By Kef Dukulay
One of the government officials who has an unwavering trust and admiration in the leadership style of President Julius Maada Bio is Minister Peter Bayuku Konteh, who currently provides political leadership at the Ministry of Works and Public Assets (MWPA).
Minister Bayuku, who his people fondly call ‘Agbangba Jazz’ for his forthrightness, is unarguably one of those that the ordinary or grassroots members and supporters of ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) would refer to as ‘Maada Bio’s candidate’.
When he assumed the mantle of power, President Bio was very careful in composing his cabinet. He did not only bring on board those he felt would help deliver on the party manifesto, but scouting for his candidates from across the political, ethnic and regional divide which was reflective of the hallmark of an SLPP led government of inclusiveness in the governance structure of the country.
Hon. Peter Bayuku Konteh was one of those faithful recruits by the president who wholeheartedly pledged to work with him diligence in the Bio administration which he is exactly doing as the political head of MWPA. “We are compatible,” he recently noted in assertion of his loyalty to Bio in a chat at his Kabala hotel complex. He said: “Maada is a man of development, and I don’t talk much either but believe in action. Just ask people in Kabala about Agbangba Jazz and they will tell you about me. It’s not about talking; they will tell you what I have done and how they also listen to me when I talk.”
And just so, Minister Bayuku recently ceased the opportunity when in Koinadugu District, to blend a road monitoring tour with a political message of hope to his people. He would briefly converge people at various stopping points and endear them to forget about party politics and vote for development.
At Yiffin, the headquarter town of Neini Chiefdom for instance, the minister spent a significant moment with the people, educating them on the so many development programmes undertaken in only five years of the SLPP government of President Bio, saying their vote to re-elect Maada Bio meant more development. “Maada Bio is for development, and he’ll win the 2023 elections so don’t waste your votes on other parties.’ Be you an APC or belonging to any other party, vote for Maada Bio.”
Explaining to them the purpose of the visit, the minister informed the gathering that his ministry was in charge of all road works in Sierra Leone, so they were out monitoring ongoing construction works across the country. “That is development, and the president is making sure all areas within the country are connected,” he told them. He said some of those expensive road projects, including the bridge under construction at Yiffin, were being funded by the government at the time of the biting global economic downturn hitting poorer countries hard like Sierra Leone.
The bridge project was originally a community driven one that had lasted for six years without prospect. Its elaborateness demands colossal disbursement of money, so they asked for President Bio’s intervention when the SLPP won in 2018. “You see, it is only a caring and development-oriented president that values the importance of this bridge. It is a major link between the people of Koinadugu and Kono Districts in the northeast mountain ranges through to the Republic of Guinea.”
He said very soon the bridge would be completed and handed over to the community, so he urged the people to give President Bio their votes in appreciation of what he has done for them.
Peter Bayuku Konteh was former District Council Chairman, Koinadugu District then comprising Falaba from 2008 to 2012. Because of his remarkable delivery as District Chairman, he was elevated to serve in a national capacity as Minister of Tourism by former President Ernest Bai Koroma during his second inning. Within the current SLPP administration, his diligence could not go unnoticed as he was also spotted as a ministerial material and entrusted the Ministry of Trade where he served without blemish.
Asked what endeared him to the SLPP, he said: “The party constitution, its manifesto and the responsible leadership it provides.” He said he was very grateful to answer to President Bio’s call on him to continue serving Sierra Leone as a statesman.
On his commitment to the SLPP cause, the unassuming minister reiterated: “My loyalty to President Maada Bio and the SLPP is unwavering; and I don’t care what people gossip about me. I am not a sycophant or a lame duck party member. I work for development so let them continue peddling lies against me to the president. I am always ready to work with him so long as it’s about development and I promise to deliver Koinadugu District for his re-election on June 24.”