By Emma Black
Residents of Kenema have described the just concluded Presidential townhall in the eastern provincial headquarters as unprecedented participatory democracy in Sierra Leone.
Never before, they maintained, has almost a whole cabinet sat face-to-face with the electorate to respond to unchecked and unfiltered questions.
Although his excellency president Julius Maada Bio could not attend due to unforeseen circumstances, chief minister David Moinina Sengeh, who ably represented him along with the host of cabinet ministers in attendance did justice to the issues that came up in the form of a barrage of questions from the audience on the activities of their respective institutions.
It was the chief minister that started the ball rolling in the stead of his excellency, responding to questions sent in by the public on various online platforms established by the ministry of Information and civic education, the questions posed by the minister of Information and civic education, Chernor A. Bah, centered around feed Salone, inclusivity, free quality education, child rights, Safe motherhood ill, the tripartite recommendations, redistricting, and MPOX, among others.
The program later transitioned to a panel discussion with all the cabinet ministers coming up the stage to interface with the audience, something that has never happened in the history of the country.
President Julius Maada Bio continues to raise the democratic bar very high and also cement his reputation as the father of democracy in Sierra Leone, true to his pronouncement six years ago, inclusivity remains at the center of his administration with all facets of society involved in one way or the other in the governance of the state.
The people of Kenema expressed deep appreciation to the ministry of Information and civic education for the democratic accountability that unfolded in front of their eyes and urged the government to constantly keep them abreast with the day-to-day running of the country to enable them make informed decisions.
The Presidential townhall was preceded by quiz and debate competitions for secondary schools on the 16th of June, commemorating the day of the African Child.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, 30th June, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
