The Parliamentary Committee on Appointment and Public Service, on Monday 24th July 2023, gave greenlight to Presidential nominees to serve as Ministers and Heads of Department and Agencies in the second term of President Julius Maada Bio.
The Committee Chairman, Hon Mathew Nyuma, told all nominees to consider their nominations as “proposed nominees’’ until they are approved by Parliament. Dilating further, Chairman Nyuma read constitutional provisions of the country’s 1991 constitution, referencing the reason why Presidential nominees must first go through Parliament before acclaimed their status. Therefore, Hon. Nyuma admonished nominees to understand the procedure and see Parliament as another arm of government. Mohamed Rahman Swarray, former Minister of Information in the first term of President Bio, in his submission to Parliament as Minister-designate for Labour and Industrial Relations, informed the committee that he was very familiar with issues within the Labour Ministry, emphasizing that with the experience gained in the corporate world, of which his past functions were on labour, employment and administration, and that if given the opportunity to serve, he will deliver just as he delivered in his previous job as Information Minister. “I am going to work with Parliament and I strongly believe that with the support of Parliament, we will be able to achieve part of the President’s vision on job creation. We will ensure the five hundred thousand job creation promised by the President be implemented, as I intend to ensure one hundred thousand jobs are created yearly, after approved as Minister”.
On the part of Madam Kenyeh Lucie Barlay, who is Minister designate of Economic Development and Planning, she thrilled the house as she eloquently tailored her vision to improve on the country’s development planning. She recalled her days at SAPA empowering women, and also touched on the gains and achievements made in other areas, spending forty years of her life providing service to mankind. Madam Barlay’s footprints in economic planning and development has been very impressive. She also worked at the African Development Bank, where she rose to the rank of Director. Her appointment as Minister of Economic Development and Planning has been greeted with dozens of congratulatory messages to the President and government of Sierra Leone.
In her few minutes’ presentation, Madam Barlay eloquently expressed her desire to see Sierra Leone succeed. She however emphasized on the need to work in line with the President’s five game-changing programs, which she said can best be achieved through proper planning. She therefore pledged herself to work for the people of Sierra Leone and to make President Bio proud. Other nominees who faced the committee were able to present and defend their credentials.
