December 9, 2021
The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kai-Kai has on the 8th December,2021 met with the newly appointed Board Members of the Sierra Leone Association of Non-governmental Organizations, SLANGO, and called on both national and international NGOs to support them, while encouraging SLANGO to serve as a unified voice of the NGO community in Sierra Leone.
Presenting the board, National SLANGO Coordinator, Shellac Davies thanked the Minister for the audience, noting that the board members were appointed during the Annual General Meeting, recently held in Bo. She said they were meeting the Minister to officially present the board, adding that the Board would seek to promote co-ordination, networking and harmonization of NGO activities in Sierra Leone.
Alhaji Mohamed Jalloh, Chairman of the new SLANGO Board, thanked Minister Kai-Kai for creating the platform for SLANGO, in their bid to bring the much needed transformation they have long desired. He said that the organization would continue to serve the very important purpose of coordinating the affairs of NGOs in the country. Mr. Jalloh pledged the Board’s loyalty, commitment and utmost assurance of taking SLANGO to the highest heights.
In his response, Minister Kai-Kai said that he was pleased that SLANGO has been able to address, for itself, the many challenges that they have been facing, over the years. While congratulating the newly appointed Board Members, the Minister also said that he was very impressed by the personalities in the Board and urged them to do more.
He recognized the critical role SLANGO played in coordinating NGOs in the popularization of the Medium-Term National Development Plan, MTNDP 2019-2023, and during the NGOs support to the fight against the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
Minister Kai-Kai said that NGOs have been massive in reaching the last five miles, providing resources for people in the communities and also contributing to the development process in the country.
“We really need to coordinate our development, we get resources but it’s dissipated because we are not organized— it’s really challenging. Sometimes we want You [NGOs] to put pressure on us government to do things and that is why we rely on you to reach the last five miles and contribute meaningfully to the development trajectory of the country,” he said.
The mandate of the newly appointed SLANGO Board is to fully implement recommendations from report of the functionality of SLANGO, and also resolutions reached at during the Annual General Meeting held in Bo City on the 27th November 2021.