In truism to the statement that the reward for hard work is more work, the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) through its Pro-poor Growth for Peace Consolidation (GPC III) Project is seeing to be raising the banner of Sierra Leone high at local, national and international levels. This has been manifested during the March 2023 KfW Mission to the project 2022 and 2023 sites in Kambia and Kono districts, which commenced from Monday 27th – Monday 3rd April, 2023.
Welcoming the donors during a courtesy call at her 14 Charlotte Street Office in Freetown, the Commissioner of NaCSA, Dr. Sao-Kpato Hannah Isatta Marcathy acknowledged the Kfw contributions and commended the Germans for their support to the development strides of the nation through the GPC project which she further noted fits within the country’s medium-term development plan and the global sustainable development goals.
“The GPC project is one of the longest serving and most successful programmes in NaCSA. And because of its implementation pattern/approach, which is highly youth centred and community driven, it is now a household name across the nation. It has not only earned its prominence among the beneficiaries alone but also at national level to the extent that the Presidency has recognized its impacts”. The NaCSA Boss submitted. The mission, she guaranteed will served as means to showcase the significant gains the project has made in alleviating poverty among the rural poor.
The KfW Country Portfolio Manager, Hannah Detmering-Segoin reciprocated like sentiments to NaCSA and highlighted the purpose of their visit to the country. “We have been following the great successes of the project through the reports being sent, but getting firsthand information in the field would undoubtedly be an ice on the cake. However, on a more significant note, we are here to finalize the appraisal documents that will usher in the most anticipated successor project that will run concurrently with the existing one”. The Country Portfolio Manager announced.
Forming an integral part of the mission was the in-person interactions between the beneficiaries and the donors. At Kufuru Community in Khonimaka Chiefdom, Kambia District which was the first point of call, where the team visited and inspected the 2023 feeder roads which is ongoing, the Kenema Luma Grain Store and its facilities (solar power, rice milling marching, drying floor, hand pump water well and toilet).
Speaking to community stakeholders and members of the Facility Management Committee (FMC) at the Kenema Luma Grain Store, Hannah Detmering-Segoin, from KFW who is the Portfolio Manager for the project, thank and appreciate the various communities for the warm welcome and their support in letting these projects becomes a success.
She also thanked the people and government of Sierra Leone for allowing the Federal Government of Germany to continue its good and long bilateral ties with Sierra Leone. She called on them to show further appreciation by providing leadership in maintaining these facilities, as there are many more other communities that are in desperate need of such facilities. The Portfolio Manager, Hannah Detmering-Segoin also praised NaCSA and the GPC team, together with the contractors for the good monitoring and supervision, as she is pleased with what she saw on the ground.
At the Levuma Village, Tankoro Chiefdom in Kono District, the team showed case a of constructed a grain store which is in full operation. Town Chief of Levuma Village, Chief Michael S. Joe was in a joyous mood to receive both the KFW team from Germans and the NaCSA team. Chief Joe revealed how it seemed to be before the GPC’s intervention, recalling that it used to take them more than three to four hours from Levuma to Koidu Town, but now because of the road construction which NaCSA has constructed, they spend less than an hour. He further went on to thank the German Government and NaCSA for their support. At the grain store, Chief Michael Joe who also doubles as a master farmer and a member of the facility management committee (FMC), was quick to explain the gains and benefits they have received since the construction of both the roads and the grain store. Chief Joe mentioned that, they are now able to make daily savings with the use of the milling machine by rice milling, the solar by charging phones and other charging equipment and the water well by monthly household payment.
At Manjama, Soa Chiefdom, a Cocoa processing Center also was constructed. On day two of the exercise also, the team visited the Koakor Grain store and a 64.9-meter bridge at Koakor crossing point, Koakor Village, Gbense Chiefdom. At the other flank of the same crossing point is another 43.2m bridge at Yikuma crossing point, Kamara/Sandor Chiefdom, and Gbangbao Grain Store at Kamara Chiefdom.
The Programme Manager for the GPC Programme at NaCSA, Salifu Mansaray thanks the Government and People of Germany for their relentless support towards the GPC Project in particular. Salifu Mansaray said the GPC has come a long way since its inception with the GPC I, on to its present stage with the GPC III. Mr Mansaray called on the community stakeholders to pay good attention to the day-to-day activities of the grain stores and keep maintaining the roads after every rainy season.
The Programme Manager of GPC III, Salifu Ansu Mansaray while cataloguing the achievements of the existing project disclosed that a total of 493.6km of feeder roads have been rehabilitated under the project; 70 – 80 Thousand Euros annual support has been provided to each of the core GPC district councils for feeder roads maintenance; 45 IGFS have been built in the operational districts and a total of 29 FMCs comprising of 290 members have so far been trained in the management of grain stores for sustainability.
Its main objective is to contribute to the improvement of employment and income situations for youths in rural communities through the provision of enhanced economic infrastructure (feeder roads including bridges, grain stores and ancillary facilities, cocoa/coffee centres & fruits/vegetable centres) along selected value chains of cocoa/coffee, rice, cattle, vegetables; Pro-poor growth for peace consolidation programme (GPC ) was designed in the aftermath of the eleven years (1991-2002) civil conflict as post-conflict assistance to “fragile states”. under which Sierra Leone was categorized then…
The programme has metamorphosed over years, starting from GPC I (2006-2014) with funding of EURO 11 million and operated Western Rural, Pujehun, Koinadugu/Falaba districts. GPC II (2014 – 2018) with a funding of EURO 12.333 operated in Kaialhun, Koinadugu/Falaba and Kono districts and the existing GPC III (2019-2023) with a funding of EURO 20 million and 1.5million own contribution operating in Kailahun, Koinadugu, Falaba, Kono & Kambia districts.
With funding from the KfW and the Government of Sierra Leone, the GPC III project operates in five districts in Sierra Leone – Kailahun, Kono, Koinadugu, Falaba and Kambia in four components – Infrastructure Investment, Support to District Councils on Feeder Road Maintenance, Operation and maintenance training for relevant stakeholders in the communities and capacity building measures for NaCSA.
