๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ก.
The outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prof. Dr David J. Francis yesterday officially handed over to his successor, Timothy Musa Kabba to begin his official tenure of the political leadership at the Ministry as members of staff bid farewell to his predecessor.
Speaking at the Foreign Service Academy on Tower Hill in Freetown yesterday, Prof. Francis informed his successor that Timothy Kabba had taken over at a time when the Foreign Ministry was effectively and professionally managed and with a functioning Foreign Service Academy with a credible and distinguished leadership team.
โYou are coming in at a time when Sierra Leone is nationally and globally respected as a country in the international community of states,โ Prof. Francis told Mr Kabba. โYou are coming in when Sierra Leone has made its mark in terms of the UN Security Council, ECOWAS, African Union, and the Commonwealth.โ
As a result, Prof. Francis assured Kabba that he had his 100 percent support, as he boasted of a wealth of experience and networks he built with experienced foreign ministers and โeffective management of the diplomatic communityโ when he was the Foreign Minister for about two years, and also suggested that Mr Kabba needed that, especially when Sierra Leone will now be going to the UN Security Council.
โGiven all what we have achieved, if you fail; I fail. The President fails, the Ministry fails, the country fails, and that is not going to happen,โ said Prof. Francis.
Meanwhile, he also recommended to his successor to consolidate all these successes and improve on them, informing him that the leadership of the Ministry will provide for him all the support.
As part of his successes, Prof. Francis also announced that state land had been allocated for the construction of embassies including the Turkish Embassy, the Saudi Embassy, and the Moroccan Embassy in the country.
In a brief remark at the ceremony, Mr Kabba said he was grateful and proud of Prof. David Francisโ โastute leadershipโ at the Ministry, and informed him that he was going to seek and explore his experience in diplomacy which brought โsignificant dividendsโ to the country in what he described as a โdifficult transition.โ
Elsewhere, Mr Kabba informed his new staff that performance cannot be compromised as the people of this country and the President and his government are in haste for results.
Mr Kabba was among 13 Presidential nominees approved by Members of Parliament on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, after they were interviewed on oath by the House Committee on Appointments and the Public Service on its first sitting on July 21, 2023.
