By Sulaiman Jalloh
The Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs on Wednesday, 15th May, 2024, presented local council development and operational guidelines to the parliamentary committee on local government in Parliament.
Delivering his opening statement, the Deputy Minister of Local government, Alfred Moi Jamiru, said the engagement is to present a comprehensive report on the work of the Ministry including department and agencies, saying the ministry had embarked on the development of the guidelines before meeting with parliamentarians, adding this will serve as an operational guidelines to MDAs specifically in recognizing the role of local development, hence the popularization of this document is of importance.
He informed the committee that the developed document will help to enforce systemic operations for the Local Councils and other partners they are working with. “We are here to let this committee look at the gaps and make the necessary adjustments,” the deputy minister said
In his response, the chairman of the parliamentary oversight committee on local government, Hon. Musa Fofanah welcomed the delegate from the Ministry of Local Government and promised his committee’s support to the document.
John Brima is the capacity builder and head of technical at the ministry. He informed MPs that the Ministry has had numerous challenges with the local government structure which prompted the drafting of the guidelines, saying the guide is to help the smooth running of the local councils to include effective coordination, inclusive participation with local communities, and transparency in procedures and procurement within the local councils among others.
He said the ministry’s role in the implementation of the guidelines is to give technical support, monitoring and evaluation of the councils. “The ministry has developed a modernized and uniformed template to be used by local councils,” Brima stated.
In his submission, Hon. Rt. Captain Boima emphasized the need for processes of project implementation be clearly stipulated so that members will easily identify and know how those projects are being implemented.
Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara of the All People’s Congress Party (APC), stressed on the engagement of the newly elected paramount chiefs on their roles and responsibilities so that they will not stall the progress of the local councils’ work, “The paramount chiefs have taken over the local courts, which is not how it should be”, Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara disclosed.
Hon. Musa Fofanah commended the Minister of local government for being thoughtful coming to parliament to have the take of members of parliament on this document. He further stated the importance of this to the committee in performing their oversight responsibility, “this document in of significance to this committee and by extension the general membership of parliament in performing our oversight function”, he concluded.
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Friday, May 20TH, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
