By: Abdul Martins Foday Amara in Kenema
In strengthening local governance, decentralization, and sustainable urban development through a territorial approach to local economic development in Sierra Leone, the Kenema City Council has committed to actualizing that dream with funds and support from the European Union.
The project background states that towns like Port Loko, Western Rural, Kenema, and Kailahun (secondary towns), which hold about 19% of the country's population, are key growing cities in the Northern and Eastern regions of Sierra Leone. They can ease the pressure on the resources and infrastructure of bigger cities. Physical infrastructure improvements cannot be sustained unless persistent governance problems are addressed.
The proposed action focuses on strengthening the decentralization process and the capacities of the local authorities of the Sierra Leonean cities involved, sharing activities and knowledge with the towns and cities of the Municipality of Fano (Italy) to face the challenges of urban development.
The project's overall objective is to strengthen local authorities' capacity to promote the quality and accessibility of public services, public participation in the formation of national and local policies, poverty reduction, and sustainable service delivery in the country.
In doing that, the outcome would improve local authorities' technical and institutional capacity to create an enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable citizen participation in local governance and socio-economic development with an increased focus on marginalized and vulnerable community members.
A descriptive activity of the project is: the Project Management Unit (PMU) facilitated a five-day training, one each for all partner councils, including Port Loko District Council, Kailahun District Council, Western Area Rural District Council, Kenema City Council, and Port Loko City Council. This is intended to capacitate council Chairmen/Mayors, Councillors, and Core Council staff in continued leadership development, both elected and leadership of local authorities.
The training also intended to identify lessons learned from other project interventions, indicating that good leadership can transform local authorities. It covered orientation for elected Councillors, focusing on their roles and responsibilities in Council and as ward leaders. Conflict management mechanisms and corporate governance training were also included. Leadership development will also include targeting Council core staff from the targeted local authorities. Capacity-building initiatives will mainly target women, Councillors, and many more.
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