By Mahamood Fofana
Resident Minister of the North East Region, Hon. Ibrahim Jalloh, has engaged traditional authorities, community stakeholders, women and young people in Magbaiamba Ndowahun Chiefdom, Bombali District, as part of efforts to address local administrative, peace and development challenges.
The engagement focused largely on concerns affecting the effective administration of the Chiefdom, including reported tensions between the Paramount Chief and subordinate authorities, discipline, respect for traditional leadership and coordination within the traditional administrative structure.
During the visit, Minister Jalloh held discussions with Paramount Chief PC Kandeh Finor, traditional authorities, women, youth representatives and other community members, allowing stakeholders to present their concerns and development priorities.
A key concern raised by the Chiefdom authorities was what they described as disobedience and inadequate adherence to the authority of the Paramount Chief by some subordinate authorities. The stakeholders also called for greater coordination and discipline within the traditional leadership structure.
PC Kandeh Finor outlined several challenges confronting the Chiefdom and appealed for increased Government attention to its development needs.
Among the major concerns was the poor condition of roads, which residents said continues to hinder movement between communities and access to essential services, markets and economic opportunities.
The Paramount Chief also raised concerns over the shortage and inadequacy of health facilities, particularly for residents in remote communities who face difficulties accessing timely medical care.
Education was another major issue highlighted during the engagement. PC Finor called for continued Government support to improve educational opportunities and create a better learning environment for children and young people in the Chiefdom.
The Chiefdom Youth Chairman also appealed for improvements in telecommunication network coverage, describing reliable connectivity as increasingly important for education, business, employment, emergency response and communication.
Women’s economic empowerment also featured prominently.
The Chiefdom Chairlady expressed appreciation to Minister Jalloh for visiting the community and listening directly to residents’ concerns. She described the visit as significant, noting that, in her experience, it was the first time in 29 years that a Minister had visited the Chiefdom.
She appealed for Government support to enable women to access loans and other forms of financial assistance, which she said could help them expand businesses, increase household incomes and contribute to local economic development.
Responding to the concerns, Resident Minister Ibrahim Jalloh thanked the traditional authorities, women, youth and residents for their openness and constructive contributions.
He assured the community that the concerns raised would be documented and channelled to the relevant Government institutions for consideration and possible action.
Minister Jalloh stressed that meaningful development requires a peaceful and stable environment. He therefore called on stakeholders to embrace dialogue, mutual respect, cooperation and unity in addressing disagreements.
He particularly urged residents to respect the authority of the Paramount Chief and other legitimate traditional institutions, while encouraging traditional authorities to resolve disputes through dialogue and established mechanisms.
The Minister noted that traditional leaders, Government representatives, youth, women and community members all have important roles to play in creating an environment conducive to development.
The visit forms part of Minister Jalloh’s wider engagement with communities across the North East Region, aimed at strengthening communication between Government and citizens, identifying grassroots challenges and ensuring that community concerns reach the appropriate authorities.
The engagement in Magbaiamba Ndowahun highlighted the interconnected challenges of local governance, peace, infrastructure, healthcare, education, connectivity and women’s economic empowerment.
Minister Jalloh reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining an open channel of communication with communities across the North East Region and working with traditional authorities and other stakeholders to promote peace, good governance and development.
