By Politico Staff Writer
A-four-day retreat by Local Councils held in Bo on the theme: Deepening Decentralization and Enhancing Service Delivery in local government will end today 12th March 2021.
The four-day event was on the 9th March this year officially opened by the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh who doubles as the Chairman of the ministerial Committee on Decentralization.
In this keynote address, the Vice President expressed the commitment of the new direction government to support the strengthening of the local government at all levels.
He said an effective and efficient local governance structure is vital in delivering President Julius Maada Bio's human capital development agenda. He noted that there are challenges in the health sector even though the government has spent a lot of resources. He said the government will soon inform citizens on plans of how they want to see the Peripheral Health Units (PHU's) and other Hospitals managed for better health service delivery.
Dr. Jalloh added that the government is planning to make the Councils viable and that people should contest for elected council positions without party symbol, saying that politics will move away from local councils.
He called on councils staff to make Sierra Leoneans proud of local governance.
In this statement, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Tamba Lamina described the workshop as a critical event in the local government family. This, he said is the first time in many years bringing together all local councils across the country to plan and map out the way forward of the councils in Sierra Leone. “We came together as a family to share our experiences and to assess our achievements and challenges and to identify politics and interventions needed to strengthen local democratic accountability and option to complete the process of decentralization", the minister said.
The local government Minister explained that local government has played a pivotal role in representing local communities and ensuring access to local communities.
He called on the local council staff to work with his ministry and partners in the interest of the country.
UNDP Sierra Leone Country Representative said his organization looks forward to working with the Ministry of local government to ensure that the decentralization plans of the ministry are actualized. He called on the council staff to work together for better development, adding that their doors remain open for collaboration.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online 12/03/21
