The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kaikai has on Thursday 7th January 2021, updated journalists on Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP). He briefed media practitioners at the conference room of the Ministry of Information and Communications, 8th Floor, Youyi Building. During the briefing, he noted that the Mid Term National Development Plan is a key project of President Julius Maada Bio’s government which comprises eight clusters and 43 policy areas.
He explained that while putting the document together, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development involved about 2 million stakeholders nationwide including: Mayors, Chairmen and core staff of Local Councils, Paramount Chiefs and Councilors, Village Headmen and Tribal Heads, Women, Grassroots, Youths, representatives of the physically challenged, Civil Society Organizations, NGOs, Religious Leaders, CBOs and a host of others.
Dr. Kaikai further said that the reason for involving the aforementioned stakeholders was to ensure that community stakeholders understood the basics of the Plan and to define community priorities within the national plan which will be supported in the next 2 to 3 years. He added that another reason for engaging the groups was to make them aware of their lead roles in the implementation of the programs and projects informed by the National Plan.
The Minister further stated that they engaged the stakeholder groups to enhance grassroots understanding of the National Plan and to put them at the centre of its implementation.
He added that after thorough consultations with stakeholders across the country, they were able to identify the immediate needs of the people which were factored into the plan.
He disclosed that in a bid to make the process more consultative and inclusive, they took along other government ministers to speak to the people about the government’s development plans for the people in their respective chiefdoms and districts.
Dr. Kaikai acknowledged and appreciated the leading role played by the Ministry of Information and Communications throughout the consultative process and assured that the plan will help inform government about the immediate development needs of the people in each of the 16 districts in Sierra Leone.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Madam Mamadi Gobeh-Kamara, updated the media on the activities of the government over the past weeks.
By Bampia James Bundu: Strategic Communications Unit, Ministry of Information and Communications
11/01/2021. ISSUE NO:7976