Sierra Leone delegation makes case for Millennium Goal score-card to MCC in USA
Washington, DC, Monday 15th October, 2012: Professor V.E.H. Strasser-King, today led a two-man delegation from Sierra Leone, to make a case for Sierra Leone’s Millennium Goal score-card to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Washington D.C. (Photo: Caroline Thomas hands a progress Report on Sierra Leone to MCC’s Managing Director For Development Policy Alicia P. Mandaville. From 3rd left -Prof V E.H Strasser King, Amb. I S Conteh. Center, H O C Mrs Aisha Silla)
Showcasing the improvements made by the government in meeting the benchmarks for the MCC threshold/compact, Professor Strasser-King, who works with the MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) and provides policy and strategic advice to H. E. President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, conveyed the President’s kind sentiments and gave a summary of the efforts and achievements of the government. He highlighted some major re-structural activities in terms of revamping the economy, reducing corruption and poverty, providing free healthcare services for vulnerable children and women groups and promoting gender equality which has impacted on high-level women participation in political decision and governance.
He also spoke on the provisions of free, basic-education for the girl child, construction of feeder roads, providing an enabling environment for the proliferation of community banks, and boosting the supply of energy to all regions, which is particularly supported by a US company, Joule Africa. Professor Strasser-King also highlighted the gains made in the management of the petroleum industry and other reforms that will better the lives of the people of Sierra Leone. The introduction of policies and reforms (like the newly introduced performance-contract signing for Ministers and the cascaded ones for the Senior Civil Servants) are useful methods in helping government to gather and submit data that makes “quite a lot of difference” in the score-card under discussion. He also spoke about the open government initiative (OGI), the prosecutor gains made by anti -corruption commission and the transparency Sierra Leone online forum where citizens can air out their grievances and seeking clarifications on national issues. He was hopeful that meeting most of the important benchmarks may have qualified Sierra Leone for consideration by the MCC for the threshold and/or compact funding.
The second delegate, Miss Caroline Thomas, presented a report containing a letter from the President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma to the MCC and a data score sheet that was prepared by the Strategy and Policy Unit in the office of the President. Ms. Thomas intimated that the data collected from various government sources and United Nations Agencies eg UNICEF, UNESCO etc. in the last one year underscore the efforts by the government to access funding so as to sustain the projects that it had launched. However, she pointed out that if the necessary funding is not accessible, there is a likelihood the government will risk losing the gains made in the last two years.
Responding, the MCC’s Managing Director for Development Policy, Ms. Alicia Philips Mandaville, commended the Government for its improvement and accomplishments in the last year noting that new benchmarks have been introduced, and the competition a little keener than before. She was of the view that even if the Sierra Leone does not qualify for the compact she was optimistic that the threshold funding might be considered.
Present at the meeting also were the MCC Development Policy Officer Ms. Andria Hayes-Birchler, Director Diplomatic and External Relations, Jerry I. Dutkewych (Ph.D.) and an Intern. The Sierra Leone delegation included the Charge D’ Affaires of the Embassy, Ambassador I.S. Conteh, the Head of Chancery Mrs. Aisha Sillah, First Secretary Saspo I. Sankoh and the two Information Attachés Mr. Pasco Temple and Ms. Elizabeth Foray.
At 2:00 p.m. on same day, the delegation called on the West Africa Director, Ambassador Eunice Reddick, and other senior officials, including the Desk Officer for Sierra Leone, Andrew Laurence Silski at the US Department of State, where they met and discussed the same issues with a view to granting Sierra Leone the threshold and or compact.
After the Sierra Leone delegation stated their case, Ambassador Eunice Reddick expressed admiration for the bold steps the government of Sierra Leone has taken to ensure their qualification for the MCC’s threshold and compact. She encouraged the team to use more media support in the near future to outline the above accomplishments by the Government.
The team is scheduled to meet, in the coming days, with the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., Senators or their Representatives, USAID officials and other crucial actors towards the threshold/compact funding.
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