The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Haja Afsatu Kabbah together with her Deputy and other officials within her Ministry have held a meeting with various stakeholders of the fisheries industry on Tuesday 28th July 2009 at the Ministry's conference room, Brookfields Hotel Freetown.

In her statement, the Minister disclosed that this is their first meeting with various stakeholders since they assumed office, four months now. She said that the main trust of the meeting is the up date stakeholders in the industry of the positive strives the Ministry is taking towards the development of the industry and to discuss the way forward with the views of actualizing H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma's dream of Agenda for Change and to discuss pertinent issues geared towards the development of our country Sierra Leone.

Haja Afsatu Kabbah called on all the stakeholders to work together with the Ministry in order for her to actualise her dream and vision for the Ministry, noting that the Marine and Fisheries department is the backbone of the country with regards to revenue generation.

She further called on them to ensure that they create job opportunities for the youths and to try to reduce their casual workers, stating that when one is working as a casual worker, the individual will intend to cause crime with the consideration in mind that he will be dropped at any time.

She briefed them about her achievement since she assumed office as Minister, pointing out that they are working very hard to ensure that the European Union lift the ban on the exporting of our fishing products to other parts of the world. In another engagement the Minister and Deputy also held the first meeting with staffs of the Ministry wherein they came together to look at the past, present and mapped out the way forward for the improvement and development of both staff welfare and the Ministry. She congratulated members of staff for the good work they have been doing and told them that they still have more to do in order to make the dream, vision and aspiration of H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma be realised.