"The idea is for political parties to ensure that those seats that are reserved for women are winnable seats, but the men are saying that such a policy is undemocratic,”"

"They (men) say such a rule does not allow people to freely choose who they want to represent them and infringes on people’s basic human rights."

"I’d like to remind the president that this is elections year, and we think he needs to make sure his MPs support his promises and that we have the gender equality bill (enacted) into law before the elections"

"We are going to the women to say ‘engage your MPs that you want the quota bill passed into law or else you won’t vote for them (in coming elections)"

"Women’s rights groups have defended their position by invoking articles in Sierra Leone’s 1991constitution which say that special measures and policies can be taken where there is inequality that needs to be rectified,"

"Because some people are not guided particularly the youth, they need to be guided and I will be there to guide them"

"Somebody who has vied for the flag bearer and is called to be the running mate I will accept it, but the decision is left with the flag bearer and the National Executive Council"

"women’s groups are also advocating for political parties to introduce voluntary quotas for women’s participation, in case the bill is delayed or not tabled in parliament."

"Sexual violence is being used as a “tactic of terror” to target religious and ethnic minorities and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities"

"The third trend, which seems to come in a much clearer way, is that sexual violence in conflict is being used to forcefully displace people. People are forced out of their communities and off their land because the land is rich in natural resources or because groups want to use it to grow narcotics as is the case in Colombia."

"think the biggest challenge we have is a lack of understanding about the strategies that these people use and I think that has made it extremely difficult to access them, to engage them, to understand what is driving them and what they do"

"The most important thing is to make sure we have more community engagement, make sure that communities who are involved in this crime, as well as community and religious leaders give us a better understanding of the extent of the crime, the people who have been targeted and to respond in terms of services for the victims"

"It’s not easy to deal with sexual violence because it requires capacity-building, providing technical assistance and support, changing laws, working with the judiciary to make sure that this crime is investigated and that the perpetrators are prosecuted"

"We cannot stop the crime taking place as long as there is conflict so we need to end the conflict but in the meanwhile we also need to give hope to these women."

"but with the new dawn that has come to Sierra Leone,’ there is the readiness on our part to look into business opportunities to stimulate a robust private sector economy.”"

"Our government is committed to business friendliness, but we also understand that the availability of certain commodities must not be left in the hands of business people alone."

"but for now, I can only take your proposal back to Freetown and further discuss it with the Ministry and the President.”"

"We have brought light, we are going to find ways to make sure we have rice and petrol at affordable prices and then, I am sure everything else will fall in place.”"

"While commercial banks accept deposits from the public and issue loans to the public, investment banking focuses on packaging and promotion of investment projects in order to raise"

"Government does not have the capacity to employ as many people as a functional private sector would if government encourage and support foreign and local investments,”"

"The investment-banking operation will help both private and public organizations to package investment projects to international standards in order to attract investors, to raise capital through private and public placement of shares locally and internationally and to develop good micro practices in order to operate as profitable modern corporations.”"

"It requires somebody from without to help put away that load and that is the"

"I felt very humbled when I see the amount of energy, creativity, humanness, the care and concern for others the people of Sierra Leone have."

"on further hoping “the training will help to further develop the Sierra Leonean concepts without having to go through mistakes others have already made.”"

"and the strategy which we dream of is to"

"but the spirit which has been guiding us is longing for a world where everybody has a chance to live in dignity and in decent conditions- without fear of violence and war.”"

"So like being a proponent, the problem we had foreseen that led us to approving the multiple box was because in other elections there were lots of void votes, we had illiterate people whose tickets were taken and voted for them, but it did not happen this time."

"the boxes were not taken from where we voted, they were not taken away from the hall and the votes were also counted from where we voted, so you can see that it was transparent, free and fair and each delegate had an opportunity to cast his or her own ballot.”"

"the gender aspect, the empathy, the motherly love, care and attention, these are the things I will bring to the Maada Bio’s fold."

"I think the fact that people still feel the need to do this is painful. I’ve had young people who have tried to migrate, been jailed, seen their colleagues die in front of them in the desert, seen girls raped, come back to Freetown and try again."

"The impact of the brain drain is a serious one for a city like mine, a country like mine, where we need human capital in order for development to happen."

"But at the next moment, if that country needs more healthcare workers visas are given to those very people that are needed by their own countries. So you take them when you need them, and you block them when you don’t."

"People, generally speaking, are migrating because they’re looking for a better life, because they’re looking for opportunities, because they want to be sure that they can provide food, clothing, and education for their children. They’re moving from one place to the other, because of climate change and the impact of climate change on their livelihoods, on their opportunities."

"You invest in people by providing the opportunities that they need to fulfill their own potential."

"In building the people, you are addressing those structural drivers of migration. You’re addressing the reasons why these people are moving because, again, the concept of building a wall, versus building people, is about investment."

"... the role of the parliamentarian is to see that your constituency get what the government provides for them ... children should be educated, women be empowered, pregnant women have free access to healthcare and develop the chiefdoms as well"