Continuing a nationwide push to reform local governance and decentralization, Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, led a high-level stakeholder consultation in Bo City following the initiative’s initial rollout in Kenema.
Chaired directly by the Vice President, the gathering convened Cabinet Ministers, Paramount Chiefs, local council officials, and community leaders to evaluate key national policy shifts and deliberate on structural challenges confronting sub-national governance.
Addressing participants, Dr. Jalloh stressed that shifting these strategic discussions away from Freetown directly into the provinces ensures national policies reflect regional realities rather than top-down directives. The consultations focus on integrating local and traditional authorities into major ongoing national reforms across land administration, healthcare, and social welfare services. As a tangible step toward improved regional oversight, the Vice President officially inaugurated the Regional Coordination Committee for the Southern Region to streamline collaboration among local administrative bodies.
Supported in part by the World Bank, the decentralization drive will soon transition into intensive, two-day district-level engagements across the country. These upcoming sessions aim to resolve persistent operational frictions—such as the working dynamic between traditional chiefdom administration and elected local councils—while driving public service delivery closer to citizens.
MD/te/lb/abj/APA