By Sallieu S. Kanu
Sierra Leone — June 9, 2026: Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF), has reaffirmed clean cooking as a top national priority, declaring it central to President Julius Maada Bio’s energy agenda during a policy familiarisation workshop at the Sierra Palms Resort in Aberdeen.
Speaking at the National Clean Cooking Strategy Policy Familiarisation Workshop organised by the Ministry of Energy, Dr. Yumkella underscored that clean cooking is not only a key pillar of Sierra Leone’s national energy strategy but also a flagship component of the country’s Mission 300 Compact Framework.
He highlighted the establishment of the Clean Cooking Delivery Unit, hosted within PI-CREF and operating in close collaboration with the Ministry of Energy. The unit, now fully operational within the Office of the President, was designed to address a recurring challenge across Africa: ambitious strategies often falter due to weak implementation and poor inter-agency coordination.
“Now fully operational and positioned within the Office of the President, the unit is designed to bridge that gap,” Dr. Yumkella stated.
Dr. Yumkella praised Madam Aminata Wurie, Head of the Clean Cooking Delivery Unit, for her leadership in advancing the agenda nationally and regionally. He also commended the ECOWAS Commission for its recent partnership with Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Energy in launching a major LPG initiative, co-hosted by the Office of the First Lady.
Acknowledging the scale of investment required, Dr. Yumkella stressed that clean cooking solutions will demand hundreds of millions — and potentially billions — of dollars to ensure affordable cylinders, reliable gas supplies, distribution systems, and clean cookstoves reach households across the country.
He called on international partners and the private sector, including the International Energy Agency, to support Sierra Leone in mobilising the substantial financial resources needed to move from strategy to implementation and from ambition to transformative impact.