The Leone Club

Local government structure in Sierra Leone essentially consists of a system of 19 elected councils, broken down into 5 city councils (Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Koidu-New Sembehun and Makeni); the municipality of Bonthe and 13 district councils consisting of the 12 districts (Pujehun, Bo, Moyamba, Bonthe, Kenema, Kailahun, Kono, Tonkolili, Bombali, Port Loko, Kambia, Koinadugu) and the western area rural district. (Photo: Kortor Kamara)

While researching the role and effectiveness of these local councils since their reintroduction by the Tejan-Kabbah administration in 2004, I have been especially struck by the political power paradigm shift that has occurred in local government administration, development, financing and delivery of devolved services in Sierra Leone. For while there is understandably much emphasis on the central government’s role and responsibility for nationwide development, it is worth noting that enactment of the Local Government Act, 2004 largely subordinated the central government and Paramount Chiefs authority and powers to the supremacy of local councils for virtually all development activities in the relevant council localities.

In the case of paramount chiefs, their marginal role in the affairs of the council is reflected in their membership of the councils. The Local Government Act clearly stipulated the number of their membership in the various councils, as for example Pujehun district can only have 2 paramount chief representatives in the council and in the case of Bo district only 3 paramount chief members can be represented in the Bo district council.

Happy new year to everyone. I am back in the US and I was able to do some research in Ghana with reference to how they dispose of trash. Ghana is very clean and I am totally impressed. A lot of work has gone into minimizing malaria and thyphoid and promoting health.

90% of the residents I questioned burn their trash in dug out pits at the very far end of their compound. Houses are not slated back to back as in Freetown and most houses have quite a bit of land acreage. I was in Korlebu Town and visited Legon university. I noticed that the university, schools, and campuses have smaller trash bins made of very hard plastic and wooden exterior almost decorative and quite impressive with a Ghana Logo on them. And yes the bins are supplied by the municipal body of that area. In poorer areas they have many wooden wagon style transportation with a one man driver seat. This wagon picks up trash and takes it to dumping sites for that area. The bin covers are larger than the rim of the bin to prevent water from getting into the bins, the covers also have several partitions depending on the size of trash being disposed of. At no time are these bins open.&n bsp; I learned that these bins are picked up by medium size tucks and taken to the designated dumping ground.

The dumping site is located in a specific area with no houses around it. The trash is subdivided into recyclables and burnt material. Again I saw huge dug out pits where some trash are burnt. Hugh areas are designated for the recyclables. Ghana processes a lot of their foods and drinks and so they do have quite a huge amount of bottles, boxes, and rubber made materials, it is totally against the law to throw trash on to the roads or open space even though I did not see any signs that say 'do not'. I planned to see the Minister of Health but unfortunately I could not meet with him as it was time for me to come back even though he was available to meet with me.

PRESS RELEASE

Embassy of the United States of America Public Affairs Office, Freetown

Violence against women touches Sierra Leone just as it does every other nation. Here in Sierra Leone, women and girls live in fear of being raped, physically and emotionally abused, forced into early marriage, or forced into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  Gender-based violence is a global challenge to human rights and security.  As an international problem, it requires international solutions.  And the United States is committed to working with governments, multilateral institutions, and a wide range of private partners – from activists and advocates, to survivors and civil society leaders – to end impunity for those who perpetrate these crimes, and to ensure that laws that recognize women’s equality and right to be free from violence are implemented fully.  Secretary Clinton has made this issue a top priority for American foreign policy.  The Obama Administration is also committed to ending violence against women in the United States, where too many women are still mistreated and abused.

He said the outcome of the conference was a manifestation of the President’s Agenda for Change and a stepping stone for all Sierra Leoneans.

He said the vision of the President has been exhibited and that Sierra Leoneans should now look forward to its implementation.

“We can now go ahead and prosecute cases without waiting for the approval of the Attorney General as it used to be the case in the past,” Cole said amidst thunderous applause. He said a new Anti Corruption Commission Act has now been established with 29 new offenses been added to the previous one.

It was obvious that donor agencies and investors were looking forward to the ACC boss to confirm or disapprove the government claims over use of donor funds in Sierra Leone, but Cole said there is no cause for alarm because there are now offenses for misappropriation of donor funds as well as the impedement of foreign investment into Sierra Leone.

He said the rate and quality of prosecution has increased from four to fifteen cases per year since he took over office.

“There are no sacred cows - no big fishes now,” the Commissioner said adding that the rate of reporting corruption cases had increased in recent times with new measures now being put in place as a result of effective public campaigns.

The ACC boss said the commission now has six new hotlines where individuals can report corruption cases and a website where anonymous reporting can be made with a ten percent reward for people providing information on corruption.