New Dutch Envoy Presents Credentials
By Yusuf Alghali

12th March 2004 - The newly accredited ambassador of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, His Excellency Johannes Wilhemus Gunivortus Jansing, has observed that over the last few years Sierra Leone had "developed from a country at war to a country on its way to structural stability and peace". Envoy Jansing made the statement on the occasion of the formal presentation his Letter of Credence as well as the Letter of Recall of his predecessor at the Hill Station Presidential Lodge Friday 12th March 2004.

In order to preserve what had been achieved and to create conditions for a sustainable and equitable development, the envoy said highest priority must be given to a policy that promotes good governance and strengthens the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government as well as continuing the fight against corruption. "Such a policy will be a way of fostering a good business climate, which eventually will improve the standard of living of the people of Sierra Leone," the ambassador added.

He said the government of the Netherlands supported the Special Court and the Truth Reconciliation Commission by contributing over 14 million Euro towards their activities, maintaining that long enduring peace could only be achieved in the context of justice on the one hand and reconciliation on the other.

Ambassador Jansing, who made mention of Dutch support to conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peace building efforts on the continent, referred to the situation in Sierra Leone as one that could not be addressed in isolation. "What happens in neighbouring countries and further a-field influences developments in Sierra Leone and vice versa," he noted, saying that it was therefore in the interest of countries in the region to support and strengthen the positive processes set in motion following the wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

He spoke of the instrumental role of ECOWAS in bringing stability to the region as well as the training of West-African peacekeepers in the recently established Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana, Accra. He said the Netherlands would be lending political support to sustaining peace building in the whole of the sub-region as the Kingdom assumes the European Union Presidency in July this year, for a period of 6 months.

Responding, President Kabbah said his government attached great importance to the strengthening of the various arms of Government. He said as part of efforts currently being made to strengthen the judiciary, judges supported by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom were now actively participating in the process of clearing the huge backlog of cases in the law courts. He said an Anti-Corruption Commission, which is completely independent of government, had been set up and was seriously tackling the issue of corruption, noting further the Governance and Civil Service Reform programmes being implemented to enhance the effective delivery of public services to the people.

The President acknowledged the Netherlands financial contributions to the just concluded DDR and Truth and Reconciliation Commission programmes, including its humanitarian aid and continued support to the Special Court for Sierra Leone. "These efforts by the government and people of the Netherlands will not be forgotten and will last long in our memory," he said, noting that his government was now desirous of fostering national economic development, including the strengthening of bilateral trade and investment, with particular emphases on the areas of mining and agriculture.

Referring to the recent extraordinary summit of the African Union he attended in Sirte, Libya, President Kabbah revealed that a wide range of issues, including the question of water and agriculture and the setting up of an African Peacekeeping Force were discussed. He said the summit brought out clearly the fact that Africans were more than ever prepared to develop programmes that are crucial to the development of the continent, affirming that "Sierra Leone will continue to support every move by ECOWAS to bring lasting peace to the sub-region in general and to Liberia and La Cote d'Ivoire in particular."

-End-