By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Residents of Port Loko have praised the Civic Series initiative by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education. Hundreds of residents attended the Civic Day series that was held in the district last week.
“We are happy for this initiative, this is important for us. Having all of these government ministers here gives us the opportunity to express our views and ask questions about what government is doing,” activist Nancy Gbamoi said.
The two days event brought together different stakeholders across the district; from chiefs, students, activists, journalists and young people.
Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, said Civic Day Series was borne out of the President’s desire to take government across the country.
“Today we have brought the government of President Julius Maada Bio to the people of Port Loko. We are here to listen and let you ask us questions about what we are doing as a government,” Minister Bah said.
The Paramount Chief of Marampa Chiefdom, Bai Kobolo Queen II, said this was one of the best initiatives that had happened in the district. He said civics would inspire pride and nationalism in the next generation of young leaders.
The first day of the series brought together school children and young people to test their knowledge in civics. 12 schools participated in the quiz and debate competitions.
The second day of the event brought together up to nine government ministers and three other heads of agencies. All of them were featured in a big town hall meeting, which created opportunity for an open conversation with the people of Port Loko.
Local leaders were so impressed that they talked about taking the series to chiefdoms across the district. District Council Chairman, Tejan Saccoh said: “Me and Ministers from Port Loko are discussing the possibility of taking this to each chiefdom across the district. This programme is very important.”
The Civic Day Series is an initiative by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education to take the Government to citizens across each district in the country. The Port Loko edition is the second successful series so far.