MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SANITATION

Mrs. AGNES TAYLOR-LEWIS

AGNES LAWOYIN, TAYLOR-LEWIS, (NEE STANLEY) an accomplished Banker, a woman of firm resolve, a pacesetter and pragmatist. Agnes has excelled herself not only in banking, but also in international representation and community services.

Agnes was born in Freetown Sierra Leone and acquired her early education at the St Josephs Primary School and her Secondary School education at the Annie Walsh Memorial School, Freetown and the Advanced Teaching Certificate in English and Mathematics at Fourah Bay College, the University of Sierra Leone.

After teaching at the Freetown Secondary School for Girls for two years, Agnes proceeded to the United States of America in 1962 where she acquired her B.Sc in Business Administration at the State University of New York at Albany, majoring in Accounting and Economics. Between 1965 and 1967, Agnes studied at Boston University, Massachusetts USA, from where she graduated with an MBA (honours) degree majoring in Accounting and Finance.

Following her graduation from Boston University in 1967, Agnes worked with the Mesurado Group of Companies in Apapa, Nigeria, as an Accountant until 1969, when she returned to the United States of America to work for the Michigan Blue Cross Insurance Company in Detroit as Senior Cost analyst and Auditor. As Auditor, Agnes audited financial records and statement of hospitals for Blue Cross Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Agnes returned in 1973 and joined the Mesurado Group of Companies in Freetown as Accountant and Personnel Manager.

Between 1976 and 1982, Agnes served as the Director of Finance at the National Development Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited. As the chief accounting office of the bank she had major responsibilities for preparing the annual budget and financial statements, the financial appraisal of customer's projects and the acquisition of funds and disbursement of loans to small businesses. During her tenure at the bank, Agnes won a one-year Fellowship tenable at the Economics Development Institute of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. in 1979.

A major bastion in the banking profession in Sierra Leone, Agnes has represented Sierra Leone at negotiation sessions crucial to the mobilization of funds for the country. These include sessions in Germany, Holland and the African Development bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and the Caise Central Bank in France. She was a delegate to the heads of Financial Institutions Conference held in New Delhi, India, in 1976 as well as to the Women World Bank Conferences at Nairobi, Kenya, Mexico and Zimbabwe.

Agnes widened the horizon of her banking experience in 1982 when she performed all the administrative functions relating to the opening of the International Bank for Trade and Industry (Sierra Leone) Limited. She served the bank as Operations Manager cum Corporate Secretary with Major responsibilities for liasing with the Central Bank and the Government. She later served as the Manager of the Bank's main branch.

From 1989 to 1991, Agnes worked as Financial Comptroller cum Secretary to the Board of Directors of the National Industrial Development and Finance Organisation Limited (NIDFO) a joint project of UNDP, UNIDO and the Government of Sierra Lone. Her managerial functions included the control of all financial matters, the mobilisation of resources for the company and serving in the project appraisal committee that reviews and approves loans to small-scale entrepreneurs. Additionally, she liased with other institutions on company policies as well as being in charge of all personnel matters.

A strong support of the cause of women in Sierra Leone, Agnes has adeptly combined her professional inclinations with her interest in Women's Finance Trust (WFT), which is an arm of Women's Word Banking, which was established in December 1990. The trust provides loans for women whom otherwise will be incapable of procuring such loans from commercial banks because of the inability to provide facilitative collateral. All that is necessary is a simple guarantee of a member of the trust fund.

Agnes truly believes that the process of borrowing by women who have used the banking system will certainly succeed in moulding the values of those women so they can successfully participate in the economic mainstream and improve their standards of living.

Agnes is a pragmatist and she believes in putting all possible resources to work to achieve the goals she believes in.

In 1991 Agnes was appointed a member of the Sierra Leone Parliament and Minister of Health and Social Services. She excelled herself in this position for a year before a military coup.

From 1992 to 2002 she has been the propriety of Stanley Day Care & Pre-primary School. She also operates Stanley Enterprises in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She was a member of the Sierra Leone Chamber of commerce and chairman of the Ecumenical loan fund, and the Sierra Leone Institute of Management.

She is a patron of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party and Treasurer of the Sisters Unite (Women) organization.

She is also a member of the Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians (NEWMAP).

Agnes is currently the 2nd Vice President of the Mano River Women Peace Network, which has been lobbying for sustainable peace in the region.

In June 2002 President Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah appointed Agnes Minister of Health and Sanitation.