Sierra Leoneans ponder Nanette’s leadership one year after she was appointed as Minister of Political and Public Affairs, the first woman to hold such prestigious position.
By Bockarie Kukuku Musa
Sierra Leone’s First Female to be appointed as Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Hon. Nanette Thomas has just marked one year since she was appointed as Minister of Political and Public Affairs by His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma.
In that period, Nanette’s leadership has raised both hopes and fears with her no-nonsense style and her love for her country, Sierra Leone.
The war against lawlessness and indiscipline are regarded as some of Nanette’s achievements since she was appointed into office March of last year.
Under her widely-known motto “think Salone” which in English translates to “Think Sierra Leone,” Nanette as Minister of Political and Public Affairs, she has managed to introduce a disciplinary environment into public offices which before were regarded as the platforms for all kind of misconduct and misuse resources, the habit of coming to work late and the list goes on and on.
Since she was appointed, Nanette has made several trips to countries like Tanzanian, South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States of America and Canada. During those visits, she had used those opportunities to meet with her counterparts Ministers in order to adopt strategies just to develop Sierra Leone.
“I think she is doing a very great job revealing the importance of the Ministry”. “Previously, the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs was known to be the sleeping Ministry” said Mr. Mohamed Kamara
Going further, a political analyst in Sierra Leone, told the Author that “Nanette Thomas is definitely a different kind of Minister from the Ministers we have had so far. She has distinguished herself from the other Ministers because she has a more direct and frontally-driven style in which she goes out and does things directly without too much consideration for protocol and things like that”
He added that his hands-on style can also rub some people the wrong way. He further went on to say that Nanette’s handling of the opposition just like the ruling party as she has a very cordial relationship with member of all registered political parties in Sierra Leone.
During the International Women’s Day, Hon. Nanette Thomas and I were in South Africa attending a two plunge meeting organized by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an organization that deals with Africa´s self-assessment for good governance. During that meeting, she was singled out from many other ministers at the conference in order to deliver a statement on behalf of the women of Africa on International Women’s Day.
What more can one asks for? Is she not God sent?
“Nanette’s leadership has performed well in terms of the improvement in infrastructure and other tangible issues; evident amongst these are the decentralization of the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs as we now have offices in the South Region (Bo), Eastern Region (Kenema) and Northern Region (Makeni). Added to the above, the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs can now boast of having a website that is up and running and can be accessed on http://www.mppa.gov.sl/.
Let me borrow few lines from Helen Adams Keller, an American author, political activist, and lecturer who once said “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Nanette Thomas deemed it wise that coming together is success and she has created the symbiotic working relationship with members of the diplomatic corps, other Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) which has earned her several awards over the past year.
What shall we say unto the Lord, all we have to say is THANK YOU LORD for sending us Nanette Thomas, the hand that Rocks the Cradle.
Nanette changed our working strategies, our lives and has brought us so much love and joy. On behalf of the Ministry, we will like to stay congratulation and we pray that God’s goodness and mercy over shadow you.
