By KABS KANU
One of the ministers most trusted and relied upon by party and government functionaries , and I am sure, even President Ernest Bai Koroma, to lift high the President ‘s vanguard of exemplary governance and the Agenda for Prosperity is none other than the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs, Dr. Samura Matthew Kamara.
Not surprisingly, Dr. Kamara is one of the brilliant, efficient and effective players in the President Ernest Koroma Government.
Dr.Samura Kamara has excelled himself in very important positions. It is hard to find a truly tested official who has performed in different important capacities and come out with flying colors as Dr. Samura .
He served efficiently as Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance during the era of President Tejan Kabbah . After that, he was appointed Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone when President Koroma came to power in 2007 and again he performed exceptionally to the extent that the President elevated him to the position of Minister of Finance. Once again, Dr. Kamara starred very well in that capacity and President Koroma next decided to place in his competent hands the mantle of Sierra Leone’s international politics and diplomacy when he appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Dr. Kamara’s immaculate public service has not been confined to the shores of Sierra Leone alone. His international experience is even more astounding as he worked for the IMF as the Alternate Executive Director for African Group 1 Constituency .
After a brilliant performance there, Dr. Samura Kamara worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat as Senior Economic Adviser in the Economic Affairs Department and then as Chief Program Officer.
Dr. Samura Kamara has proved his mettle as a local and international economic cooperation and development expert and reformer and as an accomplished international diplomat presiding over bilateral and multilateral agreements both for the international agencies he has worked for and his nation.
As I said earlier, it is difficult to find a public official like Dr. Samura Kamara with a well-rounded professional accomplishment spanning all significant areas of governance and leadership .
Recently, Dr. Samura Kamara was in New York once again to excel in another area where he had been a monumental asset not only to Sierra Leone but to Africa and the international community -‘ lobbying and strenthening support for Africa in the ongoing United Nations Security Council Reform negotiations. He was in New York principally to follow up on the request by the C-10 Chair, President Ernest Koroma for greater integration of the African Union Commission and other African institutions into the UN Security Council Negotiations.
He became the first Foreign Minister of any country ever to address the UN Security Council Intergovernmental negotiations in Sierra Leone’s capacity as Chair of the African Union Committee of 10 (C-10) on the reform of the Security Council.
Another very important function the Foreign Minister performed while he was in New York was to work with AU Permanent Representatives and experts based in the UN on African candidatures into international organizations and agencies, in Sierra Leone’s capacity as Vice-chair of the African Union Candidatures Committee.
In both occasions, Dr. Kamara’s Sterling performance elicited tremendous respect and commendation of Sierra Leone’s leadership acumen and pedigree not only from African but other international diplomats at the UN.
As Sierra Leone heads for another crucial epoch in her socio-political transformation in 2018, citizens of the country are definitely wondering what next for Dr. Samura Kamara who has pitchforked himself into the indispensable bracket Of his nation’s political metamorphosis.
SEE PART 2 LATER THIS WEEK.
