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At a meeting held in Brussels by the European Parliament on 22nd June 2022, Sierra Leone under the New Direction Government of President Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio was nominated to host the Secretariat of the Union of European Experts Chambers for the whole of Africa.
This was disclosed by Mr. Mustafa Kamara, President of UCEE at a meeting organised by the West African Women Association (WAWA) with various women groups and members of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency held on the 22nd August 2022 at its Fudia Terrace Head Office, Spur Loop in Freetown.
In his statement, Mr. Mustafa Kamara informed members of a sum of Four Billion Three Hundred Million Euro (EU4.3) for all Sixteen Countries of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) approved at a forum in the European Parliament which he attended.
The approved funding, according to Mustafa Kamara is for food security and each country he said, will benefit to the tune of Three Hundred Million Euro each and with comprehensive proposal project.
Based on the approved fund, Mustafa Kamara said he prepared a conference to access the money, with an already guideline from the European Commission for working through projects proposal. It is from that meeting in Brussels, WAWA entered into an agreement partnership with the UCEE purposely for women.
Prior to this meeting, Mustafa Kamara said he had an engagement with the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Youth Affairs and Social Welfare and at the meeting in Brussels he (Mustafa) represented Sierra Leone.
He assured of the availability of the fund and said it`s a blessing for us to tap into it with proper approach. Mustafa Kamara ended by commending President Julius Maada Bio for the establishment of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency.
WAWA President, Madam Mame Bintou Ndow, said since 2018, she has been training women and young girls from Sierra Leone, in Senegal for three weeks on food processing and packaging, but not reflecting with any impact as nothing seems to be working for Sierra Leone.
Madam Ndow commended President Julius Maada Bio for his vision on the creation of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency.
As human beings, if you want to promote in life, Mame Bintou said, you should not have complex, educated or not, ugly or beautiful, tall or short. She encouraged women to come together and be focused, and if you don`t know what you want, you cannot promote in life. Madam Ndow noted women vulnerability in Sierra Leone, and the lack of women in politics.
In a prior meeting with President Julius Maada Bio, Madam Mame Bintou said she requested for the empowerment of women for gender balance, and described women as the key to everything, and without them, there is nothing.
“As women, we are all equal, be you black or white, rich or poor, we have to be wise and stay focused to what we want in life,” Madam Mame Bintou Ndow emphasied.
WAWA Program Director in Senegal, Mr. Ibrahima Tall said the project was set up in 1984 in Guinea and with its headquarters in Senegal; with the vision to build a new generation and making women independent and with a mission to sustain a good lasting relationship.
Mr. Ibrahima Tall encouraged Sierra Leonean women to be embarking more on agriculture processing and packaging.
UCEE Projects Manager, Mr. Carlos Richard Sankoh said the purpose of the meeting organised by WAWA is to push women empowerment, mainly in Agriculture and Business; and also to train them to be role model.
Other Speakers were; Dr. Roseline Turay, Dr. Agnes Abie Kanu, Mr. Rashid Conteh, both from the public and private sector, and members from the Local Content Agency made statements. They encouraged members to focus on Agro entrepreneurship business and add more value to food processing and packaging to promote circular economy to match up with the International index.
