By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, with support from the United Nations Development Fund, has concluded a two-day training for local authorities on the harmonization of local bye laws to match with the COVID-19 bye laws.
The training which was held in Kenema District ended on Wednesday.
The Provincial Secretary, Mohamed Sheik Kargbo, who chaired the opening session, said: “this training will enable us to harmonize the local bye laws that were in use during the Ebola epidemic, to be used for the corona pandemic through using the local structures in order to curtail the dreadful virus.”
The meeting brought together chiefs and council officials. The Resident Minister for the Eastern region, Ansu Fatorma, said it was time for everyone to participate and prevent the spread of the virus in the region.
Sierra Leone recorded two new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total tally to 13. The Easter region has not recorded a case, despite a house been quarantined in Kenema City.
The region was one of the worse hit during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic.
Fatorma said chiefs are as important as council officials in contributing to the bye laws.
“The chiefs are involved to make additional input on the existing laws by enforcing the harmonization of the bye laws so that they will be in position to execute them in their chiefdoms,” he said.
The UNDP representative at the program, Edward Ngbemeh, said they had been working with the ministry for months now to develop a harmonized law to tackle the current health crisis.
Ngembeh emphasized the need to combat the virus through collective effort, saying: “this fight desires collective efforts in terms of resources and compliance with the regulations to combat the virus.”
Deputy Minister of Local Government, Melrose Kargbo, said: “Paramount chiefs and local councils are expected to go back and help cascade the harmonized bye laws,” adding: “by enforcing those laws, it will enhance people’s understanding about the dangers of the virus.”
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