British
High Commissioner Takes Leave
By
Marian Samu
The
British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Dr.
John Michiner has taken leave of President Ahmad
Tejan Kabbah after ending histour of duty in
Sierra Leone.
President
Kabbah expressed deep appreciation to Dr. Mitchiner
for identifying with Sierra Leone's problems
and for all his contribution to ensuring that
Sierra Leone's peace process was a success.
The President particularly remembered the weekly
meetings held with the High Commissioner where
they discussed openly and frankly. He described
the meetings as productive and hoped for his
successor to continue in the same vein.
While
wishing him farewell and success in his next
endeavour, President Kabbah expressed hopes
that Dr. Mitchiner will continue to regard Sierra
Leone as a place he will always wish to come
to as he will be greatly remembered for his
positive contribution to the development of
post-war Sierra Leone.
The
President expressed kind sentiments about Queen
Elizabeth II particularly recalling the first
time he met her when he was District Commissioner
in 1961 when the Queen visited Sierra Leone.
He praised the Queen for ever being endeared
to Sierra Leone, a sentiment she expressed during
their first meeting and up tol now when he is
President.
The
outgoing Commissioner reaffirmed that the Queen
had always been interested and touched about
what was going on in Sierra Leone. He stated
that the departure of the UN peace keeping force
was an eye-opener on the security and stability
of the country which encouraged other members
of the international community including U.K.
investors to focus on Sierra Leone. He made
reference to the Investment Forum held in March
this year which attracted a 10 million pounds
investment from investors from the United Kingdom.
This, he said, was a groundwork for Sierra Leone's
future expansion. He said he has no doubt that
Sierra Leone with its natural resources - fisheries,
minerals, tourism etc will in no time develop
and they will all continue to work to ensure
that this comes to fruition.
