The re-elected member of Parliament of Kono district, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina has expressed his appreciation to residents for his re-election as member of Parliament of Sierra Leone. 

His appreciation message reads as follow:

“THANK YOU TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE OF KONO
As a people you have proved to me beyond all reasonable doubts that I am part of your families and in that spirit, we have built a strong bond that will propel us to achieving our collective aspirations for the good of our beloved Kono District.

On Saturday, 24th June, you came out in your Chinese numbers to return me to Parliament as one of your representatives under the Proportional Representation (PR) system. You did so because of the confidence you continue to repose in me and the trust that I will never disappoint you. In spite of this, for me, I think it is all built out of the love you have for me as a member of your wider families and as someone in whom you trust to champion our collective sociopolitical aspirations.

I want to thank you, my people, my friends, supporters, admirers and my family for this renewed social contract; a contract built on the strong foundation of hope.
I thank you for also believing in my political transition and for accepting to follow me on that transition of hope to continue correcting the historical injustices meted us as a people and to our beloved Kono District. I thank you for your collective resolve against intimidation, motherly abuses, and the thinking about us as inferiors. I thank you all so much!

As a people, never should we engage in attrition to destroy one another and never should we be fratricidal. We are a people that should be seen collectively working against these vices. Our fights should be seamless; it should not segregate; it should be collective.

History teaches us how those before us, in the likes of the late PC Tamba Songu-M’briwa proved a point that as a people we are politically viable. We also saw how the late Abu Aiah Koroma Esq. proved a point that in unity we are a politically powerful people and in recent times, through our collective resolve, the formation and the political tsunami triggered by the Coalition for Change (C4C) led by our brother, Chief Samuel Sam-Sumana, again proved a point that reaffirmed the significance of our district and peoples in Sierra Leone’s geopolitics.
Even though betrayal put a knife to that which had brought us together, you found ground to stand and resisted its hisms and schisms and strongly, we have come to damn betrayal for loyalty to the cause of Kono. This singular collective resolve has sent our voices loud and clear that Kono District and its peoples must not be taken for granted.

Now that the future is in our own hands in the party of our forefathers, we must pledge never to disappoint ourselves and to be committed to ensuring that tangible socio-developments programmes are brought home for the collective good. Henceforth, Kono should matter to all of us, and that should be our social mantra.

I pledge to you, with my hands on chest, that I and my colleagues will reinforce our advocacy in Parliament and through Government for the benefits of Kono District and our peoples.
I have never seen chiefs, heads of religious sects, the intellectual class, the traders, the media, the artists Union, prominent families, the common working class so united for a cause like voting to re-elect President Julius Maada Bio and the SLPP for a second term. Thanks to everyone for making Kono District a part of Sierra Leone’s positive history-making. I and my colleagues, your representatives in the 6th Parliament of the Second Republic feel so proud of you.

I have no iota of doubt that President Julius Maada Bio will deliver on his Big Five Game Changer campaign promises to include: feeding Sierra Leone, consolidating gains in the human capital development, provision of 500,000 jobs, ensuring professionalism in the public sector, and the enhancement of technology and infrastructure. I am confident that in this package, Kono District will have its own fair share of this largesse.

Let me therefore humbly congratulate all of us elected into various offices, the District Executive, for their tireless work to deliver these great feats.
In the wake of this resounding victory, I urge everyone to remain law-abiding and to celebrate in peace and civility. Those who stood against our cause in this election, are our kiths and kins. They too have Kono at heart. So let our victory celebrations be a matter of encouragement for them to reflect on their mistakes and to assure them of a space in our midst, for we are all concerned that Kono Matters to us all.

Let me kindly remind us all that Sierra Leone has just been elected to the Non Permanent Seat of the United Nations Security Council on the basis of our tolerance with one another and the strides the country has made to stabilize herself since the end of the civil war in 2002. Let’s all work together to maintain and sustain that achievement for we are Sierra Leoneans.

I encourage you all to put aside those vices that will engender negative competitions amongst us and between us and to embrace cooperation for the total emancipation of our dear motherland, Kono and by extension our cherished Republic of Sierra Leone.”