Kamakwie Town Hall, North-West, Karene District, 26th June, 2020— The Minister of Planning and Economic and Economic Development (MoPED), Dr. Francis Kai-Kai has said in order to measure the effectiveness of development projects in Karene, the authorities should provide strategic direction and systematically track the implementation and outputs of every development program in the District, especially from government and Non-governmental organizations .
He made this statement, while delivering the keynote address at the 1-day workshop on decentralizing ownership of the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP 2019-2023) for effective implementation and results of the “New Direction” Development targets in Karene District. Also, the stakeholders representing every sector of development identified, in order of priority,— Roads, Agriculture and Health, as the key sectors for the attention of government to deliver on, during this implementation period.
Dr. Kai-Kai said government’s desire was to put the people at the centre of development and transfer ownership of the plan to them. He insisted on President Bio’s declaration of 2020, as a year of delivery, which he said, the government was strongly committed to making a reality.
The Deputy MoPED, Dr. Robert Chakanda, delivering an overview of the process, said the journey to prepare the plan started over a year ago with wide consultations across the 16 districts nationwide. He said the plan drew a lot of direction from the New Direction Agenda of President Bio’s Government, which was people-centred.
Presenting the District Priorities, the Paramount Chiefs led by the Acting P.C Pa Balaba Bangura of Sella Limba Chiefdom said the people of Karene had made their views clear on their development priorities and that government should take them very seriously. He further stated that the district had been overwhelmingly disadvantaged in the distribution of the country’s resources.
On his part, the Karene District Council Chairman, John Ditto Kamara, underscored the importance of the engagement to the District. He said such process demonstrated government’s commitment to leaving no one behind in the actualisation of the New Direction Agenda.
The Minister of Youth Affairs, Mohamed Orman Bangura, said his Ministry was providing adequate employment and other socio-economic opportunities, through its livelihood skills projects in fisheries, agriculture among others across the country. He assured the Karene people that projects around the creation of artificial fish ponds would soon commence, of which Karene District would be one of the beneficiaries.
In his statement, the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rado Swaray appreciated the District’s resilience in the COVID-19 fight, as the only district to still record a zero case. He said President Bio was considering rewarding district teams that have tremendously done well in the fight against COVID-19. Mr Swaray said the government was working hard towards ensuring that effective communication mechanisms are restored all over the country.
The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Melrose Kargbo, called on every stakeholder in Karene to support the plan, saying that the authorities should take ownership of the plan to ensure effective service delivery. She said the recent increase in the incentives and salaries for Mayors/Chairmen and Councillors across the country was a manifestation of government’s continued commitment to Human Capital Development.
The Parliamentary Chairman of the Committee on Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella together with other Members of Parliament present, commended the Ministry for leading such a collective process and putting the people at the centre of development, which according to them, was the step in the right direction for development in the country. They emphasized that they were all going to stand firmly united behind the MTNDP and the process of decentralizing the ownership of the plan.
Other dignitaries present included, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Mamadi Gobeh Kamara, Women’s Representatives, Youth leaders among many others.
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