By Sulaiman Jalloh

Hon. Jaward Sesay of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, representing the people of Tonkolilli district, has criticized the 2025 national budget, saying his district is not captured.

While contributing to the budget debate in parliament on Thursday, November 21, 2024, the lawmaker claimed that, like the previous budgets, the 2025 budget did not consider the people of Tonkolili District.

Speaking to journalists, Hon. Sesay said the Ministry of Finance had completely abandoned Tonkolili District despite the huge revenue generation that is taking place in that part of the country, adding Tonkolili is the ‘hub’ when it comes to revenue generation, ranging from mining companies to the Bumbuna Hydro Electricity Dam.

According to him, Tonkolili District has 19 Chiefdoms with a huge population, but further claimed that, since 2019, no budget has included the district in terms of development.

He underscored the fact that, with all the iron ore, gold and other minerals mined from the district, Tonkolili District Council is still the poorest.

He also spoke about a range of challenges in the district, citing that lack health facilities, educational institutions and pure drinking. He noted that youths in that part of the country are still facing unemployment challenges while chemicals from mining companies and the deplorable roads serve as health hazards and are a major health threat.

On mining, he said, surface rents and community development fund cannot help construct feeder roads, adding these are capital projects government need to factored in the budget. “It seems as if we are cooking the rice but cannot taste it. This is wrong,” he lamented.