The appointment of opposition politician Alpha Kanu and some other officials as part of President Julius Maada Bio’s latest cabinet reshuffle reflects his desire for an inclusive government, Presidential spokesman Yusuf Keketoma Sandi has said.
Mr Sandi, who is the Press Secretary at the office of the President, told ManoReporters that the goal of the president was to ensure that every Sierra Leonean is able to contribute to national development regardless of their political or ethnic affiliations. He said the move was also aimed at promoting national cohesion.
“We believe that he (Kanu) is somebody who belongs to another region of the country but who has something to contribute to national development,” Sandi said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Kanu is one of 14 people who were either appointed or redeployed to various government positions in the cabinet reshuffle announced on Tuesday. He was appointed Resident Minister North-Western Region, with a cabinet rank.
His appointment as a member of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) has been the subject of discussion across Sierra Leone. While some say it was expected, given his curious relationship with Bio since power changed hands in 2018, others wonder about the intention of the President.
Bio’s supporters though say he is following on a tradition of the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) which, under the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, was credited for forming the most regionally diverse government in independent Sierra Leone’s history.
As a member of the APC, Kanu served in various cabinet positions in the Ernest Bai Koroma administration from 2007 to 2018, including as minister of Mines and then minister of Information and government spokesman. He was also spokesman for the APC, during which period he was fearless in his defense of the party and the Koroma administration’s policies.
Kanu was one of about a dozen people who opted for the APC’s ticket for the presidency in 2018. When Dr Samura Kamara was appointed by Koroma as the APC’s candidate, Kanu’s supporters in his home district of Port Loko protested against the decision.
Some analysts and critics of Bio’s government suspect that the president is seeking to exploit the division that created.
But Sandi, the presidential spokesman, insisted that there was no expectation from the president.
“The appointment is not a prerequisite for cross-carpeting. I think everybody has his right to political association,” he said, adding: “If he decides at any point in time that he wants to officially be a member of the SLPP, we will welcome him with open arms.”
Other appointees Sandi said reflected the inclusivity of the administration include Bockarie Kalokoh, who was until now Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank and has been redeployed as Deputy Minister II in the Finance Ministry.
There is also Sheku Fantamadi Bangura, who is Deputy Minister 1, and Haja Isata Abdulai-Kamara, who is now Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. They all come from the northern part of the country, which is the traditional stranglehold of the APC.
Bio’s supporters though say he is following on a tradition of the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) which, under the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, was credited for forming the most regionally diverse government in independent Sierra Leone’s history.
