By Donstance Koroma
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the Parliament of Sierra Leone and the Parliament Civil Society Network (ParlCSONet), on Monday, August 4, 2025, hosted a one-day engagement with civil society organizations (CSOs) from across the country, the event, held at the civil service training College, was themed enhancing civil society engagement in Legislative Public Participation.
The primary objective of the engagement was to equip CSOs monitoring parliamentary activities with a deeper understanding of legislative processes to foster more effective participation. According to a global report, the 6th Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone is recognized as the most accessible parliament to date, with no restrictions on CSOs entering its premises, marking a significant step toward transparency.
The intensive one-day session covered critical topics, including, exploring mechanisms to enhance openness in parliamentary processes, featuring expert discussions and insights from the Public Debt Management Assessment Tool (PDMAT), encouraging CSO reflections and input to strengthen public involvement, addressing the role of parliament in ensuring accountability on climate-related issues.
CSOs described the engagement as timely and highly informative, stating that the sessions equipped them with the knowledge and tools needed to actively participate in parliamentary and legislative proceedings, the session on public debt oversight was particularly impactful, as it provided CSOs with a clearer understanding of Sierra Leone’s public and domestic debt status, enabling them to better engage in related discussions.
The event underscored the importance of collaboration between parliament and civil society to strengthen democratic processes and promote accountability. CSOs expressed appreciation for the opportunity to contribute to legislative frameworks and vowed to leverage their newfound knowledge to enhance public participation.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday,6th August 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
