By: Amara Kargbo
In a strategic move to enhance transparency and public awareness, the Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU) has launched a media programme titled “The Reform Hour.” The televised and radio-broadcast forum brings together stakeholders from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to highlight Sierra Leone’s ongoing journey toward a more effective and modern public service.
The inaugural broadcast on 21 November 2025 was moderated by Siaka Wusha-Conteh, Head of Communications and IT at PSRU, who welcomed Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs, Amara Kallon, to provide citizens with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the civil service. The programme was conceived to bridge information gaps, offering the public insight into the extensive yet often overlooked modernization efforts undertaken in recent years.
Minister Kallon began with a historical perspective, outlining Sierra Leone’s prolonged struggle to establish a coherent framework for its public service since independence. He recalled a turbulent history marked by multiple military coups and a 27-year one-party state, which collectively fostered institutional instability. Each successive governance model imposed its own structural changes, preventing the consolidation of a consistent and professional civil service aligned with global standards.
This systemic weakness, the Minister noted, has been recognized at the highest levels. As Chair of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), President Julius Maada Bio commissioned a continental study identifying deficient public administration as a key driver of political instability. This finding has spurred a mandate for all member states to pursue foundational reforms.
In response, the Sierra Leonean government has made public service renewal a central pillar of its national strategy. “Within our 2023 manifesto, we enshrined this reform as one of our Five Key Game Changers,” Minister Kallon stated. He emphasized that sustainable progress across all development sectors depends on a robust, high-functioning government apparatus.
The Minister attributed the current administration’s determination to President Bio’s unique insight, drawn from his personal history and deep understanding of the civil conflict. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report cited public service failures as a contributory factor to the war. This awareness, coupled with the President’s firsthand experience within the system since 1992, fuels the ongoing commitment to foundational reform, exemplified by the creation of the Ministry of Public Administration and Political Affairs.
The Ministry is tasked with providing political and strategic direction for the reform agenda. Politically, it champions the manifesto commitments, now operationalized through the Medium-Term National Development Plan. Strategically, it harmonizes efforts across existing institutions such as the Public Service Commission and the Human Resource Management Office. “The ministry provides overarching strategic leadership to ensure all bodies align with the President’s vision,” Kallon affirmed.
Sulaiman Phoray-Musa, Director of PSRU, applauded the Minister’s clarity of purpose. He traced PSRU’s origins to the post-war Governor’s Secretariat, which played a pivotal role in rebuilding institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission. Evolving from that foundation, PSRU now serves as the technical backbone and operational engine for government modernization, shifting focus from planning to achieving tangible, on-the-ground results. To date, PSRU has conducted Management and Functional Reviews (MFRs) for over 35 major institutions.
Director Phoray-Musa explained that an MFR is a comprehensive “check-up” for government institutions. It assesses systems, workflows, and staff capacity to determine if an institution can effectively deliver its public mandate. The resulting recommendations improve organizational structures and resolve overlapping responsibilities between agencies.
These reviews have already produced transformative results. For example, they facilitated the merger of various corporate registration services into a single one-stop-shop for investors and guided updates to the nation’s election management bodies.
As the Ministry’s technical arm, PSRU now leads efforts to build a more efficient public service, ensuring both new and existing institutions are structured for success. In a significant step forward, the Cabinet has officially approved a strategic roadmap for public service reform, providing a clear, multi-pillar framework to guide future initiatives.
In essence, the launch of “The Reform Hour” signals an unprecedented commitment from the highest office to holistic public service revitalization, confronting deep-seated institutional challenges with renewed and decisive political will.