By George M.O. Williams
The Ministry of Information and Civic Education is bracing up for its biggest event of the year, the National Town hall meeting . The Ministry will host President Julius Maada Bio at the town hall to explain the progress the government of Sierra Leone has mad e one year since his re-election.
The event will be hosted at Bintumani Conference Center next week Tuesday, July 23. The town hall meeting is a way to facilitate dialogue between the people of Sierra Leone and the President, which is a critical part of accountability.
“The President wants to talk to you the citizen about one year of progress with the Big 5. He will be talking to you directly and he will take questions from you, all across the country,” Minister of Information Chernor Bah said on Tuesday during the weekly government press conference.
The event has already attracted major attention from media networks across the country, with agreement already reached with the biggest broadcasting networks in the country to screen the whole event live. Community radios across the country will also broadcast the event, according to Ministry of Information.
The town hall meeting will focus on four thematic areas: Foreign Affairs, the economy and the Big 5, Peace and national cohesion and civic call to action.
Already the ministry has released communication to allow people to send their questions directly for the town hall meeting. A web link (https://bit.ly/3Wrvem7) is live now and a toll-free line 818 is also active on major mobile networks to get questions.
Over the last year, the ministry has expanded the civic space by facilitating crucial dialogue between citizens and experts and government officials.