June 18, 2015 By Sahr Morris Jr.
Stakeholders of the Sierra Leone Athletics Association (SLAA) will be delighted after it was revealed that the association’s general congress will now be staged on the weekend of July 25-26 at the Atlantic Hall of the National Stadium in Freetown.
The date for the congress was fixed by the Sports Ministry in their latest correspondence signed by the acting Director of Sports, Saidu B. Mansaray, to the SLAA national executive committee which is headed by Abdul Karim Sesay.
It could be recalled that the Sesay led executive’s mandate expired since Friday April 3 this year and since then several reminders have been sent by both the SLAA secretary general, Dauda Sundufu Sowa and stakeholders.
The stakeholders on April 28, 2015 – through an email addressed to the acting Director of Sports and the Secretary General of the Sierra Leone National Olympic Committee (NOC-SL), Joseph Nyande – called for the intervention of the NOC-SL to urge their association to convene an extraordinary congress.
The letter was signed by 19 officials (mainly club presidents and secretary generals), and one of their calls was: “The SLAA Executive Committee has been silent over the announcement of a date for the congress”.
Also, the NOC-SL Secretary General called on the Athletics Association to unite and schedule a date for their elective congress, pledging the NOC’s support to the association at all times.
However, Nyande’s call was not heeded to and with a date now being revealed by the Sports Ministry, they have also asked the association’s scribe to prepare all documentation for the July congress.
However, Public Relations Officer of the SLAA, Abu Bakarr ‘Sparky’ Kamara, said the executive will not make any comment until they receive the said letter from the Director of Sports.
He said: “We have heard the rumour around today but we are waiting to see the content of the letter before we can make an official statement.”