Sheka Tarawalie speaks to the opposition
The Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Sheka Tarawalie, said the leaders of opposition parties have demonstrated a strong sense of Sierra Leonean brotherly tradition by personally condoling with President Ernest Bai Koroma on the passing away of his mother, Mrs Alice Rosaline Koroma. (Photo: Dep Information Minister Sheka Tarawalie seated at Senegal airport diplomatic lounge)
Speaking in Dakar, Senegal, on the last leg of a capacity-building tour for Information Attaches before returning to Freetown for the burial service of the late First Mother, Hon. Tarawalie, who doubles as Co-Government Spokesman, said he was impressed that “the opposition leaders laid the shenanigans of politics aside to put on the paraphernalia of the traditional Sierra Leonean character of sharing the sorrows of our neighbors.”
“Politics aside, this is how it should be, and I want to thank them for reciprocating to a trait that has been demonstrated by President Koroma on several occasions. You would recall that when the mother of Mr Charles Margai died, President Koroma did not only make hefty contributions to the funeral arrangements, he personally attended the burial at Gbangbatoke. Also, key opposition figures like former Vice President Solomon Berewa and even former President Kabbah have benefited from President Koroma’s generosity and sympathy in their time of sickness and need. When former parliamentary minority leader, Momoh Pujeh, fell sick, President Koroma made special arrangements for him to be treated abroad. And when Pujeh finally died, the President also not only made financial contributions but personally condoled with the family and the SLPP. The opposition leaders are therefore doing a gesture in reciprocity, which by and large is commendable, ” he maintained.
Hon. Tarawalie further said Sierra Leone has never witnessed a funeral of this nature “because Mama Alice is the first ever Sierra Leonean woman to have seen her son become President. It is a historic moment, and her memory will be most befitting by giving her son a second term.”
The Deputy Minister left Dakar on board Arik Air and said he would head straight to Makeni where the late First Mother’s remains would be interned.
By Ralph Ese’Donnu Sawyerr, IA, Dakar, Senegal
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