Imran also threw light at the Free Quality Education Scheme and stated that government continues to pay fees for pupils across all levels to the extent that regional partners were impressed. He also stated that government has invested heavily on health care system, adding that 83 towns and villages have access to electricity. Even though Sierra Leone’s report score card indicates that the country’s economy is in a bad shape, Imran climaxed by stating that the President intends to instill mitigating measures to cushion the price of kike in the country.

He called on people to exercise patience, as the country will witness massive development under the next term of President Bio.