By Parliamentary Reporter

Members of Parliament from the ruling bench in Parliament have heaped serious accolades on President Julius Maada Bio.

He has been praised for his outstanding and unwavering commitment for national duties.

At the ongoing Presidential speech debate in the chambers of Parliament some ruling MPs described President as a focused and developmentally oriented leader and above all, he calls him the father of democracy.

The SLPP MP from Kono District commended President Bio for championing development for the nation. He said that under President Bio, this country is exporting Doctors to Rwanda and other sub-regional countries to help fight deadly viruses.

On health-related construction, he said the northern region had benefitted many other regions. He said the president’s movement out of the country had benefitted the people of Sierra Leone, adding that Sierra Leone, under President Bio’s administration, had gained more accolades in the international arena.

Hon. Charles Abdulai from Bo District clarified statements made by the previous debater regarding education and revealed the retention rate in schools and performance in public exams.

The MP underscored water and sanitation in schools, comparatively from the previous government to the current.

He said the speech encompassed every achievements of the President.

He reflected on the previous activities of Parliament in light of their responsibilities and unity.

On the area agriculture, the MP said has achieved a lot of grants.

He said the government is working hard to promote food security and improve on donor confidence in the government.

Hon. Alpha Ben Mansaray from Moyamba District said he was expecting the ruling bench to consider the debate as a democratic dialogue. He recalled that the previous government implemented several electricity projects.

The MP used the opportunity to explain the difficulty of delivering services and the lack of manpower, especially in health and education. He also spoke about delays in paying school subsidies, poor salaries, and difficulty to registering candidates for the West African Senior Secondary School Exam (WASSCE).

On his part, Hon Umu Pyne from Moyamba District predicated her debate on the achievement of primary healthcare under the visionary leadership of President Bio’s administration.

Hon. Pyne said there were over 200 PHUs around the country before 2018, but President Bio had established 1557 PHUs nationwide.

She alluded to the recruitment of many nurses and Doctors by the President Bio administration. She applauded the work of the Ministry of Health and other line health agencies.

She commended Parliament and the president on gender-related issues for empowering women to participate in politics.

Hon. Cecilia Mabinty Bangura from Karene District noted that the people should hold the government accountable and that in agriculture, the government needs to do what is needed to improve the agriculture sector and road infrastructure to boost the nation in its development drive.

She said the situational health facilities in the country are nothing to write home about and urged the government to do what is necessary to improve the health care facilities for the nation.

Hon. Ing. Habib Keifa Fabbah from Bo District referred to the president’s speech as “nationalist.”

He went on to note that the president’s agenda is to give the country a new facelift and urged the opposition to support the president’s agenda in the development of the State.

“Let’s put Sierra Leone first,” he concluded.