By Shadrach Aziz Kamara
In a passionate and wide-ranging contribution to the ongoing debate on the President’s Address, Hon. Abdul Karim Conteh, second-term Member of Parliament representing Kambia District and serving as Chief Whip of the Opposition All People’s Congress (APC), delivered a powerful critique of the government’s performance, urging Member of Parliament (MPs) to focus on facts, accountability, and respect for Sierra Leone’s historical legacy.
Hon. Conteh began his remarks by expressing concern over the persistent neglect of key infrastructure in Kambia District, particularly roads leading to Balaban and Paradise, describing them as “impassable” and “a reflection of the government’s failure to respond to the needs of rural communities.”
“When you visit these areas, the reality slaps you in the face. These are the roads our people depend on. With the influence and resources available, they should have been fixed long ago,” he lamented.
The opposition whip cautioned against political rhetoric that diminishes the contributions of past leaders, criticizing claims that “since independence, only now are we setting the stage for national growth.”
“That is an insult to our history,” he declared. “We cannot disregard men and women who laid the foundation of this nation — people like Sir Milton Margai, Sir Albert Margai, and Siaka Stevens. They sacrificed to build what we have today.”
He emphasized that successive governments, including those under Presidents Kabbah and Koroma, pursued meaningful national development programs, citing the establishment of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) and Rokel Commercial Bank as examples of long-term, visionary initiatives.
Turning to the economy, Hon. Conteh questioned official claims that inflation was declining, arguing that the figures did not match the realities faced by ordinary Sierra Leoneans.
“If inflation is dropping, why are families still struggling to pay school fees and buy basic food?” he asked. “You can’t tell me the economy is doing well when the price of rice rose from Le200,000 to over Le1 million and then dropped slightly to Le700,000 — that is not progress; that’s survival.”
He accused government institutions of presenting “questionable statistics” and warned against celebrating what he described as “fixing problems you created.”
Addressing the state of education, the Kambia MP criticized what he called misleading claims about teacher recruitment.
“By 2018, there were about 30,000 paid teachers. Today, the figure is only around 37,000. That means only about 7,000 new teachers were added. But what we see is replacements, not genuine new recruitment,” he said.
He proposed a set of reforms to strengthen education management and accountability, including:
1 Assigning a unique MIN number to every student entering secondary school.
2 Ensuring school subsidies are disbursed before each term begins.
3 Making it a national policy that teachers’ salaries are pegged to at least $100 monthly, similar to how judges’ pay is benchmarked.
He also noted that despite claims of constructing 1,500 classrooms, MPs could not point to specific examples in their constituencies.
“Let’s accept that 1,500 classrooms have been built, but tell us where, when, and by whom,” he demanded.
As Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources, Hon. Conteh expressed deep concern over the slow progress of key water projects, particularly the Kambia Water Supply Project, which he said had been nearly completed since 2017 but remains stalled due to a lack of funding.
“The President himself admitted that we cannot run a nation where people do not have clean drinking water. We have met with the Minister of Finance several times. All that is left is 30% of the payment to the contractor,” he revealed.
“It is too early to celebrate. We must ensure more private sector participation because no African country has developed its energy and water sectors without strong private investment,” he advised.
Concluding his remarks, the Opposition Chief Whip called on government MPs who have “forgotten their people” to publicly apologize to their constituents.
“Those who have abandoned their communities should go to the radio and apologize. Leadership is about service, not slogans,” he asserted.
Hon. Abdul Karim Conteh’s contribution drew applause from sections of the opposition benches and underscored his party’s continued demand for transparency, inclusiveness, and practical solutions to the country’s economic and infrastructural challenges.
