President Akufo-Addo presenting a gift to Justice Umu Hawa Tejan Hallow (left), Sierra Leonean High Commissioner to Ghana after bidding farewell to the latter.
The government and people of Sierra Leone have expressed profound gratitude to Ghana for the support over the years.
Chief among them was Ghana’s decision to send troops for the ECOMOC force during the rebel war in Sierra Leone as well as the contribution to the fight and eradication of the dreaded Ebola outbreak in the country two years ago.
Outgoing Sierra Leonian High Commissioner to Ghana, Justice (rtd) Umu H. Tejan-Jalloh, made this known when she called on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House to bid him farewell after her two-year duty in the country.
She was grateful that during the Ebola outbreak, Ghana was among the few countries which did not impose travel restrictions on Sierra Leonean citizens.
More recently, the High Commissioner said when her country suffered a devastating mudslide and flooding which resulted in the loss of thousands of human lives and the displacement of several families, Ghana was amongst the countries that responded to their cries for help.
Ghana is credited to have supplied tens of thousands of cedis worth of food, medicals, and humanitarian items and cash donations to the government of Sierra Leone for victims of the disaster from a delegation led by Vice President Mahammudu Bawumia.
In the area of health, the High Commissioner also thanked the doctors and other medical staff of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital which she said has served as the referral hospital for nearly 90% of all Sierra Leone medical cases that are referred abroad.
Madam Tejan-Jalloh pledged her commitment to continue to champion the cause of Ghana wherever she finds herself in the world as the country has become her second home.
On his part, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the connection between Ghana and Sierra Leone dates back to pre-independence days and it is the existing relationship that informs the constant support Ghana has offered in the past.
He assured that the relationship would not just continue, but would be deepened and strengthened going forward, particularly as members of ECOWAS and the Commonwealth.
He extended a hand of friendship and fellowship to the High Commissioner to visit Ghana anytime she feels like it.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent