By Sallieu S. Kanu
Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, has concluded his nationwide regional consultation tour on decentralisation and local governance, ending the latest leg of the engagement in his home district of Port Loko, in the northwest region.
The tour brought the Vice President, in his capacity as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Governance and Decentralisation, into direct discussions with traditional authorities, district representatives and local council leaders on challenges affecting governance and service delivery. The engagements in Makeni, in the Bombali District and Port Loko followed earlier consultations in Kenema in the eastern region and Bo in the south, where the Vice President stressed that the exercise was designed to listen to communities and local authorities rather than impose solutions from Freetown.
Reflecting on the conclusion of the tour, VP Juldeh Jalloh said the consultations had provided government with direct perspectives from communities across the country.
“On Saturday, I concluded my regional decentralization tour in my home district of Port Loko. Across the country, we heard directly from traditional, district and local council leaders about the challenges affecting local governance and service delivery. Thanks to all participants,” he said.
The consultations formed part of the Government’s broader push to strengthen grassroots institutions, improve coordination between central and local authorities and translate national policies into more effective services at community level, with the Vice President previously describing the process as “a learning process” focused on listening to local governance challenges