By Sulaiman Jalloh
Hon. Mohammed Alpha Jalloh of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, representing the people of Falaba District, has called on the government of President Julius Maada Bio to depoliticize governance system. Speaking recently at the APC parliamentary monthly presser at the party’s headquarters in Freetown, Hon. Jalloh accused the government of ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) of politicizing the Feed Salone agenda, the government’s flagship development program. “They are politicizing the system,” the lawmaker claimed.
During the June 2023 presidential and general election in Sierra Leone, President Julius Maada Bio and his party campaigned on what is termed “Five Big Game Changers” making agriculture [FEED SALONE] a topmost priority.
He said farmers do apply for fertilizer but claimed that they [farmers] don’t get it on time, citing one Aunty Hawa whom he said is a farmer that applied for fertilizer and that three hundred bags were approved for her by the Ministry of Agriculture but claimed that Aunty Hawa only got seven bags; something he criticized, saying at the time she could receive the seven bags of fertilizer, farming season had already passed.
He said, currently, there is a program called Food System Resilient Program (FSP) that operates in seven countries, including Sierra Leone. Hon. Jalloh said the program caters for farmers for study and training opportunities in Brazil, but alleged that most of those who go for the program are not farmers, emphasizing that he doubts the success of the Feed Salone program.
He noted that the government has announced about One Billion Six Hundred United States Dollars for the Feed Salone program, adding that for 2024, US$257m is needed for the implementation, saying at present, only about US$140m available at the project document and that there is a gap of about US$116m. Hon. Jalloh said with three years to go nothing has been done. “In three years, they need US$1.4bn; where can the government get this money?” he asked.