The Ministry of Sports (MOS) and the National Sports Authority (NSA) ended a two-day joint Management Retreat on Friday, 12th July, 2024 at the Galiness Paradise Hotel Conference Hall in Bo City.
The retreat, themed *“Building a Strong Team for the Implementation of the Big Five Changers to Accelerate Sports Development”* aims at reviewing key sectoral policies and also strengthening and improving the collaboration between the two institutions for the development of sports.
Speaking at the opening, NSA’s Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai Esq said his agency is ready to deliver its mandate.
“Agencies are specialized institutions meant to deliver on their mandates and are more flexible in decision-making than ministries where bureaucratic principles have to be fully followed.
“We have enough powers to deliver, but we also have limitations. We cannot be more powerful than the Ministry of Sport. For effective and efficient service delivering, NSA is ready to fully work collaboratively with the Ministry of Sports for proper coordination,” Dr. Abdulai added.
On her part, Minister of Sport Madam Augusta James-Teima re-echoed the need for teamwork.
“There were once tensions between the Ministry and the NSA before now. The relationship between the two institutions was not rosery. I must commend the leadership of Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai as the New Executive Director of the NSA for his strategic leadership styles.
“By the end of the retreat, the two institutions will have better understanding and a clear roadmap on their different functions,” she averred.
Representing the Chief Minister at the highpoint was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Sports Hon. Hindolo Ngevao who said the Ministry of Sport and the NSA are the two institutions responsible for the development of sports in the country.
“The Ministry performs an oversight function, while the NSA serves as the operational wing of the Ministry. The sports sector alone can employ thousands of people in a year, and it is the only sector that unites a nation,” told the meeting, encouraging MOS and NSA to continue to work together l to improve the sports industry in Sierra Leone.
Other speakers who expressed similar sentiments were the Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED), representative from the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, representative from the Public Service Reform Unit, representative from the Human Resources Management Office, representative from the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone and representative from the Cabinet Secretariat.
Credit – NSA MEDIA
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Monday, July 15th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)