The Mayor of Fano, Local Councils authorities in Sierra Leone have visited the Head of the European Delegation in Sierra Leone and held discussion on the Project titled: “Partnership of Sustainable cities in Sub-Sahara Africa”.
The dialogue brought together local actors and the visiting team at the Ambassador’s Office at Leicester Peak on Thursday. The visit of the Italian Mayor to Sierra Leone is geared towards broadening the knowledge of partners on development, governance and decentralization at local levels.
The overall objective of the meeting was to strengthen the capacity of local authorities, to promote the improvement of quality and accessibility of public services and public participation in the formation of national and local policies, reduce poverty, maintain sustainable development and effective and efficient gender sensitive service delivery in Sierra Leone.
The Project is largely funded by the European Union and it seeks to strengthening local governance, decentralization and sustainable urban development through territorial approach to local economic development in Sierra Leone.
Port Loko District and City Councils, Western Rural District Council, Kenema City Council, Kailahun District Council and the Italian Municipality of Fano are partners that exchange Knowledge, skills, resources and technical capacity among themselves on the implementation of the project.
Speaking on their visit to Sierra Leone, the Mayor of Fano, Massimo Seri said that in order to achieve the objectives of the project, they would have to provide more technical support to its partners, adding that more efforts will be required in identifying the issues especially when a municipality is under developed.
He added that to meet international standards during implementations, the project partners need to respect the collaborative efforts of the local people which is crucial on how Fano is planned to be implemented during the course of the project.
Seri went on to state that the effectiveness and successes of the project depends on the involvement of the municipality and its populace, and those working closely to implement the projects.
The Head of European Delegation, Alexander Muller said that the visit of the Mayor of Fano and team shows a strong demonstration of the EU’s commitment to promoting learning at sub national level in achieving sustainable urban development decentralization cooperation.
He added that the Project will promote integrated urban development through partnership that is going to be built among local authorities, in accordance with 2030 Agenda on sustainable development.
He added that the triangular cooperation involving the municipality of Fano and four local districts in Sierra Leone will strengthen cities design and help in the implementation of inclusive public policies which would improve the quality, delivery and equitable access to basic services and infrastructure.
Muller furthered that through the project, the EU believes that decentralization, local democracy, sustainable urban development and good governance will be fostered in Sierra Leone.
He pledged EU’s continued commitment to supporting the Government of Sierra Leone and to strengthen decentralization in support of its development strategy.
By George M.O. Williams