By: Mohamed M. Sesay
At the 2022 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Symposium staged at the Freetown City Council Auditorium, the Chief Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa, yesterday the 25th of August 2022, commended the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone for being ranked second in Public Accountability Score sheet on the African Open Parliament Index in 2022.
In his keynote address, the Chief Minister recalled that a year ago, Sierra Leone submitted its National Action Plan on Access to Justice, Open Parliament, Extractive Industry, Transparency Initiative and Fair Election Process.
As a country, Jacob Jusu Saffa disclosed that Sierra Leone has made tremendous efforts in implementing action plans adding that, those action plans are align in key government priorities. He added that they have also maintained the steady gain they have made in good governance including the establishment of the Peace and National Cohesion Commission to help foster peace and unity across the country.
“I want to thank the National Council for Civic Education and Development and the entire Open Government Partnership Steering Committee Group for the invitation to deliver this address. This will showcase open government reforms, learn from peer countries and seek to solidify government’s continued support to the OGP. While we may not need governance specialists, we all can similarly relate to the impact of good and bad governance. It is this shared experienced that have sustained the OGP process which has also led to this 2022 OPG symposium”, he said.
Jacob Jusu Saffa continued that Open Governance requires credible and trustworthy institutions built on principles and transparency, Participation, accountability and innovative use of technology and enhance civic participation. Since its inception, he said the OGP has opened civic space with an essential component for open government. He added that the National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED), has ensured that Civil Society Organizations work in counterpart with government in order to develop and implement commitments that address key governance constraints in the civic space, and in a structured process in designing government policies and programs.
According to the Independent Research Mechanism Transition Report, Chief Minister furthered that Sierra Leone has shown moderate progress in the implementation of the National Action Plan which clearly shows that, the Bio-led government is fully committed to open governance reforms.
He also acknowledged that most of the violence incidences that are happening in the country is as a result of lack of civic education and engagement. He added that the unemployed youth in the country are so vulnerable because they are not properly engaged. Chief Minister stated that politically motivated persons are misusing the youth because they want to create chaos. He noted that the only solution to youth violence is to have constant engagement with the youth across the country.
The Minister of Information and Communications Mohamed Rado Swaray, disclosed that under the Bio-led administration, they have implemented more Human Rights Commissions and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations than any other government in the recent history of Sierra Leone. He reminded that government has repealed the criminal libel law, abolish the death penalty, and empowered more women into elective positions among others. The Information Minister also assured that the Bio Administration is very committed to ensuring that they improved on the gains made in terms of promoting human rights and good governance. Radon Swaray also disclosed that government has launched the Civil Society Dialogue Forum where key and critical issues are discussed for remedial action.
The Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED), Kalilu Totangi, intimated that Sierra Leone became the 66th member of the Open Government Partnership in 2013. Since 2013, he said government has done three national action plans which were formulated and derived from five key principles which are; improve public service delivery, creating safe communities, effective management of public resources, increase public integrity and increase corporate accountability.
Since he became the contact person for the Open Government Partnership in Sierra Leone, Kalilu Totangi said they have developed two national actions plans. He therefore, assured that the Open Government Partnership process is very important because, government is making a lot of progress which requires a concerted effort especially from civil society activists.
On his part, the Anti -Corruption Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala, confirmed that his work with the Open Government Partnership goes a very long way. With his long standing relationship with the OGP process, the ACC Commissioner disclosed that such relationship has given him the locus standing as to what openness means at governance level. He added that most citizens ended up being surprised whenever they made Freedom and Information request to the ACC because the ACC always honors and treats such request with every urgency and alacrity. He reiterated that the ACC has been releasing sensitive documents to citizens as long as they go through the due process. He maintained that their swift responses in providing access to information caused the Access to Information Commission to dub the ACC as the most compliance institution.
The Mayor of the Freetown City Council Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, defined Open Government as the government doctrines which sustain citizens to have the right to access documents and proceedings of government. He confessed that the team at the National Council for Civic Education and Development, has been working hard not only in the direct sphere of open government, but also in the sphere of curriculum development thereby, bringing civic education into the school curriculum. She also applauded NaCCED for their relentless work in bringing civic education to school pupils.
