His Excellency President Brig. (Rtd) Dr. Julius Maada Bio has hit an unmatched record regarding the empowerment of women in Sierra Leone and the sub-region.

According to BBC’s Umaru Fofana, who has been monitoring the President’s appointments, the new cabinet is very big and women make up of an unprecedented 30% of the positions, adding that the cabinet also has probably the highest number ever of young people many of them in their early to mid-30s and they head strategic Ministries like Information and Civic Education, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Communication, Technology and Innovation.He said crucially, the newly appointed Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, who was appointed Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education at 33, is part of the young people appointed by the President and will function in a way like a Prime Minister.

In an interview with BBC, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, 36, said he will be helping the presidency; the President and the Vice President in terms of positions of governance to coordinating the cabinet affairs and follow-ups in working with the Ministers. The Chief Minister designate said he’s grateful to the President, irrespective of my age, for trusting him with leadership opportunity and he’s ready to serve. “I’m excited about it,” Dr. Sengeh said.

He said he was in his early 30s when the President trusted him with leadership opportunity because of his technical abilities.

Dr. Sengeh reiterated that many of the newly appointed Ministers and Deputy Ministers are in their thirties and that 30% of the new cabinet will be women, noting that the President didn’t look at people’s age but their requirements and the ability to deliver.

It could be recalled that prior to the enactment of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act of 2022, President Bio had appointed women in prominent positions in his first cabinet.

The GEWE Act of 2022 gave assurance of having more than the 30% quota of women in Parliament which had been the hue and cry of women’s led Civil Society Organizations in the country.

President Bio recommended the Proportional Representation (PR) System of election and the GEWE Act created the platform for the first time in the history of this country to have forty-one (41) elected women in the 6th Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.

President Bio’s unprecedented record could not be easily wiped away by future predecessors. His introduction of free education to women offering sciences in universities has rapidly increased the number of female students enrolled in universities over the last five years.

The President continues to receive international acclamation for his New Direction Government’s commitment to promoting education and women’s empowerment in all forms in Sierra Leone.