Ambassador Jongopie Stevens engaged in development initiatives for Sierra Leone

By Kabs Kanu :
 One of the Ambassadors appointed by President Ernest Bai Koroma who is doing a marvellous job to showcase Sierra Leone internationally and also bring developments to the country  is H.E. Mr. Jongopie Siaka Stevens, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. Ambassador Stevens , son of former President Dr. Siaka Probyn Stevens,  visited  the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations last week.  I came in contact with him and engaged him in an exclusive interview about his job in Germany.
 
KK : Good morning, Mr. Ambassaador , welcome to the Mission . Do you mind to talk a little bit about your duties and accomplishments in Germany ?
Ambassador JP Stevens : Oh, sure , Mr. Kanu .
 
KK : Tell us, Mr. Ambassador, how things are  going on with you in Germany
Ambassador JP Stevens : Everything is just fine. I lived in Bonn when I took over my assignment  , but this was inconvenient for diplomatic duties .As you know, the capital was relocated to Berlin after the Unification. All other embassies had relocated to Berlin.  Only Sierra Leone remained there. I told President Koroma that my first priority will be to relocate the Embassy to Berlin. I drafted a letter to him outlining all the difficulties we were encountering . The President viewed the letter favourably and provided the support. We found a residence and a chancery in Berlin. I was given six months rent which I used creatively to do some cosmetic repairs. We worked on the ground and the second floor. We are now settled in Berlin and my staff is happy now. 

 
KK : That is good. Do you have many Sierra Leoneans resident there ?
Ambassador Stevens : Of course
KK : How does it look like working with and for them ?
Ambassador Stevens :  There are lots of problems. Firstly, Immigration. The Germans want to deport our people living illegally there. They live in different places; Frankfurt, Bonn, Berlin etc.
KK : What are they doing there ?
Ambassador Stevens : Many of them are working there .The Germans want to deport those who are not legal. But that is just one problem. The other problem is that our passports are in the hands of a lot of people who are not Sierra Leoneans. We need to constantly query them and the stories they tell are at times unbelievable. One of them came to the embassy.He said he lived in Bo before. When asked what school he attended, he replied : Annie Walsh  ( LAUGHTER ).
 
KK : How did they get these passports ?
Ambassador Stevens : I don’t know but I think it is a problem that has been going on for long. The war did not help the situation. Some must have used it to illegally get our passports.
KK : What are you doing to correct the situation ?
Ambassador Stevens : We plan to start sending the passport forms to Freetown for the seal to be added because that cannot be faked. Signatures can. When their passports are completed , they will be sent to us by diplomatic pouch so that it does not go into wrong hands.
 
 KK :That is a bright idea.  What are you doing to help those who are genuinely Sierra Leoneans ?
Ambassador Stevens : First of all, we are trying to register them. We have set up a website for the purpose. We now have a database of Sierra Leoneans living in Germany.
KK : Have you met with those who are genuine ?
Ambassador Stevens : Oh yes. I have met their executives in Bonn and Bradenburg. I told them that the embassy is the best place to get information. I have been given statistics. There are 300 in Bradenburg. The number is higher in Frankfurt.
KK : Are you accredited to other countries ?
Ambassador Stevens : Yes.I also cover Italy , Switzerland and Austria .
KK : What are some objectives you are trying to accomplish as an ambassador ?
Ambassador Stevens : One of my biggest objectives is to rebrand Sierra Leone. In all the countries I cover, Sierra Leone still has that stigma of the war. Because of the war we had, everything they are talking about is the war. I decided that there was need to rebrand the country. I made an appeal to the Minister of Tourism, Mr.Hindolo Trye to give me useful cassettes on tourism about the beauty of the country and our readiness for tourism. The Germans and others wanted to see something. He gave them and they proved useful to me. I have other objectives. In October , for instance, we are planning to have an Investment Forum and a Trade Fair in Italy. The Vice-President ,Mr.Samuel Sam-Sumana will lead a delegation that will include the Ministers of Agriculture, Trade , Tourism etc. It will be held in Milan and it is going to be a great event. It is going to get Italian investors interested.
KK : That indeed is a great project. Are there signs that they will be interested ?
Ambassador Stevens : Yes.   They are already showing interest in the country. I told them about our need for a new international airport. They are interested in helping . They want it constructed one around Songo. They have been in discussions with the VP who says that they have already earmarked the spot.
KK : Why the choice of Songo ?

Ambassador Stevens :  The sight is ideal because of its nearness to the capital, Freetown.

KK : Considering the inconveniences involved in using Lungi Airport , that will be a big achievement for Sierra Leone .How  seriously committed are they to the project ?
Ambassador Stevens : They have gone and done feasibility studies already. They want to get funding through the EU. They have big plans. They are not only interested in constructing an airport in Songo. They want to build a city there. They want to build two runways and a rail link between Songo and Freetown. They have also asked for plots of land to build banks and a hospital. They are also planning to set up a fruit canning industry . We have discussed it with the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Oyah Sankoh .What is needed now is a memorandum of understanding .The Italians are also interested in creating a Cermanic Tile factory .They want to open a showroom and start manufacturing tile in Sierra Leone to be sold in neighbouring countries. These are the projects I am working on . I have also started to advocate for scholarships for postgraduate studies in Dentistry , medicine , Surgery etc. We don’t have surgeons .I worked in the medical field for over 30 years so I know where the priorities are.We don’t have surgeons and trained clinicians.
 
KK: Ambassador Stevens, you are such a hardworking and progress-driven man. The interesting thing is that of all the late President Stevens’ sons , you seemed to have been the one who kept the lowest profile in Sierra Leone.People heard very little about you.  How come ?
 
Ambassador Stevens : I was not the public kind of man .I was a civil servant in the Ministry of Health for 33 years . I worked for all the governments .
KK ; As the son of the late President Stevens, it must have been tough working for  some of these governments ?
Ambassador Stevens : Interestingly,  I got along with almost all of them. Even the NPRC Military junta which overthrew the old APC  did nothing to me. It was the SLPP Government that did. I was jailed for 5 months and 15 days and my brother, Jengo , was jailed for 6 months .
KK : For what reason ?
Ambassador Stevens : Because we stayed in Sierra Leone and did not run away after the Johnny Paul AFRC Coup.
KK : Was that the only reason. That was crazy. Who really arrested you ?
Ambassador Stevens : It was on 28 February 1998. Jengo and I were arrested by Nigerian soldiers. They used my private car. They took us first to the Commercial Bank  where they were detaining people. We were tied hands behind the back. Then we were next taken to the back of the Bank of Sierra Leone where we were kept under the burning sun. .Jengo wanted to argue but was warned by the other prisoners who showed him the blood on the wall of somebody who had just been executed. Other Nigerian soldiers came and untied us . We were later put in a mini-bus and taken to Pademba Road Prisons. We stayed in prison and on the Second of April we were taken to the CID  to make statements. After that we were taken back to the prison.

KK :  How were the conditions at the Prisons ?

Ambassador Stevens : They were terrible. I refused to eat because the food was very bad.What I understood was that the governments provide everything but the prison officials share the prisoners’ provisions among themselves .My prison faced the supplies store and me and other prisoners used to see supplies coming in but the people they were meant for–the prisoners– never used to get them. That is why I have always said that there is need for prisons reform in Sierra Leone. The prison was constructed for 400 people but there were over a thousand of us .

 
 IN OUR FINAL  INSTALLMENT , AMBASSADOR JONGOPIE STEVENS WILL TELL US MORE  ABOUT THE INJUSTICES  HE SUFFERED AFTER THE JOHNNY PAUL COUP.

© 2010, Wilfred Kabs Kanu. All rights reserved. Discuss this article on the Salone Forum Salone Forum

By Wilfred Kabs Kanu