By Thaimu T Kamara

Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, has intensified Government’s efforts to strengthen local governance and decentralization as nationwide regional consultations continued in Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone.

The consultation in Bo followed the launch of the exercise in Kenema on Friday and forms part of Government’s broader effort to take discussions on local governance reforms beyond Freetown and closer to communities, local authorities and traditional institutions across the country.

The engagement, chaired by Vice President Jalloh, brought together Paramount Chiefs, local councils, Ministers and other key stakeholders to discuss major national reforms and their implications for governance at the local level.

The consultation also provided stakeholders with an opportunity to raise concerns, identify challenges and propose practical solutions to issues affecting the effective functioning of local governance institutions.

Addressing participants, Vice President Jalloh emphasized that the consultations were designed to promote dialogue rather than impose decisions on local authorities and communities.

“This is not a meeting where we come to tell you what to do. It is a learning process. We are here to listen to the challenges of local governance,” he said.

The Vice President explained that the decision to decentralize the consultations was aimed at ensuring that Government hears directly from local institutions and communities about the realities they face.

He said national policies and reforms could only achieve their intended objectives when they took into account the experiences and challenges encountered at community level.

According to the Vice President, strengthening local governance requires continuous engagement between central Government, local councils, traditional authorities and citizens.

He highlighted a number of ongoing reforms, particularly in areas such as land governance and administration, health and social welfare, stressing the need for local authorities and traditional institutions to understand the reforms and play an active role in their implementation.

A major highlight of the Bo consultation was the inauguration of the Regional Coordination Committee for the Southern Region.

The committee is expected to improve coordination among key actors involved in local governance and strengthen collaboration between national institutions, local councils and traditional authorities within the region.

The establishment of the committee is also expected to provide a platform for addressing governance-related challenges through greater cooperation and coordination among stakeholders.

Vice President Jalloh also recognized the support of the World Bank to Sierra Leone’s decentralization agenda. He noted the institution’s willingness to provide additional assistance as Government continues its efforts to strengthen local governance structures.

He further disclosed that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Governance and Decentralization remains committed to taking the consultation process to all regions of the country.

The consultations are expected to move beyond the regional level and continue at district level, providing an opportunity for more detailed discussions on the challenges confronting local governance.

Vice President Jalloh announced plans to spend two days in each district during the next phase of the engagement. The district-level consultations will allow Government to engage directly with stakeholders on specific governance issues affecting their respective communities.

Among the issues expected to receive attention is the relationship between chiefdom authorities and local councils, which remains an important aspect of Sierra Leone’s decentralization framework.

The Vice President said understanding the roles, responsibilities and relationships among different local governance actors is essential to improving coordination and ensuring effective delivery of public services.

The Bo engagement therefore represents another step in Government’s efforts to deepen decentralization and create stronger links between national policy and local realities.

Stakeholder participation in the consultations is expected to contribute to the development of practical approaches to addressing governance challenges, while ensuring that reforms are informed by the experiences of those directly involved in local administration.

The regional consultation also reinforces Government’s commitment to strengthening institutions outside the capital and giving communities a greater voice in matters affecting their development.

As the nationwide exercise continues, Government is expected to use the concerns and recommendations gathered from Paramount Chiefs, local councils, traditional leaders and other stakeholders to inform ongoing reforms.

The broader objective is to strengthen cooperation between national and local institutions, improve coordination, enhance public service delivery and ensure that governance is brought closer to the people.

The consultations in Bo thus mark an important stage in Sierra Leone’s continuing decentralization process, with Government seeking to build a more responsive and effective system of local governance through dialogue, collaboration and greater stakeholder participation.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 19th August 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)