Agenda for Change is a Resounding Success
The second joint report on the Agenda for Change has been published since March 2012. This document is the result of collaboration between the Government of Sierra Leone and its development partners, presented as a compendium of activities and outputs that can be directly attributed to the Agenda for Change.
It is a yardstick of the achievements of the President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma who is responsible as Head of Government for the singular vision in deploying an Agenda for Change to track key achievements of his administration.
The support provided by Development Partners are collated within this report and they serve as tangible inputs from those Institutions and Agencies that have thus far contributed to the rapid growth that this Country has experienced under the leadership of President Bai Koroma. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the achievements of the Ernest Koroma-led Government for the period July 2010 up to June 2011.
It outlines the progress made in a number of areas including preparing for a peaceful, credible, free and fair third post conflict election. It also expands on infrastructure projects as well as manages external shocks on account of the global economic downturn specifically noting the astute management of public finances and internal economic corrective policies implemented in order to cushion the economy from the effects of external shocks; the Sierra Leone economy managed to post a GDP growth from 5.0 in 2010 to 5.3 in 2011, a modest but significant increase.
Some key areas of progress are outlined in detail within the report but to summarize here, the upturn in the mining sector and strong performance in the agricultural sector are largely responsible for the positive GDP growth. It is also significant to note that the Government is improving its capacity to deliver through a number of capacity building programmes and the wider public sector reform programme.
The Free Healthcare Initiative has reduced the high infant and maternal mortality rates that held this Country at the very bottom of the UNDP Human Development Index consistently for the past four years before this Government took over the reins of power. Young people have been given a higher priority by the establishment of a National Youth Commission that has been tasked to focus on youth employment and related activities.
Importantly, the Government continues to make progress on the fight against corruption by a strengthening of the Anti-Corruption Commission that has resulted in more cases being brought, more high-profile individuals and public officials have been made to be accountable for their stewardship and also for the swift administration of corruption and other public graft cases.
The business climate has been much improved with Sierra Leone now rated as one of the best places in the world to start up and register a business. Business registration laws have been modernised and liberalized to the extent that the services of a Lawyer have been much reduced with a concomitant reduction in the cost of this exercise.
Government has also put in place measures to ensure that the mineral resources of this Country are managed in a way that is beneficial to all Sierra Leoneans.
The report’s verdict is that the Agenda for Change has proven to be a comprehensive array of activities and outputs that prove the potential of the Ernest Bai Koroma Government as a force for change in this Country.
The report is affirmative that the key achievements of the Agenda for Change are symptomatic of a growing and dynamic economy, driven by a visionary leader with a positive focus for underpinning the nation’s development through a robust infrastructural framework, coupled with a high priority for energy as the bedrock of industrial growth, concern for the health of vulnerable people such as pregnant women and lactating mothers and a firm foundation through education for a skilled and more educated workforce. Going into the future, the Agenda for Change has decidedly set the pace for an Agenda for Prosperity
Titus Boye-Thompson
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