By: Saidu Jalloh
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) held a high-level strategic management meeting on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at its headquarters in the Youyi Building, Freetown, reaffirming its commitment to transparency, institutional reform, and effective service delivery.
The meeting convened senior ministry officials to address key issues, including staff recruitment, implementation of audit recommendations, performance reviews, and compliance with anti-corruption protocols in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, officially welcomed the newly appointed Senior Permanent Secretary, Madam Nancy Tengbeh, describing her as a seasoned administrator appointed at a pivotal time in the Ministry’s transformation journey. He expressed gratitude to President Julius Maada Bio for her appointment.
In his address, Dr. Kpaka provided Madam Tengbeh with an overview of the Ministry’s ongoing projects and strategic priorities, including the review of the 2026 work plan. He emphasized the need for closer coordination between project teams and technical divisions to strengthen implementation and monitoring across the agriculture sector.
Responding to the Minister’s remarks, Madam Tengbeh thanked the leadership and staff for their warm reception. She reaffirmed her commitment to the “Feed Salone” initiative, calling for enhanced inter-project coordination, efficient data management, and timely reporting.
She also urged divisional heads to align their activity reports with the Ministry’s standard reporting templates, particularly in preparation for upcoming monitoring exercises by the ACC.
On human resource development, Senior Human Resource Manager, Mr. Mohamed Sandy, announced that the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) has officially gazetted 534 vacancies within the Ministry. He confirmed that job advertisements and interviews will soon commence and called for active engagement from the Ministry to ensure the recruitment of qualified personnel in line with national priorities.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment from both Minister Kpaka and Senior Permanent Secretary Tengbeh to strengthen institutional coordination, improve responsiveness to audit findings, and uphold transparency and accountability in all Ministry operations.
This strategic engagement reflects the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to reform internal systems, professionalize its workforce, and advance its agricultural transformation agenda in line with national development goals.