President Koroma declares… “Sierra Leone’s no longer country of blood diamonds”

As part of his speech during the State Opening of Parliament last week, President Ernest Bai Koroma says that “Sierra Leone is no longer a country of blood diamonds,” as widely portrayed all over the globe.

He said Sierra Leone is now a country where peace and stability reigns; where fruitful advice is sought for the consolidation of peace and tranquility in the sub-region and other parts of the world; giving support to peace building initiatives by sending troops on peace missions to countries that are in war.
The President said that Sierra Leone has conducted peaceful, free, fair and largely credible post-war elections that have subsequently become the envy of the world.
He said that other countries, especially peace-loving ones are now emulating Sierra Leone to enhance their democracies and peace-building programmes.
Therefore, he went on, for such insinuations which have bedeviled the country for so long, his new administration is going to considerably improve on the image- building efforts in a bid to further attract investment. This, he said, will send a picture all over the world that Sierra Leone is indeed not only the Athens of Africa but a place where peace, unity, religious tolerance exists at their highest peak.