Sierra Leone News: CGG Engages Council & Stakeholders on Development Plan
By Stephen V. Lansana
Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) on Saturday June 29, 2019, held an accountability dialogue session with stakeholders on issues around the development plan and council accountability, at the Western Area Rural District Council (WARDC) hall in Waterloo.
The dialogue session attracted stakeholders from both the Western Area Urban and Western Area Rural District including Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Youth groups, local authorities, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and other community representatives. The project, which is implemented by three organizations in different region (CGG in the Western Area, Act!onaid in the Bo and Centre For Coordination of Youth Activities in Bombali) is a three-year project funded by European Union. It targets five sectors: Health, Education, Agriculture, Water Resources, and Social welfare. The project focuses on the Local Government Act and goal 16 of the SDGs — inclusiveness and participation, among others. The first year of the project ended in June this year.
Project Coordinator of CGG, Ibrahim Sesay said that the aim of the project is to build the capacity of CSOs to engage in processes and other developmental issues to bring sustainable development in the country.
He said that the session served as a platform for stakeholders and the Council to dialogue on development plan. He said that according to the Local Government Act, the Council should hold monthly meeting with the people, but the people will not be able to participate, adding that other available structures like the Ward Development Committee is not effective.
“This project want to bridge this gap between the council and the people that is why we orgainse this accountability session today so that we will discuss as a family, to know what the council is doing,” Mr. Sesay said.
He said the 2004 Local Government Act clearly states that local government authority is the highest developmental body in any locality. “So, if people are not able to interface with the council, many misinformation will circulate,” he said. “So, this project is here to address the misinformation.”
“The entire project is about capacity building. We are building the capacity of CSOs, so that they will have the required capacity to advocate for their entitlement especially when it comes to women, youths, PDWs and service delivery,” he added.
The Development Officer of WARDC, Alhassan Yillah said that the five thematic areas of the project are part of the Councils development plans, adding that they have inclusive development. He explained that, as the Council is the highest development authority in the district, they need a blueprint of what they want to do in the five sectors, noting that it should be in one document just as the national plan. “The District development plan should be linked with the national plan,” he said.
