After a hectic weekend of Independence celebrations that witnessed President Ernest Bai Koroma officially launching the Attitudinal Change campaign at State House on Saturday (followed by a lantern parade across Freetown), attending church service at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday, addressing students at the National Stadium on Monday morning and a state reception at State House on Monday evening, the President is back at work in full gear as demonstrated in his impromptu visit to the Queen Elizabeth II Quay at Cline Town in Freetown.

On arrival at abut 11 a.m. this morning, the President was taken on a conducted tour of the port. Officials and ordinary workers were appreciative of the visit by the cheers with which the presidential entourage was received. The President toured the length and breadth of all the port facilities, including having a first-hand look at offices, stores, machinery, and containers.

The President used the occasion to inform officials of both the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA) and the National Revenue Authority (NRA) that much is expected from them in terms of alleviating the sufferings of the ordinary man by the way they conduct their activities with a view to being transparent, avoiding delays, controlling smuggling, not asking for ‘kick-backs’ and concentrating on income-generation for the general good. The President raised concern about complaints made by the general public regarding the process of clearing goods, particularly the issue of bribing, revealing that he would find ways of ascertaining whether officials’ claims of being corrupt-free are true.

The President reminded officials about the ban on the export - and to avoid any smuggling - of logs.

There was a large stock of rice in the stores which is expected to serve the country for the next three months or so.

The ‘Mahera’ ferry is parked at the quay in need of repairs. After enquiring as to whether SLPA has the capacity to run it if repaired, the President said ways would be found to make it sea-worthy again.

In inspecting the customs offices, the President was informed about steps taken by the new NRA administration to ensure efficiency and better service delivery. Apart from controlling the numbers of people visiting the offices, the President was informed about DFID’s donation of vehicles to the authority, how they have met their targets in revenue generation and would improve on it by the end of the year. The President was shown a map of Sierra Leone and an enlarged map of Freetown, showing both the legal and illegal entry points, while indicating that efforts are being made to man these points with adequate personnel.

The President and entourage spent over two hours at the quay.