His
Excellency Brig. Rtd Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra
Leone, the Ambassador of the European Union to Sierra Leone, Tom Vens, and the
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development have launched the “Support
to Civil Society and Local Authorities for Local Development in Sierra Leone”
programme at the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) Hall, in Makeni City.
In
attendance were also the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Planning and
Economic Development, Resident Ministers, the Chairpersons and Chief
Administrators of the targeted councils of Bombali, Kambia, Kenema and Pujehun,
traditional authorities and other dignitaries.
The
ceremony marked the official launch of the European Union funded programme
“Support to Civil Society and Local Authorities for Local Development in Sierra
Leone,” valued at over 23.000.000 EUR (258 billion SLL) and aimed at supporting
effective decentralization and efficient service delivery to the citizens of
Sierra Leone, especially in remote areas. On this occasion, 4 grants of a value of
2.500.000 EUR (27 billion SLL) each were signed with the District Councils of
Bombali, Kambia, Kenema and Pujehun. These districts have been selected to
pilot pioneering approaches to local participatory development across the four
administrative regions of Sierra Leone.
The
pilot actions foreseen under the grants seek to strengthen service delivery by
local authorities notably in the agriculture, water and sanitation sectors,
through infrastructural and rural development, financing of priority
investments projects, strengthened resources mobilisation, social
accountability and local government effectiveness. Dedicated support is also provided to gender
and youth sensitive solutions, improved access to sustainable energy sources
and natural resources management. The actions will also complement the
Government’s effort in containing the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigating its
negative impact in the targeted areas.
In
delivering their services, local authorities are encouraged to pilot innovative
people-centred solutions in partnership with private sector and civil society
organisations. The four grants supplement the EU programme component in support
to local civil society initiatives, which started end 2019. Following a highly
competitive procedure, seven projects valued overall at 7.000.000 EUR were
awarded to civil society initiatives promoting local participatory development
in the targeted districts. These projects stood out for their gender and
environmental sensitivity and high impact prospects on local development.
Technical
Assistance is provided by the European Union to accompany the implementation of
the programme, foster partnership development and build human and technical
capacity of local authorities, notably in the area of resources mobilisation,
public finance management, participatory development and budgetary planning.
It is foreseen
that the experiences of the 4 pilot councils will be shared with other
neighbouring councils including the city councils of Makeni and Kenema.
Engagements between the European Union and the Government of Sierra Leone are
ongoing to extend the programme support to Falaba and Karene Districts. This contribution is the result of the strong and
continuous partnership between the European Union and the Government of Sierra
Leone and their firm commitment towards effective decentralization.
Key
government functionaries expressed commitment to the development of local
governance and strengthening decentralization.
In his statement, the Chairman of the Local Government Committee in
Parliament underscored the need for greater devolution including capacity
building of staff. He called on the pilot councils to use the grants to become
a model for other councils. The chairman pledged the support of the leadership
of Parliament and his Committee to ensure that the grants are effectively
monitored and that the resources serve the needs of the people.
The
Minister of Planning and Economic Development highlighted the critical need for
development encapsulated in the National Development Plan and that “the signing
ceremony of the grants represented a forward match to the country’s development
goals”. He however acknowledged “the challenges of weak capacity, funding,
overlapping roles between councils and chiefs, lack of transparency and
accountability and weak engagement.” He assured the audience that his Ministry
will ensure that these grants contribute to ameliorating these problems.
Mr
Jacob Jusu Saffa, the Minister of Finance, drew attention to the need for legal
and policy clarity in decentralization and in particular the need for policy
guidance in the area of tax reform in local governance. He assured the audience
of the urgency to come up with a policy direction on property tax in order to
enable local councils to mobilize local revenue. He furthered that in
demonstrating its commitment to decentralization, the government has been
consistent in not only ensuring increase in transfers to local councils, but
has started paying salaries and other benefits to chairpersons, mayors and
chief administrations.
In
his statement, EU Ambassador Tom Vens emphasized: “Only if we are close to
the people, can we deliver the services that matter. That is what decentralization
is about: to do locally what is best done locally. This is not just about
relevance and efficiency, but it also allows for greater accountability.
Resources should always be to the benefit of the people”.
The
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development lauded the EU and the
President for their immense support to his Ministry and outlined key programmes
and achievements towards effective devolution. He particularly indicated that
the Ministry, in collaboration with the National COVID-19 Response Committee,
had successfully established functional District COVID-19 Response Committees
to fight the pandemic at the local level. Other activities in support of
effective devolution as elaborated by the Minister are the review of the
national decentralization policy which
is nearing completion, the formulation of a strategic plan to guide the
ministry’s strategic direction and efforts, a capacity building strategy
development and the transfer of staff to man the various departments and units
of the councils.
The
ceremony was climaxed with the official launch of the project by His Excellency
the President, Rtd. Brigadier Dr. Julius Maada Bio. In his keynote address,
President Bio expressed his gratitude to the EU Ambassador for his support and
for the continued partnership between the European Union Delegation and the
Government and people of Sierra Leone. He committed to strengthening capacity
and revenue mobilisation in the local councils. The President was particularly
heartened by what he referred to as ‘the insistence that most of the project
activities will be managed by women’. The President also called on civil
society to ensure accountability and more “evidence-based advocacy in the
implementation of the project”.
The
Local Government Act 2004, the devolution of functions from Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to local councils and the clarification of
public institutions’ roles and empowerment of local actors in the
implementation of the decentralization process, reflect the intention of the
Government of Sierra Leone towards fulfilment of the tenets of decentralization.
Since
2019, the EU project has also been supporting the Ministry of Local Government
and Rural Development in the review of the decentralization policy and Local
Government Act 2004. This support included the provision of assistance to the
Local Council Association Sierra Leone and the Local Government Committee in
Parliament in view of conducting extensive consultations and convening an
expert group meeting in order to enhance the quality, depth and consistency of
the decentralization and local governance reform proposals.
The
EU funded programme represents a major contribution towards strengthening
decentralized structures and ensuring that quality services are delivered to
the people. As the President has noted, the combined effort of every citizen
will be required to ensure that this project succeeds.