By: Mohamed M. Sesay
In a National Forum for Local Councils Development Operation Guidelines staged at the New Brookfield Hotel, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs Melrose Karminty, assured representatives from all the Local Councils across the country that their engagement in developing operational guidelines as supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), would help change the development lacuna within Local Councils.
In her keynote address, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs disclosed that they have been making efforts in order to improve performance of Local Councils based on the belief that decentralized Local Government System is pivotal in Local Council Service Delivery. She disclosed that since 2009, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs has been partnering with the People of Japan through JICA of which JICA has been playing a very instrumental role for developing capacity of staff of Local Councils.
Melrose Karminty also intimated that in 2017, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs set Local Council’s Development Operational Guidelines as a hands-on reference book for Local Councils staff in order to implement development projects in line with Local Government Act.
As one of the key targets, Melrose Karminty also disclosed that the Mid-Term Development Plan2019-2023, clearly calls for the operationalization of Local Council ‘s Development Operational Guidelines. She therefore, alluded that they have drafted broad guidelines to direct national development plan including formulation of plans at sector, regional district and community level consistent with the Wan Fambul Framework/People’s Planning Process.
The Deputy Minister therefore, acknowledged that the Forum Engagement s crucially important which geared towards discussing lessons learned from the implementation of these Development Operational Guideline in the eleven Local Councils in the South-Eastern Region in order to inform revision of the guideline.
“ Indeed, this engagement could not have come in a better time than now where MoPED is undertaking background documentation of perspectives and ideas towards the formulation of the successor to the current National Development Plan that will end in 2023”, she concluded.
Endo Kama, the Project Formulation Adviser for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), applauded the accomplishment of the model project which was planned as a result of passion and hard work of the project Members including MLGCA, Local Councils and the project staff. She expressed optimism that the guideline would ensure sustainable development within the Local Councils. She also expressed anticipation that Sierra Leoneans would make the guidelines better with conditions without Japanese experts.
