In his address to members of SLAJ, the erudite President of the Association, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, congratulated members, more especially the surviving founding members, namely – Hon. Ibrahim Ben Kargbo (MP), Mrs. Bernadette Cole, Mr. Christo Johnson and others.
Nasralla maintained that as we celebrate SLAJ’s birthday in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, members must be proud of the Association’s history and the strides made to ensure we protect and promote freedom of expression and of the Press, and the public’s right to information that is helping them make informed decisions in their daily lives.
The SLAJ President revealed that even before the country recorded its index COVID-19 case, they had formed the SLAJ Coronavirus Response Committee (SLAJ-CRC) to coordinate the Association’s response to the fight against the virus.
The pragmatic SLAJ President stated that on Sunday, 19th April, 2020, they also officially launched the ‘Wear A Mask’ campaign to support the Government of Sierra Leone in encouraging everybody in the country to wear a face mask when going out in public.
With regards government’s promise to provide a piece of land for SLAJ HQ to be built, he noted that in his most recent address to the Sierra Leone Parliament, H. E. President Julius Maada Bio reiterated his commitment to provide land and help build an ultra-modern headquarters for SLAJ.
