TRADERS CALL ON GOVERNMENT TO TURN BAMOI LUMA AN INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER. Chairperson Mr. Alimamy Jawara He describes The Minister of Trade and Industry as a father, friend and brother in The Ministry. Am happy to be here with The Trade Minister, he said. Ive being a trader in all the days of my life but this is the first time we see a sitting Minister touring round the country to ascertain the conditions of his people. Sir, we salute you for your great courage and determination to positively turn round the conditions of Traders in this country. Such effort of sincere purpose will enable us ( Traders) to meet to the high standards The President want Traders of this country to attain. We assemble here with various traders ranging from rice traders, raw fish sellers, garie sellers , dry fish sellers, palm oil sellers, mixed items sellers, cassava leaf and cassava root sellers, etc. The truth is our organisation was in hiding, though we registered long ago with the various authorities concern and we regularly pay our dues, we are often neglect and abuse in various forms. But with your visit Mr. Minister, we hope this will come to an immediate end. We must love one another for genuine progress to thrive successfully. Minister, we are plenty in number in this District and we want help in various ways. We pray that God continue to bless the President for getting the Traders of this nation an efficient Minister. We appreciate your effort and we encourage you to keep it up. Councillor A. B. Kamara: Today is a day of grace, a day of happiness, a day to say the truth that will save our people as I welcome The Hon. Minister to my deplorable ward. Am called in to politics in ward 121 via my efficient performance within the District. And when i joined The District Council, am asked to be the Chairperson of the Traders Committee in the Council. I feel happy to say here that am the younger brother of The Minister of Trade and Industry representing him in the Council. Years back, Sierra Leone owned a Trading Center in Koindu which has now being replaced by Bamoi. However, Bamoi lack all the basic facilities that will efficiently enhance trade within the area. The place is absolutely deplorable no good water, no toilet, no security, no good market structure, above all the place is just too filthy. Our people also need loans to boom their trading activities and they need your genuine support to do that. Today, in Sierra Leone this is the only Trade Center that we can boost of. We have traders operating in various goods and I can sincerely tell you that not just people living in this community depends in this area. We receive traders here from various quarters in Sierra Leone and beyond.( Guinea, Mali, Liberia and Gambia on a regular basis) This manifest that if we truly improve this Center it will potentially attract traders from other countries around the region. Sir, its imperative for you and your team to keep on making regular visits in this area as it would help you understand the significant of the situation, and how best you can be able to map out a solution to this problem. Chairlady Marie Bangura: Appeal to the Minister for genuine help that will help them grow in a number of ways. YOUTH LEADER SULAIMAN BANGURA: Refers to Bamoi Luma as a place that combines all the traders in Sierra Leone. Helping people in Bamoi will yield positive result allover the country. He talk of years of neglect by those in central positions of trust. We continue to show sincere support for this Government but we are yet to positively benefit anything tangible for our years of loyalty. This is real judgment time for us and the Government as we are not fools. Chairlady Fisher sellers Association Ya Bomposseh Kamara: Request for refrigerating facilities to store their raw fish and avoid potential perish. She added that most of them use loans from Commercial Banks to buy their fish; and these loans are exploitative and often create embarrassment for families. They often lead to the untimely separation of families; as mothers do run away and leave behind their husband and children when they cannot meet to the loan conditions. Pa Musa Bortheh Kamara stakeholder Baimoi Luma, Chairperson National Association of Farmers and Adviser of Traders: No good field, schools and toilet facilities for people in the District. We want these issues to be well addressed. MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY , ALHAJI USMAN BOIE KAMARA REACTION TO THE CONCERNS OF THE BAMOI LUMA TRADERS. Chairman, my people, Mr. Councillor am glad to be here with you this day. For long we were planning to visit this important place, but God never made it possible. Let me hastily say here that we were not able to visit Bamoi not because we dont consider Bamoi to be an important place, but it was due to my tight schedule. When I receive your delegation to me in the office with an invitation to come down to Bamoi; I was left with no option but to give a straight answer. This is an important day for us as it is the starting of March. From what I gather from you this is a very important day for us all. Hence if we want to make this place an International Market, we need to start today. If we want to do that we need to plan today and do the requisite consultations. From your various mentioned concerns which range from recreational center, toilet, water etc, ive taking your issues in to consideration. Myself and my Team well backed by the Council we will work on salvaging the situation. I will soon invite the Councillor, Member of Parliament and other stakeholders to find the way forward. Now we need to think positively as to when and how we can push this country forward. And am willing to join all parties concern to make sure that we bring this in to fruition. I passed my night in Rokuprr yesterday and I saw lot of good facilities which we need to capitalize on. Are you ready to push the country forward? Yes! I will give you a test to know whether you are quite willing to push this community for development. We will give loan to your organisation and I will monitor to know how you can manage it for the benefit of all. Our loan is going for 5% and it goes for three years with three months exemption to build yourself before you start to pay back. Am not here to do plenty talks and I thank you for your massive patient. Am happy for your good welcome which I will never forget. Soon I will invite the Councillor and other stakeholders for talks for us to get in to action straight off. Ill look on the refrigerating system and we shall work on it and other issue you mentioned. I promise you i will keep on helping the people of this community. DESCENDANTS OF KARAYNEH ROSEENT JUNCTION KAMBIA DISTRICT REQUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER. Chairperson Pa Alimamy Esimi Bangura of Kargbulor Section Opening Remarks: Am happy to meet with this good team and its my hope that this positive relationship last well. Minister, I can put it to you that you can get the best reception ever in your life from all the Chiefdoms you have visited in Sierra Leone. Sir, four Chiefdoms came together and decided to do their trading activities in this very place you are sitting. We unanimously agreed to name the place as Usu Boie Luma. The four Paramount Chiefs are as follow: PC Baibureh Salu lugbu 2, PC Bai Farama, PC BuBu Ngbarak 4, PC Gbessay BaiShebura N Lion 2. Chairlady Ya Bomposseh Ntension: Speaking on behalf of all women in the four Chiefdoms, she appeals for tangible help to improve the status of women and their children in the Chiefdoms. She laments further that women in these Chiefdoms are completely vulnerable and need concrete assistant that will help them forge ahead in a number of tangible ways. She call on The Minister of Trade and Industry to do his best in salvaging the vulnerable conditions of these women. Others witnessing the occasion are: Section Chiefs: Pa Alimamy Esimi Bangura Kargbulor Section, Pa Alimamy Conteh Rokupr Wosie, Pa Alimamy Bockarie Mayakie. REACTION OF THE MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, ALHAJI USMAN BOIE KAMARA TO THEIR DEMANDS: Peace be to you all. Representatives of Paramount Chiefs, all others present here, am filled inside with the massive respect giving to me this day by people of this great place. This is a complete surprise to me, I never know this was your plan. I humbly say I appreciate it warmly! I can assure you I will respond in equal manner. I accept the responsibility you levied to me with open heart and strength. Please pass my message over to The Paramount Chiefs that honestly I accept their offer and I will respond to them later. Am just from Bamoi Luma where the cry of the trader their is how to improve condition in that Luma to meet the standards of International Trade Center. Am thinking of how we can genuinely meet to that worthy challenge. Now, here you are charging me with me with almost the same responsibility. This means I have to redouble my effort by ensuring i bring equal weight here. I will payback for your patient and courage to move away from your busy schedules and wait for me here for the rest of this day. For those who know me better, they know am not a man that eat my words. God never made this country for us to remain poor people, we just need to be hardworking and straight forward in our various activities. Thats why I joined His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma. He continue to show that he has positive feelings and true determination to push our country forward tangibly. Please lets all of us know that no one will build our country for us, we have to take the lead. Thats why people like us take the challenge to join others and help push the country forward. Our country does not belong to one man. Wherever one find himself in this world, people would ask you: what country are you from? People dont want to know your tribe, religion or status. They respect you base on the status of your country and not your individual status. I would like to see tangible development in this place and as soon as am back in Freetown I will send someone to do the planning of the market center. Please our loan is none political and its rotational. I will hold consultations with the Paramount Chiefs and other stakeholder to design ways that can push us forward nicely.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 10:57:31 +0000
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