Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698079452630.pdf (Sierra Leone)
PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S ____ (HANSARD) ______________ OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT FIRST SESSION-FIRST MEETING THURSDAY 25th APRIL, 2013 SESSION – 2012/2013 1 PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S ____ (HANSARD) ______________ OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT VOLUME: I NUMBER: 29 First Meeting of the First Session of the Fourth Parliament Of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.
Proceedings of the Sitting of the House Held on Thursday, 25th April, 2013.

_____________________________________________ C O N T E N T S I. PRAYERS 2 II.

CORRECTION OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR THURSDAY 18TH APRIL, 2013.

III.

MOTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPOINTMENT AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE PROPOSER: HONOURABLE S. B.
B. DUMBUYA SECONDER: HONOURABLE CLAUDE D. M. KAMANDA BE IT RESOLVED: THAT THE THIRTEENTH REPORT OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPOINTMENTS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE BE ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE AND THAT THE RECOMMENDATIOS CONTAINED THEREIN BE APPROVED 3 THE CHAMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE Official Hansard Report of the Proceedings of the House _____________________________________________________________ FIRST SESSION-FIRST MEETING OF THE FOURTH PARLIAMENT OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC _____________________________ Thursday, 25th April, 2013.
The House met at 10:00 a.m. in Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Freetown.

I. PRAYERS [The Clerk of Parliament, Hon.

Ibrahim Sulaiman Sesay, Read the Prayers].

[The Speaker, Hon.

Justice Abel Nathaniel Bankole Stronge, in the Chair].

The House was called to Order 4 II.

CORRECTION OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR THURSDAY, 18TH APRIL, 2013 COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, we go through the record of Votes and Proceedings for Thursday, 18th April, 2013.
As usual, we go through page by page.

Page 1?

Page 2?

Page 3?

Page 4?

Page 5?

Page 6?

Honourable Members, if there are no amendments, can somebody move that the record of Votes and Proceedings for Thursday, 18th April, 2013, be adopted as presented?

HON.

DAVID JOHNSON: I so move Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder?

HON.

ALIEU BADDARA MUNU: I so second Mr Speaker.


(Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to) Record of Votes and Proceedings for Thursday, 18th April, 2013 was unanimously adopted as presented III.

MOTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPOINTMENTS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE HON.

S. B.

B. DUMBUYA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I present to you the Thirteenth Report of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service on parliamentary vetting of Presidential nominations.
Introduction: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service, alive to its constitutional responsibility of vetting Presidential nominations for 5 public appointments met on Friday, 19th April, 2013 and interviewed three Presidential nominees for appointment as: i. ii.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People‟s Republic of China; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium; and iii.

Member, Police Council.


Procedure: The Committee maintained strict adherence to its established procedure.

The nominees were questioned on wide ranging issues relating particularly to their educational background, track records in public office, declared assets, tax obligations and their visions for a nationally successful tenure of office.
EIGHTEENTH SITTING OF THE COMMITTEE ON FRIDAY, 19TH APRIL, 2013 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the following nominees were interviewed: i. Mr Victor Bockarie Foh, Proposed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People‟s Republic of China Mr Victor B. Foh is a household name in Sierra Leone and no stranger to Parliament either.

He is the National Secretary General of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) Party.

He has also been a former Member of Parliament from 1996 – 2002.
Mr Foh is a retired Civil Servant who between 1970 and 1982 was the: i. ii.

iii.

iv.

Assistant District Officer (ADO) in Bonthe, Koinadugu, Bo and Kambia; District Officer (D.O.)

in Bonthe and Kailahun; Senior District Officer (SDO) Kenema and Kono; and Acting Deputy Financial secretary, Eastern Province, Kenema.

Reacting to probing questions, Mr Foh submitted that he felt humbled before the Appointments Committee.
He described himself as a man who was deeply committed to his Party, the APC, and has endeared himself to members of that party.

His relationship, he said, however, cuts across party lines and the geo-political divide of the country.

“I 6 am the Secretary-General of the APC, but I have friends and relatives across the ayes.

When I was a Member of Parliament in this House, it was all work and fun.

I see that good inter-party relationship still existing among you, SLPP and APC.
The country belongs to all of us.

No one party can rule this country.

Both parties are traditional parties and I am sure it is either APC or SLPP”.

Answering to further questions, Mr Foh said, that there were certain facts about Sierra Leone‟s relationship with China that many people were not aware of.

The facts, he said, were that Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations with the People‟s Republic of China in 1971, during the Siaka Stevens‟ regime.
“At a time when China wanted to be a member of the U. N. Security Council, a time when most countries did not know that China would be the giant as it is today, it was Sierra Leone‟s Foreign Minister, S.A.J.

Pratt, that moved the historical motion that eventually saw the emergence of China as a member of the U. N. Security Council.

For that singular, but very crucial act, China has always been grateful to Sierra Leone.

So you see, Sierra Leone has a special place of honour in Chinese diplomacy.
These are facts of history that we could exploit to maximum advantage and I intend to do just that for the benefit of our country”.

In conclusion to Mr Foh‟s interview, he assured the Committee that if approved, he would be going to China not as an APC Ambassador, but as an Ambassador of Sierra Leone.

Hence he would be protecting the interest of all Sierra Leoneans in China and all the countries he would be accredited to, irrespective of political, ethnic or regional considerations.
“The national interest is paramount and must be put above all other considerations”, he said.

ii.

Hon.

Ibrahim Sorie Kamara, Proposed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium; and He is an accomplished Parliamentarian who started life from the humble beginning of a school teacher, from where he entered the insurance profession and became an 7 Insurance Executive.
In 1982, he was elected Member of Parliament and was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources from 1982-1985.

From 1985 - 1996, he was Managing Partner, Commercial Associates, Insurance Brokerage, Management Consultancy Services and Provider of Mechanical Cultivation Services.
He also became a Member of Parliament from 1996 -2012; and from 2007-2012, Head of Sierra Leone Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament and Vice President of the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Reacting to inquiring questions, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie had this to say:“I have always considered myself a product of this Parliament.

I am a Parliamentary animal.

Half of my life has been spent here.


I have done what I could do today, because of the exposure this Parliament has given me.

The privileges this Parliament has given to me to represent my people, and to represent it at a supra-national organization, i.e.

the ECOWAS Parliament.

So, if I am going to be catapulted to higher heights, this Parliament has prepared me for it.

I owe it to this Parliament for whatever position I find myself in today.

It has helped to shape my entire life.


So, wherever I go, I would always be going in the name of this Parliament.

My representation in Brussels, if approved, would always be projecting the image of this Parliament.

In view of that, I see myself as a candidate of this Parliament.

I therefore see no reason why I should not be approved, because I am your candidate”.
When questioned on what gave him the impetus to start so many parliamentary network organizations, he said, it came from the realization of the need to increase the effectiveness and performance capacity of Parliamentarians.

The surest way of doing that, he said, was to encourage Members of Parliament to be interested in parliamentary network organizations.
“It is a training ground for Parliamentarians, and that gave me the urge to go out of my way to introduce several parliamentary network organizations into the Sierra Leone Parliament.

Many Members of Parliament have shown interest and benefitted from it.

I believe these network organizations have helped to increase the performance capacity of Members.
I would entreat Members to 8 join those parliamentary organizations because they provide the necessary exposure and the opportunity to meet other Parliamentarians from all over the world”.

On the question of what he was taking to Brussels, Hon.

Ibrahim Sorie said, “I would be taking to the European Union, a total of thirty-eight years of accumulated work experience, four years as a teacher, four years as a Chartered Insurer and thirty years as a Parliamentarian.
I would be taking with me the accumulated knowledge I have gathered from this House in those years, including as a Minister of Government”.

Honourable Ibrahim Sorie believed that Sierra Leone was benefitting enough from our relationship with the European Union.“We deserve more.

I promise to do all that it takes to get more from the European Union by particularly relating with the right people, the right organs and making a strong case for Sierra Leone.” iii.
Mrs Doris Saffa Nyangbe Sannoh Ngaliwah, Proposed Member, Police Council.

Mrs Doris Saffa Nyangbe Sannoh Ngaliwah is an educationist who had spent a better part of her working life as a school teacher.

In 2004-2005, however, she left the teaching field and was appointed Programme Manager, “Network Movement for Justice and Development (MNJD) Bo Branch.
The nominee is currently a Board Member (2008- 2013) of the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) Responding to questions, Mrs Doris Saffa Nyangbe Sannoh Ngaliwah said that if approved by the Committee, she would first under study the functions and workings of the Police Council to enable her give appropriate advice on issues as and when they come up in council meetings.

She promised to work to the best of her ability without fear or favour, but to deal with issues on their own merits.
Recommendations: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee adjudged the following Presidential nominees to possess the requisite qualifications for their proposed appointments and they are recommended to the House for approval: 9 i. Mr Victor B. Foh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People‟s Republic of China; ii.

Hon.

Ibrahim Sorie Kamara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium; and iii.
Mrs Doris Saffa Nyangbe Sannoh Ngaliwah - Member, Police Council.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Thirteenth Report is the unanimous view of the Committee.

I therefore move that the Thirteenth Report of the First Session of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service be adopted by the House and that the recommendations contained therein be approved.

Signed by Honourable S. B.

B. Dumbuya, Chairman.

HON.

CLAUDE D. M. KAMANDA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I second the Motion.
(Question Proposed) HON.

CLAUDE D. M. KAMANDA (Majority Chief Whip of the House): Thank you Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I stand to make my submission on the nominees before us.

I believe today is a special day for us, especially the APC party.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, permit me to start with the Secretary-General of the ruling APC party, Honourable Victor Bockarie Foh.

I stand here with mixed feelings today.

As a party, I would hardly agree to release Mr Bockarie Foh.
But as a nation and as a country, I would agree to release him.

Mr Speaker, I could still hear the voice of Mr Bockarie Foh when he assured my Chairman and Leader in 2007, His Excellency the President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma thus: “Mr Leader and Chairman be rest assured I will canvas the length and breadth of this country, I would sensitize and engage the common men and women to vote you in and for sure you will form a Government.” What he prophesied came to pass.
Again, in 2012, he said: “Mr Leader and Chairman, I 10 assured you in 2007 and I stand again here to assure you that in 2012 and this time, I assure you that there would be no run-off”.

Again, that prophesy came to pass (Applause).

That‟s why I said I find it very hard to release him as a party.

But for Sierra Leone, I have no alternative but to let him go and represent this country.

Mr Foh, we call you Five Stars General of the APC Party.

He is indeed the architect of the APC Party.


He is the lion of the Southern part of this country.

We want you to take along those titles.

Go there as Mr Five Stars General of Sierra Leone and this time not as a Party, but as a Country.

We want all it takes to transform Sierra Leone as we move from the Agenda for Change to the Agenda for Prosperity.

We want you to set the pace for us so that as we move to the election of 2017 to 2018.
We would sail through and you would join us again to celebrate when we form another Government in 2018.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Member, as Mr Foh moves on, let him use all the telephone lines, fax and emails to continue to groom us.

This is because you are leaving a great vacuum.

May 4th to May 14, 2013 would be a tedious time for us as we have to fill in the gap you have left behind.

But we know with your blessings, we are sure of setting the pace.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to briefly talk about Hon Ibrahim Sorie Kamara, the veteran Chairman „Emeritus‟ of the PGA.

Words cannot express all what you have done for us in this Parliament.

And as you said in the interview that you are a candidate of Parliament, we want to assure you that we would support you, even from a distance.

Go there to properly and accordingly represent Sierra Leone so that the flag will fly high.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, to the women of this nation, they asked for 30%.

Today, we are giving them 33.3%.

That tells you that we are ready for it and we will pursue it.

I want to assure that whatever the Leader of this nation says will come to pass.

With these few words Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to implore the House to approve and endorse the nominees before us.

Thank you and God bless us all.

11 HON.

P. C. BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: Thank you Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we are very grateful to His Excellency the President, for giving us these people to serve Sierra Leone and to go out there and see that the Agenda for Prosperity benefits each and every person in this country.

The Ambassador going to China has a lot of work to do.

The Chinese have shown us that Sierra Leone chaired the General Assembly when they were admitted to the United Nations.

And they had never forgotten that at all.


Therefore, Ambassador Foh to be, please go there with your consistency, boldness and bravery to represent the people of Sierra Leone.

You‟ve seen it all.

If you were not on the death row, you were very close to it.

But you came out firm and you were not afraid to see that your party succeeds.

And indeed, your APC Party has succeeded in governing Sierra Leone.
May God bless you and the people of Sierra Leone for given us a President that is dynamic, trustworthy and somebody that is recognised by the International Community.

Only those who are blind that could not understand that President Ernest Bai Koroma is a son of the soil.

He is a guiding light for the development of this country.

I am sure, deep down in our hearts; we know that Victor Foh stood up for what is right.

And may you continue to represent Sierra Leone.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, today, President Ernest Bai Koroma is not only President of APC or Bombali District, Kailahun District but a President of this nation.

We‟ve seen the roads that are being constructed everywhere in the country.

We have seen many water wells being constructed.

Victor Foh, you will be blessed by the people of this country.

God will guide you in all endeavours.

But you have to be firm in your decisions.


Words cannot express how much suffering you‟ve gone through.

When you go out there, please don‟t give up.

Please, do everything possible to see that Sierra Leone becomes a developed nation.

You know where you come from.

You know what is happening here.

You have said that Ernest Bai Koroma should be the President of this country.

Go out there and work for his Agenda for Prosperity.

Go out there and work for the people of Sierra Leone.
Please, forget about personal gains.

I have known you for many years in this Parliament.

You were here as a Member of Parliament in 1996.

I know the contributions you made to this House.

Therefore, we are saying that you 12 should rest.

Please, don‟t feel that you have achieved.

Continue to work hard for the development of this nation.

What you have done is not enough.

But going above what you have done for this nation is what makes you what you are today.

You did what you were supposed to do.


That is how a President should be elected in Africa The opposition won and the world recognised the result of that election.

Today, when we talk about power, we talk about policies.

When America says yes, Britain, France, Germany will also say yes.

A whole rotten people will not say no….

– (Interruption).

HON.

DR BERNADETTE LAHAI: Mr Speaker, I think the Honourable Paramount Chief has to mind his language.
THE SPEAKER: Honourable Member, what do you find offensive?

HON.

DR BERNADETTE LAHAI: He said „rotten people.‟ THE SPEAKER: He said what?

HON.

DR BERNADETTE LAHAI: He used the phrase “Rotten people” Sir.

THE SPEAKER: Oh „rotten people?

Sorry Honourable Member I didn‟t hear that.

Honourable Paramount Chief, did you use that phrase?

HON.

P. C. BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: Yes Sir.

THE SPEAKER: Alright, I would suggest you don‟t repeat it again.

HON.
HON.

P. C. BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: I know that Sierra Leone has no rotten people.

Mr Speaker, I know very well that Sierra Leoneans are people who are accommodating and hospitable.

I know that Sierra Leoneans don‟t accept defeat.

Sierra Leoneans know the truth.

And the world knows the truth as well.

Our conscience tells us the truth.

Everybody in this world is liable to tell lies.


But three things you cannot lie about: one, you cannot lie to your conscience; two, you cannot lie to your angels; and three, you cannot lie to your God.

Therefore, even when we lie, we know that we are 13 doing things that the mind may say no or yes.

But because of perceptions, we keep doing the wrong thing.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Victor Bockarie Foh should go out there and do everything that is humanly possible to make Sierra Leone a better place under the great leadership of your party, your Government, your President and your country.

Serve this nation well as you go into the world.

As a Paramount Chief, I will never be afraid to stand up for what is right.

I shall never be a hypocrite and charlatan.

The world knows that Victor Bockarie Foh is a man of his words.
I have known you since 1996, when you were in this Parliament.

I know the contributions you have made in this Well of Parliament, even though your party had only five members then.

But you stood up and people recognised what your party did then.

When the time came, the people of Sierra Leone recognised what your party achieved and everybody knows about it.
Please, as you said, make it quite clear in your actions, not only in your intentions, but in your actions as the Ambassador of Sierra Leone to China.

Serve every Sierra Leonean well.

You have been given the go ahead to serve the people of Sierra Leone.

Go out there and bring in what is good and multiply the good things of Sierra Leone.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to talk about a senior colleague of mine, whom I have known even before he became a Member of Parliament in 1996.
Please, what I said to Victor Bockarie Foh equally applies to you.

Make Sierra Leone your constituency.

This Parliament is yours.

You have served as a politician for nearly 31 years of your life.

Now, the European Union is one of the biggest donors to Sierra Leone.

Go out there with series of agendas, the Agenda for Change, the Agenda for Prosperity, the Agenda for Progress and the Agenda for Development.

Whatever you do, make sure you do it well.


I want you to do this for Sierra Leone and for everybody.

Whosoever comes across your way in Europe, serve him or her well.

Don‟t ask the party someone belongs.

Serve Sierra Leoneans of all tribes and regions.

We also need more money for the construction of the roads, schools, hospitals, markets etc.

14 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, as for the nominee of the Police Council, I hope to work with her.
The Chairman of the Internal Affairs Committee and the Sierra Leone Police Force would be looking out for your performance.

I hope you will do the right thing.

Give promotions to those whom promotions are due.

Don‟t look at tribe, regions or party colours.

Look at the ability of people to perform.

We shall work with you to make the police force a Force for Good.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to say bravo to His Excellency the President for appointing these great people to serve Sierra Leone.
I thank you (Applause).

HON.

BLISS OSHO-WILLIAMS: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak on this occasion.

I hardly spoke on such occasions because of two reasons.

The first reason is because of age wise.

I never saw my contemporary on that other side, and as such, I could not speak on behalf of them.

In other words, I don‟t know a lot about them.

But on this occasion, I am very much obliged to speak.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I start with my friend and brother, Mr Victor B. Foh.

I disagree with my Honourable Chief Whip when he said he would be glad to release Mr Victor Bockarie for the sake of Sierra Leone.

I will prefer to keep this man for two reasons.

The question is why would you slay the goose that lay the golden egg for APC twice?

He won the 2007 elections.

Am I wrong?

He won the 2012 elections.

Let‟s put everything into perspective.

Mr Speaker, S. O.
Mr Speaker, S. O.

2 “Krio spun na en de pul Krio sup.” THE SPEAKER: Honourable Member, you‟ve left one word “Krio tik spun.” HON.

BLISS OSHO-WILLIAMS: Honourable Members, this is why I like my brother and friend, the Speaker.

He has been here for a long time to know all these verbs.

I am very grateful to you Mr Speaker.

“Krio tik spun na e de pul Krio sup.” What have we got to do with this?

It is not tribalism.

It is the fact.

Look at Mr Victor Bockarie Foh Mr Speaker.


Mr Speaker whenever this man speaks, the Mende man “de listin.” Am I wrong?

“Mende tic spun na e de pul Mende r∑s.” On the basis of that, you can see he is 15 a unifier.

I have heard all his deliberations throughout the entire elections of 2007 and 2012.

He never spoke anything detrimental to the other tribes.

He speaks as a unifier, unifying the nation under one of the greatest leaders Sierra Leone has ever had in the person of Dr Ernest Bai Koroma.
When I first came into Politics in 1986, I gave up because any time I came to this country there was a coup.

Later, I was told that Dr Ernest Bai Koroma is now the new leader of the APC.

They told me that if I was interested, I should see Mr Victor Bockarie Foh.

I went to the meeting where I was able to see this young and good looking man.

He did something that made me feel exceptionally proud of him.

With your leave Mr Speaker, I‟ll show you what he did.
He changed the whole concept of the elections in Europe, America and even England.

We began to say that this man thinks good for this country.

The song goes like this… - (Interruption).

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Member, I would appreciate if you proceed with your contribution.

HON.

BLISS OSHO-WILLIAMS: Thank you Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, this gentle man changed the words to victory for this nation, instead of the APC.

I was greatly impressed.


He has the quality of unifying the nation.

I want to take the opportunity to say thank you Mr Victor Bockarie Foh.

I am here today because of him.

And I am sure when he goes to China, he would be somebody that we would regard and have the highest respect for.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Honourable Ambassador Ibrahim Sorie Kamara was unique in this Parliament.

He is unique in the country.

He is special and he is a man of the highest quality.
He is honest, sincere and above all devoted in his work.

It is therefore good for all of us listening to learn from him.

This is what I would say about him.

He is the man who made me settled in this Parliament, more than anybody else.

When we went on oversight work, he allowed us to express ourselves.

He allowed us to say something about ourselves.

He ensured that we got the confidence to perpetrate what society is all about.

He enabled us to learn the work of Parliament.


Ibrahim Sorie 16 knows parliamentary work more than any other living parliamentarian here.

He is dignified, humble, sincere and a perfect Sierra Leonean.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I have slept in this gentleman‟s house three times.

During my stay in his palace, I was treated like a king.

The hospitality I received drew me closer to the kingdom of a king.

He is a magnificent man.

I ate everything I requested for.


I thought he would chase me out of the house, but thank God, he fed me more.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, if approve, the lady who is going to be a member of the Police Council.

I am pleased that, the President included a lady in the person of madam Ngaliwah.

I hope that the police force, which is one of the most corrupt institutions in this country will turn around for the better.

We want you to reorganise the police force.


Make sure that corruption is minimised to the barest minimum.

Harassing innocent people in the streets is not good at all.

Don‟t allow criminals to go free.

I am pleased that somebody like you has been appointed to serve in that Council.

I want to say this to all of you that you should never in the history of this country be oblivious of the fact that the three people are responsible for the betterment and development of this country.
Mr Victor Bockarie Foh, Mrs Ngaliwah and the Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara are wonderful people in this country.

God bless us all.

Thank you very much.

HON.

FODAY RADO YOKIE: Thank you Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I hardly give felicitations or ask people for approval.

This is because I believe in performance before you give praises.

But today is exceptional.

It is a special day because we have two erudite former Members of Parliament who have served this nation in diverse ways.
Again, the President in his wisdom has added to the call of the women and in this, you can see that out of the three nominees here today, we have one woman.

He has added to the 30% quota the women are asking for.

So, we are moving towards achieving the 30% quota.

17 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I start with the female nominee.

She is a sister who has worked diligently in the Network Movement for Justice and Development in Bo.

But like I said, I don‟t praise before you perform.
You must have performed before I praise you.

I am merely calling on her to use all she has acquired over the years to bring more sanity into the Police Force.

We want you to continue rebranding the Police Force.

You have a herculean task.

I only praise you after you have performed.

But that is the task ahead of you, it is herculean in nature.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I go to the second nominee, the Right Honourable Ambassador Ibrahim Sorie Kamara.
In other jurisdictions like the United Kingdom, they refer to such people as the Rt.

Honourable, having served the Parliament for a very long period.

And I believe he is a record holder in that light.

He is the only person (I stand to be corrected), who has served the Sierra Leone Parliament for 30 years.

He is commonly called “ↄkurgba.” For the new Members of Parliament who has just come in, you have missed a wonderful man.

He is one of the best debaters ever in this well.


If we start to talk about Parliament, these are the people who groomed us up.

I admired him so much that any time he stood up to debate, he spoke with authority.

„ↄkurgba,” you have performed well.

Thirty consecutive years is a long time.

It has not been easy for some of us serving our second term.

We are now tired.

I admire people who have served three or four terms.

It is difficult.
It is difficult.

Sierra Leonean politics is difficult for somebody to endure 30 years.

You are an icon (Applause).

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, as I have already said, today is a special day because we have two former Members of Parliament.

Mr Speaker, once an MP is always an MP.

You are going to Belgium.

And as a Parliament, we are asking that you go there and solicit support to increase the working environment of Members of Parliament.
I tell you “ↄkurgba” he has been in this Parliament for 30 years without an office space.

We want Members of Parliament to have office spaces.

We need Clerks that will serve Members of Parliament.

I am not talking about Committee Clerks.

You have visited other Parliaments during your thirty year of parliamentary sojourn.

When you go to 18 places like the Kenyan Parliament, each MP has an office space and maybe three working staff who can help the MP to do some research.
But unfortunately, we don‟t have even one here.

We only have Committee Clerks.

We have buildings, but there are no offices.

Thank God the Minister of Works is here today.

We have a very big space that can accommodate 124 offices for Members of Parliament to improve on our working standard.

Some of us would like to quit parliamentary politics after second serving a second term in Parliament.

I will like to graduate like you have done.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I would now come to the veteran politician, Mr Victor Bockarie Foh.

He is one of my admirers in this country.

He is one of the people that make me admire the APC.

If you work for it, they will give it to you.

I admire the Right Honourable Victor Bockarie Foh.

Mr Speaker, one of the reasons why I want to quit politics is because of deception and betrayal.

This is very much unlikely to the Honourable Victor Bockarie Foh.
He endured all the political trials he encountered.

I am neither going to be regionalistic nor tribalistic.

But to have such a man from South/East, areas known to be the citadel of the SLPP and endured the plethora of trials when his party was in opposition is indeed a man of courage and bravery.

He stood his ground.

He was very patient.

There is virtue in patience.

It can be rough or rugged, but continue to believe in what you believe in.
For some of us, we have been very disgruntled with the APC because of Mr Victor Bockarie Foh.

He had been very steadfast in his party ideology.

He said no to SLPP.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, S. O.

2, “nᴐ to ↄl Mɛnde man fↄ go na SLPP.

Mi yon Mɛnde man a de APC.” And today, he is reaping the benefit of his patience.

He is one man even if you want to make him President, he deserves it.

I want you to serve as a role model for other politicians.

I believe in his consistency.


He has his own comrades, W. J. Smith and others.

That is why I said in my preface that I like the APC for giving what somebody has worked for.

W. J. Smith, the Resident Minister in Bo.

These are people who have worked so hard for the survival of the APC.

I want Mr Victor Bockarie Foh to serve as very good example for other politicians.

I have no respect for anybody 19 who is inconsistent.

Today, you are in party A and tomorrow you are in party B.
What type of message are you sending to the new generation?

You should only go for what you believe in.

You do not believe in what you are actually aspiring for, but you just believe in self-interest.

When it is sweet here today you go there.

When it is sweet there tomorrow, you are there.

Mr Victor Bockarie Foh should serve as a very good example for the rest of us, including myself.

Mr Speaker, consistency will pays.


And as I have said, there is virtue in patience and you are reaping that benefit today.

Therefore, you even deserve more than this.

Even if they send you to the whole of Europe to represent Sierra Leone, you deserve it.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Mr Bockarie Foh has started demonstrating leadership qualities, especially when I went through the questions he answered.
He said: “I was going to present Victor Bockarie Foh to this House as a Sierra Leonean and not as an APC Secretary-General.” Look at the type of answers he gave during his interview.

Today, he is in green, white and blue, but „di afbak rɛd‟ (Laughter).

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, having said this, the three nominees are over qualified for the post for which they have been appointed.

ↄkurgba has been an icon in this Parliament for 30 years.
I will challenge anybody who will be able to serve 15 or 20 years at this new generation.

It will be difficult Mr Speaker.

The constituents are very sensitive nowadays.

But ↄkurgba survived for 30 good years.

For those of you who are new comers, some of you are fed-up because you cannot withstand the pressure you are facing now.

You are trying to relinquish your seat.

This man has survived many political hiccups for 30 years.

He deserves this wonderful gesture.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I believe we should ratify these three nominees.

They are very good and they would serve in their various capacities well.

Thank you very much (Applause).

20 HON.

P. C. MOHAMED SAMA KAILONDO BANYA IV: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I decided to talk because I consider today to be a very special day in the history of this Parliament.

His Excellency has been nominating people, but today‟s nominees are very special in my opinion.
I do not even think we need to waste time on these people.

This is because these are people who have worked for this country for years.

They have done diligent jobs to the best of their abilities.

So, I think we need to reward them by not wasting their time.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I will start with Mr Victor Foh.

It will interest this Parliament to know that Mr Victor Foh and I worked together at the Ahmadiyya Secondary School as teachers.

I would not say when.


I was a pupil teacher then, and he was a graduate from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.

I admired him a lot during that time.

Those were days when Principals were going out to look for teachers.

It is the reverse today.

Teachers go out to look for schools.

He worked so hard that even the other teachers and students admired him very much.

I didn‟t know much about him during that time.

I knew him better when he was in Kailahun as District Officer.
Kailahun District, particularly my chiefdom is one of the most difficult places to work.

Mr Victor Bockarie Foh was able to put Kailahun under control during his time.

I admired him a lot for that disposition.

I wondered how he did it.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Mr Victor Foh cleaned up the Kailahun Town.

Livestock were all over the town and I remembered one time when he gave order to the youths that whatever you catch is either yours or you bring it to the barracks.
We saw people running to grab their animals to put them under control.

I think that was in the mid 70‟s.

Since then, the people of Kailahun District put their domestic animals under control.

So, I would say bravo to you Mr Victor Foh.

He is a very sincere worker.

But sometimes he applies his iron hand.

I admire him for that very much.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, when I became Paramount Chief, there is one thing in this country, particularly in our district I didn‟t like at all, the pulling-down syndrome.

People make up stories about people that are not true.

He is a man who does not 21 believe in that.

He believes in what he sees and not what people say.

This is dangerous in this country.

Many politicians do not prove stories about you.

They would never ask questions.


They take story for granted, be it true or false.

But Mr Bockarie Foh is a different man.

He has worked so hard for this country as a civil servant.

We have the literature here.

He has worked as a politician for many years.

I want to join my colleague who said that if it was something within his powers, he would have asked the President to let Mr Victor Foh stay in Sierra Leone.

I think he has done a lot for this Country.

We will be missing him.


Although we also want him out there to represent this country, to put Sierra Leone on the map, I see no reason why we should waste time in approving his appointment.

I want to urge all of us to approve these set of nominees without delay.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, let me come to our colleague, the veteran politician, Honourable Ambassador Ibrahim Sorie Kamara.

I came to know this man in 1984.

He may not even remember my encounter with him at that time.
I applied for a job in 1984 to be an Accountant at IDA in Kenema.

Seventeen of us came for the interview.

After the interview, I was told that I came first.

But they refused to give me the job because I did not satisfy the experience requirement.

They had asked for five years.

I had worked only for three and half years.

Yet, I came first in the interview.

The interview panel decided to re-advertise.

Well, I asked myself a question, why did they allow me to come for the interview in the first place?
This is because after they have short listed, they would have dropped me.

I would have had nothing against them.

Yet, they called me for the interview and I came first.

But they failed to give me because I did not satisfy the job experience requirement.

This man was the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture.

What happened then?

They forwarded the paper to the Minister.

The question I raised was the same question he raised.
“Why did you call him for the interview?” It is difficult to get this type of man.

Eventually, I got the job.

No interview was called again.

He advised me to go and learn the job.

So, I went and took up my appointment in Kenema.

I don‟t want to praise myself.

But I did not let him down at all.


When we have these kind of people in this country, people who are sincere, people who 22 do not look out for acquaintances, people who look out for justice, I think he is one of the just persons in this country.

Mr Ibrahim Sorie had served this Parliament for a long period.

We are just new comers.

This is my second term in this Parliament.

But I learned a lot from him.


Like what one of the Honourable Member of Parliament said, I found him to be one of the best debaters in this Well of Parliament.

He is a seasoned politician.

And I think the President in his wisdom made no mistake in nominating Mr Ibrahim Sorie Kamara for the post of Ambassador to the European Union.

I therefore want to urge all of us to approve these two nominees.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to talk about the lady.
I don‟t know her much but I have a comment to make about the police.

The police are serving this country very well.

We praise them because they are doing a very good work.

But I think they need to do more.

Therefore, being nominated to serve on the Police Council, I think you really need to do a lot more.

Go along the roads at the check points and inspect what the police are capable of doing.

I personally don‟t know why the check points are created.

I think it is high time we cleared them.


This is because they are no longer serving any useful purpose in this country.

This is my candid opinion about the police force.

Only commercial vehicles are being stopped at the various checkpoints.

Private vehicles do not even stop for checking at all.

For commercial vehicles, they send the drivers off the vehicles, whatever reason we don‟t know.

Later, the driver may come to meet the police, may be to account for what is in the vehicle.
I think you need to look at this very closely.

This is because the paramount thing in our lives as a nation is security.

It is very important to me.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the same malpractices are happening at the borders.

We want to urge you as a member of the Police Council to let the Inspector General of Police knows.

The council members should also know that security is paramount in the lives of the people of this nation.

We should not joke with it at all.


If you go to the American Embassy, you pack your vehicle far off.

You will know that you should not make telephone calls.

You should not have a camera or anything that takes 23 or gives information.

They would not allow you to enter with such items.

This is because they are security conscious.

It appears that we need to do more about security, we should be more security conscious.
Please Madam, for you to be a Council Member, you have to work hard to make sure that our police force do the right thing.

You have to let them realise that we should be secured at all times.

They should not joke with the lives of the people of this country at all.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, with these few words, I want to urge my colleague Members of Parliament to approve these set of nominees before us today.

I thank you very much.

HON.


PATRICIA BROWNE: Thank you Mr Speaker for given me this opportunity to contribute on the confirmation of these three deserving nominees.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I would like to thank God for being here with us.

I would like to thank His Excellency the President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma for these nominations.
I would go straight to my brother, who hails from Kambia District, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara, an ex-Member of Parliament who has served this Parliament for 32 years.

He started his parliamentary sojourn from 1982-2012.

His nomination is no mistake made by Dr Ernest Bai Koroma.

It is in the right direction and at the right place.

The reason why I thank God and the President for his nomination is because if he was not nominated, maybe, I would not have been here.
I am the one that replaced him in his constituency.

This means that you have given me the opportunity to serve this country (Applause).

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Hon.

Ibrahim Sorie‟s nomination to the Belgium and the EU has come in no better time.

His appointment is good for Parliament and for the country as a whole.

For someone like Honourable Ibrahim Sorie to represent this country in the EU and Belgium would be something that this country would really appreciate.
Mr Speaker, , Honourable Ibrahim Sorie‟s experience in Parliament as we all know from what I heard from other Members of Parliament have said here today is 24 that, he was indeed a type of person that believed in hard work.

I used to tell him that he lived in a suitcase.

This is because he was always travelling either in Abuja, representing Sierra Leone in the ECOWAS Parliament or somewhere else with his various network organisations.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara as we all know in this Parliament is the architect of network organisations.

A lot of Parliamentarians are benefiting from these organisations.

A couple of weeks ago, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie was consulted to come and give new members of Parliament a training session.

We learnt a lot from that training session.

He even implored us to make sure that we join the different network organisations because it would assist us.
And today, we have seen the benefits of networking with these organisations.

Recently, we organised the Commonwealth Parliament Association Conference in this Parliament and he urged us to be part of that training.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie was the APC Chairman in Kambia District.

He unified the district, despite the differences in the District.

But he is a good leader.

His work is exemplary.


By working very hard to unify the APC party in Kambia, he did a great job in that regard.

If I stand here to say that we are not going to miss him, I would be telling a lie.

I cannot say he should not be released.

He should be released because we need him to go out there and bring us the benefits that we are looking for as a nation from other countries.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, today is really a special day for us in the APC Party.
It is a special day for Mr Victor Foh to go out there and serve as he has served this country while as a Secretary General of the APC Party.

Nobody would contest that he is going to be an example for others.

This is because as one Honourable Member said, his answers to the questions already indicated that he is going to represent this country and not the APC Party.

For that reason, we are going to reap the fruits of his labour.
We are sure that he is going to do well for Sierra Leone and the world as a whole.

China is becoming one of the super-power nations of the world.

So, for someone like Mr 25 Victor Foh to be in the midst of it, I think this country will benefit immensely from the Chinese national cake.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Mrs Doris Saffa Nyangbe Sannoh Ngaliwah has been nominated as member of the Police Council.

I am happy because in the last sitting, we had in this Parliament two males and one female.
Today, we have two males and one female.

What is that telling you?

It is telling us we are gradually getting the 30% Quota.

We are thankful to the President for always bringing in a woman among his nominees.

If this trend continues, lot of problems will be solved in this country.

I hope there will be more women to be added and some changes are taking place in that direction.

Everybody is concerned about security.

And the police are not doing their jobs properly.

They are busy taking bribes.


I am telling you Honourable Members that if women are incorporated into the Police Council and other Police hierarchy, this country will change for the better.

Whenever you involve women in development activities, the country will develop faster.

Having said those few words Mr Speaker, I would like this Honourable House to speedily and swiftly approve these three deserving nominees so that they can go and do their jobs.

Thank you.

HON.

J.


B. MANSARAY: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I am pleased to stand here to lend my voice to the approval of the nominees before us.

I must commend the President to have given Mr Victor Foh this wonderful reward.

This is a reward for winning two elections for him, though the last elections are still questionable.
I want to say plenty thanks to him to have rewarded Mr Victor Bockarie Foh and his brother, the Resident Minister East, Mr Smith for the confidence they have already placed in him to become President of this nation.

Honestly Mr Speaker, give praises where praises are due.

Here are two men coming from the Southern part of this country.

They pass through Koribondo to go to their chiefdom most times.
Each time they are there, they will stop over and say we know that Jaiama Gbongor and Wonde will not fall to APC.

This is because they are true SLPP, but yet still, they are my brothers.

He will stay there, drinks and move on.

This man has been one time a member of the SLPP before 26 going to the APC (Laughter).

Mr Speaker, when he left, he serves the APC with every sincerity and honesty.

THE SPEAKER: Order!

HON.

J.


B. MANSARAY: Though the tribal and regional divisions are conspicuous in this country, he has stayed in his own right to support the APC.

And with all the confrontations he had in the past years, he has always been there for the President.

Such a man has to be rewarded accordingly.

But one thing he said in his interview, which I admired most, was when he said that he is going to China not for APC or SLPP, but for the country as a whole.
Mr Victor B. Foh, if you„ve taken this commitment before the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service and you are here today for approval, please move this nation forward.

This time you are not going to be there for long.

You will be there for a very short time.

The confidence placed in you is going to be placed this time on another person when we shall be facing the next elections.
You must have gone and whilst still going to China as a Sierra Leonean, make sure you don‟t influence the Chinese to rig that election.

This is because we are sure of winning the 2017/18 elections (Laughter).

Today, you are in a green and white dress.

That is indicating to this House that by the next Parliament, SLPP will clinch the baton of power.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the sincerity of purpose and dedication of Mr Victor B. Foh is worth emulation.

We would always remember him as a brother.


We would remember him as a brother who is ready to fight for this nation.

We would always retain you in the Chinese Embassy (Laughter).

We would retain you in the Chinese Embassy and would make sure that the Sierra Leone Embassy in China will keep your green and take out your red card.

Please consider Sierra Leone as a nation as you served.

You have served in this Parliament.


You told me one story about an incident in Bonthe, when you were the District Officer.

You told me how fire was set at the playing field, the very day of elections and you manipulated it.

I remembered that story.

Your 27 fight for the APC started many years back.

Today, the President has remembered you as one of his strongest supporters.

Honestly, I do appreciate him for that.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want Mr Victor Bockarie Foh to put party colour away and think Sierra Leone.

Let it not be any more about APC.

I know the Majority Whip does not want you to go because leaving them will create a vacuum and that vacuum has to be filled by the takeover from APC in the 2017 elections.

Be conscious of that Mr Victor B. Foh.


Please, whilst in China, don‟t forget the road leading from Bo town to Koribondo, via Jaiama Gbongor and Sumbuya.

You know how terrible it is these days.

The new road is starting from Bandajuma.

Please note that no place like home.

Charity they say begins at home.

Make it a point of duty to remember that road.


Please remember your people out there and make sure in as much as you are putting Sierra Leone on the map of development and on the map of the Agenda for Prosperity, your home is more paramount than any other place.

Please know that you have fought for the APC for so long.

You fought for them and won two elections.

But we have a problem with our roads in the area you are coming from.

We have a problem with many of our activities out there.
Please, you are moving to a nation that is well developed.

China is a nation where you can get gifts and bring to your people.

Please remember Jaiama Gbongor, Gbamoh, Tikonko and other areas.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, to my mentor, my Chairman, commonly called “ƆKurgba” has been in this Parliament for over thirty years.

Staying in Parliament of Sierra Leone for 30 years means you have an extra energy.

But I know why you survived.

You survived because you have been a Minister before.
You knew where the gates were situated and you did know how to open them.

I know the number of things you were making in this Parliament.

That brought about your survival.

I appreciate you for that.

Very shortly, my Majority Whip has just described Mr Victor Foh as the lion of the South.

He indeed is a lion of the South.

But I remembered during the elections, the lion of the South and the great parliamentarian who has served in this Parliament for over 30 years were in my constituency.
They went there to campaign and they threw in 28 so much energy.

Honestly, a small lion came up and won that election.

I, Honourable J.

B. Mansaray won that election.

You have a small brother who can equally fight.

Please Mr Victor Foh, don‟t come there this time.

You will face another defeat (Laughter).

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I am very happy that Mrs Ngaliwah is going to the Police Council as a member.

We have known her in Bo as somebody who always produced positive results.
Madam, the police is becoming unbecoming (Laughter).

They are doing their bits, but they are becoming a little corrupt in most of their activities.

Please, as a woman who has many children and have been working for justice in the South, please bring your technical ideas to the functions of the police.

Let them know where to use their guns and where to even start grabbing people for proper investigation.

You need to work hard.

Your sisters are here advocating for the 30% Quota.
We do appreciate women to be in better positions.

Go to that particular Department and see what you can do and how best you can address issues.

Maybe, guide them to know that policemen are Sierra Leoneans.

They belong to this nation.

We are brothers and sisters and we are all one.

The days of politics will come and go.

Parties come to power and leave power, but the people we serve always stay.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, during the interview of Mr Victor Foh, he said there are two traditional tribes and political parties in this country, the APC and the SLPP.

No matter which way tomorrow, one must be in power.

The police have been carried away.

But let them realise that tomorrow will be the SLPP.

Today, the APC is in power.

And if it is the SLPP, let them understand that they will be the same police.
Let them understand also that they would be encountering people on the streets of Freetown after their service.

They should know how to behave.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, let me give you a fun.

There was a Member of Parliament who believed in mysticism.

He was always with the opinion that it will take a very long time to believe that there is tomorrow.

I want you to equally believe that SLPP will one day come back to power.
This is because the goal fighter, the strategist, the most strategic planner who is with you is now going to be engaged in China.

He 29 would not plan anymore.

His replacement is little bit worried.

We would always provoke him to some point that he will not do his job properly.

Musa Tarawally is a brother (Laughter).

Without Victor Foh, Musa Tarawally would not make any impact in the South.

And in the East, Moijueh Kaikai will not make much impact as well without Victor Foh.
We know them to have performed well in Bo in terms of human relationships.

But when we talk about elections in that part of the country, honestly, it is always a done- deal.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, these are great people.

I want to kindly crave the indulgence of this House that we cannot waste much of their time.

We have to speedily approve their appointments so that they can go to their offices and see what they can do for this nation.

I thank you Mr Speaker (Applause).

HON.


DR MICHAEL SHO-SAWYER: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I thank you for this opportunity you have given me to speak today on these nominees before us for approval.

Mr Speaker, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma is a very wise man who makes the right decisions at the right time.

He has just demonstrated that today.

The evidence of his wisdom, sagacious, erudite and prudent decisions are right in front of us.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, we have great leaders in the world.
We have had Mahatma Gandhi of India who did what was necessary to unify his nation and bring his nation above levels.

We have had Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

We have had several others and today in Sierra Leone, we have the redeemer and the saviour, by the name of Dr Ernest Bai Koroma.
He always brings before us people that I would call „mentor of mentors.‟ The credence and the credibility to take Sierra Leone forward is squarely in the hands of the Honourable Victor Bockarie Foh and Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara.

I believe they would perform in their appointments.

They would take the good image of Sierra Leone far and wide because they are sons of this soil.

They have worked very hard.


They have shown their loyalties and I am glad today because everybody is talking about their good and hard works.

As a young Member of Parliament, representing the youths of this country, I know that nowadays youths do not believe in hard work at all.

30 But your deeds in this country are worth emulating.

You are role models for hard work.

So I stand here asking the youths of this nation to look up to you.

I want them to see what your hard works have given you.
Your loyalties, commitments, honesty, sincerity and perseverance have earned you positive recognition.

Sirs, I bow to both of you.

I ask this nation to also bow to both of you for the sacrifices you have made for the betterment of this nation.

We can only thank you and congratulate you for all that you have done for this country.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, our President continues to show his commitments to his words and his statements in these particular appointments.
We have with us Mrs Doris Saffa Ngaliwah, whom if approved would be a member of the Police Council.

We have always observed that women leaders perform extremely well and our President knows that and he has continued to appoint and nominate great women that are coming here for approval.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, with these few words, I ask this Honourable House to speedily approve these nominations.

I thank you.

HON.
I thank you.

HON.

DR BERNADETTE LAHAI (Minority Leader of the House): Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I have listened carefully to various statements and sentiments made on behalf of the three nominees present before us this morning.

Due to Parliamentary and other national appointments, I missed the opportunity to have been present when these three eminent persons were interviewed.

But I took my time to study the submissions they made to the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service.
I was particularly anxious to read the submissions of the two Honourable Members before us.

With their submissions and with what they have to say during the interview, I have a very clear picture as to what to say on their nominations.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, with regards to Mr Victor Bockarie Foh who has been nominated as an Ambassador Extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Peoples Republic of China, I would follow those that have spoken before us to say that he 31 deserves more than this appointment and nomination.

I have known Mr Victor Bockarie Foh for many years.

He didn‟t know me in those early years.


This was because as a small girl attending the Holy Rosary Secondary School in Pujehun District, where Mr Foh worked I am not sure whether he was ADO/DO but he did work in Pujehun District.

I was in secondary school then.

If you have visited Pujehun District, the District Office is just outside the boarding school.

Therefore, on Saturdays, when we were allowed to visit friends and relatives, his house was very close to us.
We used to visit him there and we did eat very delicious food.

If you have been in bordering school, I think you should know what the „condor‟ was all about.

It used to be the friend of pupils in the boarding homes.

We always look forward to our Saturday Outings, where we would visit people like him, teachers and other dignitaries who would ensure that we have very delicious food before we go back to the boarding school.
I was very small by then, and Mr Victor B. Foh would only have noticed a little girl around him, nothing more and nothing less (Laughter across the Floor).

After that, it took some time until when I came into politics where we met again.

Mr Victor B. Foh has a very pleasant disposition.

Mr Speaker like what the other speakers have said before, Mr Victor B. Foh is a man that is steadfast.

And he is a man that you can predict.


A great philosopher said, if you stand for everything, and you fall for everything, then, you don‟t stand for anything.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, in life, if you stood for something, you must be known for something and the name Victor Bockarie Foh is known for one thing, that is, the APC.

I maybe wrong in what I know.

But what I know is that I have known him for APC and only for APC.

He stood by his party both in good and bad times.


That is the man that those that are just coming into politics should emulate.

I have seen him talk with passion.

I have seen him advocate with passion.

I have seen him worked for his party with loyalty and sincerity.

That is the man for those who want to be in politics or those who are now in politics should emulate.

I respect people who are steadfast, no matter what the situation is.

I believe in the saying that no condition is permanent.
And for some of us who have done futuristic studies, one thing we know is that there are many features out there and each one of them has the possibility of occurring.

So, if we 32 believe in that, then, we are in the stage.

You do your bits and leave when the applause is loudest.

But while you are in the stage, make sure that people remember you for the good things and not for bad things, especially when Sierra Leone is a very small country where we are all related in one way or the other.
I am sure as Mr Foh has gone about his political work, he has had that as a lesson.

I remembered when this Parliament was newly inaugurated.

He went downstairs to my office to congratulate me as a Minority Leader.

But what he was looking for was the Honourable Helen Kuyembeh, who is his Member of Parliament representing that constituency to congratulate her.

I was moved by that gesture.

So, he is a man that we should emulate his good examples.
He has a lot of experiences as a civil servant, and as a politician.

He is going to play politics when he goes out there.

But it is a politics for development, a politics that would bring Sierra Leone and China closer than before.

And it takes such an experience man to be able to bring Sierra Leone and China closer than before.

The Chinese are well ahead of us, though we started almost at the same level before independence.

But they have had an open-door policy.


And as we read in this document, Sierra Leone played a very important role in China becoming one of the UN members.

I am sure our close relationship with China may not be unconnected because a friend in need is a friend indeed.

So, I have no doubt that his appointment will further cement the relationship that have existed between Sierra Leone and China.

We have a lot of Sierra Leonean students in China.


I have been there myself and I saw the relationship between our students out there and the organisation.

I am very happy Mr Speaker.

As he is going to represent this country, I want him to embrace all the Sierra Leoneans out there, irrespective of who they are.

I want him to bring more investments into this country.

My brothers, I have no doubt that you will do well over there.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, there is a reason why I have no doubt that you will do well in China.

I am hopeful that when you go there, your doors will be opened to everybody.

Seated adjacent you is your sister, who is representing us in Liberia.

And the way she relates to us when we go to Liberia was fabulous and excellent.

I have no doubt she has already infected you with her diplomatic open door policy (Laughter).
33 Whenever I am in Liberia, the first Sierra Leonean meal I get is from her Excellency.

She would take me from my hotel to her house and at the Embassy.

She would lavish us with all types of hospitalities.

I have a different experience with her predecessor, despite the fact that he was from my party.

a very.

But I am not surprised at all.

As a woman, her mission is to work for everybody and not just people of your party.

So I acknowledge her presence here.

I am happy for her.
I am happy for her.

Her brother has been elevated.

I have no doubt that whenever I go to China, I would be in his best hands.

I have no doubt about that (Applause).

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to talk about somebody who has been nominated to one of the most enviable positions in this country.

I am very happy for him.

Again, as somebody said, there is virtue in being patient.
Honourable Ibrahim Sorie, if you ask me to summarise his character in one word, I would say he is patiently a personified man.

I know why I said this.

I met him in 2002 in this Parliament and we have been on many Committees, particularly International Parliamentary Committees.

He was a founding member of the Parliamentarians for Global Action from whom I took over as Chair in 2009.

He was also the Chairman for the Parliamentarians Network in the World Bank whom I also deputised as Deputy Chairman.
And he has been the Chairman for the Parliamentarians Network on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

Also, he was one of the resource persons for Parliamentarians for Global Action both nationally and internationally.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we have worked together to promote and advocate for the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty that has recently been adopted during the last Foreign Diplomatic Conference in the United States of America in the United Nations.
I am sure he is a happy man seated there today.

This is because as Members of the Parliamentarians for Global Action, we did make a lot of contributions.

In the last few months, we gathered signatures of Members of Parliament all over the world.

Over 130 parliamentarians are in support of the Arms Trade Treaty today.

We are happy that it has been adopted.

What remains is the signing and ratification of that important 34 Treaty, particularly for Sierra Leone.
Without the proliferation and the illegal production and sales of arms, our war would not have been prolonged.

Our war was prolonged because there were small arms and light weapons everywhere.

That was why as a Parliament and as an organisation, we stood firm to ensure that Sierra Leone was part of that historic moment.

So, we hope that as you go out there you will continue to be a member of the PGA.
In fact, as a former Member of Parliament for the PGA, I hope you will continue to give your input to that noble institution.

As you go into the world, we hope that we would exchange files on the other Parliamentary networks and also on Small Arms and Light Weapons, so that we would continue in your footsteps.

These are important Parliamentary Networks, particularly the World Bank.
Through your effort (whereas before the World Bank and the IMF institutions would only deal with the Executive), they have started working with the Parliamentarians who are actually the ones that oversee the monies that they give to our Executive.

So, I hope after here we will exchange notes and would leave those organisations in their rightful places and with the right people in this Parliament.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie has been a very good debater in this Parliament.
He has inspired a lot of people in this House.

Being a very patient man, that patience has rewarded you today.

If approved today, you would be going to Europe.

You would be going to Brussels.

Brussels is very important to us here, particularly those Members of Parliament who are members of the African Caribbean Pacific European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

This is because the committee meetings are always held in Brussels, while the sessions are being held in selected countries.
So, I hope that from time to time you will be connected with these members here.

I know that in those meetings, the Ambassadors or the High Commissioners will also be present to provide oversight function to those Parliamentary Assembly Missions.

I know that through that connection, you will keep your relationship with this Parliament.

I wish you well in your new appointment.

We would miss you as a Parliament and as a nation.


35 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Honourable Bliss Osho-Williams is also one of the few people who always treat people hospitably.

When we used to go to PGA in New York or Washington, we had a very good hospitality from his wife.

I have had several good opportunities to have slept in his house.

He is a very good host.

He entertains you to the extent that sometimes you cannot understand (Laughter).
We have been very good friends and only good parliamentary friends, nothing more, nothing less (Laughter).

I respect his friendship very much.

You have my support Honourable Member.

You have our blessings and we pray that God guide you in your endeavour.

We pray that you have good health so that you would represent us capably, ably, proficiently and competently in the European Union.

Lastly Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I will now go to my sister, who came from Kenema district.
I have not been fortunate to have very close working relationship with her.

But on few occasions I have been monitoring her work.

She is going to work with the police force of this country, which is an important State institution in Sierra Leone.

The security of any Government, both internal and external lies much with the police force.
Coming from the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone, I want to bring this to your notice that the Eastern Region Police, especially the Regional Crime Unit lacks mobility policing.

Work cannot be effective without mobility.

This is because there are times you need to get to places as fast as possible, either to stop crime or to bring culprits to the Headquarters for investigation.
If my memory could serve me well, we were in Kono District investigating an issue when we eventually found ourselves in the police.

There was a case of rape in that District.

A 61 year old man raped a 10 year old girl.

It was like 10-13 miles from Kono District.

There was no vehicle to bring the culprit to the Police Station.

We had to give our vehicles to the police to evacuate the raped girl.

We were moved Mr Speaker.

A very big station like that did not have a roadworthy vehicle.
The same thing happens to us also in Kenema.

Please madam, we want you to ensure that all the police stations, not only in the Eastern Region are well served with mobility.

This is because it is important that they get to the crime site within the earliest possible time.

Sometimes when you don‟t, valuable evidence may be tampered with or may be 36 wiped off.

This is very important.

I want that to be your first project.


Do as best as possible to advocate for mobility for our police stations so that they can be effective.

Mind you, when the police are effective, we can lie down and sleep as a nation without fear of being harassed by thieves.

But when the police are not provided for, then, we cannot sleep in peace at all.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, let me end with this note that all the nominees have our supports.

This is your Parliament.


Don‟t wait until we call you to provide us with information.

You have to be proactive.

Anytime you come around, please come to your Parliament.

Give us information that we would use also to further our work.

Give us information that we would use to promote your own work.

This is very important.

Mr Speaker, let me in advance congratulate our three nominees and wish them well in their future endeavours.

I thank you (Applause).

HON.

S. B.


B. DUMBUYA (Majority Leader of the House): Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I have been probably heartened by the very warm tributes that have been paid to the veteran politician, Mr Victor Bockarie Foh by very prominent people from the South, in the persons of Honourable Foday Rado Yokie and the Honourable J.

B. Mansaray.
B. Mansaray.

In one of Shakespeare‟s books, Julius Caesar, all of us know that there were conspirators that killed Julius Caesar and one of the greatest friends of Julius Caesar was Mark Anthony.

You could recalled that on his death, even people who did not like Mark Anthony, paid glorious tributes to him.
So a writer once said: “Compliments paid by somebody who does not like you,” but not that people in the opposition do not like us, but compliments paid by people in the opposition should be seen as the greatest honour that is bestowed on anybody.

That is what has happened to Mr Victor B. Foh.

I will come to him later.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Honourable Foday Rado Yokie is a bit frustrated.

This is because he said politics is all about deception.

You want to leave politics?


My advice to you is that don‟t leave politics.

Come over to the APC and you would find 37 solace (Laughter).

This is because in the APC, we don‟t deceive people.

We reward labour.

I am sure that is what you would want.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I would want to start with the lady, Madam Doris.

I am doing this because of the greatest respect we have for women.
I have always said it in this Chamber that anybody who is or has been a teacher is always bound to succeed in whatever profession he later finds him/herself.

This is due to the fact that in as much as there is nothing virtually encouraging in teaching, it makes you very versatile.

I can tell you Mr Speaker and you will agree with me here that most of the very good Judges and most of the very sound lawyers we have in this country were former teachers.
I remember one of the greatest teachers that I used to know was one Titus Fury.

He later became a lawyer and that was one man I would safely refer to as a „Legal Luminary.‟ He was a very good lawyer.

This is because he was once a teacher.

That is why I have no doubt that Madam Doris is already a Board Member of the Procurement Authority.

And from what we have been told, she has been doing remarkably well in that Board.

That should ring a bell to us.


By going to the Police Council, we have confidence that she will apply herself creditably.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, when I was reading the Report, I made a correction, “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,” but because this Parliament is a learning forum, I want people to know, and as a very senior former Ambassador, you could have certain officials who are working for the Ambassadors that could ascend to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary.
They have very good powers.

But they are not Ambassadors.

Extra-ordinary means special and Plenipotentiary is a Latin derivative.

„Plenus‟ means full, and Potentis implies power, means “full power.” You are an Ambassador with full powers.

So when you go there as an Ambassador, you are Ambassador and head of mission.

This is because you are representing the President and generally representing the country that has sent you to represent it.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, from what has been said about Mr Victor Bockarie Foh, we should all agree here that not only is Victor Foh, a national figure but a Sierra 38 Leonean celebrity (Applause).

The name Victor Foh rings a bell in this country.

There is a resonance in that name.

The moment that name is mentioned, it invokes something and indeed Mr Speaker it invokes many things.
The name invokes eminence, prominence, greatness, indomitability, fearlessness, resoluteness, stubbornness, tenacity, determination, perseverance, loyalty and dignity.

That is the man, Mr Victor Bockarie Foh.

Mr Speaker, I would not want to say anything about Mr Victor Bockarie Foh as a civil servant.

This is because doing that would only be restating the obvious.

(Suspension of S. O.

5(2) being 12:00 p.m.) HON.

S. B.


B. DUMBUYA: As I was saying Mr Speaker, to talk about Mr Victor Foh as a civil servant would be like reiterating many things that have been eloquently and copiously expressed about this great man that is called Victor Bockarie Foh.
Suffice it to say that this man called Victor Bockarie Foh would long be remembered in the service for his unimpeachable sense of duty and for being one of the most ruthlessly efficient officials in the Civil Service of this country (Laughter).

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I can say it here and without any equivocation that Mr Victor Foh is now a public property in the field of politics (Applause).

Victor Foh is a tiring personality.


He has made a name for himself by virtue of his dedicated and unswerving service to the APC as well as his unflinching commitment to the struggles of the party over the years, especially in those exclusive and turbulent periods that characterised the politics of the 90s in this country.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Victor Bockarie Foh is held in very high esteem by politicians of all colours in this country.

That has been manifested in this Parliament today.


He is held in very high esteem even if you don‟t like him, you would be bound to respect and admire him for being a man that has the courage of his conviction.

Such a virtue is rare among many people in this country.

In the words of a Poet, he said that Victor Bockarie Foh is a man that has stout heart, strong mind and true faith.

He is a man who would not and cannot be bought and sold.
He is a man of courage and 39 discernment, strong in purpose and straight in deeds.

I personally admire Victor Foh for ever been unshakeable, even in the face of unknown dangers.

Victor Bockarie Foh will remain unruffled and unshakeable.

He has demonstrated this attribute in many occasions.

It is an attribute worth emulating by politicians of succeeding generation.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, one good reason why in this world, particularly in the political world, people are often so useless instead they divide and shift their attention among a multiplicity of organs.

Pursuits to this man, Victor Foh has always being steadfast and a paramount reason why some people are internally revered like Victor Foh.

They remain consistently focused.

That is why Victor Bockarie Foh has earned the admiration and affection of many people in this country.
He has never been known to falter.

And in the words of Cicero: “Nothing is more venerable than firmness of purpose.” Victor Bockarie Foh is an embodiment of this quality and this quality is an essential ingredient in the make-up of a good diplomat.

Mr Speaker, I have no scintilla of doubt that if approved today (Victor Bockarie Foh for all has he been in this country and for all he has stood for in his life) would make a very good Ambassador.
He is going to a country that is very close to Sierra Leone, the Peoples Republic of China.

The other day, the Honourable Minority Leader, Dr Bernadette Lahai was quoting me and the opposition has been quoting me so many times, particularly in my days in Parliament, between 2002-2007.

The foundation of an edifice is strong.

All that rest on it is in a precarious state of existence.
Victor Bockarie Foh, I have been an Ambassador to the Peoples‟ Republic of China and served there for about nine good years.

I have laid a very strong foundation for him.

Many people have been building on that Foundation.

Back in our university days, Victor Bockarie Foh was my senior.

I am sure he is going to do more than I did in that country.

Mr Speaker, I commend Honourable Victor Bockarie Foh to this House for approval.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, in any Organisation, we have categories of people.

There are those who will tell you that they know that things could happen without doing anything.

There are those who only sit back and wish things to happen without 40 any effort on their part.

But there is a category of people that comprises those who make things happen.

Honourable Ibrahim Sorie belongs to that category of people that make things happen.
Honourable Ibrahim Sorie has made many things happen in his life (Applause).

As a University Student, a Teacher, an Insurance Executive, a Government Minister, a Parliamentarian and ECOWAS Member of Parliament, Honourable Ibrahim Sorie has made many things happened.

Mr Speaker, the list is a catalogue, too bulky to be discharged by enumeration (Applause).
One of the things that he had made to happen from which I have benefitted so much is the establishment of the “Parliamentarian for Global Action” (PGA) in this Parliament.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we live in a world where things do not happen in a vacuum at all.

As the Romans say: ‟Diginite,‟ means the hero.


Nothing happens from nothing.‟ If something tangible does happen, if certain things happen from which people have benefitted or from which they are benefitting, it must have come about as a result of conscious effort of somebody, or some hard thinking or ingenuity of somebody.

He played a great role in establishing the PGA in this Parliament.
Had it not been for the drive, the assiduity and the thoughtfulness of the Honourable Ibrahim Sorie, Sierra Leone would never have boasted of a PGA in this Parliament.

And I should let Members of Parliament know that Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara drafted me into the PGA to become a founding member of that organisation.
I owe so much to him; and today, I would like to pay special tribute to him for his magnificent effort in ensuring that Members of this Parliament take their rightful place among others in the Committee of Global Parliamentarians.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, apart from the PGA, as you have heard from many other people that have spoken before me.

Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara has been responsible for so many Parliamentary networks in this Parliament.
That is why I say Honourable Ibrahim Sorie is only going now to be formally designated Ambassador.

Honourable Ibrahim Sorie Kamara has been representing this Parliament in so many missions.

In fact, he has been more than an Ambassador.

He is already acclimatised.

41 Therefore, he has already had the experience.

I therefore move that Ibrahim Sorie be approved by this House as Ambassador Extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium.

Thank you very much (Applause).


(Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to) (Motion of the Committee on Appointment and the Public Service has been carried) THE SPEAKER: Nominees whose nominations have been just now approved, it is now left with me to congratulate you on behalf of the entire House of Parliament.

I note with some satisfaction that at least two of you have a teaching background.

This I believe will enable you to discharge your duties with diligence and excellence.
I will note that I came to know Victor Foh under some unfortunate circumstance, very unfortunate situation.

I will recalled and I have no hesitation to say this publicly that when Rokel Bank was Barclays Bank, I went there to transact my private business and I felt somebody held me from the back.

I was scared and when I turned, it was Victor Foh.

And he said certain things to me then which I will not repeat now.

But those were unfortunate days.

I congratulate you (Applause).


To the Honourable Ibrahim Sorie, I would say again publicly that if my period as Speaker in the first Parliament was remotely comfortable, though stormy at times, I owe it to Honourable Ibrahim Sorie.

After Sessions, he would come to me in my room and talk to me.

After given me words of encouragement, I felt comfortable and relief.

I owe it to you Sir.

I congratulate you all.

I wish you good afternoon (Applause).


42 ADJOURNMENT (The House rose at 12.25 p.m. and was adjourned until Thursday, 9th May, 2013, at 10.00 a.m.).

43