Local Govt. Minister encourages councils to be open to scrutiny
By Edward Caulker
The Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs, Tamba Lamina has encouraged local councils to be open to scrutiny. Lamina was speaking during the launch of a tracker to track development in six local councils in the country. The initiative is part of an ongoing project known as Building Accountability System through Empowered Communities (BASE).
“It is not an indictment on any council but a collective effort for growth and this memorandum of understanding, the input is as good as the outcome we are expecting,” the Minister said.
District Chairmen of some of these councils have expressed concerns about the project, with the Falaba District Council Chairman, Ibrahim Sorie Sesay saying during the launch that the project is like a “witch hunt”.
The Minister and the consortium running the project reassured them that it is in their best interest. The BASE consortium signed a collaborative memorandum with the Ministry of Local Government for the duration of the project.
The three-year project will track down development issues, focus on accountability and service delivery in local communities across the country. The project is managed by a consortium of civil society groups and the biggest radio network in the country.
Speaking during the launch of the tracker, Executive Director of the Institute for Governance Reform, Andrew Lavali said the tracker will be tracking at three tiers; central government, local councils and CSO&Media. The tracker will follow progress in districts like Moyamba, Karene, Tonkolilil, Kono, Falaba and the Western Area Rural.
The tracker will track data on maternal mortality, child mortality, learning outcomes, state of local council reports, own source revenue, community stability and many more issues.
The tracker will show an indication of how each district is performing on any particular issue that is being tracked, but it will also focus on how government, CSOs and media are also participating in the general process of local governance.
The BASE project is set to run for three years, during which the aim is to improve service delivery, revenue generation and improve accountability.
