By Mabinty M. Kamara
In a bid to ensure dialogue and inclusiveness in the governance processes of Sierra Leone, President Julius Maada Bio has inaugurated the Government Civil Society Organization (CSO) and Dialogue Series.
The inauguration ceremony, which was held at the Freetown Conference Centre at Bintumani Hotel on Friday, October 30, brought together CSOs, government officials and development partners, with the aim of helping strengthen and consolidate the country’s democratic values.
In his statement, President Bio noted that for too long the conversation between government and civil society was embittered, shrouded in mistrust and a belief that civil society could only do its job by criticizing the activities of government with a mindset that those who didn’t criticize government were complicit.
“I am tasking my government to infuse more candor and transparency in government business through regular interactions with civil society as representatives of the interests of our citizens. I want to have a frank dialogue about what is working and what is not working,” the president said.
He added: “There is a serious need for a paradigm shift in this relationship. It is this shallow binary view that I hope this dialogue series will unravel. The truth is, the relationship is complex and dynamic and more importantly, can be a catalyst to promote good governance.”
Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh said in his statement that the idea of the dialogue was born out of President Bio’s belief that deepening the relationship between government and civil society was critical to promoting good governance and establishing robust accountability systems.
VP Jalloh expressed optimism that the engagement would also provide a unique opportunity to address some of the challenges that civil society organizations had faced in getting the requisite support to contribute meaningfully to the national discourse. He also called on development partners to continue their supports towards the activities of the CSOs.
“I therefore want to take this opportunity to appeal to our partners to continue to support Civil Society Organizations to play a key role in promoting good governance and accountability,” he said.
In his statement, the European Union Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Tom Vens, said that he was delighted to join the President at the start of a national dialogue series, hoping that the event would translate into action. Vens commended President Bio’s commitment to enhance consultation and collaboration with civil society organizations in addressing the crisis engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic and other broader governance and development issues.
He added that it took a good leadership to rethink and take affirmative action to reinvigorate the state-society social contract, even more so during such difficult times.
“To foster economic development and strengthening peace and democratic rule is not only your priority but has been the principal aim of the European Union from the very outset some 70 years ago. As a community of like-minded states, the EU promotes the pursuit of peace and democracy both internally and in all its external actions, political and diplomatic relations with the rest of the world,” he explained.
Also present at the occasion was the World Bank Country Manager, Gayle Martin, who reiterated the nexus between development and dialogue, noting that development couldn’t be guaranteed without the government engaging the people.
“The economy doesn’t grow without engaging people. Reduced poverty doesn’t happen without people being at the center of such efforts,” she said, adding: “Improved prosperity, therefore, requires strong linkages between governments and communities. CSOs are a critical vehicle to accomplish these linkages. But development is also about sharing prosperity. Again, this is where CSOs are even more critical to ensure that that progress is shared and not the benefit just a few with voice and influence.
Speaking on behalf of CSOs, John Caulker of Fambul Tok International applauded the move by President Bio to get CSOs involved in the dialogue session. He noted that they would not take such an opportunity for granted.
Caulker therefore urged his colleagues to engage constructively in ensuring that they make meaningful contributions that would help in the development of the country.
“We want to assure your government that this is a new beginning. We want to make sure we engage constructively. The principle of our future engagement with the government after this dialogue will be with trust, honesty and frank conversation,” he noted.
In May this year, the government had a meeting with CSOs, after which the Vice President was tasked with the responsibility to develop a framework to constructively and sustainably engage civil society.
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