By Adebayo Johnson
Freetown, January 14, 2025—The Director of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Eric Masalay, has announced that the Ministry will discontinue the issuance of temporary approval for Service Level Agreements (SLAs) of non-funded projects. He stressed that any NGO or INGO operating without a signed SLA and proper registration with the government would face legal consequences.
Mr. Masalay made this disclosure in his office on Tower Hill in Freetown. He stated that any NGO that has started operations before the issuance of a “Gayset” will be given a three-week grace period before an extensive verification exercise with law enforcement agencies.
He encouraged organizations with temporarily approved projects that have not attracted donor funding to go to their line Ministry and sign the SLA. The main focus, he said, is to identify organizations that complement the government’s efforts and sanitize the NGO sector, thereby protecting donor funds intended for the people of Sierra Leone.
#Based on monitoring, Masalay revealed that many NGOs have not signed the Service Level Agreement with their line Ministries and often implement projects that do not meet the expected outcomes for the people or donor partners. The Director further stated that they will discontinue the issuance of temporary approval for SLAs of non-funded projects but encourage all NGOs to attract funding for their projects and sign the SLA through their line Ministries.
He concluded by saying the “Gayset” will soon be published, showing organizations that are registered and those that have not registered with the government, as well as projects that have received funding. Only funded projects aligned with the “Medium Term National Development Plan” will be processed by line Ministries and inputted into the NGO Partnership Mapping Tool.