By George M.O. Williams
The Ministry of Finance (MoF), under the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP), supported the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning with various equipment on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. The items included one Trimble R12 GNSS System DGPA Receiver with a tripod, eight high-performance laptops, two smart televisions, and eight motorbikes, all aimed at enhancing the ministry’s monitoring capacity in the Western Area.
The handing-over ceremony, held at the Lands Ministry’s conference hall in Freetown, brought together representatives from both the MoF and the Lands Ministry. The World Bank-funded project aims to improve integrated urban management, service delivery, and disaster management in the Western Area and secondary cities in Sierra Leone.
Upon receiving the items, the Deputy Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, Phylis Kormoh, highlighted that the equipment would enhance the capacity of the staff. She noted that when the right tools are available, staff can work more efficiently. Kormoh emphasized that the equipment would be used wisely and effectively to ensure that the ministry’s work within the Western Area meets the required standards and project objectives.
The Director of Surveys and Lands, Tamba Dauda, stated that the drone equipment would significantly aid in the collection of mass data compared to traditional methods. He added that drones are useful for the periodic monitoring of unauthorized developments and illegal activities in the Western Area.
Anthony A. Koroma, the Project Manager of the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project, explained that the equipment would enhance the capacity of the staff as the project involves the preparation and implementation of spatial plans, including master and local plans and planning schemes.
Koroma detailed the budget allocation towards capacity enhancement for the year under review, amounting to US$200,000. Of this, US$140,000 was used for logistical capacity support, including the purchase of equipment, US$40,000 for GIS training and software deployment, and US$20,000 for training and technical assistance in land use planning. He added that a budget has also been tabled to the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the finalization of the Building Codes under review and US$302,000 was expended for the review of the Town and Country Planning Act, now known as the National Country Planning.