By Joseph S. Margai in Freetown, Sierra Leone
The Decentralization Secretariat or Dec. Sec. last Friday, February 9, 2018 launch a World Bank managed project titled, “Strengthening Community Mobilization and Local Council Service Delivery in the Post-Ebola Context”, for four Local Councils in Sierra Leone.
The project is funded by the Japanese government and will fold-up in three years’ time. The project was launched in the Mayor’s Parlor at the Freetown City Council (FCC) on Wallace Johnson Street in Freetown.
FCC’s Chief Administrator, Festus Kallay, who played host to the mini launching, said the project is timely especially at a time when the local councils should work together with the people within their localities to plan and embark on service delivery.
Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Hadiru Kalokoh, said on December 7, 2017, the Minister of MLGRD, Maya Moiwo Kaikai, launched the project in the World Bank office in Freetown, implying that project implementation had commenced since that time.
He said the project will be implemented in four Local Councils comprising FCC, Western Area Rural District Council (WARDC), Port Loko District Council and Bombali District Council.
“With the support of the World Bank, Sierra Leone has been able to ensure that service delivery functions are transferred and performed by local councils. Through decentralization, government has been able to ensure that local people are actively involved in electing and holding their local leaders accountable and determining their development priorities, all of which are important indicators of good governance,” he said.
He said the project will respond to the post-Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and mudslide at the local level by building community resilience through sensitization efforts and social mobilization activities in the district. It would not have come at a better time than this, especially when government has prioritized the strengthening of system and institutions to build resilience to disaster and shocks.
“I want to assure our development partners that staff assigned to this project will not be moved from those councils before the completion of the project. We will also ensure that the issue of records management is given due attention,” he said, and thanked the Japanese government for providing the funds for the project and the World Bank Task Team Leader.
Alhassan Kanu, Director of Decentralization Secretariat, said the mini launch of the project will be done in all the four local councils that are involved so that the people would show ownership of it.
“We are doing the mini launching in order to create awareness of the project and also imbibe a sense of ownership in the people in the localities where the councils are situated. This project would benefit everyone at the local level where it would be implemented,” he said.
World Bank Task Team Leader for the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF) and the Decentralized Service Delivery Programme II (DSDP II), Randa El-Rashidi, said the initiative came in the wake of the post Ebola recovery efforts.
She said the project aims at raising awareness because it is a fantastic platform to bring together councils and their people in order to improve social service delivery.
In his presentation, Jonathan Kpakiwa of Decentralization Secretariat said local councils’ social sensitization activities include community dialogue and support.
“The councils will also have to do memorial service and dedicate community project in honour of Ebola victims. There will also be anti-stigma activities and health talks. We will also give sub-project grant of US$30,000 to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in each district implementing the project so as to conduct additional sensitization activities,” he said.
