President Koroma has said during the National Thanksgiving Day on Saturday November 21 at the Youyi Building Car Park that ebola has strengthened the people of the country to rise up and make Sierra Leone prosperous.
Addressing the congregation, President Koroma said when ebola struck the country, the people cried to God, they cried to the international community and their cries were heard and answered. “After 18 months, we are free of the virus and today we are gathered to give thanks to God for His goodness toward us and to call on Him to guide us as we push the post-ebola recovery plan to succeed.”
The President said today Sierra Leone is free of ebola and everybody should give thanks to God for what He has done for the country. “We must reflect, recognize and show commitment in our everyday lives. We must reflect on those who died fighting for to win the ebola. We lost 221 health workers and a total of 3,589 Sierra Leoneans. We must reflect on the economy that ebola destroyed and try to revamp it once again.”
He said Sierra Leoneans should recognize what God has done for the country by giving us the will power to win the war. The President said we must reflect on the 35,000 people who fought the battle, the religious leaders, the Paramount Chiefs, the media, and the International Community, as all of them played their part in winning the war.
“The time has come for a new beginning in Sierra Leone that is why we have prayed and asked God to intervene and give us a new purpose that will bring economic growth. We have learnt our lessons and we must move forward and do the right thing.”
President Koroma called on all communities to be watchful of the projects that are being implemented and said people should not wait until the contractors steal all the money before they take them to Anti-Corruption. “If you wait for that your community will not have the school or the health center they deserve because the contractor has stolen all the money, and even he is arrested by ACC, the project will be completed. So, we must be pro-active and report all wrong doings and stop it so that the projects that are being implemented will go on.”
He said the six to nine months recovery plan is on and the community must take ownership of projects in their communities such as such the construction of Peripheral Health Units, schools and other social programs that the private and public sectors should take charge of.
The President said on Sunday he will start his ‘thank you’ trip to the east and south and then to the north before coming to Western Area. He said Sierra Leoneans should be active and not let any relapse occur, that is why they have put together the Operation Project Shield that will capacitate the survivors and occasionally test the male semen to see if it still has particles of the virus.
No comments:
Post a Comment