UK Minister for International Development concludes successful visit
UK Minister for International Development, Stephen O’Brien MP, concluded his second visit to Sierra Leone yesterday (Thursday 21st July 2011).
During his visit Mr O’Brien met with H.E. the President, Ernest Bai Koroma; the Minister of Finance, Dr Samura Kamara; the Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Hon. Joseph Kamara; the Minister of Health, Hon. Zainab Bangura, and senior government officials. He visited a water and sanitation project in the Brookfields community, Freetown, where he was able to view first hand the improvements brought about by the community as a result of DFID funding and support. He also took a personal visit to undertake voluntary work with street children in Makeni.
Mr O’Brien spoke on local radio about his visit. One issue he highlighted was the importance of improving water and sanitation, drawing on his experiences at Brookfields where 8,000 local people will benefit from better drainage, access to clean drinking water, toilets and washing facilities. He also spoke about the importance of infrastructure and regional trade to encourage private sector growth and commercial confidence which attract external and, even more important, internal investors and entrepreneurs.
A key issue raised on the radio and during his visit was the enormous progress Mr O’Brien has seen under the Free Health Care Initiative since his last visit. The first year of the initiative has seen a doubling of consultations for under fives, and 40,000 women delivering safely in a health facility. However, Mr O’Brien was disappointed at the drugs thefts, and talked to the Minister of Health about the importance of this issue being tackled rapidly and thoroughly. He was reassured to hear that the Government were taking urgent and thorough steps to address this problem, including a full investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission, and rigorous actions to prevent any such future incidents.
Another key issue raised was corruption. Mr O’Brien highlighted the importance of seeing results in the fight against corruption, and hoped that current efforts would continue without compromise. He commended the work of the Anti-Corruption Commission and Commissioner. He stressed the importance of an impartial, independent judiciary and also continuing Government commitment to tackling corruption and building public confidence, in order to attract credible foreign investors to Sierra Leone and enable local businesses to grow.
Mr O’Brien said “I am delighted to return to Sierra Leone, to see the real progress made since my last visit. Sierra Leone is a country with massive potential and I am pleased to see how innovative approaches like the Free Health Care Initiative are demonstrating real results in improving people’s lives. It is vital that the Government continue to push ahead with these reforms; that the up-coming elections are credible and reflect the will of the people of Sierra Leone; and that this progress is not pushed off track by corruption, for which there must be zero tolerance.”
British High Commission, Freetown
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