By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Institute for Governance Reforms (IGR) through its citizens online tracker on government performance named the Biometer is set to track 103 campaign promises made by President Julius Maada Bio during the 2023 multi-tier elections in the country, ranging from the 50,000 jobs for young people and the like.The tracker is set to cover the period from 2024 to 2028.
According to the Executive Director of IGR, Andrew Lavali, they started doing Presidential performance tracking in 2018 during which they realized that President Bio made about 536.6 commitments in that election and when they traced those commitments, he accomplished close to 80% of them. He stated that the reality on the ground indicated that those commitments did not transform into the lives of the ordinary people.
“A lot of young people still complain about jobs, University students have been graduating for years without securing a job,” he said.
He emphasized that the Biometer engagement is an advice to the government or political parties as to how they develop their manifestos. He realized that a lot of citizens did not have the opportunity to interact with government officials, which he said is the motive behind establishing it online so that everybody can access it on www.biometersl.com and can ask any question they want from various ministries that can be answered through a chat room.
The Minister of Development and Economic Planning, Kenyeh Barlay in her statement noted that her ministry believes that public engagement and knowledge sharing is an integral part of the development of any country. She said that Sierra Leone has made tremendous strides in terms of media development and freedom.
She stated that while the media is key in development, it can also deter development by promoting hate on social media instead of promoting peace. She urged media practitioners to help the government promote development through them.
Minister of Communication and Technology, Haja Salima Bah said the tracker is an amazing tool for the government as it helps them to know the promises they have made. She explained that technology is the only method that will transform the paperwork into a digital form that has been in existence for long, calling for the digitization of government services for transparency and accountability.
In his keynote address, Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh noted that democracy is about holding the government accountable and it is their responsibility to work on what they promised the people, saying politicians do not like to be reminded of their promises. He recalled that 10 months after his appointment as Chief Minister, he had been receiving reactions from citizens on the work of the government.
He explained that citizens have been complaining through social media that they don’t have the freedom to express themselves on governance issues. He said that politicians will be making lots of campaign promises, but what is key is what the government provides for its citizens to feed on.
Dr. Sengeh pointed out that even if there is an unlimited supply of electricity, not everyone will have it due to the limited supply chain, but promised that come June/July this year, the main electricity supply will increase from the previous 80 Megawatts to 116 megawatts.
“By the same June to July, we would have finished making another 3 injection points from the previous 1 injection network that used to distribute electricity to its final destination,” he said.
He said that the performance tracker launched is good for the government and it will keep them on their toes to work on their promises. He urged the gathering to make inputs in the Biometer and thanked IGR and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that work together to sustain democracy in the country.
A video documentary on the tracker, a panel discussion on the role of the Media and citizens in promoting development, and the formal launch of “Tru Tok Radio 98.5” formed part of the launch.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (08/05/2024)
