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The first 100 days of any president’s term in office comes with great expectations. The media often uses the 100-day benchmark as a way to rate a president’s performance. Among key developments achieved in President Bio’s first 100-days in office is the elimination of fees on University Application Forms estimated at Le5.6 billion for targeted beneficiaries of 15,000 students, starting September 2018/2019 academic year.

This includes, Fourah Bay College, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, Institue for Public Administration and Management, Njala, Milton Margai College of Education and Technology, Eastern Polytechnic, Freetown Teacher’s College, University of Makeni, Ernest Bai Koroma University and Bonthe Technical College. This laudable venture will not only make huge savings for parents, guardians and relatives, but will also increase access to higher education for young people

The truth is that all the claims and boasts made during a presidential campaign now face the reality of politics and an unfriendly opposition. Few presidents find the first 100 days to be their best and more often, this period serves as on-the-job training. This is also acknowledged by the 2018 APC Presidential candidate, Dr Samura Kamara,a renowned economist.

Thus, realistically, 100 days is too short a time to evaluate the performance of a leader and government that inherited monumental financial and administrative challenges from its predecessor.

However, by his 100th day in office, President Bio has redefined the role of government as a means to serve the people and not to enrich one’s self by setting himself up as a model of rectitude, discipline and service.

This is witnessed to, in his meeting with permanent secretaries, creation of the office of Chief Minister to oversee the activities of all government business and the cabinet retreat where he clearly spelt out to his ministers, what he expects from them towards achievement of the goals and aspirations of the New Direction.
Secondly, the unprecedented economic conditions he met the country in has made him creative and innovative as witnessed to by the financial regulations that he quickly put in place that have yielded huge revenue gains since they started being enforced in April.

Nobody realistically can expect President Bio in 100 days to solve all the development problems confronting Sierra Leone with the unimaginable economic shock, massive theft of state funds and the despicable external and internal debts left behind by the APC government.

Sierra Leone is rated as the third hungriest country in the world; only 35% of the citizens are able to access education; 75% of the youths are unemployed; only 13% have access to electricity supply, among other areas.
Addressing parliament, President Bio outlined that the strategic objective of the policies and programs outlined in our New Direction agenda is to change and transform Sierra Leone into a country that we can all be proud of.

The Audacious Vision of our New Direction revolution is to provide efficient political and economic management of the state and our abundant natural resources for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans. That is why the underlying principles of our New Direction agenda are based on Disciplined Leadership, Integrity, Professionalism, Efficiency and competent service Delivery for the People of Sierra Leone.

President Bio is confident that in spite of the challenges, since assuming the reigns of state governance, the policies, programs, Presidential Directives and Executive Orders implemented relating to domestic revenue mobilization; fiscal prudence and implementing the National Cleaning Day exercise have clearly demonstrated that indeed change is possible in Sierra Leone and that the people are ready and prepared for change. For example, in just two weeks, his Government was able to pay public sector salaries in April on time without having to rely on Central Bank Overdraft facility.
In his determined effort to make Sierra Leone better for everybody, President Bio promised that this is not going to be the Business-as-Usual Politics and Governance of the state – thus his government launched what he called three peaceful democratic wars against: Indiscipline; Corruption; and Poverty, which, he said, will define his tenure of Office and is determined to deliver on.

Outlined, these are some of the achievements of the Bio administration in its first 100 days in office:
1. Restoration of reliable electricity supply to the western area and other urban centers in the country at a very reasonable cost compared to that of the extortionate and inflated cost under the APC government that have now saved the state billions of Leones.
2.The widely acclaimed monthly national cleaning day which many comment has given the country a more sanitary environment
3. The elimination of fees for university application forms estimated at Le5.6 billion, a step towards achieving the free education scheme.
3. Broad-based regional, tribal and gender representation in the government and also being the first President to appoint a female Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
4. Commissioningof vital international road links – Kenema to Zimmi and Bo to Mattru
5. Instilling of a sense of time in civil servants reporting to work on tie and leaving at the stipulated time.
6. End to clique and gang activities.
7. Setting example in transparency and accountability by declaring assets to ACC
8. Setting up of Governance Transition Team whose report has been widely acclaimed.