By Kenneth Thompson
Country Director of Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA, says “the accountability we all talk about should start from us the people and then we can accordingly hold government accountable”. Joe Pemagbi was speaking at the unveiling ceremony of giant billboards mounted by the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, CARL, an initiative that seeks to promote transparency and citizens’ participation in local councils. Pemagbi said they decided to fund the project because his organisation had seen the “acute need for communities to know their roles as citizens and also to know how to engage their local councils on matters of accountability”, adding that OSIWA had funded many initiatives and institutions in sierra Leone “including the Law Officers’ Department, Women Lawyers, and Radio Democracy amongst others”. He thanked CARL for “the positive initiative”, and assured that OSIWA’s doors were always open to them. CARL’s executive director, Ibrahim Tommy, told local council representatives that “one of the most credible ways of strengthening citizens’ confidence is by providing credible update on the activities of your councils”. He revealed that they had received US$ 150,000 from OSIWA for the implementation of several development projects across the country. “We have already used US$ 11,000 for the erection of the giant billboards in six districts, including in the Western Area” as well as in Bo, Makeni, Masiaka, Kenema and Pujehun. Unveiling one of the billboards at Ferry Junction, Councilor Ibrahim Kamara of Constituency 365 stressed that “civil society organisations should not just be going with initiatives to implement them to the people without first engaging the councilors who interface with the people to know what they need”. Messages on the billboards were directed at the need for local councils and the ministry of local government and rural development to step up efforts at effectively implementing sections 107 and 108 of the Local Government Act 2004, while others encouraged citizens to support the work of local councils by not only paying taxes but by also taking interest in activities of the council. © Politico 07/11/13
