By Amara Thoronka
Vice President of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, has called on all Sierra Leoneans in all walks of life to work concertedly and collaboratively to realize and sustain developments in all sectors, while stressing on government’s development agenda [The Big Five] which he said is a catalyst for mass job creation and socioeconomic development.
The Hononorable Vice President was speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the official launch of the Human Development Report 2023/2024 organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in Sierra Leone on Thursday, 21st March, 2024, at the Freetown City Council Hall, Wallace Johnson Street, Freetown.
“The report catalogued how COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war greatly impacted our development efforts and slowed down economic growth,” VP Jalloh summarized the said report, adding that, “Despite the several gains made in the social sector, we urgently need to match it with a concerted effort to enhance the productive sector which is vital to stimulate growth and create jobs. The BIG FIVE GAME CHANGERS constitute a viable pathway to boost agriculture, employment and deepen investment in human capital.”
He congratulated the United Nations Development Programme for the report and expressed government’s appreciation for the continued support by the global agency as they work together to accelerate inclusive and sustainable development in Sierra Leone.
The UNDP report titled “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World,” highlighted the worsening problems of global inequality and political polarization. The report emphasizes how poorly these issues affect growth, particularly in least developed countries like Sierra Leone.
Fredrick Ampiah, the UNDP Resident Representative said the report is a major publication and urged stakeholders to keep an open mind to potential possibilities despite socio-economic realities captured in the report.
Kenyeh Barlay, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, spoke on the relevance of establishing and maintaining resilient system to effectively manage shocks, citing COVID and the Russia-Ukraine conflict and their implications on nations worldwide, including Sierra Leone.
In another development, Vice President Juldeh Jalloh earlier had what he “fruitful meeting” with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) delegation in Freetown, noting that they “discussed the Compact Development Process and a wide range of governance issues, including the work of the Tripartite Committee on electoral reforms, the inter-party dialogue and private sector participation in energy.”
Dr. Jalloh added that: “The MCC’s longstanding relationship with the Government of Sierra Leone commenced with the successful completion of the Threshold Program in 2021. The program validated the invaluable role of the private sector in inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, the MCC Scorecard has been a helpful tool that we use as a benchmark for our social sector interventions particularly with girls’ education, health, financial inclusion for women and the fight against corruption.”
According to the nation’s Second Gentleman, “The potential of our continued partnership through Compact Development is an opportunity to address the key binding energy constraint in order to unlock private sector development. The government remains committed to upholding universal democratic principles in order to safeguard the successful implementation of the MCC Compact to improve the lives of each and every Sierra Leonean.”
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on monday, March 25th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)