January 25, 2019
By Jariatu S. Bangura
Some of the donated items
Lawmakers in Sierra Leone have commended the Chinese government for donating several items as gift for the renovation of their chambers and other administrative facilities.
Deputy Leader of Government Business, Hon. Mathew S. Nyuma, expressed appreciation to the Chinese government on behalf of the leadership of Parliament for the tremendous support they have given to the country.
Hon. Mathew S. Nyuma presented the gift which included 390 chairs for the Chamber, lower and upper galleries, 500 arm-chairs for committee and conference rooms, 10 office chairs, 6 executive chairs for the Leadership of Parliament, 52 chairs for the conference room at the new administrative building, 400 chairs for the State Hall, 150 microphones, speakers and other audio equipment for the Chamber, committee room 1, State Hall and the conference room at New Building, 2500 meter square of green and red carpet for offices of the Leadership, Members’ Lounge and the Chamber, 50 multi-purpose tents, 2 air-conditioners, 4 laser jet printers, and 2 B & W photocopiers.
Hon. Nyuma disclosed that the Chinese government completed the procurement and transportation of the aforementioned items to Freetown on the 28th December, 2018.
He stated that the installation of the equipment would be done by Chinese experts in the last week of February and that work is expected to be completed in two weeks period.
“As a Government and Parliament, we are deeply appreciative to the Chinese commitment and most grateful to the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, the Commercial Counsellor and the staff of the Chinese Embassy. From our part, we say a big thank you to the Human Resource Director of Parliament, Dr. Abdulai Bhawa and those that have contributed to the gesture from both the previous and current parliament,” he said.
Acting Leader of the main opposition APC, Hon. Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, also joined his colleague to thank the Chinese government, thus emphasising that Chinese grant to Sierra Leone was not a novelty.
He commended the Chinese government for their continuous support to the country, thus urging that the friendship that the two sister countries have shared over the years need not to be forgotten, as they have always been there to support each other.
“We on this side have always seen the Chinese government as friends. They have helped the country in diverse areas, including offering scholarships to our citizens and the development in technology,” he said.
Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone,Wu Peng, told journalists outside parliament that the two countries have worked very hard, hence the friendship will continue.
He said they would continue to award big projects to the country and observed that parliament is an important institution which needed to be empowered, as they represent the ordinary people.
“We expect that people should know the good corporations and the respect that the two countries have been sharing. That is why we gave such support to the Parliament as they are very important. There are some projects that will soon be launched in 2019, but we will keep in touch. We will try in our capacity to help members of parliament as to how they should help their constituents,” he said.