When China's 'true friend' was in need

Sierra Leone's president thanks Beijing for its help as his country recovers from double blow

China is "a true friend" to Sierra Leone, according to the country's President Ernest Bai Koroma.

"China has shown a lot of commitment to Sierra Leone," he said.

He was addressing members of the Sierra Leonean community in China during a welcoming ceremony on Nov 30 at his country's embassy in Beijing.

The event attracted Sierra Leoneans from all over China including students, businesspeople, artists, musicians and expatriate workers, along with Chinese and other investors.

The president arrived on a state visit at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

Koroma said the purpose of his visit, together with six of his cabinet ministers, was to thank the Chinese government and people for their continued support for Sierra Leone, particularly in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus.

"Sierra Leone's friendship with China has been in existence for more than 45 years now," he said. "We have treated each other with mutual respect and love and have been by each other's side throughout out these years," he said.

"China has helped Sierra Leone greatly in building and improving our infrastructure, promoting agriculture, health and education, among other things."

He said Sierra Leone had the fastest-growing economy in Africa before the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

"We have been constructing roads, improving electricity, improving education and health and making the country attractive to foreign investors. Governance in the country has changed for the better. My country's governance system has become more transparent and accountable to the people during my tenure as president," he said.

The mining sector, which had been depressed for many years, had been revitalized under his leadership and was up and running despite Ebola.

The disease and the global fall in the price of commodities - including iron ore, which is one of Sierra Leone's major exports - affected the country's economy greatly.

"Sierra Leone was affected by both the Ebola outbreak and the fall in prices of commodities while other countries were only affected by one problem," Koroma said.

"This was an experience the country was not prepared for. Sierra Leone was shot down, which affected the business sector."

"Iron ore prices dropped drastically, to the extent that some of the mining companies stopped operations, and the country was at a standstill for over a year.

"These are some of the difficulties the country experienced, but still every worker continued to receive their salary, including teachers and the police, despite the fact that the government was not getting income as we were focused on fighting Ebola," he said.

He assured the Sierra Leone community in China that the Ebola fight was over but said its effects were still being felt in the country's economy, as the mining industry - the country's major source of income - was badly affected.

He said the biggest iron ore mining site, Tonkolili, operated by Africa Minerals, had now been taken over by Chinese steel producing giant Shandong Iron and Steel Group, which was trying to scale up production to improve the Sierra Leone economy within the shortest possible time.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/02/2016 page3)