Richard Konteh came, saw and thrilled Sierra Leoneans in Philadelphia and New York.
Many Sierra Leoneans living in Philadelphia, New York and Virginia in the United States of America (USA) had a sensational up-close Town Hall meeting and a Meet & Greet session with the dynamic, new variable in the political equation of Sierra Leone, Dr. Richard Konteh (The Unifier).
Kicking off the first session on Friday, October 28th, Philadelphia's Sierra Leone diaspora community welcomed Dr. Konteh at the Clarion Hotel's Jefferson Hall to a Town Hall meeting. The second session was on Saturday, October 29th, in New York. The meetings brought together businesspeople, politicians, and ordinary citizens of Sierra Leone and the USA. In his keynote address, Dr. Konteh laid out his Five Key Priority areas for turning Sierra Leone around and transforming the impoverished nation into an economic powerhouse and the best place to live, work and play.
Dr. Konteh's Five Key Priority areas include (1) Tourism, (2) Manufacturing, Industrialization and Value Addition (agriculture and mining), (3) Essential and Social Services (healthcare, education, water and electricity), (4) Infrastructure (seaports, airport, airfields, roads, information, communication and technology), (5) Agriculture and Food Security (Food self-sufficient within five years, boost private sector participation in the sector).
The Economy is a cross-cutting sector that is wrapped around these five key priority areas. His plan is to broaden the tax base and reduce the tax rate. He explained in detail how a reduced tax rate, and increasing the non-taxable threshold will bring in new payers and encourage those evading taxes to pay. He will promote rebranding and improve an excellent investment climate in the country – ensuring doing business in the country is effective and efficient. He will encourage viable public-private partnerships (PPP) of those government-owned enterprises that have not been doing well financially.
Both meetings were capped with intense, sincere Questions and Answers (Q&A) sessions. Attendees were able to directly ask Dr. Konteh many questions ranging from the economy, human rights, elections, poverty, diaspora issues, business etc.
The two events were streamed live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. You can see the recordings on the Unifier Campaign social media channels.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DUnifier