Friday, July 4, 2014
Freetown
Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma and his Vice-President and all ministers will forfeit part of their salary for July.
This will be a contribution to a basket fund to fight the deadly Ebola epidemic in the country, the government announced.
This will be a contribution to a basket fund to fight the deadly Ebola epidemic in the country, the government announced.
The
President, his deputy and the cabinet will have 50 per cent of their
pay sliced, while deputy ministers will contribute 25 per cent of their
salaries to a scheme the government is using as an example to shore up
support for the cause from within the public but also to demonstrate
political commitment to the fight.
A statement from the
Office of the President, signed by Secretary to Cabinet Dr Ernest
Surrur, said the “voluntary decision” was taken at a cabinet meeting on
Wednesday.
It comes a day after President Koroma’s
first ever public pronouncement on the epidemic on Tuesday calling for a
‘national fight’ against the disease which is also ravaging Guinea,
where it was first confirmed in West Africa back in February, and
Liberia.
As of Wednesday, there were 67 deaths and 211 cases of Ebola, according to Ministry of Health Sanitation figures. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/africa/Sierra-Leone-president-cabinet-take-salary-cut-for-Ebola-fund/-/1066/2372600/-/sac9pn/-/index.html
