Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698838185780.pdf (Sierra Leone)
Final Draft Table of Contents Report of the Sierra Leone Conference on Development & Transformation Charting the Next 50 Years Forward The ta s k of the Si erra Leone Conference on Devel opment a nd Tra ns forma ti on i s to rethi nk our devel opment pa th over the l a s t 50 yea rs wi th a vi ew to cha rti ng a new tra jectory tha t woul d ta ke the country to mi ddl e i ncome s ta tus by 2035, boa s ti ng i ndi ca tors tha t confi rm i ts s ta bi l i ty a s a s ta te, a nd a l evel of wel fa re for i ts ci ti zenry worthy of i ts s ta tus .
The Conference i s a conti nuous proces s to engender pos i ti ve cha nge i n our s oci ety s o tha t hope a nd opti mi s m repl a ce des pa i r a nd di s trus t; a nd a l l Si erra Leonea ns i n the ri chnes s of our cul tura l di fferences wi l l embra ce one s i ngl e objecti ve: tra ns forma ti on to pea ce, ha ppi nes s , a nd pros peri ty i n our motherl a nd.

VOLUME I The Sierra Leone Conference on Development & Transformation 3/2/2012 1 Table of Contents Final Draft TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I 1.
ABBREVIATIONS 2.

Executive Summary 3.

INTRODUCTION 4.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE JANUARY 30- FEBRUARY 1, 2012 5.

CONFERENCE DECLARATION 6.

STATEMENTS BY SPECIALIZED GROUPS APPENDIXES APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION 2035 APPENDIX II: Implementation Road Map 3 3 4 7 9 42 48 63 63 71 2 Final Draft VOLUME I AGI CSO GST NEPAD NGO PPP REDD + – – – – – – – SLCDT Transformation SMEs SPU TDF – – – ABREVIATIONS 1.
ABBREVIATIONS Africa Governance Initiative Civil Society Organizations Goods and Service Tax New Partnership for Africa’s Development Non-governmental Organization Public-Private-Partnership Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation – Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Small-and-Medium Enterprises Strategic Policy Unit Transformation Development Fund 3 Final Draft EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background 2.
Executive Summary In the past decade, Sierra Leone has enjoyed peace and steady progress after the previous 10-year conflict, preceded by an earlier decade of decline in all socio- economic indicators.

The high demand for the country’s natural resources has raised enormous hopes of the possibility of rapid progress and transformation.
Despite the apparent improvements in growth rates and certain indicators, the living conditions of the vast majority of the population continue to be dire with high rates of unemployment, illiteracy, high inflation and increasing inequality.

Women and vulnerable groups continue to bear the yoke of the poverty burden.
After fifty years of independence there is a general consensus that Sierra Leone could have done much better in transforming itself from a state of underdevelopment and poverty to a country boasting of much higher standards of living than currently enjoyed by its citizens.
Against, this background, the President called on all Sierra Leoneans to join in and rethink the country’s development strategies with a view to transforming the country to middle income status in 25 years and even a donor nation in fifty.

Methodology A secretariat was appointed headed by a Coordinator, with the task of preparing for a national conference on development and transformation.
The task was to set specific targets for middle income status, outline in broad terms the chart to follow, identify the 4 Final Draft EXECUTIVE SUMMARY imminent dangers that accompany massive natural resource exploitation and mobilize support from all Sierra Leoneans for the exercise.
The secretariat commissioned Papers on some of the key transformative subjects consistent with the peculiarities of the country, organized widespread consultation throughout the country both to garner ideas on specific local problems and their potential solutions, as well as to press on the message of change from the habits of the past in participating in decisions regarding the destiny of the nation.
In this regard 200 focus group meetings were held around the country, combined with extensive use of the radio for call ins and television broadcasts.

A number of public lectures were also held and broadcast nationwide, including presentations by foreign experts experienced in dramatic success stories of transformation.
In addition an international technical workshop was organized that brought together world-class specialists in various subjects to recommend possible courses of action and policies to adopt.

Throughout the exercise the Secretariat received guidance and direction by a Steering Committee composed of a cross section of the society and from all districts in the country.

The President chaired the meetings of the Committee.
Key Conclusions and Recommendations The conference concluded with the adoption of the Declaration attached.

The key recommendations are:   A comprehensive review and change in the education system, as well as increase literacy rates and enhance adult education urgently.

A moratorium on new large scale mining licenses for 12 – 18 months.
During this period the restructuring of the Ministry and its operations should be 5 Final Draft EXECUTIVE SUMMARY accelerated including producing a more detailed geological survey to facilitate auctions of mineral rights Enhance economic management through revisions to budget and revenue management policies.

Change planning cycles to seven years to permit greater flexibility in launching major development projects.
Set up a Transformation and Development Fund from mineral revenues for investments in education, infrastructure, health, and for reducing inequalities.

Launch a national debate on land use and land tenure urgently.

Create a women ’s commission, and impose a minimum quota for women, youth and people living with disabilities in all elective and selective public positions.
Re design the civil service to respond better to the needs of a developmental       state An Implementation Road map has since been prepared to facilitate monitoring and implementation of the recommendations.

6 Final Draft INTRODUCTION 3.


The path to 2035, and prosperity INTRODUCTION The task of the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation is to rethink our development path over the last 50 years with a view to charting a new trajectory that would take the country to middle income status by 2035, boasting indicators that confirm its stability as a state, and a level of w elfare for its citizenry worthy of its status.
At this period in the country ’s history, there are global forces and internal efforts aligned fortuitously for this to be possible; yet at the same time careful analyses and studies reveal overt and disguised threats that unless controlled could derail the process and send the country to the now, well-known path of anarchy and destruction.

There are two sets of opportunities that justify the hope for a brighter future.
The first is the very high demand for natural resources that show signs of, at least short-term price stability.

These are basic metals, agriculture for food and bio-fuel production, plus the untapped wealth in tourism and the potential for petroleum products.
The second are the signs of the deve lopment and reinforcement of democratic practices, the setting up of some of the institutions that are essential for a developmental state, and a determination of the country’s leadership to change the course of its history.

However after fifty years of pursuing a certain direction in life, the call for change by a few is hardly audible by the majority, who are understandably deafened by the cries over the deplorable nature of the route.
The high demand for our natural resources is not new.

As happened in the past, it is accompanied by the familiar associated flurry of fake promises to turn the country into paradise and blinding all and sundry to the disaster beckoning in the horizon.

The institutions, practices, policies, and programmes that the country emb raced in the past have shown proof of their shortcomings and weaknesses in the decline of the country’s fortunes that led to conflict.
The country is therefore now faced with the twin challenges of changing the development and transformation strategies of the past, and confronting the imminent threats of the natural resource boom.
President Ernest Bai Koroma’s call for a rethink of the country’s development strategy, and for the articulation ofa clear goal for 25 to 50 years, that is set by the entire population, combined with a resolute determination by the citizens to hold leaders accountable for pursuing that goal, has produced the Conference on Development and Transformation.
7 Final Draft INTRODUCTION This Conference is not meant to be a one-off event, but rather a process of continued dialogue and action among the citizenry and with its leaders, that should result in the change to our development trajectory.

This report catalogues the activities of the first phase of the Conference.
It captures the hopes and aspirations of the citizenry and outlines a roadmap for the changes envisaged to transform and accelerate the improvements in the society after fifty years of disappointments.

Chapter 4 describes the proceedings of the Conference meeting (January 30 to February 1).

This chapter presents a description of the evolution of the Conference from the development of the Concept Note (enclosed) to the extensive consultations and analysis of the transformative issues for the country.
It also contains the report of the secretariat that formed the basis for the final adoption by the conference of the key recommendations for change, and the reactions from the Groups set to review the report at the meeting.

Chapter 5 is the Declaration adopted at the end of the meeting listing the Principles and framework for the transformation.

Chapter 6 reproduces the Statements presented to the Conference by Special Groups.

The rest of the document consists of Annexes to the report.
Annex I is key to the eventual success of the exercise.

It is a schedule of implementation that if followed should keep the country on course for the targets set.

It is the Road Map for destination 2035.

Annex II is the financial statement and the rest of the annexes provide details for various sections of chapter 4 – proceedings of the Conference.
Finally, a lot of ideas and suggestions were generated by the Conference and its many parts leading up to the meeting on January 31 st, 2012 through February 1st, 2012 these have all been archived at the website for the Conference: www.sierraleonetransformation.org 8 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference 4.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE JANUARY 30- FEBRUARY 1, 2012 The Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation (SLCDT), henceforth referred to as the Sierra Leone Conference or the Conference, was held at the Miatta Conference Centre in Freetown from January 30-February 1, 2012.
This major international conference was initiated by the President, who had announced during the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary that Sierra Leoneans should come together to chart a path to transform the country to middle-income status in the next twenty-five years and a donor country status in fifty years.
The three-day meeting at the Miatta Conference Centre was the culmination of five months of extensive consultations across the country with Sierra Leoneans and, to a lesser extent, non-Sierra Leoneans on their vision of Sierra Leone in 2035 and beyond, and their proposed strategies for achieving that vision.
Consulted Sierra Leoneans were drawn from various walks of life, socio-economic strata, social groups (including women, youth and the disabled), ethnic groups and from across the country and the Diaspora.

Non-Sierra Leoneans included African, European, American and Asian consultants with proven expertise on development and transformation issues, as well as strategies and processes akin to those in which Sierra Leone was involved.
The consultative process involved focused group discussions, analyses of past development strategies, assessments of opportunities and threats associated with the envisaged rapid growth, identification of common goals and specific targets for the next twenty five to fifty years, suggested strategies for achieving the transformation and urgent measures to confront imminent dangers that accompany the expected natural resource wealth.
9 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Day 1: Monday January 30, 2012 Introductory Session.

Chairperson: Professor Gbamanja and MC Ms Naasu Fofanah The opening night consisted of registration of participants, traditional dancing led by Ms Amie Kallon, and the Opening address by S. Cheyney-Coker.

The Sierra Leonean writer and poet, set the tone of the Conference by delivering the opening address titled, “Rethinking Our Development Strategy and Charting the Way Towards a Transformation of the State”.
Beginning with a brief history of the country before its colonial past, he stressed that sovereignty and a strong sense of identity should form the building blocks of our democracy rather than allowing political passions that in any case do not derive from ideological platforms, to prevent dialogue based on trust.

Citing the country ’s heroes of the past, he enjoined the youth of today to emulate these role models and demonstrate a sense of nationalism by acts to resolve local problems.
He also called for a decolonization of the mind and to avoid tired phrases such as the “Athens of West Africa”.

In complimenting the current administration for taking on the task of transformation from an underdeveloped country within a specific time frame he urged boldness to tackle dangerous trends that may be emerging now.

A dialogue based on commonsense, reason, and optimism and marked by honesty and integrity should replace the platitudes of current development thinking.
He concluded by urging all Sierra Leoneans to put the country first and stop thinking within the old circumscribed box that has determined our development directions so far.

See Appendix A for his full speech.

10 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Day 2: Tuesday January 31, 2012 Opening Ceremony Chairperson: Dr. Keifala Marah and MC: Ms. Isata Kabia The session commenced with a moving introduction and welcome statement by Ms Isata Kabia.
Using all the languages of the country, she invited all of Sierra Leone to join the historic occasion and participate in determining the path to a future Sierra Leone that would be the envy of the world.

There were performances by traditional dancers led by Amie Kallon at which many participants joined in.

In addition the Pampanas drama group presented a skit illustrating the need for the Sierra Leone Conference and the expectations of the population on its outcome.
This was followed by a video clip on the importance of protecting and preserving the environment for sustainable growth in the country.

The Conference was formally opened by His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma.

He reaffirmed his commitment to taking up the challenges posed by the results of the Conference.
President Koroma also reminded his audience that the Conference was organised:      To reinforce the collective promise of all Sierra Leoneans to make the country better for current and future generations; and that the participants and organizers would be worthy of the latter’s admiration, respect and honorable recollections; To give meaning to Sierra Leo neans’ rights to have a vision, to take charge of the country’s transformation, and to chart the way to achieve that vision; To take advantage of the possibilities offered by the current high demand for our immense natural resources; To harness the emerging national consensus that Sierra Leoneans must use their resources on developing key sectors of the economy, education, energy, employment, infrastructure; and To acknowledge that current and subsequent investments should reflect accountability to, inclusiveness of, and equity for all Sierra Leoneans.
President Koroma assured the nation that despite its chequered development history, Sierra Leone can still reach great development heights.

If countries less-endowed in natural resources than Sierra Leone had successfully embarked on development and transformation programmes, Sierra Leone too can achieve development and transformation.
The widespread support for the Conference and the proposed 11 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference development and transformation agendas, the country ’s democratic system of governance and Sierra Leoneans’ collective resolve to make this vision work would make the dream a reality.

The President concluded that the Conference must produce actionable ideas that would transform Sierra Leone into a caring and confident donor nation at peace with itself and the world.
The rest of the Conference was organised into various sessions as outlined below.
12 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Session A: Setting the Stage - the Sierra Leone Transformation Report, Chaired by Dr. Samura Kamara, Minister of Finance and Economic Development ------------------------------------------------------------ Presentation 1: “The Road to the Conference and Sierra Leone’s Future” by Herbert M’cleod, Coordinator, SLCDT Mr. M’cleod, presented a synopsis of the activities culminating in the current Conference.
He outlined the structure of the report, elucidated the consultative processes through which ideas were generated and presented a vision of Sierra Leone in the next twenty-five years.

The exercises leading up to the Conference were carried out under the guidance of the SLCDT Steering Committee consisting of representatives from various walks of life and chaired by the President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma.
He pointed out that the Conference differed from previous conferences of this character because of the level, quality and quantity of consultations undertaken from the conception of the need for the Conference unto its actualization.

There had been information exchanges, technical analyses of issues, public debates and reviews of experiences from other countries in the previous five months.
The current meeting was therefore the end of a phase of an exercise that should last for the next quarter of a century and beyond.

Its uniqueness lay in the organisers’ attempt to mobilise Sierra Leoneans’ interests and views on related issues and in its drive to facilitate their painting, collectively a picture of the Sierra Leone they desire in twenty-five years.
All this had been fostered in a non- partisan environment, although it is expected that political parties would later draw up specific plans describing how each would go about achieving the targets set by the Conference.

Mr. M’cleod added that the objective of the Conference was neither to prepare a national development plan, nor aimed at replacing the prescribed activities of government institutions or political parties.
Rather, the exercise was to recommend changes to development policy and practice and to propose requisite transformative measures to take the country to the desired middle-income status, with accompanying political, social and cultural indicators.
Among the issues that frequently emerged during consultations he said, were the need to review the country’s educational system, strong participation of women in governance at all levels, better management of our natural resou rces, direct involvement of citizens in monitoring the provision of public services and the recall of parliamentarians who fall short of expectations.
Mr. M ’cleod expressed the hope that recommendations of the Conference Report would be implemented by the current and 13 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference subsequent governments.

He stressed the importance of every government ensuring continuity in the implementation of the Conference recommendations in the future.

This continuity can be assured if citizens remain firm on keeping the targets of t he Conference as part of the frame of reference by which they will judge future governments.
The activities of the Conference were organised around the four thematic areas that were outlined in the Concept Note.

These include: Political and Economic Governance; Social Service Delivery; Private Sector and Infrastructure; and Natural Resources.

A constituency that made special contributions was the Sierra Leonean Diaspora.

Its members made valuable inputs into all the four thematic areas.
Mr M’cleod assured participants that the Secretariat ’s Report captured the views and inputs of Sierra Leoneans from every stratum of society.

In this context, two hundred focus group meetings and over twenty town hall meetings and technical workshops were held all over the country and in all districts with participation of people from virtually all chiefdoms.

In addition, workshops were held for traditional leaders, women, youth, the disabled, and the diaspora.
An international technical workshop brought together world-class specialists, including Sierra Leoneans, to review a wide range of development policies, programmes, and practices.

This final meeting brought together over four hundred and fifty participants, representing all walks of life, to deliberate on the findings and recommendations that had been gleaned from activities so far.
Mr. M’cleod noted that one of the challenges faced in organising the Conference activities was overcoming citizens’ skepticism about whether the recommendations put forward by the Confere nce would be implemented by political leaders.

He opined that by Sierra Leoneans embracing the Conference and its recommendations they were sending a strong signal about where they wanted to go and were asking political parties and political leaders to ta ke them there.
The transformation therefore would start with Conference participants taking the lead, together with the rest of the population, and relentlessly holding politicians and other leaders accountable for implementing the recommendations.

Presentation 2: “From Post-Conflict to Middle income Status.

Challenges and Opportunities”, by Professor Paul Collier Professor Collier stated that there was no textbook that taught how countries gained middle-income status.
He observed that it was particularly difficult when a country merely relied on its natural resources.

Questions about capacity were particularly 14 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference important.

Think tanks and other research institutes had shown that there were more failed resource-rich countries than successful ones.

Germany currently led economic management in Europe.

It was instructive to know that Germany used to be the worse-run economy in Europe.
That previous low status evidently spurred Germany to change that picture of failure.

It did.

Germany was now the stand out success story in Europe.
For a country aspiring to middle-income status, there were three critical areas to address:    Legal rules around key economic issues had to be clearly defined; There had to be efficient institutions in the country, as Germany’s success illustrated; The country had to build a critical mass of citizens who understood the rules and were ready to defend them.
To set the process of achieving the three areas above going, the current government must deliver on the following five functions: taxation, spending on public consumption, regulations, macro-economic management and setting norms, standards and identity.

Taxation - Sierra Leone had survived virtually without taxes for the last fifty years.

Taxation had a collateral benefit for good government.

High taxes meant that there was greater willingness of citizens to scrutinize the government.
Only when taxes constituted a large chunk of national revenue would governments deem economic growth as necessary for the nation.

It was necessary for natural resource-rich countries to design effective systems to levy on and collect taxes from their resources.

In Sierra Leone, the government should institute an effective taxation of mining companies.
But there was also the need to constantly keep in mind the need to maintain a balance between the resource- consumptions of the present generation and savings for the future.

Zambia’s current case illuminated this need.

The country was a world leader in copper production; but today the country had little to show for the copper boom of yester years.

It was the same story for Nigeria, which discovered oil forty years ago.

Today, the country abounded in incomplete and unsustainable projects.
Sierra Leone should not commit the Zambian and Nigerian errors.

Professor Collier called for the establishment of a Sovereign Development Fund which should be exclusively dedicated to development.

This should be supported by a productive system for monitoring and evaluating of development projects.

15 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference A fundamental investment that a country must make on the road to achieving middle- income status was affordable housing for the people.
Key to making the foregoing successful was a thorough fixing of land tenure system.

The process should not be left to lawyers alone.

Uganda was a good example of fast-tracked and transparent land reform and adjudication.

The Ugandan authorities set a time frame and called for all claimants to tender their land claims.

Land registration and title issues were settled quickly.

Uganda’s systematic settling o f the land issue resulted in a wave of investments into the country.
Spending on public consumption: It was a fact that in Sierra Leone, State-run health and education programmes were not working well.

What should be done?

Firstly, strengthen accountability in the State-led public services.

Secondly, the State could even use money to fund well-run non-State service delivery channels.

At present, the State had economies of scale but did not have the motivation; non-State organizations had the motivation but lacked the economies of scale.
Regulations: Good regulation of private activities was the cornerstone of economic development.

There was a need for regulations particularly in the area of land rights.

The already-discussed Uganda success case could be a good guide.

Macro-economic management: Irrespective of its status, any given country can get macro-economic management wrong.

It was particularly difficult for natural resource- rich countries to get it right.
This called for another institution: a Sovereign Resilience Fund, with a two-way door.

The funds could be judiciously used as and when needed.

Setting norms, standards and identity: Finally, the country must adopt new norms and standards.

Most resource-rich countries have failed, notwithstanding the abundance of their resources, in this area.

Sierra Leone could do very well to forestall a replication of such failures by looking outside the country for best practices and standards.
A good start would be for Sierra Leone to adopt the NEPAD’s Resource Charter.

Importantly, the process of becoming a middle-income Country depended on building a strong sense of nationhood primed to pursue public good.

Here leadership mattered.

Take Kenya and Tanzania as examples.

In Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta privileged his Kikuyu tribe and that made cooperation difficult among people of different identities within the framework of the nation.

In Tanzania, Julius Nyerere emphasized cohesion and unity.
As a result, the country has had a high level of cooperation among many and varied ethnic groups, with little or no ethnic conflict.

In the main, in Tanzania, nationhood, not ethnicity drove development.

Sierra Leone needed to learn from the Tanzania integration and identity model.
16 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Questions and Comments Following Professor Collier’s Presentation Questions asked included how to present the national budget in ways that made sense to ordinary Sierra Leoneans and how to enable them to monitor budgetary targets; the importance of building national identity and how to de-emphasize ethnicity; what specific actions did other countries that had achieved middle-income status adopt to deal with corruption, especially in delivering public service; how the march to middle- income status could assure inclusiveness and addressing inequality?
A participant noted that Sierra Leoneans had demonstrated a willingness to pay taxes.

The major challenge was the unease Sierra Leoneans felt about how their taxes were used, not mismanaged.

Paul Collier’s Responses Regarding the question of preparing national budgets comprehensible to ordinary Sierra Leoneans, he suggested that the character of such budgets should be changed.
Subsequent budgets should, for example, say how much of the budgetary outlay will result from national assets depletion and what was allocated to the future.

He also suggested benchmarking.

This meant development programmes focusing on international standards and indices and following prescriptions on how to reach them.

An example was how President Paul Kigame approached the Doing Busin ess Report in Rwanda.

Rwanda used to be 140 th in the World Bank’s Doing Business ratings.

It currently ranks 60th.


What had President Kigame done differently and could it work for us, were matters to ponder or research.

On national identity, Professor Col lier stressed that symbols mattered and should not be underrated.

Sierra Leone’s leaders should reach out, lead by example and be inclusive.

He added that by merely trying to be the best, Sierra Leoneans could set themselves on the path to being successful.
On inclusion and inequality, he argued that nothing in his presentation suggested that inequality and problems of inclusiveness were automatically addressed by simply attaining middle-income status.

Inequality and problems of inclusiveness had to be consciously attended to as development issues.

Malaysia was able to raise the socio- economic status of the majority of its population without scaring away affluent minorities.
17 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference On corruption, he reminded the Conference that Britain had had the same scourge of corruption that now plagued Sierra Leone, in the 18 th and 19 th centuries.

In Britain, it used to be the case that entry into the army officer corps depended on how much money one could pay.

The Civil Service was similarly corrupt.

But the system was eventually cleaned up.

The Civil Service now set exams and performance-based criteria for entry and promotion.
Jail terms were given to people found guilty of corruption.

In the matter of housing, he urged the establishment of affordable housing through finance mechanisms such as building societies.

This would develop and transform the country and at the same time create jobs.

Depending on commercial banks for funding may not yield the desired outcomes; governments should provide cheap cement and take care of sewage and electricity services, for example.
As regards land tenure, modernizing the system was critical; legal titles and the process of foreclosure had to be improved by adopting bold measures.

Sta tement by the Mi ni s ter of Pol i ti ca l a nd Publ i c Affa i rs - Al pha Ka nu Mr Kanu, noting that the Conference was long-overdue, commended its conveners and planners.

“Imagine if the political warriors of our Independence had called a convention like this as to how they would like to see Sierra Leone in 2012.
They wo uld have decided to have a different country from what we have today,” he opined.

According to Mr Kanu, records show that an estimated two billion dollars had left Sierra Leone since the 1960s.

He expressed the hope that this Conference would correct the mistakes of the past, adding that the Conference was an attempt to answer the question, “Where will Sierra Leone be in the next 50 years?
” He added that the deliberations would inform the country’s development and assured all that his government would split into specific implementable five-year plans.

the development recommendations “We see this Conference as complementary to what the government does.

The President is very serious about it” Mr Kanu concluded.
18 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Session B: Sierra Leone in 2035 Chairperson: Sheikh AbuBakarr Conteh ------------------------------------------------------------ Sierra Leone’s 2035 Vision.
– Presented by Abu Bakarr Kamara SPU, Oluniyi Robin-Coker – Private Sector Advisor; and Sebastian Frendo – AGI The first presentation described the Sierra Leone of 2035 in both qualitative and quantitative terms, and the second outlined some of the opportunities and challenges of achieving the targets set for middle income status .
Summary of 2035 Vision: Sierra Leone in 2035 will be an inclusive society that is characterized by:         A stable economy with private sector-led growth; A key trade hub in West Africa; An attractive culture, with unity in diversity and an assertiveness at the international level; A strong reputation for religious and ethnic tolerance; A fair and accessible justice system; A peaceful, politically-stable and democratic country Free, compulsory and quality primary and secondary education for all children; Increased emphasis on science and technology and the promotion of technical and vocational education that is relevant to the economy and the changing needs of the country.
In addition to the above, specific socio-economic indicators were set as targets to be attained within the next twenty-five years.

These, together with the full presentation are listed in Annex A, Sierra Leone 2035 Vision.

19 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Private Sector Led Economic Growth: An Illustrative Perspective for 2035, Economic indicators This presentation provided a quantitative analysis of the requirements for achieving the vision of Sierra Leone in 2035 described earlier.
To achieve middle-income status of US $ 5000 in 2035, the country must achieve the following:     Gross Domestic Product of 55 billion dollars by 2035, rising from $2 billion in 2011 and projected to reach $3 billion in 2012; A Sustained 14% growth rate up to 2035 ( In 2012, growth is estimated at 10%); Inflation cut down to single digit of around 5%; 35% domestic revenue as a percentage of GDP.
These targets were benchmarked against other countries that had achieved middle income status earlier with the indicators outlined in the earlier presentation and would constitute the targets by which future governments will be evaluated.

Mr. Robbin Coker demonstrated that natural resources exploitation alone woul d be insufficient to attain the set targets.

There should be greater focus on other areas where the country can secure competitive advantage.
Examples include, rubber and cocoa that hold opportunities for expansion, as does value addition in iron-ore smelting, with its attendant employment and development benefits.

A critical decision to be taken now is to begin to set up manufacturing entities with global standards in mind.

Infrastructure remained a major bottleneck to jumpstarting industrialization in Sie rra Leone.

Government did not have all the resources needed to make those investments in infrastructure.
Therefore, the country must begin to contemplate reliance on complementary private sector resources.

Comments and Questions in Plenary Session There was concern about the projected low annual figure for tourists visiting the country by 2035.

The experience of The Gambia was that tourism should go alongside sensitising citizens about environmental issues.

The role of ICT in the proposed development and transformation should not be underestimated.
Other issues raised included: 20 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference          Provisions for special needs education, caring for children of physically- impaired persons Provision for disabled road users , Attitudes of some members of the public towards people with disabilities which could stall meaningful development.
Questions were raised about whether 10% of the 30% quota being requested for women will be assigned to women with disabilities The 2001 Act to privatize 24 parastatals had achieved little to date; government should not retain control of these loss-making institutions.

It should privatise these government-owned entities and recover government resources that could be invested in other areas.
There should be a thorough assessment of the extent to which the analysis on climate change could affect industrialization in Sierra Leone.

It was necessary to ask why emphasis was being placed on hydro-power generation, notwithstanding the steady reduction of rainfall in many parts of Sierra Leone lately.

Various mechanisms should be put in place for youth employment There should also be radical reforms in education.
Although the socio-economic conditions in the country were not very good, all was not doom and gloom.

It was essential to recognize the s uccesses and build on them.

Presenter’s Response: He acknowledged that many of the questions were valid and needed to be taken into account.

Three areas required further clarification nonetheless.

While accepting that changes were taking place in the education sector, there was still low preparedness for the changes in economic activities that were emerging.
This explained the emphasis on transformative interventions in education, with particular focus on quality and relevance.

For long term employment, simple interventions like cash-for-work strategies were limited in their effects.

Top world standards for industrial and service sector activities must be the country’s foci.

The country needed a workforce prepared for the demands of the 21st century.
21 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Comments on considerations make sense; but we would need to think beyond them.

the proposed industrialisation were noted.


Climate change 22 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Session C: Presentations by Special Groups Chairperson: Father Vincent Davies ------------------------------------------------------------ A Sta tement from Ci vi l Soci ety Orga ni za ti ons Major civil society organizations (CSOs) comprise the National Resource and Economic Justice Platform .It works on issues of minerals, petroleum, forestry, fisheries, land and water resou rces.
The Platform acknowledged the initiative taken by the Conference to pay attention to the central role of natural resources in the development and transformation of the country.

Sierra Leone ’s natural resources should be made to have lasting sustainable and equitable benefits for the whole society.

This could be ensured by a robust system of transparency, accountability, and sustained good governance of these resources.
Affirming that natural resources were public property to which all citizens were entitled and that equitable benefits from their exploitation were similarly to be democratic, the National Resource and Economic Justice Platform submitted the following:        The exploitation and management of our natural resources should be founded on and gui ded by the framework of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, with particular reference to Article 21.
CSOs call for a moratorium on new medium and large-scale corporate mining leases and licenses until the policies, laws, and regulations had b een revised to be in alignment with the African Mining Vision, and to reflect the aspirations of the people.
Governance of natural resources should be pursued in ways that take cognizance of: public ownership, community involvement in the award of licenses and concessions, transparent reporting of revenues from mineral resources, and equitable distribution of wealth from natural resources, among others.

A Transformation and Development Fund - part of which would be set aside as Future Generation Fund and Social Development Fund – should be set up.

A national debate on land use should be launched.


It should facilitate the articulation of a comprehensive land use law and policy; A land and property cadastre system should be established.

Cross-border dialogue and engagement on management of the environment and natural resources should be initiated.

23 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference   Forestry and environmental management should incorporate training that focused on exploiting emerging opportunities.
This should include actions aimed at reducing emission, deforestation and degradation.

Natural resources should be exploited in ways that provide opportunities for down-stream and side-stream linkages with industry, technology, power, services, and so forth.

A meeting was held at Mile 91 on January 10th, 2012 to articulate the following youth position for the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation.
A Sta tement from the Youth In their vision of a transformed Sierra Leone, the youth desire the following:           A country where the rule of law was respected, CSOs were transparent, the ACC and Judiciary were independent and effective, youth political participation was increased to 30%, and where the population was gender-sensitive; Well-defined, transparent and country-friendly mining policies that regulate the exploitation of natural resources to benefit ordinary Sierra Leoneans; At least 20% of Corporate Social Responsibility funds from natural resources proceeds should be allocated to training youth for employment; Literacy rate of Sierra Leoneans should have increased to 80% by 2060; and more support for the learning environment should have been made with recognition for people with disabilities.
There should be a comprehensive review of the education system; A National Youth Service should be introduced There should be functional technical and vocational institutions, primary and secondary schools in all chiefdoms.

State of the art hospitals should be in all districts There should be health insurance for all Sierra Leoneans.

There should be stable economic growth, employment-friendly labour laws, and a vibrant and job creating private sector,.
24 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference  There should be well structured and functioning political institutions and a violence-free, transparent and fair elections.

A Sta tement from the Women The declaration of the women covered the four thematic areas that grouped the Conference activities.
For political and economic governance, the women of Sierra Leone wished to see: The establishment of an Independent Women’s Commission that will be responsible for the advancement of women and girls rights; The implementation of the Amendments to the 1991 constitution and, thus hope; That the revised Constitution would protect the rights of women and girls.
Under natural resources, they would like to see:         Priority given to women in trainings that could help them to compete for new skilled jobs in mining and other areas; Women having rights to property, particularly land whose full use will transform women’s standing in entrepreneurship; More programmes for women; A country that manages natural resources well, with a significant part of their proceeds being used for adult literacy; All aspects of women’s health should be given equal recognition and properly funded; Actions should be taken to ensure that women and girls enter education fields previously perceived as male-exclusive, such as science and technology.
Proper documentation of the Conference’s recommendations The documented recommendations should be made accessible to all.

A Sta tement from Pers ons wi th Di s a bi l i ti es : The community of persons with disabilities and organizations of the disabled held many deliberations pertaining to issues exclusively related to disability and wider 25 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference development issues affecting all citizens of Sierra Leone.
People living with disabilities general believe that the Sierra Leone society has a negative perception of them.

They contend that broader society find it difficult to perceive people living with disabilities as people with potentials other than evident physical, sensory, mental or other long-term impairment.
Their recommendations to government, other potential supporters and employers are as follows:            The establishment of a Ministry on Disability Issues; The establishment of a disability unit in every government ministry and in the Office of the President; Government should support organizations that work on disability issues; The Braille printing press in the Government Printing Department should be reactivated; The institution of free education, free transportation, and free healthcare for disabled persons; By November 2012, the government should have honoured the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendation that there should be 10% youth and 30% women representation in parliament; 10% of the 30% quota for women should be reserved for disabled women; Establishment of a housing scheme for disabled persons; Employers should employ persons with disabilities as outlined in the country ’s Disability Policy; Government should support all orthopaedic centres that supply devices to persons with disabilities; Government should communicate to universities that persons with disabilities be given full scholarships and not be required to pay 50% of the fees prior to admission or before the taking of exams.
A Sta tement from Pa ra mount Chi efs Chieftaincy, including Paramount Chieftaincy is part of the governance structure in Sierra Leone.

Paramount chiefs are key in the process of development and transformation because they play traditional roles in maintaining law and order, providing security for their people and preserving culture.
The following are the Paramount Chiefs’ recommendations on Sierra Leone development and transformation in the next fifty years:   Good governance in Sierra Leone should be founded on solid human rights, education, efficient service delivery and an economy capable of sustaining the weight of our Sierra Leoneans’ fifty-year aspirations; Education that support the basic needs and the relevant manpower for industry; 26 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference          Sierra Leoneans must continue to uphold traditional practices and discourage those practices that were not in conformity with principles of good governance and human rights; Proper management of our maritime and land resources to benefit future generations ; A focus on agricu lture, including production, transportation, shipment of raw materials and the processing of these raw materials into finished products; A specialist approach should be developed that will develop and benefit Farmers Associations and Farmers Co-operatives; Mining laws and rights should be grafted into the parent laws of the country.
(It is believed that separate agreements with mining companies allow them to operate outside Sierra Leone’s laws).

Efficient and effective delivery of services in various sectors of the economy, e.g.

health, road, water, energy infrastructure, etc.


; Devolution of functions ( in the decentralisation process) such as the building of feeder roads, providing healthcare and the construction of schools to Chiefdom Councils; Paramount Chiefs should continue to play a critical role in building and sustaining the peace in their chiefdoms; Local council elections should be done on a non-partisan basis.
27 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference A Sta tement from Fa rmers Farmer’s organisations have been formed in order to improve agricultural productivity in Sierra Leone.

Agriculture falls within the Management of Natural Resources theme.
The following are what farmers would like to see done:           The establishment of a Farmers Commission that could provide technical expertise to the agricultural sector; The opening of Agricultural Banks for farmers that would provide lower interest rates on loans.
; A review of arrangements for investing in land that will ensure benefit for all; The establishment of a database for all farmers’ organisations; The identification and promotion of commercial farmers’ organisations; involvement of Farmer’s their The implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, thereby enhancing the capacity of farmer’s organisations and community -based organisations; in designing agricultural projects, Government should set up community farms at chiefdom level, Government should improve road links to markets for agricultural produce.
More training should be provided for small and poor farmers to grow.
The establishment of a farmer’s radio station that will provide farming-related information to farmers Church Group Sta tement We the members of the Church/ Body of Christ in Sierra Leone comprising member institutions of the Catholic Mission, Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, the Evangelical Fellowship of SL, the Pentecostal Fellowship of SL and all specialized Christian networks including Intercessors for Sierra Leone and SEN, recognizing our identity in Christ Jesus and having been an integral part of the SLCDT preparatory process view this conference as a window of opportunity that is ushering a new era for Sierra Leone.
We present to the people and nation of Sierra Leone God ’s biblical principles and guidelines for development and transformation as our position which is embodied in His word the Bible and operated by His Holy Spirit.

We note from 2 Chronicles 7:14 28 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference that it is humility, prayer, repentance, and living right with God and each other in love that bring us to realize His promise of forgiveness of our sins and healing of our land.
By reason of this foundation, the land and its people will enjoy the abundant life promised us in the gospel.

We recommend that the Church becomes a moral guarantor of the recommendations of this conference implying that the Church and the people be involved in monitoring progress being made as the recommendations of the conference are implemented.

We herald that the independence jubilee brought a new era of release, repentance, revival, reconciliation, restoration to our be loved nation.
This transformation and development conference part of this a vehicle for our journey to the Promised Land.

The conference comes at the brink of a Passover from poverty and stagnation to the abundant life promised us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
DAY 3: February 1, 2012 Session D: The Secretariat’s report Chairperson: Ms. Andrina Coker ------------------------------------------------------------ THE MARCH TO PROSPERITY Presented by Herbert M’cleod, Coordinator, SLCDT The content of the ‘March to Prosperity’ was the outcome of the consultations on, and analyses of the transformative issues that would influence the country ’s rapid progress towards the desired goals in 2035 and beyond.
This is complemented by recommendations in the areas of Citizens Rights and Responsibilities, Accountability and the Rule of Law, and Human Development, all of which will be presented later.

The Secretariat had consulted a wide range of groups across the country.

A consensus had been reached on many areas.

In addition, a number of issues had been presented here by the special groups.

In all, a wide range of ideas and suggestions for the country’s transformation were now available.
For the current meeting however, the presentation consisted of the key issue s that were considered transformative and critical to successful rapid growth.

Sierra Leoneans desire peace, prosperity and happiness through development and transformation.

Development and growth will draw largely on the exploitation of natural resources and related activities in the short-run.

In the medium-term, the country must diversify its economic structure to enjoy sustainable growth.
The pace and extent to 29 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference which the multiplier effects of natural resource exploitation will permeate the rest of the economy can only be determined with adequate socio-economic data.

A social accounting matrix or scenario planning exercise would be required in the near future but more specific details should be included in a medium term plan.
What was being presented at the meeting was a series of recommendations that should be incorporated into government’s and other stakeholders’ programmes to attain the goals set for 2035 and beyond.

The recommendations of the conference were therefore not directed at governments alone but to all Sierra Leoneans.
The proposed march to prosperity and the envisaged middle income status in twenty- five to fifty years would require the following: • • • • Management of our natural resources more efficiently in the interest of current and future generations; Management of our economy more efficiently with greater emphasis on the expansion of business; Pursuit of development that focuses on the needs of all peoples; and Setting up of a competitive industrial sector.
The key issues to be pursued are as follows: Land: As the source of livelihoods for the majority of the population, land is central to Sierra Leone’s development.

Therefore, land use must be enhanced to create wealth and promote local development.

A national debate on land tenure and land use that would ultimately inform the rapid adoption of a comprehensive land policy must be launched urgently.

This should include ascertaining and registering ownership and addressing challenges related to land use .
Agriculture: agricultural production should be rationalised by employing methods and research that would optimize yield and by complementing smallholder commercialisation projects with large-scale agricultural production, and animal husbandry.

Natural Resources  Environment; there are emerging opportunities for wealth-creation from the environment and its conservation that should be exploited.

Example of the latter is reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).
Furthermore, the country must promote a culture of protection and preservation, and l aunch special initiatives for cross-border management of natural resources.

 Other natural resources: 30 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference            There should be special attention to securing optimal benefits from the operations of large-scale foreign and local investments in the use and exploitation of natural resources., Agreements between government and these companies must be transparent.
Reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation and conservation must be factored in the operations of natural resource based companies There should be a new system for negotiating mining agreements that would include significant local community participation.

Mining agreements, for example should be published.

This template of broad community consultation, transparency and accountability in the affairs of the country should be applied to all sectors of the economy.
A moratorium on new large-scale mining leases should be instituted and enforced until a comprehensive geological survey, revision of the Mining Act of 2009, and institutional restructuring were completed.

The moratorium should be instituted immediately.

A Transformation Development Fund (TDF) should be set up.
Eighty percent (80%) of proceeds from minerals and oil should be allocated to this fund and should be invested in education, reducing socially-constructed infrastructure, and health and inequalities, like the gap between the rich and the poor, gender imbalances, youth and the disabled.

in key de velopment programmes, towards The TDF should become operational within six months.
For better economic management, policies should be designed for revenue management, reinforcement of independence of the Central Bank, and adopting a longer term planning perspective; The desired economic growth should be employment friendly.

There should be initial massive public investment in rural infrastructure gradually complemented by the private sector that would also generate employment.
In all of these proposed options, the potential human capital of women as sources for, and implementers of development must be recognised and given priority at all levels.

31 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference  A major initiative to improve statistical systems for regular data collection and analysis in both public and private sectors would be required.

This would facilitate important planning and analyses.
in self- Private sector role: The private sector should reorganisation and play a more active role in policy-making and self-promotion if it is to become the engine of growth.

The Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce should take the lead.

Within six months, to design a policy that focuses on incentives to attract indigenous investors and returning Diaspora entrepreneurs.
It should also mobilize aggressively to capture links in the value chain of foreign investment, rather than foc us on legislating quotas to be met by foreign companies.
immediately engage Promoting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Given the level of informality of small businesses, there is a need: to design innovative financial mechanisms to improve access to credit; identify opportunities for indigenous contractors to participate in foreign investment in natural resource supply chain; and to institute regulatory incentives and develop an enabling environment for new financing companies and tools production.
There should be emphasis on innovations, critical thinking and problem-solving and on science and technology in education.

Public sector support (PSP) and public private partnerships (PPP) are needed to raise the level of these categories of actors to become part of the engine of growth.

The management of the national gateway should allow multiple fibre-optic sources by autonomous operators.
Infrastructure: The relative absence or dysfunction of the country’s infrastructure is recognised as one of the major impediments to development efforts.

A large part of the Transformation Fund should therefore be used for infrastructure; transport, energy, water supply etc.
In the power sector, a national electricity power grid should be designed as a basis for the long-term transportation policy under preparation should be comprehensive to include roads, rail, river, and ports and should be widely published.

investments and development the power sector.


Similarly, in 32 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Enha nci ng Huma n Devel opment Presented by Isaac Massaquoi - Comprehensive education Education involving curriculum review, considerations for relevance for rapid growth and responsiveness to 21st century needs should be undertaken.

There must also be transformative approaches to service delivery; particularly exploring PPPs in the area of technical and vocational education.
reforms The tertiary education reforms proposed include recognition of and support for centers of excellence, provision of targeted scholarships, and reorganization of university administration to eliminate political interference.
Health - There should be free preventive health services at points of delivery, universal access to family planning, and the establishment of a National Health Insurance scheme.. Housing - Aggressive measures should be taken to use low-cost, locally-available materials for housing, especially low-income housing Social Service Delivery - The role of the State in social service delivery should be revisited.

It should effectively be reduced to regulatory oversight.
Alternative delivery mechanisms stressing value for money should be explored instead.

There should be PPP/Regulatory reforms to facilitate delivery by CBOs and NGOs.
Ci ti zens ’ Ri ghts a nd Res pons i bi l i ti es , Accounta bi l i ty a nd the Rul e of La w,Presented by Dr. M S Kargbo In the recommendations under this section, Sierra Leoneans are being called upon to: take responsibility for monitoring and preserving public assets and natural resources; engage in nationwide civic and environmental campaigns; uphold social values and culture; promote national history and cultural education; maintain the transformation process; promote community participation.
The laws and regulations in the country must reinforce citizens’ rights and improve political, economic, and social rights; introduce local monitoring systems; participate and represent in a manner that limits “winner takes all ” in elections; revisit proportional representation; reinforce parliamentary accountability; complete constitutional amendment by December 2013; and promote effective participation in economic management.
Accountability and the Rule of Law: 33 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference The current weaknesses in accountability and the rule of law are due to horizontal and vertical relationships of the Judiciary which limit the institution ’s effectiveness and credibility.

The Judiciary itself must make proposals for action.

Actions must be taken to limit the current extensive discretionary authority enjoyed by public officials.
These powers of discretion should be supplemented by more robust checks and balances, as well as the use of independent monitoring and reporting on such use.

Accountability for results at all levels of the public service to improve performance, and productivity should be introduced.

A comprehensive and sequenced programme of results-based management should be initiated at all levels over the coming years.
The integrity of the state operations should be ensured through oversight and watchdog initiatives by citizens in order to reduce the level of inequalities now apparent.

through Enhancing Human development: Rapid programmes for adult literacy (with an emphasis on functional literacy).

A National Youth Service scheme should be established and community mobilization and employer responsibility for adult literacy and numeracy be encouraged.
literacy must be pursued Impl ementa ti on Mecha ni s ms : Dri vi ng the Tra ns forma ti on Proces s , Presented by Dr. M S Kargbo To ensure that the transformation process maintains momentum, stays on track and delivers desired results, three factors are key; po litical leadership, government’s ability to deliver and the citizen’s capacity to hold them accountable.

Government’s ability to deliver depends on the performance of the civil service.
The current structure has hardly changed since colonial times, an era when the public service did less to provide service to the people and more to respond to the needs of the metropolis and configured with the appropriate administrative architecture then.

There is thus the need for a complete re-design of the Civil Service to meet the demands of the 21st century and the specific needs of Sierra Leone.

The reconstructed public sector should eliminate duplication and waste.
These structural reforms should take place before proceeds from the oil start to flow in.

34 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Session E: An experience from abroad Chairperson: Ms Yasmine Jusu Sheriff ------------------------------------------------------------ BIHAR’s (India) TRANSFORMATION EXPERIENCE Presented by S.K.

Modi, Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar, India Hon.


Sushil K. Modi noted that despite the obvious differences between Sierra Leone and Bihar State in India, there were a number of similarities between the two geo- political entitiess.

Firstly, both had high levels of poverty, low levels of energy consumption and poor human develo pment indicators.
Secondly, both experienced gradual erosion of State institutions, high levels of corruption and unemployment and lawlessness -- the crystallization of which led to the outbreak of the rebel war in 1991in the case of Sierra Leone.

.

Hon.

Modi noted that some of the key components needed in building effective States included: an efficient taxation system and institutions that can effectively use government revenues to provide the goods and services that citizens required.
Importantly, the State must provide an effective law and order system that gave citizens the confidence to engage in economic activities.

He gave several examples of measures taken to make change happen.

He specified the effectiveness of the use of incentives to change behaviour and the primacy of good – with political leaders being good models for the rest of society.
His central message was that even in situations much worse than Sierra Leone’s, change was possible in less than a decade through strong leadership, setting and working towards clear goals, and carefully-crafted policy.

Questions, Comments and Answers During the questions and answer session, questions included:    How Bihar State navigated the problems that programmes like free healthcare delivery and other new initiatives posed?
What environmental issues emerged during Bihar’s transformation drive and how did the State address such issues?

How were disability transformation?

: issues handled or accommodated in Bihar ’s 35 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference   Whether there were traditional authorities in Bihar?

If so, what roles did they play?, How cultural barriers in the march to transformation were handled?

Responses from Hon.

Modi A major problem that the free healthcare faced was insufficiency of doctors.
Another problem was that of efficacious medicines that were suitable to people of different ages.

There were also procurement and storage problems, particularly in the rural areas.

    featured in every step of Environmental considerations the Bihar’s transformation march.

Bihar embarked on extensive planting of permanent tree crop.

‘We are still providing incentives for children to plant trees.

Only minimal mining is going on in the State.

In fact, we have banned mining ’, he added.


Sierra Leone’s topography however may be different; and that would call for different approaches to environmental management.

Bihar had an on-going campaign to identify every disabled person in all the villages and towns.

There was a reservation of 3% of government jobs for persons with disabilities.

There was also available a pension scheme providing every disabled person with the equivalent of $4.

00 a day.

There were no traditional rulers in Bihar.


Women were empowered during Bihar’s transformation and were still being empowered.

Session F. Reactions of the meeting.

Chairpersons: Ms Valnora Edwin and Mr. Abu Brima WORKING GROUP SESSIONS AND REPORTS After the presentation of the report of the Secretariat, participants were divided into ten working groups for the purpose of examining the secretariat’s presentations and reporting back to the plenary on the conference’s final recommendations.
Below are the summaries of the reports from the Working Groups.

 Government should ensure that Strategic Environmental Assessment is integrated in all policies, programmes and plans implemented in Sierra Leone.

Group I 36 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference        Tourism as a driving force for economic growth and wealth creation.

Government should, therefore, develop a comprehensive strategy to promote and market our tourism potential.
Government should do a comprehensive agricultural plan which incorporates commercialisation, innovation and value addition to increase competitiveness of Sierra Leone’s produce and products in the global market.

There should be a review of all present mining agreements; A moratorium should be imposed on the award of new exploration and mining licenses until a comprehensive review of the existing mineral resources is made available to the public.
A national power masterplan national power grid that would serve as a basis for investment should be developed .

There should be an establishment of an effective data collection and management system for policy making.

To implement the Conference’s decisions, Development and Economic Planning Departments and Ministry should be separated from the Ministry of Finance,  A new Planning Commission should be established.
       Group 2 That the conference’s conclusions should be circulated nationwide through large-scale sensitisation That there be a national debate on land tenure and land use That a moratorium be placed on all large-scale/commercial agreements that require massive investment on tracts of land Access to affordable credit for agricultural development; Introduction of appropriate technology in farming and food processing Availability of affordable agricultural equipment and logistics to improve agriculture; Increased investment in infrastructure that enhances agricultural development; 37 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference                     Inclusion of local content in large-scale agricultural activities of foreign companies; Crop diversification and value-chain addition; Consultations with farmers in policy making; A land suitability mapping to maximize agricultural productivity.
A review of the appropriateness of existing legislation and Acts on marine resources; The introduction and development of value addition industries; Gender mainstreaming in the marine industries; Training/modernization of artisanal sector; Improvement in monitoring and evaluation A review of policies, Acts and other legal framework; “Full life cycle cost as part of decision making for investment”; The use of best practices in Environmental Impact Assessments; Increased citizens’ capacity to enforce, audit and monitor environmental laws and agreements; The inclusion of environment in human rights campaigns; Introduce the REDD Scheme.
A future generation fund, financed by revenue from national resources whose use should be approved by parliament; A fund for development (infrastructure and social welfare) The allocation of a certain percentage of funds to the consolidated fund (for current development plans); The implementation of the recommendations of the Conference to be put into operation within six months after conclusion of the Conference Transparency in the review and publication of agreements, particularly related to mining; thereby removing secret and clauses harmful to the general interest of 38 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Sierra Leoneans; the inclusion of mining communities in the negotiations and agreements; Instituting a moratorium on all mining agreements until comprehensive geological surveys on the types and quantities on mineral that Sierra Leone has are completed; Revision of extant mining Acts The use of water for large investment projects be subject for negotiation.
Increased access to land for economic development; Group 3 A unified government policy on land use, acquisition and possession; and Enforcement of the rule of law Increased irrigation to diversify agricultural production and increase economic growth; Increased mechanization and industrialization of farming; Access to finance, coupled with a variety of inputs and product markets; A National Youth Service to assist in Agricultural development programmes; Increased and equitable access to agricultural land in the provinces; Increased participation of stakeholders (e.g.
local communities, women, land owners, chiefs, youth, government, investors and local councils) in exploration of, negotiations done on and operations of all natural resources (i.e.

mining, fishing, logging, etc); A local content policy to be enforced (employment and trading) in agreements; Effective adherence of companies exploiting the countries natural resources to their corporate social responsibilities.
These responsibilities should be aimed at education (primary, secondary, tertiary and technical vocational), development of hospitals, roads and restoration of the environment; and Increased employment of women and the physically challenged.

Enhanced revenue policy aimed at efficient revenue collection and 39                 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference                 Effective control and auditing to eliminate wastage and corruption.
Access to finance for SMEs; Entrepreneurship to be part of education in schools and tertiary institutions; Privatization of key industries (e.g.

telecom, utilities and banking); and Public Private Partnerships for infrastructure.

Strong citizens’ monitoring and preservation of public assets and natural resources through massive education; Group 4 Sensitisation of citizens on the laws that apply; Upholding social values and culture.
The national anthem be sung in all public occasions; Re-evaluation of the principle of and a possible return to Proportional Representation system; Measures to maintain and improve the integrity of the State security apparatus; Increased public scrutiny of public appointees to ensure integrity and accountability in public service; Increased scrutiny of the recruitment process in the justice delivery system; Improved conditions of service in the justice delivery institutions; A revisiting of the issue of composition of the Police Council to avoid political interference; A fixed tenure of office for the Inspector General of Police; Succession to any vacancy in the position of Inspector-General of Police should be based on the logical order of the Police hierarchy Group 5 40 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference                   Contestants for elections should have been residing in the ir constituencies for not less than three years; Nominations within political parties that reflect the wishes of the people the contestants intend to represent; The creation of the second chamber of parliament in the next five years; A minimum of 30% quota for women, 10% for youth, and 10% for people living with disabilities for all elective and selective positions; Separation of the Office of the Minister of Justice from the Office of the Attorney- General; People to have a say over the appointment of judges (i.e.
increased scrutiny); Passage of the Freedom of Information Bill before the closure of 2012 Session Parliament ; A comprehensive Civil Service law to replace the General Orders; The re-introduction of civic education into the education system by 2012/13 academic year; The creation of a semi-autonomous National Registration Centres and National Immigration service in all district headquarters; A border force by 2017; Enhanced capacity of the Police to fight new crimes; The development of national fire services and the provision of at least two fire engines in all districts; Local Council elections run on non-partisan lines; The creation of special courts for corruption cases.
A health sector focused on human resource development; Group 6 Improved management standards of facilities; and Improved sanitation and public health education; 41 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference                 better housing as a social service delivery; The enforcement of existing housing regulations regarding standards and separation of residential areas from commercial areas; and Development of country-palnning schemes to eradicate makeshifts (panbody) houses in the cities.
Legislation on education for early childhood and establishment of educational facilities for early childhood; A comprehensive educational reform and curriculum reviews at all levels; The effectiveness and efficiency in thefunding provided for education; An allocation of funds from GST to partially-fund education at all levels; The educational system to take cognizance of persons special need and peopl e with physical and mental challenges; Enforcement of the rights to education for all citizens; and Motivation of community colleges to network with technical and vocational institutions A revisiting of the role of the State in social service delivery; The establishment of continuous professional development programmes for public personnel (e.g.
teachers, nurses, etc.)

in social services delivery; and Improved incentives for workers in the social services sector Action to address the efficient management of the fund for social services delivery; A building of efficiency in the service delivery mechanism; and Improved service-user’s capacity to monitor service providers so as to improve accountability.
 A comprehensive reform of the education sector; Group 7 42 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference          Recruitment of Sierra Leoneans in the Diaspora and train a workforce of teachers; Education after working hours; Faith-based schools currently being assisted by government to be given back to their respective religious denominations; The establishment of an Education Trust Fund; Proper management of current resources available in the health sector; The passage of a Patient Bill of Rights; The establishment of a properly functioning Medical Board, with a unit for traditional medicine; Government investment on initial capital to ensure minimum standards and thereafter liberate the private sector to perform beyond those standards; and Government enforcement of sanctions when standards are violated by individuals and institutions.
         The establishment of a Trust Fund for housing; Group 8 10,000 houses in each district built by Government; The use of innovative technology and local materials in house construction; Proper housing management.
Improved adult education programmes; Curriculum development on Mining, Agriculture, Theatre and Cultural Performance, and basic skills in domestic life skills; Encouragement given to single parent mothers to improve on their skills; Education centres to be decentralised to cover other disadvantaged areas like Bonthe, Kailahun; Fast-tracking of the implementation of community colleges across the country; 43 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference      Comprehensive revamping of the whole education system from pre-school to tertiary/university; and Enforcement of the teachers’ code of conduct .
Specialist care in every provincial hospital; The Ministry of Health and Sanitation signing Citizens ’ Performance Charter; and Training of more medical personnel, particularly in maternal and child health A review of the Transformation and Development Commission every six (6) months; Group 9 The development of a Think Tank within the Commission; The Commission to report to the Chief of Staff The current SLCDT continue operations for three months to organise the formation of an Independent transformation commission; An independent and diversified staff to monitor the secretariat of the Transformation Commission; The dissemination of the report to the public; and Parliamentary approval of the conference’s report Group 10 Parliamentary enactment of a People ’s Bureau that consists of represe ntatives of the Inter-Religious Council, the National Union of Sierra Leone Students, Civil Society Organisations, the Council of Paramount Chiefs, the media, people living with disabilities, the youth, women and children; A People’s Bureau that ensures th at all political parties’ manifestos conform to the Sierra Leone Conference manifesto; scrutinises all facets of governance; and annually produces a report card for Parliament and civil society; and           A People’s Bureau provided with a Technical Supporting Committee 44 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Comments from the plenary Most of the comments from the audience supported the recommendations of the various groups.
Several speakers endorsed the calls for a review of all mining agreements, a compilation of comprehensive data on existing natural resources, separation of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development into two separate entities, and for a national debate on land tenure system.

There were also calls for the establishment of a National Commission on the Childs Right Act.

It was also recommended that the Inter Religious Council should sign the conference report.
45 Final Draft Proceedings of the Conference Session G: The Conclusions CHAIRPERSON DR KEIFALA MARAH Final Session Chairperson Dr Keifala Marah, Chief of Staff office of the President, MC Mr Ismael Koroma SLCDT The session started with traditional dances, after which Dr Marah made a short statement on the importance of the meeting and of the rigorous follow-up envisaged.

Rev M Kaiwo then presented the authors of the winning essays for the inter secondary school competition.
The title of the essay was “Describe the Sierra Leone you like to see in the Sierra Leone you would like to see in 25 years ”.

The winner was Michael Bengah of the Sierra Leone Grammar School.

Mr. Mohamed Gibril-Sesay, of the SLCDT, read the Conference Declaration.

Dr. Marah then requested the participants to adopt the declaration by acclamation; the response was an enthusiastic approval.

The Vice President presented the closing remarks.


The Vi ce Pres i dent’s cl os i ng rema rks a t the Si erra Leone Conference The Vice President, Alhaji Sam-Sumana, reiterated fifty years of Independence, Sierra Leone’s progress had not matched the country’s potentials and its immense natural resources.

At Independence, the country did not set specific targets for the future and had not collectively decided as a nation, on key policies to adopt.
The result was decline rather than growth, conflict rather than peace and stability.

The Conference was a second chance for Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans to get things right.

that after He observed that the three-day Conference was the culmination of an intensive series of consultations to set the foundation for getting the country on a sound socio- economic footing in the next twenty-five years.
He cautioned that history will j udge us if we failed to embrace this second chance to develop that collective sense of purpose and patriotism which should steer the country to middle income status in 25 years and a developed country in 50.

He further urged Sierra Leoneans to put aside petty differences and participate in the rebirth of the nation.

The Conference ended with a vote of thanks by the Deputy Youth Commissioner, Ms Aminata Silla.
She thanked the organisers of the Conference, the participants and the entirety of the Sierra Leone an populace for supporting the process and reminded them that they will be the main force for driving the development and transformation process forward.

46 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups 5.
CONFERENCE DECLARATION Declaration made at The Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation, held at Miatta Conference Hall, Freetown, on 30th January-1st - February 2012 The Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation is the culmination of five (5) months of extensive consultations throughout the country consisting of various groups and organizations; through focused group discussions, specialist papers presented at technical workshops; District Town hall meetings at district level, radio and television discussions, as well as interviews with key stakeholders.
On the 31st of January 2012, His Excellency the President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma formally opened the Conference as a practical demonstration of his commitment to taking up the challenge of the pronouncement of this Conference which he made on the eve of the Jubilee celebration of our independence.
After two days of intensive discussions and interactions among participants, the Conference declared as follows: We the people of Sierra Leone: Preamble Desirous of charting the development of our country at this critical time in our history; Convinced that the considerable endowments of our country in the talents of its people, the vigor of its youth, the richness of its culture, its respect for religious diversity, the vastness of its natural resources destine Sierra Leone for a prosperous future; Recognizing that some of the failures of past generations to exploit these endowments in a judicious and caring manner for the benefit of the vast majority of our people have been the main source of our underdevelopment as a nation; Realizing that no country can develop without a strong sense of patriotism amongst its citizens; 47 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups Determined to lift our people out of poverty, create wealth and transform our country into middle-income status within the next 25 years; Resolute to avoid the mistakes of the past as we now march forward on the road to consolidating peace, unity and prosperity; Having consulted extensively with Sierra Leoneans from all walks of life and through the electronic media in the 12 districts and the Western Area, inc luding the Diaspora on what they want Sierra Leone to look like in the next 25 to 50 years and how best to achieve this goal.
Now declare the following Principles and Framework for the Transformation of Sierra Leone into a Middle Income Country and an Adva nced Economy within the Next 25 to 50 years.
Principles of Accountability, Equity, and Inclusion  The social, political and economic transformation shall be conducted in a transparent manner and subject to best practices of accountability, integrity, equity and efficiency;   Every Sierra Leonean must take pride in the country and develop a strong sense of nationalism as we move forward on our journey to prosperity; The conduct of the business of Government shall be inclusive, taking into consideration the need for equity across gender, region, disability and age in the distribution of national positions and resources;  Taxation is paramount and should be bench-marked against best practices in resource rich countries and such other countries that are successfully transforming themselves into middle-income and advanced economies;  Paying tax is an obligation of all citizens and companies operating in Sierra Leone.
All must pay their taxes to enable the government fulfill its commitments; 48 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups  The rule of law is fundame ntal to the transformation exercise.

Robust mechanisms for ensuring adherence to laws and regulations by all, regardless of station in life, must be established;  There must be special attention to ensuring justice for the common man and woman in the courts of the land.
This would require the establishment of comprehensive legal aid systems, intensive legal education programs for all sectors of the population, curbing corruption within the judiciary, effective supervision and training programmes for officials dispensing justice in the local courts, as well as civil society monitoring of the judiciary;  Investment in education, infrastructure, including affordable housing, and health systems should be given highest priority and be equitably distributed in all districts and regions of the country.
Framework for Exploitation and Management of Natural Resources  No new mining agreement should be signed by the Government of Sierra Leone without a comprehensive analysis by the government of the known quantities and extent of that mineral resource available in the country;  There must be established for the purposes of negotiating agreements a unit staffed by professionals in negotiation, complemented by experts and officials in relevant state institutions and outside support where necessary;  Relocation of local populations should be avoided as much as possible, where this is unavoidable, housing and other facilities must be better than in the original settlement and adequate compensation should be paid to affected populations;  There should be adopted a culture of sustainable and judicious exploitation and investment of proceeds from the natural resources, ensuring the protection and preservation of the environment against degradation, access to potable water, and the protection of our marine stock and local ecologies;  To reduce conflicts over ownership of land and to ensure maximum, judicious and sustainable utilization of land resources, a national debate on land use 49 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups should be launched to prepare for a comprehensive land use and land tenure policy;  There should be developed a robust security system to counteract threats to the state and its people;   Framework for allocation of State Resources There should be established a Special Transformation Fund using 80% of proceeds derived from the extraction of natural resources; The Special Transformation Fund should be allocated to education - for agriculture, entrepreneurship, employment and promoting resilience in the globalized world; infrastructural development - energy, water, roads, rail, ports; and a comprehensive health system.
Allocations of The Special Transformation Fund shall not be utilized for purposes other than those specified herein except with the expressed consent of parliament;  The country must undertake a comprehensive reform of the educational system including, a review of curricula to make education relevant and responsive to 21st century needs and rapid growth, while promoting programs for childhood education, adult and functional literacy, community mobilization as well as technical and vocational education and training.
Quality and standards in the educational system must be enforced;  There should be established, as part of The Special Transformation Fund,   mechanisms to ensure the full and equal participation of women, youths and th e physically challenged in the socio-economic and political life of the nation; Tourism must be developed as a priority mega program as well as an important source of revenue, national pride and livelihood; There should be established an effective and efficient economic management system to enhance macro-economic stability and job creation for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The Conference recommends inter alia, changes in revenue management and monetary independence, a transition from 3 – 5 year PRSP to 7-year development plans, a holistic approach to 50 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups employment policy and programs incorporating private sector, and responsive to gender, youth employment and the physically and mentally challenged;  To enable women and men to have equitable and easier access to financial resources in urban and rural areas, proposals to monetize personal assets in those environments should be formulated within eighteen months;  In order to transform private sector into a veritable engine of growth, the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture must be re-organized to play a more catalytic and leadership role, incentives should be introduced to prioritize innovation and entrepreneurship, promote small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) as well as attract indigenous investors and returning Diaspora entrepreneurs;  A comprehensive transportation program to include road, rail, river and ports as a mechanism for accelerating economic growth and reducing poverty should be completed within 18 months; and  Training in entrepreneurship, modern business development methods, networking and access to information technology should be intensified to increase the participation of women and other disadvantaged groups by 50% within five years.
Framework for implementation  An implementation schedule for the transformation should be developed.
The schedule should contain benchmarks for monitoring the progress of implementation;    An annual national stock taking conference on the progress and implementation of the transformation should be organized; Implementation of the transformation should be spearheaded by a citizens ’ committee and a secretariat; The Citizens’ Committee shall be headed by the President of the Republic and comprise representatives from political parties, women’s groups, civil society, religious groups, chiefs, youths, the physically challenged and local councils.
The secretariat shall be staffed by experts who report to the Citizens ’ Committee 51 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups and service the Annual Stocktaking Conference on the Progress o f the Transformation;  A comprehensive Diaspora strategy and program of action to situate the Sierra Leone Diaspora at the heart of the transformation must be designed and acted upon;  The final report of the Conference, due to be completed in two weeks, sha ll constitute the framework for further action.
This declaration shall be laid before parliament 52 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups 6.
STATEMENTS BY SPECIALIZED GROUPS CIVIL SOCIETY PLATFORM ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE (NAREJ) –SIERRA LEONE CIVIL SOCIETY COMMUNIQUE ON NATURAL RESOURCE GOVERNANCE IN SIERRA LEONE PRESENTED AT THE SIERRA LEONE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DEVELOPMENT & TRANSFORMATION– 30TH JANUARY 2012 At this National Conference on Development and Transformation in Sierra Leone, We, the member organizations of the Natural Resource and Economic Justice (NAREJ) Platform, that is steered by the Network Movement for Justice & Development (NMJD) comprising all the major CSOs engaged on Solid Minerals, Petroleum, Forestry, Fisheries, Land and Water resources sectors acknowledge the initiative to pay attention to the cardinal role natural resources have in the development and transformation of the nation.
The Natural Resource and Economic Justices Platform (NAREJ) wish to reaffirm here that most natural resources especially minerals are God given, not renewable, constitute public property.

All citizens are therefore entitled to equitable enjoyment of the benefits that flow from their exploitation.
Let us recall that Africa as a Continent is already advanced in putting mechanisms in place to optimize the exploitation of natural resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development (AMV 2009).
In February 2009, at their Assembly, the AU Heads of State and government requested “member states to improve their mineral resource policies, establish appropriate institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks, and invest in human skills, research and development, and geological and geophysical data that are critical for efficient and effective management of mineral resources”.
We therefore want to see our natural resources utilized for the creation of wealth, sustainable development and productivity for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans.

Thus, Sierra Leone’s natural resource endowment (land, marine, mine rals, oil, forest, water) should be transformed into lasting benefits for the society in a sustainable and equitable manner, through the transparent, accountable, equitable and sustainable governance of these resources.
For this to happen we need to see the exploitation and management of our natural resources through the lenses of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) with particular reference to Article #21.
KEY DEMANDS OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE MARCH FORWARD For our natural resources to serve as driver of our development and transformation, we demand the following; 53 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups      Put a Moratorium on new medium and large-scale corporate mining leases and licenses until the policies, laws, regulations are reviewed/developed to align with the African Mining Vision (AMV) and that reflect the demands and aspirations of the citizens.
The Governance of natural resources entails (1)recognition of public ownership of the resources; (2) community involvement in and transparent award of Licenses and licensees and Concessions; (3) Effective monitoring of concessionaires; (4) transparent reporting of payments and revenues; (5) equitable and accountable distribution of mineral revenues; (6) Sustainable development policies , etc the operations of The urgent review o f all corporate mining lease agreements that have shortchanged the country and peoples by going against the relevant laws e.g.
MMR Act 2009, Income Tax Act etc.

Holding of separate national conference of Natural Resource governance to come up with “natural resource governance Charter” to inform all laws, Policies, regulations and mechanisms in the natural resource sector.

Clear vision of the role of natural resources in national development and key strategies for using natural resources for transforming and diversifying the national economy should be developed.
 That all policies, laws, regulations and systems be aligned with the African mining vision, African Charter on human and peoples’ Right and other relevant international Human Rights standards.

 That a participatory, inclusive and transparent negotiating process for all agreements for the sector be regularised as a matter of urgency.
  In line with the African Mining Vision and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and to ensure the integrated management of natural resources there is need to establish and strengthen a Natural Resource Commission to regulate the activities of the natural resource industries.
Set up a Transformation and Development Fund – percentage of which is to be slated as Future Generational Fund; another percentage as Social Development Fund with emphasises on manpower and skills development for natural resource sector.

 Restructure our educational system to develop manpower and skills for the natural resource sector.

54 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups  That a national debate on land use be launched for the adoption of a comprehensive land use.
 Develop a land/property cadastre system for the development of a land tenure policy – outcomes of the national debate.

 That a cross-border initiative be launched for environmental management and joint management of natural resources.

 An outcome of the national conference on natural resources should inform the development of a national policy on water noting water as a natural resource; usage of which for industrial purposes should benefit the immediate population and beyond.
Effective oversight of the sector/industry by Civil Society and the legislature over the operations of corporate entitles that engage in natural resource and exploitation in Sierra Leone.

 Forestry/environmental policies should focus on constant training so as to exploit emerging opportunities to reduced emission, deforestation, degradation plus conservation.
 The natural resource sector catalyses and contributes to the broad-based growth and development of Sierra Leone through  Down-Stream linkages into beneficiation and manufacturing  Up-Stream linkages into capital goods, consumables and services industries  Side-Stream linkages into infrastructure (power, logistics, communications, water) and skills and technology development  Mutually beneficial partnerships between the state, the private sector, civil society, local communities and other stakeholders.
We implore the conference participants who are themselves genuine Serra Leoneans consider these demands seriously for our natural resources to be the engine for the transformation of Sierra Leone.

END For further information contact –Abu A. Brima (NMJD), Aminata Kelly-Lamin – 076 651 755 (NMJD) , Sahr Kendema – 076356691 (CGG), Haji Bah – 076717096 (CJM), Joseph Rahall – 076 601979 (Green Scenery).
55 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups CONCERNS OF MEMBERS OF THE 50/50 GROUP OF SIERRA LEONE          Promote Women’s Human Rights, advocate gender equality and raise awareness of gender issues that will remove obstacles that impede the advancement of women throughout society; Advocate that Women’s Human Rights be the guiding principle in all aspects of our national and local endeavours, particularly, in the application of Customary Law.
Women must be given a right to Education, inheritance, marriage, sexual and reproductive health, religion, justice, camera hearings for rape cases, work and earn a living, self-realisation, participate in decision-making at national, local and household levels in all fields of endeavour.
Women who constitute 52% of the population must participate actively in all aspects of democratic governance including all elections; socio-cultural and traditional barriers that impede the full participation of women in governance at national and local levels must be eliminated; Political parties must ensure that at least 50% of candidates on their party lists are women and must use the zipper system i.e.
alternate the names of women and men on their list; Political parties must prioritise the concerns and interests of women, youth, children and the marginalised groups in Policy Development and implementation; Voters must consider candidates and parties that give priority to issues that are important to women, youth children and marginalised groups.
The President must increase the number of women in leadership and decision making positions in Ministries, Parastatals, and Diplomatic Missions at home and abroad to at least 30% as prescribed by the Beijing Platform for Action, to which Sierra Leone is a signatory; taking into consideration professionalism and competence.

 Government and Parliament must prioritise the concerns and interests of women, youth and children in Legislation, Policy Development and implementation.
56 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups      Government must provide free family planning services in all Government Health centres and Hospitals.

Government must ensure that the girl child grows in a safe and secure environment that will enable her to develop to her full potential; The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Media Institutions must ensure that women participate in all programmes.
Schools, through the Ministry of Education must set up media education as part of their curriculum and set up media clubs in schools.

Government must provide quality education for women by creating institutions for training women in politics including incumbents and aspirants, so that they can be abreast with global and local developmental changes.

These institutions should be up to the tertiary level and beyond.
57 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups Proposals and Recommendations from the Farmers of Sierra Leone to the SLCDT National Farmers’ Association Sierra Leone is a small country with a land area of 71.620 sq km 74% of which is cultivable.

The climate and ecological conditions of Sierra Leone are suitable for all year round agriculture.

However, only 34% of the arable land is under cultivation and the availability of sufficient food remains a problem.
Agriculture is a key factor in meeting the challenges of food security, wealth creation and t he provision of employment for a majority of the population.

It accounts for 45% of gross domestic product and contributes a quarter of the total export earnings with over two thirds of the population directly or indirectly involved.
Farmers constitute the bulk of those engaged in agriculture and have constituted themselves into a number of organizations in order to improve agricultural productivity in Sierra Leone.

The Sierra Leone National Conference on development and transformation has identified five themetic areas of priority and agriculture falls within the area of managing natural resources.
The following recommendations are an attempt by the farmers of Sierra Leone to contribute to the national dialogue in transforming Sierra Leone after fifty years of independence.

With regard to the next 25-50 years of planning for the agriculture sectors, farmers recommend the following:  To improve accessibility to funds and loans at lower interest rates by setting up an agriculture bank for farmers.
 Establish a Farmer Commission through an Act of Parliament to: o o o Provide technical assistance and expertise to the agricultural sector; Facilitate devolution of responsibilities from Government to farmers and farmers’ institutions; Supervise and monitor activities of farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture in the distribution of agricultural inputs to farmers; Enhance tree crops development in the country for e.g.

oil palm, cashew nuts, cocoa and coffee for exports.
 Regenerate and direct the activities of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee to take robust action in the interest of farmers and farmers’ institutions nation wide.

58 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups    Restore Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC) programme of farming today and to give nation wide coverage of the activities of farmers in their villages and farms.
Revisit arrangements for investing in land to benefit land owners, investors as well as farmers located in the area.

Establish water transport linking Calaba Town and Lumley by launch, boat or ferry to enable farmers easily transport their produce to the markets.

In addition, the farmers are making the following requests:                Establish data base for all farmers’ organization, recognized Federation and the FBOs which could lead to commodity farmer’s association formation.
Promote and identify commercial farmers’ organizations.

Give soft loans and low percentage interest to farmers.

Ensure that farmers are involved in agriculture project design; implementation, monitoring and evaluation and strengthen farmers organization and CBOs and provide long term funding.

Set up government farms through communities (Chiefdom) etc Intensify food extraction roads linking to market.

Encourage various food processing.


Improve on land lease conditions and arrangement as poor farmers need protection, from outsides coming (Land grabbers).

Improve on settlement between crop farmers and livestock famers.

Add more training to small and poor farmers for them to grow.

Improve on adaptive research together with farmers Farmers must participate in the monitory excise.
Environmental practice must be link with farmers to properly manager the environment Improve farmers health ie TB, HIV/ AIDS and blindness etc.

Teach farmers on insecticides and pest management.

59 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups     Enforce there claiming mined areas for the benefit of farmers.

Livestock and fishery must be supported Food security must consider in light of various food stuff including vegetable.

Establish famer radio station across the country.


60 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups National Council of Paramount Chiefs PARAMOUNT CHIEFS POSITION PAPER 1.
The Steering Committee for the Sierra Leone conference on Development and Transformation engaged the Executive Committee of the National Council of Paramount Chiefs in a one-day meeting in the Kenema City Council Conference Hall on the 18th January 2012 an d presented positions derived from discussions previously conducted with various stakeholders and interest groups with a view to seeking the position of the National Council for Paramount Chiefs on the issues raised in those conclusions and any other position it holds on issues not covered in the presentations made by operatives of the steering committee.
2.

After lengthy discussions and analysis it became very clear that the Executive Committee of the National Council of Paramount Chiefs was in broad agreement with the issues raised and gave notification that whilst there was broad agreement on the generality of the positions, some specific details would be required to put some of the issues in clear perspective.

3.
3.

Accordingly, the chiefs withdrew into a group session to look into four-thematic areas covering: a) Citizens’ rights and responsibilities b) Accountability and the rule of law c) March to prosperity and d) Implementation mechanisms/driving the transformation process 4.

The Chiefs were agreed that citizens’ rights and responsibilities were adequately covered by the national constitution and enactments such as the Child Rights Act, Gender Acts, and Registration of Citizens Acts etc.
in spite of this position the right of women was singled out for discussion because of the 61 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups controversy surrounding it and being highly topical.

Our position after a very thorough discussion was that women should not be deterred from vying for elective office even though certain communities make this virtually impossible by customary and traditional practice.
Whilst this controversy rages on the Council will spare no effort to put modalities in place to narrow the gap between tradition and best practice.

For non-elective office the Council is in agreement with the consensus of opinion wh ich accords women the right to participate and hold positions on an increased basis.
The Registration of Births and Deaths, marriages and divorces should be devolved to the Chiefdom Councils as provided for in the unrepealed chiefdom Council Act 1964 because it is the only practical solution to meeting the reasons and objects of their Acts.

With specific reference to the registration of all citizens, we proposed that the process be fast-tracked through further devolution.

5.
5.

Our position on the rule of law and accountability is like all others but we insist that more stringent measures be employed to ensure adherence to these principles.

We subscribe fully to these principles in an effort to be transparent and accountable to our people and in like manner wo uld wish service providers and contractors to be accountable to us and our people.

6.
6.

The march to prosperity was considered our biggest challenges and we suggest, in addition to all positions assumed that: a) Land Resources – priority and dependence should be placed on agriculture which does not simply imply production and shipment of raw materials but the processing of these raw materials into finished products.
We have tried the socialist approach to agriculture which focused basically on the development of farmers’ associations, and farmers’ co-operatives without a tangible change in our production levels.

We urge that we revert to pre- independence farming strategies that targeted farm heroes/master farmers for the production of cash crops and allowed us a limited measure of export.
62 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups b) Minerals – in colonial times diamonds, chromites, iron ore, gold, etc were considered state property and were not subjected to large scale plunder that we now experience in the industry.

We would wish this situation to be redressed; subjecting all mining rights to the parent laws of the land not to separate agreements with mining companies allowing them to operate outside the parent laws and regulations.
We urge that government undertakes an independent mineral aerial survey to come up with a reliable inventory of our minerals.

Reliance on private mining company statistics does more harm than good.

We observe with regret that mining companies have developed the practice of exporting large bulk samples on the pretext of having these tested overseas.

We recommend that this practice be discouraged by setting up mineral laboratories in Sierra Leone for bulk testing.
Until this is done we suggest the volume of bulk samples be reduced to the barest minimum; with very little risk, i f an, of valuable minerals being carted away undetected.

Our tertiary educational system should be reformed to ensure that we produce the best technical personnel for the mining industry.

This does not only allow increased recovery of minerals but also ensures a widening of the job market for sierra Leoneans.
c) Education – We once prided ourselves as being the Athens of West Africa but those days are far behind us because of misplaced premium on primary and secondary education.

We call for a shift of emph asis to primary and secondary school education that allows for free and quality primary education and the establishment of junior secondary schools in all chiefdoms.

d) Health and Road Infrastructure – The national health and road infrastructure is inadequate and poorly managed.
These should be improved to cope with the demands of our people.

We commend Government for the free health care initiative but urge that more attention should be paid to the method of 63 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups delivery.

In the medium term, we propose that other categories of our national population be made to benefit as well.
Devolution of functions should make this possible and bring into use a network of feeder roads that link one village to another using the best endeavors of our local contractors under the supervision of our chiefdom councils.

Far too many options have been kept by the district councils to the extent that the chiefdom councils are rendered redundant.
The situation should be fine-tuned to allow the chiefdom councils to take over the construction and maintenance of chiefdom primary health care facilities and chiefdom feeder roads.

e) Elections – elections have always been the peace breaker as almost all political contests have been fought on partisan lines and engender discord to the extent that feuds and squabbles last far into the life of parliament and the presidency.
As a start, it is recommended that local council elections should be fought on a non-partisan basis.

This helps to keep the chiefdom together and banish hostility and hate from the political arena.

For the parliamentary contests the support of political leaders to maintain law and order is needed to keep the ship in balance.
f) The Institution of Chieftaincy – it is unfortunate that of all stakeholders interviewed, none has so far made an attempt to give a perception of what they expect the institution of Paramount Chieftaincy to be in the next 50 years.

We believe that the institution of Paramount Chieftaincy is the bedrock of peace and harmony in governance and it has stood the test of time as the only institution that survives in the worst of situations.
This point out the need for Paramount Chiefs to be given a pride of place in governance.

In normal times and in the heat of discord they must be allowed to play their traditional roles of maintaining law and order, providing security for their peoples and preserving the culture.

64 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups Additionally, the council of Paramount Chiefs desires to serve as a regulatory, advisory, advocacy and monitoring institution.
However, it can only perform such roles on a neutral political posture in an atmosphere of peace and quiet.

Therefore, we recommend a statutory status for the Council of Paramount Chiefs with clearly defined roles as outlined above, relationships with government and all other stakeholders in development and peace building, its political neutrality, privileges and rights of its flag bearers built on a strong reward system commensurate to its new posture.
It is a clear fact that 75% of the security of the state falls under the purview of paramount Chiefs; a responsibility that should squarely rest on the national Government with levels of reliance on other state institutions and people but through innate customary institutional arrangements chiefs have been performing this role cost effectively in the absence of funds conventionally tied to this process with little or no remuneration.
We recommend that the capacity of the institution be beefed up to allow it discharge such responsibility most effectively and efficiently.
65 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups The Women’s Declaration to the SLCDT We Christian and Muslim women of Sierra Leonean drawn from all walks of life and districts, all ages, abilities, and from both public and private sectors, as part of the process leading to the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation (SLCDT), after careful reflection and debate on the thematic and other issues pertinent to the interests and future advancement of women and girls in Sierra Leone , strongly propose that this Women’s Declaration be integrated into the conference proceedings and adopted as part of the transformation report and the actionable outcomes of the conference to be implemented over the next 25-50 years.
As women, we recall that Sierra Leone ’s development for the past 50 years has stalled and that women who form 52% of the population have been marginalized and discriminated against in all spheres particularly in politics and decision making positions.

We recognize that women as key stakeholders should be on board at every sta ge of our national development and transformation process.

We therefore propose the following on each thematic area addressed in the conference: Political and Economic Governance 1.
The review of the 1991 Constitution should be concluded.

The revised Con stitution should not only promote women ’s equality and access to justice but also protect the human rights of women and girls of all backgrounds, shades of political opinion and religious practice.

2.

Establish an independent Women ’s Commission for the advancement of women and girls.
Proceeds from the Transformation and Development Fund (TDF) already proposed in the Transformation Report should be used to fund the women ’s commission and its activities.

Among its responsibilities, the Commission will monitor and ensure enforcement of all policies and legislation to eliminate political, religious, and economic inequality of women and girls as well as Violence Against Women.

3.
3.

That the minimum 30% quota for women in elected offices and all decision making positions recommended in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report of 2004 and committed to in the Presidential Apology of March 2010 be implemented without further delay.
Natural Resources 66 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups Women strongly endorse the call for an immediate moratorium on new mining and investment agreements concerning our natural resources until measures are put in place to ensure such agreements are in our national best interest, including protection of women and girls from sexual exploitation and harassment in mining areas.

1.

2.
1.

2.

Urgent priority to be given to training women to be able to compete on an equal basis for new skilled jobs emerging in mining and other sectors of the economy .

In the drive for rapid development and transformation, women’s property rights, particularly to land, should not be compromised or undermined ; rather expanded access to land and inputs should be provided to empower them take advantage of the anticipated economic opportunities.
We recognize that urgent initiatives to monetize rural assets will be an important means to transform the lives of women farmers and rural women entrepreneurs.

Private Sector 1.

Intensify training in entrepreneurship, modern business development methods, networking and access to information technology to enhance women’s business potential and accelerate rates of transfer of women from the informal to the formal economy.
Delivery of Social Services The impact of an improved social service delivery will be multiplied when accompanied by a simultaneous priority being given to holistic human development to meet the challenges and opportunities of the coming transformation.

We therefore propose the following: 1.

Intensify Functional Adult Literacy programmes using resources creatively.

2.

3.

4.
2.

3.

4.

Implement Affirmative Action policy in the educational sector to facilitate women and girls enter non- traditional sectors, including scientific and technological professions and vocations.

Since a woman’s health and wellbeing go beyond her reproductive functions all aspects of women’s health to be equally recognized and adequately funded.
Women’s perspectives to be brought into the design and construction of affordable housing using low cost local materials in order to address the current untenable shortage of appropriate housing, sanitation and recreational facilities in communities nationwide.

67 Final Draft Statements by Specialized Groups 5.

We endorse the recommendation to develop alternative means of transportation to facilitate the movement of people and goods as such initiatives empower women.
In Conclusion We reiterate that integration of women throughout the transformation by implementation of the above recommendations will address and enhance the advancement not only of women and girls but of the entire nation.

We believe that eliminating Violence Against Women is essential for attaining the goal of transformation and development in all sectors.
Finally the transparency and accountability necessary to drive and sustain transformation can best be achieved by ensuring that the minutes, reports and all proceedings of the conference and related activities , are documented and published both digitally and in print and kept accessible to all.
68 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION APPENDIXES APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION 2035 By 2035, Sierra Leone aspires to be a middle income country with an inclusive society where the rule of law prevails and that provides increased opportunity for: Summary of Vision • • • • • • • • • a stable economy with private sector-led growth and good infrastructure to turn a good idea into a profitable business.
a key trade hub in West Africa, with a leading agri-business sector focused around value- added products and a growing services industry.

a model in responsible natural resource exploitation for other African nations to emulate.

A recognized player in the sub region and integrated into the global system with advantageous term Every child to go to school and every mother to have access to a modern hospital where she can give birth without fear and extreme poverty will be eradicated.
a socially, economically and politically empowered women; an attractive culture united in diversity, and assertive at the international level; independent and accessible justice system; peaceful coexistence where Governments are voted in and out of power based on their ability to meet the aspirations of citizens by setting and delivering their development agenda within the framework of the conference.
MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS SL Target Benchmark Countries 1 GDP Per Capita Atlas (Current US$) 69 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION 2 GDP 3 GDP Growth (annual %) SL Target SL Target Benchmark Countries 4 Current account balance (% of GDP) SL Targets Benchmark Countries 5 Inflation rate SL Targets Benchmark Countries 6 Revenue excluding Grants (% of GDP) 70 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION PRIVATE AND FINANCIAL SECTOR No Indicators SL 2010 SL 2035 Malaysia - 2010 Ghana - 2010 SA - 2010 1.
2 3 • • • Country’s competitiveness Ease of Doing Business (index 1- 173) Int Rate Spread (lending rate minus deposit rate %) Not ranked 40 - 50 21 114 50 150 50 - 60 21 67 34 14.8 7 3 8 3.2 HEALTH SECTOR The aim is to raise life expectancy beyond the age of 70, and the large majority of children will be well fed and healthy, born to healthy parents.
There are functional and affordable primary healthcare within 5km radius nationwide There are standard referral hospitals in each district headquarter town/city 71 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION HEALTH SECTOR Indicators No Indicators SL-2010 SL -2035 Malaysia 2010 Mauritius 2010 76 72 31 6 40 Life expectancy at Birth female population (Years) 48 Life expectancy at Birth male population (Years) 46 75 70 Physicians (per 100,000 people) 1.6 (2008) 50 Maternal Mortality Ratio Per 100,000 of live births 970 100 Under 5 mortality rate per 1,000 of live births 174 50 Nurses and midwives (per 100,000 people) 17 (2008) 100 Hospital beds (per 10,000 people) 5 Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5) 21.3 (2008) 50 5 Community health workers (per 100,000 people) 2 (2008) 200 77 69 106 36 15 373 33 7 19 72 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION POVERTY • • 80% of the country’s population will live above the poverty line with wider and equal access to basic social services.
Growth pursued will be pro-poor and that the gap between the rich and the poor is narrowed with a view to foster peaceful coexistence.
Poverty Indicators No Indicators SL-2010 SL -2035 Malaysia 2010 Botswana 2010 1 2 3 Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population) Poverty headcount ratio at $ 2 a day (% of population) GINI index * S o u r c e : C I A 66.4 20 3.8 30.6 76.1 62.9* 25 20 2.3 46 36 61 • • Unemployment levels remain below 5% Labour and Employment Productive employment opportunities prevail and people earn decent livelihoods from both wage and self employment.
Target s Benchmar k 1 Unemployment rate (% of total labour force) 2 Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employed) 73 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION • • • • INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY There is reliable and clean energy at affordable cost.

Paved roads linking neighbouring countries, cities, town and chiefdoms.

Access to clean water for all.
Access to internet facilities open to all, but guaranteed for at least 50% of the population No Indicators SL-2010 SL -2035 Malaysia – 2010 Botswana - 2010 SA - 2010 1 2 3 4 Paved roads as % total Electric power consumption (KW per capita) Internet Users per 100 people Access to improved water source (% of rural population) 8 50 83 35 37 14 2,000 3,428 1,477 4,759 0.3 26 50 90 56.6 99 6.1 90 8.9 78 74 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION Governance • A peaceful, politically stable and democratic country with functional decentralized administration where the justice system is fair, independent and accessible to all citizens.
No Indicators SL-2010 SL -2035 Malaysia - Botswana - 2010 2010 12.5 70 - 80 80 Government Effectivness (index %) Rule of law index 20 70 - 80 70 Voice and Accountability 40 70 – 80 30 1 2 3 4.

Political Stability 35 70 - 80 55 5.

Control of corruption 25 70 - 80 65 ENVIRONMENT 70 65 55 80 80 No.
Indicators SL-2010 SL -2035 Malaysia - Botswana 2010 1 Forest Area (% of land Area) 38.1 50 2010 62.3 20 75 Final Draft APPENDIX I: SIERRA LEONE’S VISION The SLCDT JOURNAL -2030 THE SLCDT JOURNAL Wednesday 27 February 2030 THE MRU’S FAVOURITE NEWSPAPER - Since 2012 Salone hits middle-income early!

In welcoming the news, President Salimatu Hawah Nondoh-Bangura acknowledged that her government had been able to build upon the past achievements of previous leaders.
The President vowed to continue improving the policies and delivery that had enabled Sierra Leone to get this far and reminded citizens that there was still a long road ahead to get to Statistics Sierra Leone today issued encouraging results from the latest round of household surveys to suggest that Sierra Leone has joined the ranks middle-income countries five years early.

Twenty years ago, the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation charted the road to this impressive milestone.
At the time, pundits doubted that the feat was possible.

Hard to believe now, but back then Sierra Leone was one of the poorest countries in the world with dismal statistics.
Pupils of St Susan’s Primary smiling on hearing news of Salone’s middle- income status 76 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions APPENDIX II: Implementation Road Map Citizens’ rights and responsibilities Transformative Issues Immedi a te (wi thi n 3 months ) Short Term (wi thi n 12 months ) Medi um- Term (12 - 36 months ) Long-Term (3- 10 yea rs ) Citizens’ rights and responsibilities Introducti on of l oca l moni tori ng s ys tems for del i very of publ i c s ervi ces Exa mi ne pol i ti ca l pa rti ci pa ti on a nd repres enta ti on to l i mi t “wi nner ta kes a l l ” Revi s i t proporti ona l repres enta ti on Introduce s econd cha mber i n pa rl i a ment Rei nforce pa rl i a menta ry a ccounta bi l i ty Compl ete cons ti tuti ona l reform a nd a mendment by 12/2013.
Effecti ve pa rti ci pa ti on i n economi c ma na gement; eg.

Revi s i t budget proces s a nd revenue ma na gement a nd i ntroduce performa nce budgeti ng, a l l ca teri ng for more effecti ve ci ti zens pa rti ci pa ti on.
Promote res pons i bi l i ty for protecti on of publ i c a s s ets , a nd protect cul tura l heri ta ge a nd enha nce na ti ona l i denti ty Pa s s Freedom of Informa ti on bi l l i n Pa rl i a ment before end of 2012 X X X X X 77 X X X X X X X X Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map (Continued) Transformative Issues Accountability and the rule of law Immedi a te (wi thi n 3 months ) Short Term (wi thi n 12 months ) Long-Term (3- 10 yea rs ) Medi um- Term (12 - 36 months ) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Accountability and the rule of law Des i gn robus t mecha ni s ms to rei nforce the rul e of l a w Addres s wea knes s es due to hori zonta l a nd verti ca l rel a ti ons hi ps of Judi ci a ry l i mi ti ng effecti venes s a nd credi bi l i ty.
Increa s e publ i c s cruti ny of judi ci a l a ppoi ntments Introduce a ccounta bi l i ty for res ul ts a t a l l l evel s to i mprove performa nce, a nd producti vi ty La unch comprehens i ve a nd s equenced progra mme of res ul ts ba s ed (performa nce) ma na gement Enha nce the i ntegri ty of the s ta te s ecuri ty a ppa ra tus .
Ini ti a te Securi ty s ector reform – publ i s h/rei nforce/moni tor by publ i c wa tchdog (ca pa ci ty i s s ues ) X 78 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map (Continued) The March to Prosperity: Enhancing Human Development Transformative Issues Immediate (within 3 months) Short Term (within 12 months) Medium-Term (12 - 36 months) Long-Term (3-10 years) The March to Prosperity: Enhancing Human Development Reducing inequality by addressing vulnerable groups through; 30% quota for women, addressing issues relating to disability, enhancing role of youth.
Education Launch programme for adult and functional literacy Undertake comprehensive education reforms Education facilities should cater for the special needs of persons with physical and mental challenges Legislation on early childhood as well as facilities encouraged Reintroduce civic education by next academic year Emphasize technical and vocational education and training (TVET) Centres of excellence/targeted scholarships to elevate standards in education Set up community colleges to complement TVIs Re organisation of university administration to exclude political influence Health launch a major drive for human resource development in this sector Design programme for improving public health and sanitation including national health insurance scheme Housing Enforcement of housing regulations including separation of commercial and residential areas Launch a low cost housing programme to cover 1000 housing units in all districts Design schemes to eradicate "panbody" makeshift housing in all cities/towns Social service delivery Launch a national youth service to promote national identity and youth employment.
Set up fire services in all districts.
X X X X X X X X X X X X 79 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map(Continued) The March to Prosperity; Managing Natural Resources Transformative Issues Immediate (within 3 months) Short Term (within 12 months) Medium-Term (12 - 36 months) Long-Term (3-10 years) X X X X X X The March to Prosperity; Managing Natural Resources Transparency in the review of agreements with large scale foreign and local investors and publication of results.
Complete the renegotiation of all mining agreements Institutiionalise GoSL negotiating team New system for negotiating mining agreements to include wider participation should be regularised and applied to all sectors.

Moratorium on new large-scale mining leases until a comprehensive geological survey, revision to mining Act, and institutional restructuring are completed Set up a Transformation Development Fund (TDF).

80% of proceeds from minerals and oil to be allocated to this fund.
Priority to education /health/ Infrastructure /reducing inequality TDF = special projects; predetermined criteria for development and transformation/ require special dispensation from Parliament and President to use the funds otherwise.
Formulate proposals to operationalise TDF in six months X X X X X 80 X Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map(Continued) The March to Prosperity: Land Issues Transformative Issues The March to Prosperity: Land issues Ens ure a dopti on of comprehens i ve l a nd us e pol i cy La unch na ti ona l deba te on l a nd us e from pers pecti ve of mul ti pl e us a ge of l a nd: devel opmenta l , l i vel i hoods , cul tura l a nd commerci a l La unch a nd a dopt l a nd tenure a nd l a nd us e pol i cy a fter extens i ve na ti ona l deba te tha t wi l l a l s o a s certa i n owners hi p a nd regi s ter a l l l a nds i n the country (a pers ona l property ca da s tre) La nd pol i cy to a ddres s : l a nd us e for devel opment of es ta tes , crop producti on, a gri bus i nes s a nd i ndus tri a l devel opment, wa ter us a ge, envi ronmenta l protecti on, GM products etc.
Ra ti ona l i zi ng a gri cul tura l producti on a fter a s certa i ni ng opti mum l a nd us e pol i ci es Formul a te progra mme for moneti za ti on of rura l a s s ets Immediate (within 3 months) Short Term (within 12 months) Medium- Term (12 - 36 months) Long-Term (3- 10 years) X X X X X X X X X 81 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map(Continued) The March: Natural Resources (environment) Transformative Issues The March to Prosperity: Natural Resources (environment) Need for constant training to exploit emerging opportunities in Environment sector such as the REDD+ (reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation + conservation etc) Promote culture of protection and preservation (citizen’s responsibility) Launch special initiative for cross- border environmental management and joint management of natural resources.
Develop a programme for dealing with climate change and restoration and preservation of natural habitat for sustainable development and tourism Access to potable water to be recognised as a right for every Sierra Leonean The water policy under preparation must recognize water as a natural resource whose usage for industrial purposes should yield benefits to the entire population.
Formulate a programme for modernising artisanal fisheries to improve the livelihoods of 250 000 households engaged in the sector factoring gender issues in process Immediat e (within 3 months) Short Term (within 12 months) Medium- Term (12 - 36 months) Long-Term (3- 10 years) X X X X X X X X X X X 82 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map (Continued) The March to Prosperity: Economic Management Transformative Issues The March to Prosperity: Economic Management Pri ma ry objecti ve: Job crea ti on wi th growth a nd ma i ntena nce of ma cro economi c s ta bi l i ty (ma i nta i n doubl e di gi t growth ra te over fi rs t ten yea rs ) Des i gn a pol i cy for revenue ma na gement a nd moneta ry i ndependence Sepa ra te Devel opment from Fi na nce Mi ni s try Exa mi ne a move to 7 yea r devel opment pl a ns ra ther tha n 3- 5 yea r PRSPs Empl oyment pol i cy a nd progra mmes Hol i s ti c a pproa ch i ncorpora ti ng pri va te s ector/tra i ni ng/educa ti on/ a nd l a bour ma rket s ervi ces a nd gender s ens i ti vi ty i n a l l empl oyment progra mmes La unch a n i ni ti a ti ve to moneti ze pers ona l a s s ets i n SL i ncl udi ng rura l ba s ed a s s ets .
La unch a n i ni ti a ti ve for i nforma ti on ma na gement (da ta col l ecti on, di s a ggrega ti on, s tora ge a nd a cces s ) i n both publ i c a nd pri va te s ectors Immedi a te (wi thi n 3 months ) Short Term (wi thi n 12 months ) Medi um- Term (12 - 36 months ) Long-Term (3- 10 yea rs ) X X X X X X X X X 83 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation Road Map (Continued) The March: Private Sector Role Transformative Issues Immediate (within 3 months) Short Term (within 12 months) Medium- Term (12 - 36 months) Long- Term (3- 10 years) The March to Prosperity: Private Sector Role Transform private sector into veritable engine of growth through: Self-organization and promotion of SL Chamber of Commerce to play more catalytic, leadership role.
The Chamber is challenged to produce a proposal within six months Prioritize innovation and entrepreneurship In education, emphasise critical thinking, problem-solving with focus on science, technology Incentives for innovations Develop a mega project for tourism The March to Prosperity: Promoting SMEs Innovative financial products Identify opportunities for indigenous contractors within natural resource investors supply chain and support locals – go beyond local content.
Produce regulatory incentives/ environment for new financing companies and tools Private sector to reorganise and restructure itself for policy influence The March to Prosperity: Infrastructure Organise a RT for infrastructure to optimise mining needs and national opportunities Implement a comprehensive transport policy that reinstalls rail and river transport as central to mass transit programmes X X X Implementation Road Map (Continued) 84 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Implementation mechanisms/driving the transformation process Transformative Issues Immediate (within 3 months) Short Term (within 12 months) Medium- Term (12 - 36 months) Long-Term (3- 10 years) X X X X X X X X X X X X X Implementation mechanisms/driving the transformation process Redes i gn Ci vi l Servi ce for modern devel opmenta l s ta te.
Ra ti ona l i ze i ns ti tuti ona l a rchi tecture of publ i c s ector to el i mi na te dupl i ca ti on a nd wa s te a nd to reduce wa ge bi l l .

Set up Pl a nni ng Commi s s i on Sepa ra te Devel opment from Fi na nce Mi ni s try Set up a Ci ti zen's Commi ttee to be res pons i bl e for ma i nta i ni ng the momentum of cha nge Annua l cons ul ta ti ve moni tori ng works hop Set up a utonomous Thi nk Ta nk (eg.
na ti ona l i ns ti tute of s oci a l res ea rch i n UK/ Aca demy of s oci a l s ci ences i n Chi na etc) Us e tra ns forma ti on i ndex to tra ck progres s yea rl y a nd report on key tra ns forma ti ve i tems Arrangements for Transition.
Set up s ma l l uni t i n the offi ce of Pres i dent duri ng tra ns i ti on Des i gn a comprehens i ve Di a s pora s tra tegy X X X X 85 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions 86 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Report of the Sierra Leone Conference on Development & Transformation Charting the Next 50 Years Forward The ta s k of the Si erra Leone Conference on Devel opment a nd Tra ns forma ti on i s to rethi nk our devel opment pa th over the l a s t 50 yea rs wi th a vi ew to cha rti ng a new tra jectory tha t woul d ta ke the country to mi ddl e i ncome s ta tus by 2035, boa s ti ng i ndi ca tors tha t confi rm i ts s ta bi l i ty a s a s ta te, a nd a l evel of wel fa re for i ts ci ti zenry worthy of i ts s ta tus .
The Conference i s a conti nuous proces s to engender pos i ti ve cha nge i n our s oci ety s o tha t hope a nd opti mi s m repl a ce des pa i r a nd di s trus t; a nd a l l Si erra Leonea ns i n the ri chnes s of our cul tura l di fferences wi l l embra ce one s i ngl e objecti ve: tra ns forma ti on to pea ce, ha ppi nes s , a nd pros peri ty i n our motherl a nd.
VOLUME II The Sierra Leone Conference on Development & Transformation 3/2/2012 Table of Contents Final Draft TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME II ANNEXES ANNEX I: Financial Statement ANNEX II: CONCEPT NOTE ANNEX III: List of Papers commissioned by the SLCDT ANNEX IV: Report on Inter Secondary Schools Essay Competition.
ANNEX V: Bios of SLCDT Authors, Presenters & Secretariat ANNEX VI: REPORT ON THE NATIONWIDE CONSULTATIVE MEETING WITH YOUTH 3 3 3 6 13 15 21 31 ANNEX VII: REPORT ON PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NATIONAL CONSULTATIVE 46 TOWN HALL MEETING 2 Final Draft ANNEX I: Financial Statement – Income Statement VOLUME II ANNEXES Revenue: Total Revenue: Expenses: ANNEX I: Financial Statement INCOME STATEMENT AS AT 06/03/2012 Funds b/o Accountant General/Treasury Amount(Le) 832,341,056 - 832,341,056 Conference Secretariat: Consultancy Fee:Admin& Support Staff Office Maintainance Fuel-Office Steering Committee Communication-Office Sundries Stationery Vehicle Maintenance Total Conference Secretariat Expenses: 151,304,470 12,134,500 19,988,500 12,246,000 41,943,641 1,565,000 5,266,500 10,066,750 254,515,361 Technical Content: Consultancy Fees-Technical Honorarium-Technical Travelling Materials & Logistics-Technical Total Technical Content: 68,700,000 37,700,000 300,000 23,490,000 130,190,000 Media & Communications: Consultancy Fees-Media Media Activities Personnel Per Diem for Media Activity Printing Website Design Miscellaneous Communications Total Media & Communications: 78,100,000 48,698,500 4,050,000 3,574,450 31,686,000 2,844,000 1,601,000 170,553,950 Focus Group Discussions: Consultancy Fee-FGD 3 4,999,999 Final Draft ANNEX I: Financial Statement – Income Statement Focus Group Workshop Focus Group Logistics-Airtime,Lodging etc Schools Essay Competition Total Focus Group Discussions: 15,380,000 101,245,900 22,374,500
 144,000,399 Hosting of the Conference: Conference Expenses Total Hosting of the Conference: - - Technical Workshop: Food & Drinks DSA & Accomodation Printing & Stationery 1,897,500 15,388,763 2,175,000 Total Technical Workshop: 19,461,263 Participation of Diaspora: DSA & Travel 75,877,412 Total Participation of Diaspora: 75,877,412 Town Hall Meetings: Western Area Northern Province Southern Province Eastern Province - 9,406,250 15,930,500 7,200,000 Total Town Hall Meetings: 32,536,750 Other Expenses: Bank Charges
 5,106,686 Total Other Expenses: 5,106,686 Total Expenses: Net Income: 832,241,821 99,235 4 Final Draft ANNEX I: Financial Statement – Cash Flow Cash Flow Statement as at 06/03/2012 Cash Inflows: Cash b/0 Acct.General/Treasury Total Cash Inflows: Available Cash Balance: Cash outflows(Expenses): Bank Charges Consultancy Fees-Admin& Support Staff Consultancy Fees-Technical Consultancy Fee-Media & Communications Honorarium-Technical Personnel Per Diem Office Maintenence Fuel-Office Steering Committee Media Printing Website Design Media-Miscellaneous Communications-Office Communications-Media Stationery Vehicle/Motorbike Maintenance Travelling-Technical Materials & Logistics-Technical Hosting of the Conference Sundries Food & Drinks-Technical Workshop DSA & Accomodation-Technical Workshop Printing & Stationery-Technical Workshop Participation of Diaspora:DSA & Travel Consultancy Fee-Focus Group Discussions Focus Group Workshop Focus Group Logistics-Airtime,Lodging etc Schools Essay Competition Town Hall Meetings Total Cash Outflows: Total liabilities: Ending Cash Balance: 832,341,056 - Final Draft AANNNNEEXX
18,349,232 99,235 5 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee ANNEX II: C ONCEPT NOTE The Sierra Leone Conference on Development & Transformation Rethinking development and transformation after 50 years experience (A Presidential initiative to mark the 50 th anniversary of Sierra Leone ’s independence) Background After fifty years of chequered progress, Sierra Leone is now poised for unprecedented change made possible by sustained demand for the country’s natural resources, an invigorated private sector, massive infrastructural
 development and the early stages of a governance system that is conducive to growth and development.
No country in the last 100 years has achieved rapid development without a clear vision and strategy within which plans and programmes for the transformation are outlined.

Sierra Leone’s Vision 2025 crafted ten years ago is a good start, and showcases the country ’s determination to surge forward.

However, major changes in the global economy and in the opportunities now open to the country make a compelling case for taking stock and charting new directions.
President Ernest Bai Koroma’s Agenda for Change (PRSP II) has successfully laid a strong foundation for national transformation by developing infrastructure (roads, energy, construction and water projects); emboldening private sector development; introducing the Free Health Care Initiative which is a model on the African continent; and initiating the smallholder commercialization project which aims to create wealth among farmers in all chiefdoms in the country.
The succession Agenda for Change II, the sensor spring-board for the post 2012 activities will be within the broader framework of the conference outcomes.
In many ways 2011 is reminiscent of the dawn of independence: commodities boom, abundance of natural resources, a healthy political landscape, an encouraging international environment, a determined leadership but beset with severe shortage of skills, low levels of social service delivery extremely vulnerable to the decisions of large investment capital, fluctuation of the business cycles of the global markets, and sub-regional instability.
Tracing the evolution of socio economic indicators over the 50-year period since then reveals a picture of early growth (export-led) in the 60s and 70s, followed by stagnation accompanied by inflation (then referred to as stagflation) in the 80s, and eventually, decline in almost all se ctors in the 90s.

Nevertheless, that period is also a mine of experiences on what worked and what failed.

As the country embarks on its next 50-year journey, these experiences will provide valuable lessons for the future.
6 Final Draft The Conference AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee President Koroma proposes to organise a major conference in Freetown to review our development and transformation strategies and present alternative approaches for the country, taking into account the overall goals set for 2025 in the context of current day realities.
The conference will bring together Sierra Leonean specialists both within the country and in the Diaspora, complemented by internationally reputed development practitioners , and in consultation with a cross section of the population to rethink the development process and provide options for the country’s immediate, medium term and long term development needs.
Thus while the outcome of the conference itself is forward looking, it will be grounded on solid analysis of what worked and what failed in the past, as well as the opportunities that now exist for the future.

Themes of the conference In reviewing the various development challenges facing the country, five areas and themes are striking as instrumental in influencing the development process.
These are: the management of natural resources, political and economic governance, the role of the Diaspora in national development, private sector and infrastructure, and, social service delivery.
Recognizing that individually and collectively they have influenced and will continue to determine the levels and changes in socio-economic indicators, each area will be the object of exhaustive analysis in separate studies and focused group consultations that will in turn provide recommendations as inputs for the international conference to be held in November 2011.
It should be stressed however that focusing on these themes in no way ignores the interrelationship among them or the importance of other factors/sectors in the overall development process.

To illustrate, the creation of employment, effective management of the environment, promoting gender equality, all constitute desirable objectives that cut across sectors and themes in the development debate, and should therefore permeate the entire discussions.
Similarly, the framework of the macro economy that should facilitate the economic transformation envisaged must be carefully designed.

Below are some of the issues to be examined within the key themes identified.

1.

Managing natural resources The current global high demand for commodities has opened up tremendous opportunities for the country’s abundant natural resources in minerals, agriculture, land, marine resources and forestry.
However the threat of the natural resource curse should be avoided in anticipation of Oil and Gas revenue in the near future which will supplement the extensive mineral deposits being announced.

To this should be added the major land deals for agricultural development.

In the past, many African countries, experienced this apparent bonanza that later turned out to be a curse; while a few have managed the opportunity and have registered sustained growth.
An introspective look at the management of the country ’s natural resources in the past, combined with a careful examination of the opportunities now present, both internally and in the globa l economy, offers a chance to carve out a deliberate and sustainable strategy for wealth creation and equitable distribution of resources.

In the past the country suffered from bad management of, 7 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee and misguided policies for, its natural endowments.
This time around there is determination to avoid such errors at all cost.

This theme will examine and generate options for the management of the country’s various natural resources, focusing on how best to create sustainable income flows with appropriate management of the environment.
Some of the questions to be reviewed include;                Recognizing that the majority of the populations rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, what programmes should be designed to complement th e current Small Holders Commercialization Programme for the rapid transformation of the sector?

How can the potential for livestock development be tapped?
How can the exploitation of the country’s natural resources be organized and planned for more equitable distribution of gains, within the economy and between foreign investors and Sierra Leone?

What were the measures, if any, to integrate the exploitation of natural resources into the rest of the economy, and why did they fail?

How appropriate are the incentive packages to be offered to the mining companies to induce investment?
How can the new measures now in place for negotiating agreements, encouraging local procurement of goods and services, and monitoring the operations of large-scale investors in natural resources be enhanced for greater effectiveness?

What structures should we adopt for local skills development necessary for active participation in the mining and construction sectors?
What strategy should be designed now for optimal gains from oil and gas extraction for short and long term development, especially in avoiding the development of an enclave?

What competencies and capacities does the SL Environmental Protection A gency require to deal with environmental issues?

The heightened interest in land for commercial agriculture brings to the fore the issue of land tenure.
What is an appropriate land use policy in the current high global demand for land to use for bio-fuel production?

How can sub-regional organisations play a more effective role in trans-boundary natural resource management?

Are there special gains to be secured by closer or even joint exploitation with our neighbors in certain fields?

If so, what fields?
If so, what fields?

What short and medium term plans need to be design now to protect territ orial waters, and rational exploitation of the immense marine and aquatic resources?

How best can the country’s abundant natural resources be developed and managed for tourism; What measures need to be adopted to ensure rapid affordable benefits from information and communications technology to train human resources to accelerate the pace of social, economic and industrial growth and development?

2.
2.

Governance a.

Political 8 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee The one area that is unanimously identified as the main cause of the decade-long civil conflict is political governance.

The marginalization of segments of the society, combined with the collapse of the economy that rendered the state incapable of performing its essential functions, constituted the causes for, and the effects of the failure of political governance.
The lessons of the past must be learnt in addition to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) with a view to avoiding their repetition in the future.

The conference should boldly seek responses to questions such as:     What changes are required, for example, in reviewing the 1991 Constitution, to deal more effectively with contemporary realities and those of the country?

o o o o Can a case be made for a second chamber?


What should be the role of chiefs in the rapidly evolving society?

Can a case be made for electoral reforms?

How best can gender and youth participation by ensured?

The extent to which broad based growth accompanied by equity, civil society participation, transparency and accountability could be compromised by the practice of party politics; the implications of weak opposition and winner-takes-all politics; and deepening decentralization, etc b.
Economic The recent near meltdown of the financial sector in the world’s advanced countries illustrate the vital role of financial institutions and the monetary and fiscal framework around which an economy functions.

This is even more important for a post-conflict country where institutions are weak and mechanisms for regulation almost absent.
Further more, a strategy that relies on the private sector to stimulate or promote growth must have very carefully crafted fiscal and monetary policies that are neither excessively free, nor overbearingly restrictive.

These policies and the operation of financial institutions must be synchronised with industrialisation, emerging technologies and other policies to avoid the contradictions of the past.
The conference should map out such targets as the attainment of middle income and developed country status, including identifying the economic tools and indicators for measurement.

In addition a thorough analysis is required of the validity of many assumptions used as a basis for advancing some policies in the past.

One such assumption is the widespread use of extensive fiscal and other concessions as incentives for foreign direct investments to avoid their migration to neighbouring countries.
What empirical evidence supports this, and what is the practice in other countries?

Strategies to build on gains made in private sector development and trade facilitation through the Agenda for Change constitute sub themes under economic governance.

3.

Improving the role of the Diaspora The Sierra Leone Diaspora continues to be a major contributor to the economy through investment, direct remittances and the provision of technical expertise.
President Koroma’s leadership created the Office of the Diaspora Affairs (ODA) at State House, among others to 9 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee deepen Diaspora ties to the mother land and to enhance investment and skills transfer in the public service.

However, there is more that could be done to improve Diaspora participation in the private sector, and to play a more dynamic role in the country’s political and economic development.
The conference would largely rely on members of the Diaspora to discuss such issues as:    The establishment of a Diaspora Trust Fund to be managed by an independent body under such arrangement as with development partners (for example the World bank) to enhance Diaspora participation in the econo my through attractive saving schemes with interest rates higher than overseas, participation in the Sierra Leone Stock Exchange, and exploring shareholding opportunities, etc Other Diaspora ideas are welcome The prospect of right to vote overseas, etc Since most of these issues have already been debated upon at the various meetings of the Diaspora, this theme will not be the object of separate meetings.
4.

Delivery of Social Services literacy, there is always the In a society that is largely rural and characterised by a high level of il challenge of formulating and implementing public sector policies that refl ect a proper balance between responding to the needs of the rural masses and containing the pressures of the highly volatile urban populace where most of the elites are found.

It is therefore not surprising that Sierra Leone has one of the highest scores of Gini coefficient in sub-Saharan Africa.
The past fifty years have shown that not much has been achieved in the public sector’s delivery of social services, further exacerbating the economic marginalisation of the rural and urban poor.

Limited progress made in maternal and child mortality, and in literacy rates confirm the meager achievements obtained.

Education, health, water supply and even electricity are services that at this level of development call for major public sector interventions.
However both the nature and content of the services as well as the vehicle for bringing them to the population have proven inadequate in the past with some improvement in recent times.

In these circumstances, the role of civil society is crucial both for advancing grass roots demands, as well as for providing the checks and balances.
On the other hand these CSOs, for various reasons, have not always risen to the challenge, although very few governments have tolerated or given them the platform they require to play this role.

Notwithstanding this, it can be said that the CSOs in Sierra Leone can point to a number of successes of importance to the stability and progres s in the country.

What lessons can be drawn from this experience as the country moves forward?
Equally important are issues relating to:      Adaptations to the education system required for alignment to the demands of the 21st century Decentralization and the provision of education services Relative roles of the private and public sector in defining the nature of education for the future The design of a comprehensive health care system Improving health service delivery 10 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee   Accelerating the drive towards achieving the “social” targets of the MDG’s Converting the abundant rainfall to available water supply to all countries.
5.

Private Sector and Infrastructure The low level of development of the country’s institutions and infrastructure constrain the private sector in playing the role of engine for economic growth.

Yet numerous efforts have been made in the past to promote small businesses, attract foreign investments, develop infrastructure, and set up appropriate institutions.
Indeed the President’s programme for the reform of the private sector has generated some positive results in eliminating bottlenecks hindering private sector performance.

The conference should generate proposals for accelerating expansion in communications, financial services, energy, etc.

Issues to be discussed and questions answered include:        Are there opportunities offered by the new global economic patterns of production that Sierra Leone can profit from?
As a primary producer in the short term, ho w can the private sector be insulated from the vicissitudes of the global business cycles?

How should the country exploit the opportunities for sub regional collaboration to participate in the value chain of natural resources development?

In the past, issues relating to road transport have dominated the transport sector; what medium term plans for river and rail can be fashioned now?
There are huge requirements for energy by the mining and hopefully, the manufacturing sectors.

So far the emphasis has been to meet the basic needs of the population while individual investors make their own plans for energy supply.

What national programmes can be developed that could produce lower cost sustainable energy sources for all?

The introduction of fibre-optics offer significant possibilities for low-cost acc ess of the entire population to the benefits of the World Wide Web.
How can this best promote social goals, and accelerate growth?

What alternative options need to be considered now for tourism development?

The underlying objective in this theme is to set the stage for an efficient, low cost and competitive industrial sector.

A series of “focus group” meetings will be organized in all regions of the country before the conference, designed to obtain stakeholders views on the areas to be discussed.
These meetings will extend the reach of consultations with the general public, on specific subjects, and the results will feed into the deliberations of the conference.

In the week preceding the conference, there will be technical meetings on the key themes and su bthemes for more in-depth analysis of the issues and production of actionable recommendations.
The Conference will pull together the work of the previous meetings dealing with macro-economic and socio-political issues and propose a way forward for taking the country to middle income status – well beyond merely meeting the MDGs.

It will examine the challenges of providing 11 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee employment, delivering social services, adapting our political system to fit more appropriately to our realities, and build a capable a nd developmental state.
All these, taking into account the challenges and opportunities presented by the global economy.

The outcome will be in the form of a report with recommendations outlining options for action by the Government and all the players .

It is recognized that there are various plans and programmes underway such as the successor to the Agenda for Change, and other immediate and medium term plans.

This conference will draw its spirit from such programmes to respond better to the country’s future challenges.
The conference results will therefore provide the framework for short, medium and long term plans of the country.

6.

Participation.

Every effort will be made to include all categories of stakeholders in planning the future of the country.
These will include but not be limited to:                Paramount chiefs Local authorities All political parties Representatives of students and youth Civil society Trade Unions Representatives of religious groups Chamber of mines Chamber of commerce Women groups Development partners Media The Diaspora The Disabled and War Wounded Group of Churches 7.

Organisation.
Organisation.

12 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIII::CCoonncceepptt NNoottee The overall guidance and direction for the conference will be provided by a Steering Committee chaired by the President and consisting of a cross section of the population as outlined in the list of participants above.

A conference secretariat will be set up comprised of independent technical staff appointed for their expertise and experience.
Timing The conference is scheduled to take place from January 30 to February 1, 2012.. 13 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX IIIIII:: LLiisstt ooff PPaappeerrss CCoommmmiissssiioonneedd bbyy tthhee SSLLCCDDTT ANNEX III: List of Papers commissioned by the SLCDT This is a List papers and presentations commissioned by the SLCDT On the Conference in General -----------------------------------------------------------------                     Contemporary Sierra Leone-The Second Coming of the Bellweather - Syl Cheney-Coker Contributions to the Sierra Leone Conference - Barba M. Koroma, PhD, MA.
The Sierra Leone Conference 2011 - Rethinking development and transformation after 50 years experience Leone Transformation- by Dr. Christian T.H.
Bel Sierra Leone's Vision 2035 - Middle Income Indicators - ABK The Sierra Leone Conference: The Last Word for now ... Economic Governance & Management Dealing with the Dutch Disease in Sierra Leone Economic Governance - OEG Johnson Economic_Management--Selected_Issues_for_Discussion by Omotunde Johnson Making Government More Effective: Some Economic Policy Priorities in Sierra Leone - Paul Collier & Victor Davies Prospects and Challenges for Poverty Reduction and Economic Development in Sierra Leone - by Dr. Sheka Bangura S L Economic Record 1960-2011 by Alimamy Bangura Director Director, EPRU Ministry of Finance & Economic Development Sierra Leone: The Pathe to Middle Income - Paul Collier – IGC The Fundamentals of Economic Management and Governance in Drive for Economic Transformation by Omotunde E. G. Johnson Managing Natural Resources Agricultural transformation to meet 21st Century demands in Sierra Leone- by Joseph M. Kargbo Can Natural Resource Funds Address the Fiscal Challenges of Resource-Rich Developing Countries - Antoine Heuty Justifications & Priorities for Land Law Reform - by Dr. Ade Renner-Thomas Revenue Watch Land & Development Prepared by Dr. Ade Renner-Thomas MNR-Transformational Action based recommendations - NRM - Managing Natural Resources Natural Resources and Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone - Oli Brown Environmental Affairs Officer, UNIPSIL Political Governance Building Capacity through Delivery of Results - AGI - Conference Paper- Revised FINAL - Dr Malte Gerhold 14 Final Draft
 AANNNNEEXX IIIIII:: LLiisstt ooff PPaappeerrss CCoommmmiissssiioonneedd bbyy tthhee SSLLCCDDTT                  Civil Registration & Good Governance in Sierra Leone - The Missing Link?
-by Max Ahmadu Sesay, PhD Enhancing Political Governance - Kelly Bidwell (IPA) & Katherine Casey IGC Reform through Delivery by Results - AGI - December 2012 Security Sector Governance For Sustainable Development in Sierra Leone - Dr. Osman Gbla Transformation and Development in Sierra Leone_ Background Note on Political and Economic Governance - SLCDT Private Sector, Infrastructure & Diaspora A new public-private pact for transformation and development DR. CLAUDIUS BART- WILLIAMS Asessing Private Sector Development: The Problem of Data Gaps - Prepared by: Abubakarr Turay Statistics Sierra Leone Emerging ideas - PSI diaspora 20111204 -SLCDT Private Sector/Infrastructure + Diaspora Themes - Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie Isata Kabia Increasing Access to Finance – HKFraser SL-competitiveness P-Sector, Infrastructure, and Entrepreneurship: Competitiveness for private sector led transformation - by O. R. N. Jones Strategies to Strengthen the Role of Science, Engineering and Technology Education in the National Development of Sierra Leone Social Service Delivery Accountability in the delivery of social services w references- SLCDT ARTS & CULTURE IN THE TRANSFORMATION & DEVELOPMENT PROCESS - Charlie Haffner Delivery of Social Services - Diaspora Meeting Presentation – SLCDT Educational Quantity and Quality – SLCDT Health Infrastructure – SLCDT Userfees - SLCDT 15 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: RReeppoorrtt oonn IInntteerr SSeeccoonnddaarryy SScchhoooollss EEssssaayy CCoommppeettiittiioonn ANNEX IV: Report on Inter Secondary Schools Essay Competition.
WINNERS OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS ESSAY COMPETITION School Mark (%) Position 81 78 72 68 68 67 66 66 66 64 62 61 60 60 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 4th 6th 7th 7th 7th 10th 11th 12th 13th 13th Name Michael Bengah Antonia Howard Blessed Kebbie Sierra Leone Grammar School International School Secondary Ltd. Sierra Leone Grammar School Bassie Bondeva Turay Sierra Leone Grammar School Edwin N Sesay Abu B A Sankoh Dessica Cole Khadija Yilla Peter Beckley Kolenten Secondary School Kambia Sierra Leone Grammar School International School Secondary Ltd. International School Secondary Ltd. Sierra Leone Grammar School Oluwagbemileke Jegede International School Secondary Ltd. Patricia King Richard Pembu Tereshia T Rogers Hawanatu N Sheriff Examiners/Judges: Benevolent Secondary School Makeni Sierra Leone Grammar School St Joseph's Secondary School St Joseph's Secondary School 1.
Mrs Carlotta Roberts Chief Judge 2.

Mr Sahr Gboyo 3.

Mr Arthur Smith Judge Judge Organisers: 1.

Rev Moses Kainwo 2.

Mr Nathaniel A Pearce Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: RReeppoorrtt oonn IInntteerr SSeeccoonnddaarryy SScchhoooollss EEssssaayy CCoommppeettiittiioonn SOME TRANSFORMATION POINTS FROM THE ESSAYS No.
Key Points from the Essays—Sierra Leone in 25 Years 1 Even though one is unable to tell the height of a tree by the length of its shadow, this is how I would like to see Sierra Leone in 25 years: a new Sierra Leone where people are dedicated to their jobs with realistic salaries and other benefits in place.

Teachers assigned to rural areas should be given special allowances.

2 I would like to see indiscriminate logging discouraged so that the advance of the Sahara Desert will be stopped.
We need to see green vegetation all around Sierra Leone.

3 Great attention should be given to agriculture so that in 25 years’ time there will be enough food for the nation and raw materials produced for agro-based industries.

4 I hope to see primary and secondary schools staffed with well-trained and qualified teachers from recognized colleges and universities in order to promote quality education.
5 I would like to see improved newspapers by well trained journalists with little or no grammatical errors.

We need to have trained broadcasters that speak English fluently to man our TV and radio stations with a wide range of programmes—both educative and entertaining.

6 I would like to see a Sierra Leone with a better roads network to transport people and goods faster.

I would like to see well constructed roads and bridges all over the country plus good international airports.
7 A Sierra Leone with 24 hours of electricity supply and available pipe-borne water will make for a happy and healthy nation and be an encouragement to investors coming into the country.

8 I am praying that in much less than 25 years we would have abolished the two-shift system in all our schools.

Schools should run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 9 In 25 years, I would like to see all Sierra Leoneans (regardless of their location) enjoying free health care with more hospitals all over the country!
10 Offenders of the law should not be oppressed and exploited by the police and military forces—they should ensure that offenders are charged to court and given free trial irrespective of their status, sex or tribe 11 Work towards improving local and international communication through the media and internet facilities—these should be accessible to people in remote villages and towns as well.
12 The Sierra Leone I would like to see is one upholding democratic principles and good Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: RReeppoorrtt oonn IInntteerr SSeeccoonnddaarryy SScchhoooollss EEssssaayy CCoommppeettiittiioonn governance in the interest of peace and stability—a country where the leaders are accountable to the people that elected them, a country where the Rule of Law prevails or everyone is equal before the law.

13 Citizens should be encouraged to pay taxes to help develop the country.
14 There should be complete separation of powers between the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative arms of government.

15 Looking forward to a democratic state where citizens and journalists are free to express their mind on various issues so as to make the government of the day more effective.

16 I want to see a Sierra Leone with leaders who lead by example and say no to nepotism, tribalism and regionalism—this will guarantee political stability.
17 I want to see a Sierra Leone with universal access to quality and functional education that will fight poverty, empower women and protect children from hazardous and exploitative labour as well as sexual exploitation; one that promotes human rights and democracy.

18 My new nation should be one with no street begging or roaming mad men.

19 In the new Sierra Leone parents should be given five years imprisonment if they fail to send their children to school.
20 I would like to be citizen of a country with underground tubes for transportation, more ports added to the Queen Elizabeth II Quay and five major international airports.

Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: RReeppoorrtt oonn IInntteerr SSeeccoonnddaarryy SScchhoooollss EEssssaayy CCoommppeettiittiioonn The Winning Essay Name: Michael Bengah School: Sierra Leone Grammar School Essay Topic: Describe the Sierra Leone you would like to see in 25 years.
Robert Greenleaf wrote: “Nothing much happens without a dream.” For something really great to happen, it takes a real great dream.

I had a dream last night: it was on Wednesday, December 31st, 2036.

I was writing in my journal, something I do annually, a summary of what Sierra Leone had achieved over the years.

Ever since Egerton Kallay assumed Presidency five years ago, Sierra Leone has witnessed great and massive strides and of course in trying times.
As Henry Ford puts it, “Failure is the opportunity to start again more intelligently ”.

Sierra Leone has had her fair share of failures.

Forty years ago, she survived a decade-old civil war and decades of corruption, bad governance, nepotism, tribalism, and political violence.

As a nation we grew up: we had time to heal up, making our country a better place for everyone.
Thirty years ago, President Ernest Bai Koroma made a clarion call to all for attitudinal and behavioral change and this change has manifested itself over the years.

Sierra Leoneans have largely put their country first.

Gone are the days of street trading, dirt littering of the streets, open prostitution, street begging and mad men roaming the streets with the City Council at its efficient best.
Above all, its unheard of corruption cancer that was eating into the fabric of society was brought down to its lowest minimal.

With the introduction of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), there are hardly any occurrences of Police or Wardens accepting bribes; it only occurs minimally and one can safely say that there is zero tolerance towards corruption.

As early as Elementary School, corruption has been introduced into the curriculum.

As a result, people know and accept it as wrong.


In politics we have shown maturity over the years overlooking tribal and regional differences and we really make the right choice in choosing our lea ders these days.

At least we know what is best for the country and do go for it.

We have reclaimed the name “Athens of West Africa”.
Major strides have been made in the educational sector with free education for those who attend Primary and or Secondary School, and thousands of scholarships and grants-in- aid for those attending tertiary institutions are being provided.
A parliamentary act passed fifteen years ago enforced the right of every child to be educated up to WASSCE level with parents facing up to five years imprisonment for Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: RReeppoorrtt oonn IInntteerr SSeeccoonnddaarryy SScchhoooollss EEssssaayy CCoommppeettiittiioonn failing to send their children to school.
Extra classes, handouts, pamphlets, bribery for teachers/lecturers is now so extinct that any person below the age of fifteen will have to read history to learn about these things.

Results have been excellent enhanced by proper teaching methods and one in fifteen students own a computer as all examinations are computer-based (CBE).

Education is really the key to a nation ’s development.

The health sector has also seen a massive change compared to what used to happen decades ago.
With education nearing optimal efficiency the country now has a lot of specialists with over fifty cardiologists, hundreds of surgeons, over one hundred ophthalmologists, and much more.

Also there is free health care for all insured—this was the dream of Sierra Leones decades ago.

The highlight this year has been the setting up of various cancer and HIV research facilities all round the country, the first of its kind in West Africa.

I dreamed that economy wise Sierra Leone was at its best.
According to a recent survey by the World Bank, Sierra Leone was labeled the fastest growing economy in the world added to the fact that only one in fifty Sierra Leoneans lived under $5 (five dollars) a day.

With the country about to host two Nations Cups and one Olympics game, there is no doubt that we are at our highest economic height.

Lungi Airport is now our smallest among a total of five international airports with four ports added to the Queen Elizabeth II Quay.
Also there are lots of underground tubes, railways and different means of transportation.

The movies seen here are among the latest productions of this century.

Infrastructural development and urbanization have greatly manifested in the recent past.

Sierra Leoneans need not look for green pastures abroad because the pastures at home are green if not greener.
The President will be announcing tonight in his New Year’s Address that we would be launching our own space craft to the moon next year—tall achievement indeed.

The exploitation of natural resources (diamond, gold, bauxite, iron ore, etcetera) coupled with the recent discovery of platinum, and the fact that Sierra Leone produces more oil than Nigeria have all gone towards the enhancement of a sound economy.
Tourism is also playing a major role in our economic rise: the beaches, mountain tops, Islands all providing attraction for tourists who visit in their thousands every year.

On another level it is worth noting that crime rate is now at 0.1%--with television cameras installed all over the place the country is almost crime free.

It has taken eight years since I saw military personnel with guns in the streets.

It means that even violence is at its lowest for years now.
As I was writing the last line I woke up and discovered that it was all a dream, a dream into the future.

It was a dream but I believe with conviction that we can work on this Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: RReeppoorrtt oonn IInntteerr SSeeccoonnddaarryy SScchhoooollss EEssssaayy CCoommppeettiittiioonn great dream to make it happen.

Sierra Leoneans just have to realize that they are a team working towards a common goal.

We should remember that there is no “I” in a team.


Lyndon Johnson, former US President said, “There are no problems we cannot solve together and very few that we can solve by ourselves”.

Though we may be faced with challenges that escalate, the need for team work escalates as well.

The time to act is now—whatever our vision/dream may be.

Teamwork makes it work!


Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt ANNEX V: Bios of SLCDT Authors, Presenters & Secretariat Abdul Akim Sinneh Kamara Amadu Massally Aminata Kamara Abdul Akim Sinneh Kamara i s a Si erra Leonea n by na ti ona l i ty, born a t Ta s s oh Is l a nd i n the Wes tern Di s tri ct Urba n .Li ve a t 9 Vi nton Street vi a Bomba y Street Freetown.
He got hi s fi rs t Pri ma ry educa ti on a t Ta s s oh Is l a nd (Roma n Ca thol i c) a nd l a ter a ttended the Al bert Aca demy Seni or Seconda ry Berry Street Freetown.

He further ca ta pul ted to the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone, Foura h Ba y Col l ege Mount Aureol e Freetown purs ui ng a cours e l ea di ng to the Ba chel or of Arts Degree i n Li ngui s ti c a nd Soci ol ogy mi nor wi th a Di pl oma i n Pea ce a nd Confl i ct Studi es .
Amadu Massally i s a l ongti me a cti vi s t for na ti ona l devel opment both i n di a s pora a nd a t home.

In 2009, he won the mos t coveted a wa rd i n the Di a s pora a s he wa s a una ni mous choi ce for the NOSLINA Di a mond Awa rd whi ch i ndi ca tes the type of work he ha s done to promote Si erra Leone both a t home a nd i n the di a s pora .
In 2006, he founded the Si erra Leone-Gul l a h Heri ta ge As s oci a ti on i n the Uni ted Sta tes to fos ter the rel a ti ons hi p between a pa rti cul a r group of Afri ca n Ameri ca ns a nd Si erra Leonea ns .

He a l s o founded a touri s m compa ny, Fa mbul Ti k Tours i n 2010, to i ntroduce heri ta ge touri s m to Si erra Leone.

He wa s Ma na gi ng Di rector for the fi rs t Cons umer Fi na nce a nd Lea s i ng Compa ny owned a nd run by Si erra Leoena ns .
Toda y he i s CEO of a n i nforma ti on technol ogy compa ny, Ecl i ps e Technol ogy, whi ch he founded wi th hi s nephew a nd fri ends .

Ama du a l s o s i ts on the Boa rd of Di rectors for qui te a few orga ni za ti ons tha t do devel opment work i n Si erra Leone to i ncl ude the Fri ends of Si erra Leone a nd Bunce Is l a nd Coa l i ti on a mong others .

He i s a bi g s upporter of the youth a nd youth i ni ti a ti ves .
Ama du ha s pra cti ced a s both a Certi fi ed Publ i c Accounta nt a nd a Certi fi ed Informa ti on Sys tems Audi tor whi l e worki ng compa ni es s uch a s Ameri ca n Expres s a nd Pri ce Wa terhous e Coopers i n the Uni ted Sta tes .

Aminata Kamara i s a t the Si erra Leone Con+B6ference on Devel opment & Tra ns forma ti on a s the As s i s a nt Admi ni s tra ti ve Offi cer.
She hol ds a BSC Hons , i n Fi na nci a l Servi ces from the Ins ti tute of Publ i c Admi ni s tra ti on a nd Ma na gement (IPAM), Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Audrey Pabs-Garnon Charlie J. Hughes Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie Audrey Pabs-Garnon, ha s a l ong ca reer a s a n educa tor a nd i s pa s s i ona te a bout worki ng wi th young chi l dren.
An a l umna of the Anni e Wa l s h Memori a l School i n Freetown, Si erra Leone, s he proceeded to the Uni ted Ki ngdom where s he ga i ned her undergra dua te a nd gra dua te degrees i n ea rl y chi l dhood educa ti on, s peci a l i zi ng i n gui da nce a nd couns el i ng, from the Uni vers i ti es of Notti ngha m, Bri s tol a nd Rea di ng, UK, res pecti vel y.
She s erves a s Di rector of a n on-s i te Chi l d Ca re Center i n Col l ege Pa rk, Ma ryl a nd, USA for whi ch s he a tta i ned Na ti ona l [NAEYC] & Sta te [MSDE] a ccredi ta ti ons .
Audrey tra vel s extens i vel y a ttendi ng a nd pres enti ng a t na ti ona l a nd i nterna ti ona l conferences , i s a member of s evera l phi l a nthropi c orga ni za ti ons , s erves on va ri ous Advi s ory & Non-Profi t Boa rds a nd wa s na med Woma n of the Yea r 2010/2011 by the Na ti ona l As s oci a ti on of Profes s i ona l Women.

Her hobbi es i ncl ude s ewi ng, cooki ng a nd rea di ng.
Charlie James Hughes i s a Governa nce cons ul ta nt wi th s peci a l focus on ci vi l s oci ety, jus ti ce a nd the rul e of l a w, ci ti zens hi p, corrupti on a nd a ccounta bi l i ty, Loca l Government, medi a , el ecti ons , democra cy-bui l di ng, a nd rel a ted i s s ues .

From 1997 to 2008, he wa s the Di rector of the non-governmenta l orga ni za ti on Forum for Democra ti c Ini ti a ti ves (FORDI).
Hughes ha s a uthored cha pters i n publ i ca ti ons i ncl udi ng the cha pter on Si erra Leone i n the Encycl opa edi a of Gl oba l Pers pecti ves on the Uni ted Sta tes (Berks hi re Publ i s hi ng Group, 2007); a nd Huma n Ri ghts As s i s ta nce to Si erra Leone, i n Promoti ng Democra cy i n Pos t-Confl i ct Soci eti es (Lynne Rei nner, Col ora do, 2006).
He i s co-a uthor of Go Beyond Fi rs t Ai d: Democra cy As s i s ta nce a nd the Cha l l enges of Ins ti tuti on- Bui l di ng i n Pos t-confl i ct Si erra Leone (Netherl a nds Ins ti tute of Interna ti ona l Rel a ti ons , 2005).

Cha rl i e ha s s evera l l y cons ul ted for l oca l a nd i nterna ti ona l orga ni za ti ons .

In 2002 Hughes wa s a Rea ga n-Fa s cel l Democra cy Fel l ow a t the Na ti ona l Endowment for Democra cy, i n the Uni ted Sta tes of Ameri ca .
Cha rl i e J. Hughes wa s educa ted a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege.

He ha s a ttended s evera l i nterna ti ona l conferences a t home a nd a broa d on i s s ues of hi s profes s i ona l i nteres t. Hughes i s the Cha i rma n of the Monuments a nd Rel i cs Commi s s i on of Si erra Leone.

Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie i s a cons ul ta nt s peci a l i zi ng i n pri va te s ector devel opment a nd di a s pora -for-devel opment i s s ues .
Between 2008 a nd 2010, he coordi na ted a UK government-funded project to s upport the government of Si erra Leone to devi s e a nd i mpl ement a s tra tegy to s trengthen the country’s pri va te s ector.

Among other a chi evements , thi s l ed to the l a unch of the country’s fi rs t-ever na ti ona l bus i nes s pl a n competi ti on, currentl y i n i ts thi rd s eri es .
He ha s s erved a s a Gl oba l Forum on Mi gra ti on a nd Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie i s a cons ul ta nt s peci a l i zi ng i n pri va te s ector devel opment a nd di a s pora -for-devel opment i s s ues .
Between 2008 a nd 2010, he coordi na ted a UK government-funded project to s upport the government of Si erra Leone to devi s e a nd i mpl ement a s tra tegy to s trengthen the country’s pri va te s ector.

Among other a chi evements , thi s l ed to the l a unch of the country’s fi rs t-ever na ti ona l bus i nes s pl a n competi ti on, currentl y i n i ts thi rd s eri es .
He ha s s erved a s a Gl oba l Forum on Mi gra ti on a nd Devel opment (GFMD) i nterna ti ona l a dvi s or to two Cha i rs -i n- Offi ce, the governments of Mexi co (2010) a nd Ma uri ti us (2012).

In 1994 Chukwu-Emeka cofounded the London-ba s ed Afri ca n Founda ti on for Devel opment (AFFORD) – wi th a mi s s i on to expa nd a nd enha nce the contri buti on Afri ca 's di a s pora ma kes to Afri ca 's devel opment – a nd s erved a s i ts fi rs t Executi ve Di rector for 10 yea rs from 1999.
He cofounded a s i s ter orga ni za ti on, AFFORD-Si erra Leone i n 2008.

He i s a foundi ng pa rtner (2010) of the Incl us i ve Growth Stra tegi es (Si erra Leone) Li mi ted cons ul ti ng pra cti ce.

A pa rti cul a r pa s s i on of hi s rema i ns pri va te s ector-l ed job-crea ti on i n Afri ca l evera gi ng Afri ca n di a s pora a nd other res ources .
He i s of pa rt Si erra Leonea n (mother) – where he grew up – a nd Ni geri a n (fa ther) ori gi n. He wa s a member (2009-2011) of the Worl d Economi c Forum's Gl oba l Agenda Counci l on Mi gra ti on; he s erves on Comi c Rel i ef's Interna ti ona l Gra nts Commi ttee; he i s a Rota ri a n. Claudius J. Thomas s erved i n the Si erra Leone Di pl oma ti c Servi ce a s Fi rs t Secreta ry i n the mi s s i ons i n the USA a nd Ita l y for ei ght yea rs , i n the Ci vi l Servi ce for three yea rs before joi ni ng the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.
He wa s the As s i s ta nt Uni vers i ty Secreta ry for two yea rs before goi ng over to the Economi c Depa rtment a s a l ecturer i n Devel opment a nd Interna ti ona l Economi cs for twenty ei ght yea rs , where he l a ter beca me the Hea d of Depa rtment.
He founded the Publ i c Pol i cy Res ea rch Ins ti tute i n 2001 a s a "thi nk- ta nk" a nd cons ul ta ncy fi rm a nd ha s been cons ul ted by dozens of i nterna ti ona l a nd na ti ona l cl i ents i n the a rea s of Publ i c Pol i cy a nd Soci o-economi cs .
He wa s the Na ti ona l Coordi na tor for Si erra Leone's Poverty Reducti on Stra tegy Progra mme i n 2002 a nd wa s res pons i bl e for the compl ete "Res tructuri ng of the Si erra Leone Roa d Tra ns port (Bus ) Corpora ti on" i n 2006 a nd for the next three yea rs Na ti ona l Coordi na tor for Res ettl ement.

He worked a s a s hort-term Pol i cy Ana l ys t for the Na ti ona l Pol i cy Advi s ory Counci l a t Sta te Hous e a nd the Pres i dent's Commi ttee on Infra s tructura l Devel opment.
Mr Thoma s s tudi ed a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege (USL), George Wa s hi ngton Uni vers i ty, Johns Hopki ns Uni vers i ty (SAIS), Claudius J. Thomas Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Howa rd Uni vers i ty a nd London Uni vers i ty.
He wa s the Co-theme Lea der for Economi c Governa nce for the Si erra Leone Conference on Tra ns forma ti on a nd Devel opment a nd ha d s erved a l s o i n the two previ ous l ong-term vi s i oni ng efforts a s the Devel opment Economi s t. He i s currentl y Res i dent Di rector for the Interna ti ona l Growth Centre (IGC), whi ch ha s i ts hub a t London Uni vers i ty.

Dr Nathaniel King Dr. Ahmed Ramadan Dumbuya Dr. Joseph MacSeidu Kargbo Dr. Nathaniel King recentl y ga i ned hi s Ph.
D i n Soci a l Anthropol ogy from the Ma rti n Luther Uni vers i ty, Germa ny.

Hi s thes i s ’ thrus ts i ncl ude: power a s mul ti -fi el d a nd mul ti -di mens i ona l ; the Sta te a s di s cours e, pres ences a nd a bs ences ; the geo-pol i ti ca l na ti on vers us l i ved na ti on; youth a s a s urvi va l s tra tegy; a nd urba n s ecuri ty.
One of hi s publ i ca ti ons , Confl i ct a s Integra ti on, i s a n a ttempt to unders ta nd Si erra Leone’s Ci vi l Wa r. Unti l 2005, he wa s l ecturer of Engl i s h a t Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone, Foura h Ba y Col l ege.

He ha s a l s o worked for Forum for Democra ti c Ini ti a ti ve (FORDI) a nd Network Movement for Jus ti ce a nd Devel opment (NMJD).
Dr. Ahmed Ramadan Dumbuya i s a Pol i ti ca l Sci enti s t by tra i ni ng a nd wa s for s evera l yea rs Dea n of the Fa cul ty of Soci a l Sci ences a nd Hea d of the Depa rtment of Pol i ti ca l Sci ence a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege, the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.

He i s a n es ta bl i s hed a ca demi c a nd ha s conducted s evera l cons ul ta nci es a nd wri tten extens i vel y on Publ i c a nd Interna ti ona l Affa i rs a s wel l a s on pol i ti ca l a nd devel opment-rel a ted i s s ues .
Dr. Dumbuya ha s a l s o s erved a s Forei gn Mi ni s ter of the Republ i c of Si erra Leone on three di fferent occa s i ons i n the Governments of the APC, NPRC a nd the SLPP between 1991 a nd 2002, Member of Pa rl i a ment 1991 – 1992; 1996 –2001 a nd wa s Deputy Secreta ry Genera l of the Ma no Ri ver Uni on between 1982 a nd 1987.

Dr. Dumbuya i s currentl y a cons ul ta nt a t the Stra tegy a nd Pol i cy Uni t,, Offi ce of the Pres i dent.
Dr. Joseph MacSeidu Kargbo, i s the Pres i dent & CEO of Sa nda Devel opment Pa rtners , Inc.

He s erved a s a Fi na nci a l Advi s or for over a deca de a t Ameri pri s e Fi na nci a l Servi ces , Inc., a nd Ri verSource Li fe Ins ura nce Compa ny.

He wa s Founder a nd Pres i dent of Interna ti ona l Devel opment Cons ul ta nts , a res ea rch a nd cons ul ti ng fi rm tha t focus ed on Afri ca n devel opment i s s ues .
He worked a t Abt As s oci a tes , a nd Nja l a Uni vers i ty Col l ege a nd Government of Si erra Leone.
Dr. Ka rgbo recentl y compl eted cons ul ti ng a s s i gnments i n Si erra Leone for the Afri ca n Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Dr. Max A. Sesay Dr. Michael Kargbo Uni on/NEPAD, a nd Interna ti ona l Growth Center/London School of Economi cs a nd Uni vers i ty of Oxford on Economi c Governa nce a nd Ma na gement, a nd Mi ni ng Sector a nd Growth i n Si erra Leone.
Dr. Ka rgbo ha s ta ught ma thema ti cs a nd bus i nes s ma na gement a t hi gh s chool a nd col l ege l evel s i n Si erra Leone a nd the Uni ted Sta tes .

He recei ved hi s Ph.D. i n Agri cul tura l Economi cs from Okl a homa Sta te Uni vers i ty; M.S.

from Ca l i forni a Sta te Uni vers i ty, Chi co; a nd B.Sc.

from the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.


Dr. Ka rgbo ha s publ i s hed extens i vel y i n the a rea s of a gri cul ture, fi na nce, i nterna ti ona l tra de, economi c devel opment, governa nce a nd confl i ct res ol uti on i n Afri ca , Europe, As i a a nd the Ameri ca s .
Hi s recent publ i ca ti ons i ncl ude the book: Pol i ti ca l Ins ta bi l i ty a nd Economi c Recovery i n Si erra Leone: Les s ons i n Appl i ed Econometri cs , Model i ng a nd Pol i cy Ma ki ng, publ i s hed byThe Edwi n Mel l en Pres s , Lewi s ton, New York, ISBN-13: 978-0773415973, (December 2011).

Dr. Max A. Sesay, Currentl y Chi ef Regi s tra r of the Na ti ona l Regi s tra ti on Secreta ri a t i n Si erra Leone.
Pri or to ta ki ng up thi s a ppoi ntment i n 2009, he wa s for ten yea rs Chi ef Executi ve of the then Afri ca n HIV Pol i cy Network (UK).
For fi ve yea rs before tha t, he wa s Lecturer & Res ea rch Fel l ow a t Sta ffords hi re Uni vers i ty (UK), pri or to whi ch he s pent a bri ef s pel l a s Tea chi ng As s i s ta nt a nd Res ea rch & Tea chi ng As s i s ta nt a t the Uni vers i ty of Southa mpton (UK) a nd Foura h Ba y Col l ege, Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone, res pecti vel y. Dr. Michael Kargbo tea ches Publ i c Pol i cy, Governa nce a nd Interna ti ona l Rel a ti ons a t the Ins ti tute of Publ i c Admi ni s tra ti on a nd Ma na gement (IPAM), Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.
He wa s Hea d of Res ea rch a nd Acti ng Hea d of the Depa rtment of Publ i c Admi ni s tra ti on a t IPAM from September 2006 – October 2008.

He currentl y s erves a s Tea m Lea der for the Pol i ti ca l Governa nce thema ti c a rea of the Si erra Leone Conference on Devel opment a nd Tra ns forma ti on.
He ha s publ i s hed a book ti tl ed Bri ti s h Forei gn Pol i cy a nd the Confl i ct i n Si erra Leone, 1991 - 2001 (Oxford, Peter La ng) a nd two book cha pters on pos t-confl i ct pea ce- bui l di ng i n Si erra Leone.
He ha s underta ken s evera l a s s i gnments s uch a s revi ewi ng pa s t a gri cul tura l pol i ci es i n Si erra Leone for FAO/MAFFS a nd the Sta te of Democra cy a nd Pol i ti ca l Governa nce i n Si erra Leone for the Afri ca n Peer Revi ew Mecha ni s m. Dr. Ka rgbo recei ved hi s PhD from the Uni vers i ty of Bi rmi ngha m a nd hol ds gra dua te degrees i n Interna ti ona l Rel a ti ons a nd Devel opment Studi es a nd i n Interna ti ona l Touri s m Pol i cy from the uni vers i ti es of Ea s t Angl i a a nd North London res pecti vel y, a nd a BA from Foura h Ba y Col l ege, Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Elizabeth Titty Jalloh Farrel Elliott Felix Marco Conteh Francis Sowa Elizabeth Titty Jalloh Focus Group Di s cus s i on Tea m Lea der for the Wes tern Area , i s a gra dua te of Foura h Ba h Col l ege BA Gen wi th a pos t gra dua te di pl oma i n ma s s communi ca ti on.

She worked a t Worl d Vi s i on a s a moni tori ng & eva l ua ti on offi cer & a ga i n wi th P.A.G.E.
Progra mme(ACIDI-VOCA).

She ha s pa rti ci pa ted i n va ri ous res ea rch projects i ncl udi ng ma na gement of el ecti ons & di vers i ty.

Farrel Elliott i s a ma na gement a nd s tra tegy cons ul ta nt provi di ng cl i ents wi th techni ca l a dvi ce on Stra tegy, Project Fi na nce & Publ i c/Pri va te Pa rtners hi ps a s wel l a s Inves tment Advi s ory.
He ha s a Ba chel or of Arts from the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone a nd a Pos tgra dua te Di pl oma i n Soci a l Protecti on Fi na nci ng from the Uni vers i ty of Ma a s tri cht, The Netherl a nds a nd a n MBA wi th a s peci a l i s m i n Stra tegi c Ma na gement from As ton Uni vers i ty i n the Uni ted Ki ngdom.
He ha s worked i n pri va te equi ty, a nd wi th va ri ous mul ti l a tera l orga ni s a ti ons a nd corpora tes a nd ha s been a cons ul ta nt to the Uni ted Na ti ons Devel opment Progra mme (UNDP), Uni ted Na ti ons Conference on Tra de a nd Devel opment (UNCTAD), The Gl oba l Fund, the Interna ti ona l Fi na nce Corpora ti on (IFC), Pa nnel l Kerr Fors ter (PKF), The Economi c Communi ty of Wes t Afri ca n Sta tes (ECOWAS), The Governments of Si erra Leone a nd The Ga mbi a a nd The Afri ca Group a mongs t others .
Felix Marco Conteh i s a PhD Ca ndi da te i n the Depa rtment of Pol i ti cs a nd Interna ti ona l Studi es , a t the School of Ori enta l a nd Afri ca n Studi es , Uni vers i ty of London.

The focus of hi s res ea rch i s on “The Pol i ti cs of Decentra l i za ti on i n Si erra Leone”.
Fel i x hol ds a Ma s ters degree i n Interna ti ona l Devel opment Ma na gement from the Uni vers i ty of Bra dford, UK, where he gra dua ted a s the bes t Pos tgra dua te Student i n the Depa rtment of Devel opment a nd Economi c Studi es (DES), i n the 2008/09 Aca demi c yea r. Between 2006 a nd 2010, he worked for Si erra Leone’s Anti - corrupti on Commi s s i on (ACC), where he ros e to the pos i ti on of Regi ona l Ma na ger.
Francis Sowa i s a pra cti s i ng journa l i s t wi th over ten yea rs experi ence.

He ha s worked a t the then Si erra Leone Broa dca s ti ng Servi ce a nd Ra di o Educa ti on, Mi ni s try of Educa ti on.

He currentl y works wi th Ra di o Mount Aureol a nd tea ches a t the Ma s s Communi ca ti on Depa rtment, Foura h Ba y Col l ege, Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.
He hol ds a Ba chel or of Arts wi th Honours i n Ma s s Communi ca ti on (Fi rs t Cl a s s ) a nd a Ma s ter of Arts i n Ma s s Communi ca ti on from Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.

He i s a t pres ent a ca ndi da te for the Ma s ter of Phi l os ophy (M.PHIL) i n Ma s s Communi ca ti on.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Franklyn Lisk Herbert M’cleod Franklyn Lisk, i s Profes s ori a l Res ea rch Fel l ow a t the Centre for Gl oba l i s a ti on a nd Regi ona l i s a ti on (CSGR), a t the Uni vers i ty of Wa rwi ck, UK, a nd Honora ry Vi s i ti ng Profes s or of Economi cs a t the John a nd El nora Fergus on Centre for Afri ca n Studi es a t the Uni vers i ty of Bra dford, UK.
He currentl y ca rri es out res ea rch on conceptua l a nd pol i cy i s s ues perta i ni ng to the s oci o-economi c i mpa ct of gl oba l i za ti on; gl oba l hea l th governa nce; poverty reducti on s tra tegi es a nd s us ta i na bl e devel opment; empl oyment pol i cy a nd l a bour ma rket a na l ys i s ; .
He i s a cti ve i n the work of the Sub-Sa ha ra n Afri ca Res ea rch Network a t the Ins ti tute of Adva nced Study a t Wa rwi ck, a nd contri butes to tea chi ng a nd res ea rch i n the Fa cul ty of Soci a l Sci ences a nd a t the Ins ti tute of Governa nce a nd Publ i c Ma na gement a t the Wa rwi ck Bus i nes s School .
He wa s a Profes s or of Economi cs a t Stel l enbos ch Uni vers i ty i n South Afri ca from Ma y 2005 to December 2006, a nd ea rl i er s erved a s a Vi s i ti ng Profes s or a t the Growth Dyna mi cs Uni vers i ty Ins ti tute a t Era s mus Uni vers i ty, Hol l a nd.
Profes s or Li s k worked a t the Interna ti ona l La bour Offi ce (ILO) from 1974 unti l 2005, a nd hel d s eni or pos i ti ons i n the orga ni za ti on i ncl udi ng Seni or Economi s t; Regi ona l Advi s er on Empl oyment a nd Devel opment Pl a nni ng for the Ca ri bbea n; Deputy Regi ona l Di rector for Afri ca ; Di rector of ILO Li a i s on Offi ce i n New York a nd ILO Repres enta ti ve to the Uni ted Na ti ons ; a nd Founda ti on Di rector of the gl oba l ILO Progra mme on HIV/AIDS a nd the Worl d of Work.
Before joi ni ng the ILO, he wa s a l ecturer i n Economi cs a t As ton Uni vers i ty, UK, a nd a Tea chi ng Fel l ow a t the Uni vers i ty of Bi rmi ngha m. Profes s or Li s k i s the a uthor of books , monogra phs a nd a rti cl es i n a ca demi c journa l s on empl oyment a nd l a bour ma rket pol i ci es i ncl udi ng l a bour ma rket i nforma ti on s ys tems , poverty reducti on s tra tegi es , i ndus tri a l i za ti on s tra tegi es , a nd gl oba l hea l th governa nce i s s ues .
He hol ds a BA Economi cs (Durha m), M.Sc.

Economi cs (Bel fa s t) a nd PhD (Bi rmi ngha m) degrees .

Herbert M’cleod i s currentl y the Speci a l Advi s er to the Pres i dent i n the Offi ce of the Chi ef of Sta ff.

In thi s pos i ti on, he provi des a dvi ce on economi c devel opment i s s ues rel a ti ng to the Si erra Leone economy.

Ea rl i er he wa s Speci a l Coordi na tor i n the offi ce of the Vi ce Pres i dent.
Pri or to thi s , he wa s a ca reer offi cer of the Uni ted Na ti ons Devel opment Progra mme (UNDP); the devel opment a rm of the Uni ted Na ti ons .

He ha s hel d numerous s eni or l evel pos i ti ons i n the orga ni za ti on.
He took ea rl y reti rement i n 2005 a s Speci a l Advi s er to the As s i s ta nt Admi ni s tra tor Afri ca Burea u. Pri or to tha t he wa s the Uni ted Na ti ons Res i dent Coordi na tor i n the Democra ti c Republ i c of Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Herbert M’cleod i s currentl y the Speci a l Advi s er to the Pres i dent i n the Offi ce of the Chi ef of Sta ff.
In thi s pos i ti on, he provi des a dvi ce on economi c devel opment i s s ues rel a ti ng to the Si erra Leone economy.

Ea rl i er he wa s Speci a l Coordi na tor i n the offi ce of the Vi ce Pres i dent.

Pri or to thi s , he wa s a ca reer offi cer of the Uni ted Na ti ons Devel opment Progra mme (UNDP); the devel opment a rm of the Uni ted Na ti ons .

He ha s hel d numerous s eni or l evel pos i ti ons i n the orga ni za ti on.
He took ea rl y reti rement i n 2005 a s Speci a l Advi s er to the As s i s ta nt Admi ni s tra tor Afri ca Burea u. Pri or to tha t he wa s the Uni ted Na ti ons Res i dent Coordi na tor i n the Democra ti c Republ i c of Congo.

From 1995 to 2002 he wa s the Di rector, Di vi s i on of Opera ti ons Pol i cy a nd l a ter Di rector i n the offi ce of the Deputy Admi ni s tra tor.
He ha s a l s o occupi ed the pos i ti ons of Res i dent Repres enta ti ve i n Eri trea a nd i n Ca meroon, a nd ha s a l s o s erved i n Ethi opi a a nd Bots wa na .

As s eni or Regi ona l Projects offi cer i n the 80s he l ed the tea m tha t i n col l a bora ti on wi th the IFC a nd the Worl d Ba nk l a unched va ri ous i ni ti a ti ves a i med a t promoti ng pri va te s ector enterpri s es i n Afri ca .
He ha s provi ded a dvi ce to Governments i n va ri ous fi el ds i n devel opment i ncl udi ng the mi ni ng s ector, ma na gement by res ul ts , the i ntroducti on of performa nce contra cts , pl a nni ng etc.

Herbert M’cl eod i s na ti ona l of Si erra Leone a nd obta i ned hi s a ca demi c tra i ni ng from The Ha gue (MSS i n Devel opment Pl a nni ng) a nd the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.
(BSc Economi cs ).He i s the reci pi ent of va ri ous a wa rds i ncl udi ng the hi ghes t na ti ona l a wa rd to a forei gner pres ented by the government of the Ca meroun i n 1994 for hi s contri buti on to the devel opment of tha t country.

Isaac Massaquoi wa s Theme l ea der for the Huma n Devel opment s ector a t the Conference Secreta ri a t. Mr. Ma s s a quoi i s currentl y a cti ng a s Hea d of the Depa rtment of Ma s s Communi ca ti on a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege.
He s tudi ed a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege a nd Ci ty Uni vers i ty of London.

He worked for more tha n a deca de wi th the Si erra Leone Broa dca s ti ng Servi ce a s a News a nd Current Affa i rs Producer.

He ros e to the ra nk of Hea d of News before he res i gned i n 2005.

He i s a n i nterna ti ona l medi a tra i ner a nd communi ty ra di o expert.
Isaac Massaquoi Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Isata Kabia Ismael Koroma Malte Gerhold Isata Kabia worked a s the Res ea rcher on the Pri va te Sector a nd Infra s tructure theme, a nd di a s pora a s a cros s cutti ng i s s ue.

She i s a n entrepreneur who owns El ega nce fi tnes s centre a nd SPa .
Her newl y es ta bl i s hed BAna na Is l a nd Cos meti cs compa ny ma nufa ctures everythi ng from l oti ons , s oa ps a nd perfumes i n Si erra Leone.

She wa s the a cti ng di rector of di a s pora a ffa i rs i n 2011 a nd wa s i ns trumenta l i n the devel opment of the di a s pora enga gement s tra tegy whi ch recommends the forma ti on of a n a gency of di a s pora a ffa i rs .

She s tudi ed a t Greenwi ch Uni vers i ty, a nd ha s a ba ckground i n s ci ence.
Ismael Koroma i s one of Si erra Leone's cel ebra ted journa l i s ts , a Uni vers i ty Lecturer, a Communi ca ti on a nd Medi a Speci a l i s t a nd a Pa n-Afri ca ni s t. He i s the current Na ti ona l Secreta ry Genera l of the Si erra Leone As s oci a ti on of Journa l i s ts (SLAJ) a nd l ectures Inves ti ga ti ve Journa l i s m, Broa dca s ti ng a nd Medi a Studi es a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege-Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.
He i s a wel l experi enced Medi a Stra tegi s t wi th excel l ent i nterna ti ona l ma na geri a l records wi th the Uni ted Na ti ons Publ i c Informa ti on (UNAMSIL) a nd Swi s s ba s ed Founda ti on Hi rondel l (Cotton Tree News project i n Si erra Leone).

He s ucces s ful l y l ed the Communi ca ti on, Medi a a nd Outrea ch of the Si erra Leone Conference on Devel opment a nd Tra ns forma ti on.
Mr. Koroma hol ds a Certi fi ca te i n Pea ce Keepi ng a nd Interna ti ona l Confl i ct Res ol uti on, Certi fi ca te i n Gl oba l Terrori s m a nd a Di pl oma i n Is l a mi c Studi es .

He i s a l s o a gra dua te from Foura h Ba y Col l ege- Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone wi th a B.A Honours a nd Ma s ter of Arts degrees i n Ma s s Communi ca ti on.

He ha s ba gged s evera l a wa rds i ncl udi ng the Uni vers i ty Cha ncel l or’s Lea ders hi p a wa rd for outs ta ndi ng l ea ders hi p a bi l i ty 2007.
He i s a ca ri ng a nd l ovi ng gentl ema n. He ha s grea t pa s s i on for hi s fa mi l y a nd fri ends , a nd a bove a l l , s ucces s ful l y ma rri ed to Mrs .

Abi ba tu Is ma el Koroma .

Malte Gerhold, Si erra Leone Country Hea d, Afri ca Governa nce Ini ti a ti ve (AGI) Ma l te joi ned AGI from the pos i ti on of Deputy Di rector of the Stra tegy Uni t i n the Depa rtment of Hea l th i n the UK.
Before thi s he worked on UK hea l th reforms i n the Pri me Mi ni s ter's Del i very Uni t under Pri me Mi ni s ter Tony Bl a i r a nd Pri me Mi ni s ter Gordon Brown.

He bega n hi s ca reer a s a publ i c s ector s tra tegy cons ul ta nt for Accenture, fol l owi ng a PhD a t the Uni vers i ty of Oxford.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Moses Kainwo Mustapha Sheku Gibril Naasu Genevieve Fofanah Osman Benk Sankoh Moses Kainwo i s a Si erra Leonea n Pa s tor who took a n honours degree i n Engl i s h La ngua ge a nd Li tera ture, pl us a n M. Phi l i n Theol ogy.

He ha s s erved extens i vel y i n the INGO worl d. Hi s wi fe i s a l s o a Pa s tor cum tea cher.

Between them they ha ve two grown- up gi rl s .


Mustapha Sheku Gibril wa s educa ted a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege, the Uni vers i ty of Si erra Leone.

From 2005 to 2008, Gi bri l worked a t the Si erra Leone Commerci a l Ba nk, the grea ter pa rt of whi ch peri od he di d i n the Fi na nce Depa rtment.

From 2005 to 2008 he wa s Accounta nt a t PCS Hol di ngs SL Ltd (IPTEL).
He l eft for the Uni ted Ki ngdom i n December 2008 to purs ue a BTEC Adva nced Profes s i ona l Di pl oma i n Ma na gement Studi es a nd a n MBA a t the Uni vers i ty of Wa l es .
Gi bri l ca me ba ck home i n Ma rch 2011 a fter compl eti ng hi s cours e a nd s ecured the job of Hea d of Admi n a nd Fi na nce a t the Si erra Leone Conference Secreta ri a t. Naasu Genevieve Fofanah i s currentl y the Gender Speci a l i s t a t the Secreta ri a t of the Si erra Leone Conference on Devel opment a nd Tra ns forma ti on.
Pri or to ta ki ng up thi s a ppoi ntment i n November 2011, s he wa s Gender Advi s er for the Uni ted Na ti ons Integra ted Pea cebui l di ng Offi ce i n Si erra Leone s i nce 2010.

For fi ve yea rs before tha t, s he wa s a Di vers i ty Cons ul ta nt for Oxfa m GB a nd Qua l i fi ca ti on a nd Curri cul um Devel opment Agency (UK) res pecti vel y. Na a s u i s a l s o a n entrepreneur a nd a member of the Bri ti s h Ps ychol ogi ca l As s oci a ti on.
Osman Benk Sankoh ha s jus t a ccepted a n a ppoi ntment to s erve a s a Publ i c Informa ti on Offi cer to hea d the Communi ty Outrea ch Uni t a t UNMIL i n Li beri a .

He wa s a n Edi tor of Concord Ti mes News pa per.

He s tudi ed Ma s s Communi ca ti ons a nd Soci ol ogy a t Foura h Ba y Col l ege Uni ve+B14rs i ty of Si erra Leone before joi ni ng the UN Mi s s i on i n Li beri a i n 2004.

Mr. Sa nkoh worked a s a UN Vol unteer wi th the Publ i c Informa ti on Secti on ti l l 2011.
He joi ned the Secreta ri a t of the Si erra Leone Conference on Devel opment a nd Tra ns forma ti on a s a Communi ty Outrea ch/ Medi a a na l ys t i n November.

He wa s Sector Publ i c Informa ti on Offi cer, Zwedru – Gra nd Gedeh County, a nd a cted a s Offi cer- i n -Cha rge Hea d of Fi el d Offi ce (HOFO) where he s upervi s ed the coordi na ti on of huma ni ta ri a n opera ti ons for the UN fa mi l y a t a ti me when there wa s a l a rge i nfl ux of Ivori a n refuges to Li beri a .
Mr Sa nkoh wa s a Reuters Founda ti on Fel l ow a t Rhodes Uni vers i ty i n South Afri ca .

He a l s o s tudi ed Di s a rma ment Demobi l i za ti on a nd Rei ntegra ti on (DDR) a t the Nya ki na ma Mi l i ta ry Aca demy, Rwa nda a nd Pea cebui dl i ng a t the Geneva Centre for Securi ty Pol i cy ( GCSP) i n Swi tzerl a nd.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Pa ul Col l i er Sallia Fawundu Jr. Sushil Kumar Modi Paul Collier i s Profes s or of Economi cs a nd Di rector of the Centre for the Study of Afri ca n Economi es , Oxford Uni vers i ty.

He took a fi ve yea r Publ i c Servi ce l ea ve, 1998-2003, duri ng whi ch he wa s Di rector of the Res ea rch Devel opment Depa rtment of the Worl d Ba nk.
He i s a l s o a Profes s eur i nvi té a t CERDI, Uni vers i té d’Auverge, a nd a t Pa ri s 1.

In 2008 Pa ul wa s a wa rded a CBE ‘for s ervi ces to s chol a rs hi p a nd devel opment’.

He i s the a uthor of The Bottom Bi l l i on, whi ch i n 2008 won the Li onel Gel ber, Arthur Ros s a nd Cori ne pri zes a nd i n Ma y 2009 wa s the joi nt wi nner of the Es tori l Gl oba l Is s ues Di s ti ngui s hed Book pri ze.
Hi s s econd book, Wa rs , Guns a nd Votes : Democra cy i n Da ngerous Pl a ces wa s publ i s hed i n Ma rch 2009; a nd hi s l a tes t book, The Pl undered Pl a net: How to reconci l e pros peri ty wi th na ture wa s publ i s hed i n Ma y of thi s yea r, 2010.
Pa ul i s currentl y Advi s or to the Stra tegy a nd Pol i cy Depa rtment of the IMF, a dvi s or to the Afri ca Regi on of the Worl d Ba nk; a nd he ha s a dvi s ed the Bri ti s h Government on i ts recent Whi te Pa per on economi c devel opment pol i cy.
He ha s been wri ti ng a monthl y col umn for the Independent, a nd a l s o wri tes for the New York Ti mes , the Fi na nci a l Ti mes , the Wa l l Street Journa l , a nd the Wa s hi ngton Pos t. Hi s res ea rch covers the ca us es a nd cons equences of ci vi l wa r; the effects of a i d a nd the probl ems of democra cy i n l ow-i ncome a nd na tura l -res ources ri ch s oci eti es .

Sallia Fawundu Jr. i s a s oftwa re Engi neer.

Fa wundu Jr. worked for Softtri be Gha na a s a techni ca l wri ter.
He wa s i ns trumenta l i n s etti ng up Ecoba nk Si erra Leone a nd went on to s erve a s Hea d of Technol ogy of Ecoba nk Si erra Leone.

Fa wundu Jr. ha s a l s o worked profes s i ona l l y i n s evera l i ndus tri es na mel y s ports ma na gement, hea l th cons ul ta ncy, a ppa rel , broa dca s ti ng & medi a , & educa ti on.
Though born i n Si erra Leone, he i s wi del y tra vel ed, ha vi ng l i ved a nd s tudi ed i n Les otho, Angol a , Gui nea -Bi s s a u, Gha na , Beni n, Burundi , Engl a nd, Fra nce, Swi tzerl a nd & USA, a nd s pea ks Engl i s h, French a nd a ba s i c-l evel Portugues e. Fa wundu Jr. rea d Computer Sci ence & Ps ychol ogy a t the Uni vers i ty of Gha na , Legon.

He a l s o s tudi ed El ectri ca l Engi neeri ng a t Geneva Col l ege, Penns yl va ni a .
Sushil Kumar Modi (born 5 Ja nua ry 1952) i s a n Indi a n pol i ti ci a n from the Bha ra ti ya Ja na ta Pa rty a nd i s the current Deputy Chi ef Mi ni s ter a nd Fi na nce Mi ni s ter of Bi ha r, Indi a .

He i s a l i fel ong member of the Ra s htri ya Swa ya ms eva k Sa ngh.

He wa s a ppoi nted the Cha i rma n of the Empowered Commi ttee of Sta te Fi na nce Mi ni s ters for the Impl ementa ti on of Goods a nd Servi ce Ta x.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VV:: BBiiooss ooff SSLLCCDDTT AAuutthhoorrss,, PPrreesseenntteerrss && SSeeccrreettaarriiaatt Syl Cheney-Coker Syl Cheney-Coker, a l ea di ng Si erra Leonea n poet a nd novel i s t, ma de hi s na me wi th the vol ume Concerto for a n Exi l e whi ch ca me out i n 1973.

He ha s s i nce publ i s hed other vol umes of poems i ncl udi ng The Bl ood i n the Des ert’s Eyes ; a nd the l a tes t, Stone Chi l d a nd other poems (2008).
Al though pri ma ri l y a poet, Cheney- Coker i s equa l l y wel l known for wha t cri ti cs ha ve ca l l ed hi s ‘extra ordi na ri l y a mbi ti ous ,’ ‘founda ti on epi c’ novel , The La s t Ha rma tta n of Al us i ne Dunba r whi ch chroni cl es the 350-pl us yea rs of contempora ry Si erra Leonea n hi s tory, a s s een through the eyes of the ma gi ci a n a nd s a ge, Al us i ne Dunba r. Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg ANNEX VI: REPORT ON THE NATIONWIDE CONSULTATIVE MEETING WITH YOUTH BY THE SIERRA LEONE CONFERENCE ON DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFORMATION (SLCDT) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL YOUTH COMMISSION (NAYCOM) AT MILE 91,TONKOLILI DISTRICT INTRODUCTION The Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation (SLCDT) and the National Youth Commission (NAYCOM) on Tuesday, 10 th January, 2012 organized a one-day National Youth Consultative meeting at the Rainbow Hall, Mile 91.
The thrust of the consultative meeting with young people from all over the country was to provide a platform for the youth to design a position paper and come out with strategies on how they think Sierra Leone should look like in the next fifty (50) years.

The discussions centered on the current challenges facing the country and how these can be overcome through the national transformation process.
Participants were drawn from all (14) fourteen districts in Sierra Leone to ensure that the recommendations possess a national outlook.
In his statement, the Commissioner of the National Youth Commission, Mr. Anthony A. Koroma who was also the chairperson of the meeting, said, for a country to make a blue print in its development process, young people must be key participants in determining and d eciding the processes adding that his institution, the National Youth Commission would strengthen the capacities of the District Youth Councils (DYCs) for the effective coordination, implementation and monitoring of all youth programmes.
He expressed hope for the future of young people in Sierra Leone as demonstrated in the high turnout of young people for the conference and particularly the female representation which was highly commendable.

He encouraged youth at the conference to make meaningful contributions as to what they want Sierra Leone to look like in the next (50) fifty years.
The Commissioner pointed out that as a Commission, they would do all in their power and wisdom to ensure that young people are placed at the fore front of change and development.

He cautioned young people to desist from all forms of violence and anti- social behavior especially with the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections fast approaching.

The Commissioner appealed to the youth at the consultative meeting to cascade the outcome of the meeting back to their respective communities.
Welcoming participants, Mr. Sullay Kondoh who represented the Paramount Chief, Pa. Roke Sesay thanked the organizers of the meeting for choosing his chiefdom as host Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg of this all important forum.

He encouraged young people to show commitment during the course of the meeting and to point out key development areas for young people.
the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Giving an overview of Transformation, Mr. Claudius Thomas who was the leader of the SLCDT team at the meeting, highlighted key areas that should form the platform for discussion.

He stated that the problems and challenges we are facing today as a nation could be traced as far back as the period characterized by colonization, the OAU Conference in Sierra Leone (1980), the Political Party system and of course the rebel war that lasted over a decade.
He encouraged young people to visit the Secretariat’s website to know more about the conference and its operations.

Mr. Thomas st ated very clearly that the conference is not a political exercise, but geared towards the development of Sierra.

To seek the views of ordinary Sierra Leoneans, Mr. Thomas stated that the Conference Secretariat had already completed about 200 focus group discussions nationwide.
He said that some of the findings during the nationwide consultative meetings would form part of the discussions.

A vote of thanks was delivered by the Youth Chairperson of the Western Area Rural District Youth Council, Veronica Jalloh.
PRESENTATIONS Presentations were done on the key conference themes which were:  Social Service Delivery - Mrs. Naasu Fofanah, Gender Specialist of SLCDT  Political and Economic Governance - Mr. Claudius Thomas (SLCDT)  Natural Resources - Mr. Claudius Thomas (SLCDT)  Private Sector and Job Creation - Mr. Anthony A. Koroma (NAYCOM) 1.
SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY Naasu’s presentation was done on the basis of three thematic areas: i ) Education i i ) Transportation and i i i ) Health (i) Education Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg In the area of Education, Naasu presented the key findings in which she stated the following: There is serious skills mismatch in terms of the type of training being offered and the job market dynamics The whole education system needs a complete overhaul and the school curriculum needs to be checked all over again a) b) c) The literacy rate needs to move from the current 25% to 80% in the next decade d) There is every need to include women in all spheres of life because they are a key resource to development e) There is rapid growth in the population and this need to be checked At the end of the presentation, various questions were asked and concerns and contributions were made by the youth Questions/Concerns    Sexual harassment in Universities and schools Review of school curriculum to ensure that subjects that has to do with growth and development are offered in schools and universities Concerns over the Child Rights Act on the development of children (ii) Transportation Madam Nassu noted that in previous discussions, the team made the following findings: a) b) Inadequate transportation system for citizens and that students walk very long distance to and from the schools The inadequacy in the transportation system has also affected the health
 sector as many health centres are located very far from the communities Questions/Concerns   How can the government work with the private sector to provide transport facilities for citizens Government to provide adequate transportation for both the education and the health sectors Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg  (iii) Health In the area of health, she acknowledged that there is poor healthcare service and That there is so much inaccessibility to health centres and healthcare services a) b) Poor Monitoring of health care service delivery c) The activities of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) is still rampant in the country    Questions/Concerns How can the government help in building improved health centres The government to involve young people through the National Youth Commission to monitor the activities of people dealing with the Free Health care service delivery in Sierra Leone.
How can government ensure that the free health care service reaches all areas in the country as well as other vulnerable groups of people 2.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC GOVERANCE The second presentation was done by Mr. Claudius Thomas and it was based on the theme: Political and Economic Governance.

He also did a presentation on Natural Resources.

Mr. Thomas noted that for in as much as there are rights.

He noted some of the reasons why the country (Sierra Leone) has found itself in its present situation.
Some of these included: a) Poor electoral system b) Absolute disrespect for law and order c) Many laws formulated but not properly implemented d) Jobless economic growth Questions/Concerns   Labour surplus economy (too many people working in one sector Enabling environment for private sector growth Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg  Creation ofpPublic sector works for youth 3.
PRIVATE SECTOR AND JOB CREATION The third presentation on Private Sctor and Job creation was done by the Commissioner of the National Youth Commissioner Mr. Anthony A. Koroma.

Mr. Koroma said the private sector is the engine of growth and development in any country and further noted that the first thing that an individual or country needs in its growth and development strides is a clear vision and the ability to act.
He called on youth to think business noting for youth entrepreneurship and matching jobs skills to market demands.

The Commissioner informed all present that the primary focus of the commission for this year is going to be on youth entrepreneurship and voluntarism though other areas are also important.

transformational possibilities there are high that Questions/Concerns   Sustainability of the National Youth Commission That all legislation related to youth for e.g.
registration of youth organizations are harmonized into one document showing clear mandate with respect to registering youth groups.

a) Government must ensure that the middle manpower is well developed if youth employment and empowerment is to be realised GROUP WORK This session of the consultative meeting was don e in groups.

Participants (Youth) were divided into four groups with each group discussing one of the themes set out for discussion at conference.
At the end of the discussions, the respective groups came out with recommendations for consideration by the SLCDT.
GROUPS GROUP 1: Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities GROUP 2: Accountability and the Rule of Law GROUP 3: Natural Resources GROUP 4: Driving the Transformation Process Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg GROUP ONE : CITIZENS’ RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Citizens’ Rights The Rights of citizens are placed into three categories; Political Rights, Social Rights and Cultural rights.
From the meeting, young people (Youth) described political rights as the right to vote and be voted for and thus they suggested the legislation of the 10% affirmative action for youth political representation and participation.

During the meeting, youth described Social rights as those rights which have to do with the right to employment, right to quality education, right to quality, affordable and accessible health care facility.
Youth suggested that there should be the enactment of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill so that citizens can have information relating to state affairs like the signing of agreements and contracts by government on behal f of the people of Sierra Leone.

Finally, they also identified cultural rights of individuals which they referred to as the positive norms and values in society.
They suggested that policies must be put in place to ensure that these rights must be respecte d and upheld by individuals in society.

Responsibilities of Citizens Youth identified the following as key responsibilities of citizens and which if practiced would eventually lead to a holistic national development.
 As a responsibility, citizens must pay taxes  They must protect, respect and maintain public/state property  They should respect the rule of law  Citizens must endeavor to monitor and report the country ’s project and programme implementation no matter the implementing agency or the donor for as long as the project is a state project.
 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) must be non-partisan  Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) must be transparent and accountable to the beneficiaries and the general public  Citizens must show respect the National Public Procurement Act (NPPA)  Citizens must show restraints for all forms of anti-social behavior  Citizens must be always ready to offer national service whenever called upon  Citizens must see it as a responsibility to demonstrate effective service delivery in areas such as health, transportation, education, energy and electricity etc.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg GROUP TWO: ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE RULE OF LAW Group two dealt with issues surrounding Accountability and the Rule of law.

The young people acknowledged that the issue of accountability in Sierra Leone is not anything good to write home about.
They agreed that if this is to be achieved, then they as young people who hold the present and determine the future must come to the fore and some of the ways that this could be done is by doing the following as young people:  Young people must learn to hold our leaders accountable for their action  To ensure that political leaders give feedback on their activities  Government should enact the freedom of Information bill (FOI)     Reports by NGOs should be made available to the people for whom and with whom the project was implemented To ensure a bottom-top approach implementation and coordination of programmes information flow for proper The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) should be made to be effective and independent Recommendations on issues dealing with the rule of law The Judiciary must be made to completely function as an independent body  The appointment of judges must be free and fair  Justice must not be delayed  Equity before the law should be paramount  The office of the Attorney- General and that of the Minister of Justice must be continue to be separate GROUP THREE: NATURAL RESOURCES Group three discussed the theme of Natural Resources.
It was agreed that Sierra Leone as a nation is immen sely blessed with varying natural resources but these natural/mineral resources are not being tapped for the good of all Sierra Leoneans.
As a result, the group made a series of recommendations which they want the committee to factor into their report and some of these recommendations are as follows: Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg    There must be a national consultative dialogue forum preceding the review of the mining act Mining companies in all mining areas to train youth on basic and professional mining-related skills Government to form a mining commission to study and give professional advice on mining contracts and supervise mining activities in Sierra Leone  There should be a robust monitoring mechanism put in place to monitor fishing activities on Sierra Leone’s territorial waters  Equip the naval wing of the army to be able to undertake the latter  10% of all mining proceeds to be directed towards youth development in Sierra Leone through the National Youth Commission (NAYCOM) With respect to the environment, two strong recommendations came out and they include:  Government to institute very strong environmental laws free from politics  Effective implementation of the environment act and emphasized land reclamation.
 Government to increased budgetary support for the Environment Agency GROUP FOUR: DRIVING THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS Education One of the driving forces for the transformation process is Education.
Many young people were able to identify some lapses in the education sector and for that reason made the following recommendations;  The learning environment must be made very friendly for people with disabilities  The disability act must be speedily enacted Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg      The school curriculum must be structured and factor in courses that that meets job market needs.

E.g.
E.g.

civic educ ation, oil the current management/engineering etc.
Build the capacity of teachers and lecturers at the various universities including the conditions of service Government scholarships must be dished out evenly to all deserving students The establishment of additional universities to give young people the opportunity to make choice especially at regional level  The construction of all Junior and Secondary schools in all chiefdoms Health Another key area that is seen as a driving force for the transformation process is that of Health.
It was observed that there is every need for improving the free health care service delivery and for this reason; a number of recommendations were put forward by youth for the transformation process;  The construction of state of the art hospitals in all districts in the country  Training and better conditions of service for all health personnel  To provide enough health centres at chiefdom levels  Institute a robust monitoring mechanism for the health sector and set a precedent on corrupt officials, health personnel or even members of the public Employment At the consultative meeting youth identified gaps in the employment sector and made the following recommendations to be considered by the SLCDT:  A review of the labour laws and enactment of an employment policy which would not emphasize the (5) five years working experience syndrome but rather be considered as added advantage for job applicant  Strong private sector involvement to help create jobs especially for young people Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg   There must be a sin cere and strong government commitment in designing, implementing and monitoring programmes for the country especially in terms of committing funds towards projects implementation.
Government must always try to demonstrate a strong political will in the process of implementing policies and programmes and not merely politicizing programmes or issues of national concern and employment.

Infrastructure A key area that also came out clearly was the area of infrastructure.

Young people (The youth) at the consulta tive meeting recognized that infrastructure has a major role in the development and transformation process in the country.
For this reason, they came out with quite a good number of recommendations for consideration by the SLCDT.
   The government must continue to support the establishment of good road networks nationwide Construction of low cost and affordable housing for citizens in and out of the capital Freetown The provision of clean, adequate and affordable pipe borne water for citizens  The improvement in the provision electricity in the whole country STRATEGIES FOR YOUTH PARTICIPATION AT THE CONFERENCE In a way of recognizing the presence and participation of youth at the conference, the young suggested strategies which could be applied so that their recommendations could be considered on the one hand while at the same time their presence could be easily felt on the day of the conference.
As a result, they made the following recommendations: a) b) c) A nationwide popularization of the general findings and recommendations of the SLCDT by the youth from all over the country The National Youth Commission to select young people who could represent the various districts For identity, young people should have a special kind of dress showing uniformity and distinctiveness from other participants at the conference Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg d) e) f) g) h) Youth shod visit the website of SLCDT to make contributions, comments and even criticisms Young people should be encouraged and supported to show their creativity by coming up with skits on development and transformation which they could use to dramatize on the day of the conference They must be supported to demonstrate their support for the Development transformation process in Sierra Leone by printing and wearing T-Shirts and displaying placards and banners Designate a young person who would make a statement of commitment on behalf of youth especially on the issue of the 2012 elections and violence The District Youth Councils (DYCs) to stage a million man march in their various districts with T-Shirts, banners and placards and other activities showing their support for the development and transformation process in Sierra Leone Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg Annex 1:- Distribution of participants into groups GROUP 1 NO NAME DISTRICT/REGION 1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Wiyatta Minah Western Area Urban Yusif Bobby Sankoh Fatmata B. Kamara Tonkolili Tonkolili Sulaiman Kargbo Western Area Urban Adams Kamara Western Area Rural Ishmail A. Koroma Abubakarr Sheriff Usman Lahai Issa K. Kamara Tonkolili Koinadugu Kailahun Bonthe 10.

Adu Jusu Western Area Urban 11.

Jonas Kpaka Kailahun 12.

Sinnoh Kargbo Western Area Urban 13.

Abdul S. A. Koroma 14.

Mohamed S. Sankoh 15.


Ibrahin T. Sesay Bombali Tnkolili Bombali Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg GROUP 2 NO NAME DISTRICT/REGION 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Usman Swaray Veronica Jalloh Paul B. Baimba Mohamed Kamara Western Area Urban Western Area Rural Kailahun Bo Sallu Jusu Western Area rural Abubakarr Sesay Denis Kargbo Alpha M. Kamara Bo Kambia Port loko Alusine Samura Western Area Urban 10.
Senessie Koroma 11.

Amjatu Momoh 12.

Mohamed Kamara 13.

Hawa Lahai 14.

Charles Sellu 15.

Fatu Mansaray Bonthe Port Loko Kambia Kailahun Koinadugu Moyamba GROUP 3 NO 1.

2.

3.

4.

NAME DISTRICT/REGION Thomas Babadie Western Area Urban Mohamed Tim Kargbo Western Area Rural Ibrahim T. Fanday Bockarie S. Mattia Kono Pujehun Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.


Yusuf T. Kamara Abdulrahman Foday Abdulrahman S. Kanu Elizabeth G. Missalie Juliet Aruna Simithy Jawara Zainab Kamara Ibrahim S. Jalloh Tonolili Kenema Bombali Bonthe Bo Koinadugu Kenema Tonkolili NO NAME DISTRICT/REGION GROUP 4 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Alfred B. Mansaray Nancy Juana Sheku Fofanah Abu Kamara Samsudeen Alie Sesay Ibrahim Turay Jr. Musa A. Jalloh Zainab Koroma Ibrahim Galiwa 10.

Mohamed S. Sesay 11.

Abraham A.

Sheriff 12.

Amara Kamara 13.


Aminata A. Kamara Koinadugu Kono Western Area Rural Port Loko Tonkolili Western Area Urban Kailahun Pujehun Kenema Port Loko Moyamba Kambia Bombali Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 14.
Mark Sesay Kenema Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation & National Youth Commission (SL) Annex 2: Agenda National Youth Meeting – Mile 91 Tuesday, January 10, 2012 07:30 – 08.30 08:30 - 09:00 09:00 - 10:00 10:00 - 11:30 11:30 - 12:00 12:00 – 13:00 13:00 - 14:00 14:00 - 15:00 Registration of Participants: Abdul Koroma BREAKFAST Welcome & Introducstions: Yusuf Kamara Chairman’s opening Remarks – Anthony Koroma (Commissioner - NAYCOM) Statement from Host P.C: Pa Roke Sesay Overview of Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation & National Youth Meeting by Claudius Thomas (SLCDT) Presentation of Conference Themes: 1.
2.

3.

4.

Social Service Delivery by Naasu Fofanah (SLCDT) Political and Economic Governance by Claudius Thomas (SLCDT) Natural Resources by Amadu Massallay (SLCDT) Private Sector & Job Creation by Anthony Koroma (Commissioner - NAYCOM) Questions & Answers by Anthony Koroma (NAYCOM) LUNCH Group Work: Momodu Wudie (NAYCOM) 1.

2.

3.

4.
Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities Accountability and the Rule of Law The March to Prosperity Driving the Transformation Process Plenary Session: Group Reports by Yusuf Kamara (NAYCOM) 15.00 - Preparation of The youths’ Position Paper for 2061 by Claudius Thomas & Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn tthhee YYoouutthh CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 16:00 Joseph Goakai 16:00 - 16:30 Strategizing for Youths’ Participation in the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation Naasu Fofanah & Momodu Wudie.
16:30 - 17:00 Rapporteur s Close of Meeting & Administrative Arrangements: NAYCOM/MYES/SLCDT Manso Bangura (NJAYCOM)& Alhaji Fofanah (MEYS- Western Area Rural) Annex 3: Presentations This Presentation is available in the documentation section of the SLCDT Website: www.sierraleonetransformation.org Annex 4: Presentation This Presentation is available in the documentation section of the SLCDT Website: www.sierraleonetransformation.org Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg ANNEX VII: REPORT ON PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NATIONAL CONSULTATIVE TOWN HALL MEETING -FREETOWN 11TH JANUARY 2012- “Nation building with Persons with Disabilities” SIERRA LEONE UNION ON DISABILITY ISSUES (SLUDI) AND OTHER DISABLED PERSONS ORGANISATIONS-(DPOS) 1.
Introduction The Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues(SLUDI) and other Disability Persons Organizations (DPOs) on the 11th of January 2012 convened a consultati ve town hall meeting ,with the overall aim of providing input from the perspective of Persons with Disabilities(PWDs) for consideration at the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation(SLCDT).
The conference which took place at the Youth C entre Goderich Street, Freetown had in attendance 178 persons from various Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs) together with representatives from the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA).
The objectives of the town hall meeting were:      To engage all categories of Persons with Disabilities in national discussions to provide into Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation 2012; input To challenge members of the public to revisit their beliefs and perceptions about persons with disabilities; To challenge duty bearers to become consciously aware of the special needs of persons with different forms of disability; To engage stakeholders to constructively discuss development issues, ensuring that Persons with Disabilities fully enjoy their rights as enshrined in the Sierra Leone Persons with Disabilities Act 2011 and the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities implementation and any future laws of Sierra Leone to improve the lives of Persons with disabilities.
To sensitize the populace on the need to peacefully co-exist with Persons with Disabilities.

Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 2.

Conference Proceedings 2.1 Opening Ceremony The opening ceremony was chaired by Honourable Julius Lahai Cuffie.

Honourable Cuffie welcomed participants to the town hall meeting.

He emphasized the importance of the meeting at this juncture of the history of Sierra Leone.
He highlighted the meeting as being characterized as many significant “firsts”.The first time a national conference on transformation has been held in Sierra Leone.

The first time recommendations of the disabled are inputted into national deliberations.

The first time disabled have convened to deliberate on issues that affected their lives.

He stated that all will be allowed to input their views and that no one would be unduly influenced.

He reiterated the commitment of all to disability issues.
2.1.1 Statements SLUDDI: The President of SLUDDI Mr. Kabba F. Bangura gave an overview of the reason for the meeting and the input it is expected to make into the SLCDT.

He however made the observation that over the past 50 years the lives of persons with disabilities had not improved.

He therefore welcomed the opportunity the town hall meeting provided for disabled to present recommendati ons to the Sierra Leone National Conference.
He further stated that the meeting provided an additional opportunity for many to contribute and for the voices of the persons with disabilities to be recognized.

He concluded in saying that both the town hall meeting and the ensuing conference should be taken seriously, so that people with disabilities in Sierra Leone could constructively chart the way forward for the next fifty years.

SLCDT: Mr. Claudius .J.


Thomas on behalf of the SLCDT secretariat catalogued significant economic and political events that have taken place in Sierra Leone over the past 50 years.

He referred to the oil crisis of the 70s and the downturn of the national economy from the 80s to present.

He pointed out that, although politically the country was progressing, numerous civil and political rights were violated during the years of civil unrest.
He informed the participants that the convening of the conference was a presidential initiative providing the nation with the opportunity to retrospect over the previous 50 years and based this retrospection make recommendations for Sierra Leone’s transformation for the next 50 years.

He mentioned that with over 200 focus group discussions, the input into the conference by the general populace was far greater than previous visioning exercises undertaken in the past.
He stated that it was the aim of the secretariat gets the opinions of the populace devoid of any political views.

Mr. Thomas further pointed out that the country would shortly realize sig nificant increase in revenue from investments in the mining sector and would need be mindful of the need to invest resources judiciously.
He outlined the thematic focus of the Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg SLCDT secretariat under the pillars of: Governance, the economy, natural resourc es, social services, the private sector and the Diaspora.

Mr. Thomas also informed the participants of the extent of technical preparation and sensitization that had gone into the programme.
Technical sessions proceeded with a meeting of both national and international experts and representatives from various entities such as women’s groups, youth groups, Chamber of Commerce etc.
He highlighted some of the key issues covered by various discussions as being: The need for an overall improvement in the education system;         The need to align training with the emerging opportunities for employment within the country: The need for electoral system reform and a change to the system of proportional representation; The need to review the land tenure system; Over hauling of the chieftaincy system; The need for accountability transparency and upholding of the rule of law; The need to review the adverse citizen provisions in the constitution; Diaspora persons and the importance of remittances to the economy; He stated that the efforts of SLCDT are linked up to Diaspora persons because of the importance of remittances to the economy.
Mr. Thomas concluded by urging participants not only to deliberate on special issues related to persons with disabilities but also to focu s discussions on wider development issues.
2.2 Plenary Presentations 2.2.1 The challenges of Persons with Disabilities in Sierra Leone (Perceptions and reaction of public about Persons with Disabilities –Vandy Konneh Mr. Vandy Konneh pointed out that the disabled had numerous insurmountable challenges, as a result of which, many do not survive up to their first birthday.
He highlighted the fact that even making it to the conference proved difficult for many of the disabled who had to compete with able bodied persons to access the public transport services.

He alluded to the fact that disabled are at a disadvantage in every sphere of life; be it social political and economic.
He elaborated that even with some amount of education, life was difficult for ma ny disabled persons and he referred to instances that even disabled university graduates have difficulties in gaining employment.
2.2.2 Content of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2011 Content of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2011- Francis Kabbia (Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA)) Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg Mr. Francis Kabbia stated that his ministry which had the responsibility for the implementation of policies for the disabled also had the responsibility to ensure that citizens fully aware of disabled persons rights.
He highlighted four main areas for consideration: i. ii.

iii.

iv.

The establishment of a National Commission on Disability; Non discrimination against persons with disability; Equalization???

?

?

?Related issues He pointed out the need for persons with disabilities to be aware of their rights in order for them to be able to lobby effectively once the National Commission on Disability is formed.

2.2.3 Content of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities -Mr. ?
Luca (Human Rights Section-UNIPSL).

Mr. Luca observed that the fact that a series of consultation on disability in Sierra Leone had been held over the past couple of months indicated that the issue of Persons with Disabilities is gaining momentum and attention by not only disabled persons but also the general public.

He informed the conference that UNISIL had recently produced a report that would be useful to the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation.
He commended the government of Sierra Leo ne for moving forward on the 2006 UN Convention for Persons with Disabilities, through the domestication National Disability Act 2011.

He highlighted the need to further advance in the implementation of the provisions of the act.

He emphasized the urgency in the establishment of the National Commission on Disability.

2.2.4 Ms. Naasu Fofana SLCDT Gender Specialist Ms. Fofana emphasized the need to incorporate the views with women with disability into the SLCDT.
She pointed out that although the provision o f social services concerns all citizens, it is a fact that women, disabled persons and youth experience greater difficulty on accessing these services.

In the area of education, she directed participants to consider the special needs of not only the physically disabled but also the less discernable mental disabilities which hinder the child’s progress throughout their schooling.
With reference to the health sector Ms. Fofana cited instances of discrimination against pregnant women.

She also referred to the need for supportive infrastructure and equipment to improve the mobility of the poor.

Ms. Fofana encouraged the participants to deliberate on the issue allocation of increased revenues from the mining sector.
With reference the private sector she urged participants to consider challenges for both those seeking employment as well as persons facing difficulties in establishing their own businesses.

In the areas of political and economic governance, she highlighted for disabled women in particular to be recog nized in the current lobby for the minimum 30% representation in political governance.

She challenged SLUDDI to set a good example by not discriminating against their female members.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 2.2.5 SLCDT-Mr. Nat King-Mr. King stated that it is the aim of the conference to be truly representative and consultative.

The secretariat expects deliberation to focus both on issues relate to the disabled as national issues which affect the whole country.
He presented the four topics around which participants were to deliberate as:     Citizen’s Rights and Responsibilities Accountability and Rule of Law The March to Prosperity Transformation 2.3 Technical Presentations   2.3.1 Social Services for Persons with Disabilities-Ms. Melrose Cotay.

Ms. Melrose Cotay pointed out that people with disabilities experience great difficulty in accessing social services.

She stated that this had negative consequences for their full integration into society.
She explained that whereas in the past disability was considered exclusively as a health issue, she highlighted the necessity for persons with disabilities to be integrated into all sectors of development in Sierra Leone.

Ms. Cotay at now that since Sierra Leone is a signatory to the UN Charter on Disabilities, that disabled persons in Sierra Leone have the right to live like other Sierra Leone citizens without any stigma attached to their condition.
She stated that they therefore had the right to be elected into parliament, as they equally had the right to move about the streets without any hindrance.

Mrs. Cotay Pointed out that for the integration of persons with disabilities to be achieved, a number of support mechanisms are need to be put in place, such as: Facilities to make schools more accessible for disabled children; Recognition in the health sector of the various constraints of the hearing impaired.
Medical costs of disabled persons should be subsidized.

Calipers to be more readily available to disabled as well as autonomic and prosthetic services; The provision of disabled friendly housing facilities for persons living with disabilities; Adaptive system??

Ms. Cotay concluded that although the forum should consider the health aspects related to the conditions of persons with disabilities that a wider social model that integrated disabled persons into every sphere of development should be considered.
This she elaborated should include their inclusion in politics and the economy.

She stated that for instance that disabled should be considered in all aspects of the mining process.
Discussions     Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg In the discussion which ensued, the following points were raised:      Disabled persons should have a representative in the secretariat of the Sierra Leone Co nference for Development and Transformation to assist in articulating the actual needs of persons with disabilities.

There is a need for a Minister for the disabled.


The is a need for a total transformation and inclusion regarding the affairs of the disabled; The Government needs to have an open door policy for persons with disabilities; Political pronouncements regarding persons with disabilities need to passed free transportation etc.

law e.g.
law e.g.

provision of university scholarships, into 2.3.2 Natural Resources- Mr. Teddy Foday Musa Mr. Foday Musa highlighted the need to maximize the anticipated increased revenues to be accrued from the mining sector.

He pointed out that although the country’s natural resources belonged to all, that they are fairly distributed.

He also pointed that a number of issues would need to be considered for our natural resources to be a blessing rather than a curse.
Some of the issues he outlined that would need to be considered by the group covering natural resources are as follows:  Strategies to ensure greater transparency in the management of the county’s natural resources.

The need to know the nature and content of various agreements.

 2.3.3 The Private Sector-Patrick Taylor.

Mr. Patrick Taylor highlighted the importance of the private sector to the economy both in terms of revenue generation and employment.
He advised that d uring the deliberations the following issues should be considered:       How the employment of persons with disabilities should be addressed.

He suggested that the Government should play an enabling role by providing incentive to companies that employed disabled persons.

Persons with disabilities should be in a position to advise Government on the policies and laws Government should promulgate.
Persons with disabilities should consider ways in which they can benefit from financial services like microfinance.

Persons with disabilities should monitor whether mining companies are fulfilling their corporate social responsibility.

The human rights approach should be considered as the most appropriate approach to dealing with disability even within the context of the private sector.

Private sector entities should train their personnel on how to deal with persons with disability.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg  Factories and enterprises that fabricate equipment such as wheelchairs and prosthetic appliances for the disabled would need to be encouraged an d supported.

2.3.4 Governance-Julius Lahai Cuffie Mr. Lahai Coffie highlighted the importance of disabled people playing a role in the political process either as a voter or a candidate.
He said that persons with disability should endeavour to be registere d as voters.

He indicated that there were numerous challenges for disabled as the environment is not conducive to their participation.

He also outlined other limitations to the participation of Persons with disabilities in the political process as thus:     Limited resources is a major obstacle to the political participation of the disabled.

The various party structures do not make provisions for persons with disabilities.
Disabled persons are not recognized in the manifestos of the various political parties.

Affirmative action for the disabled is not passed into law.

2.4 Group Presentations 2.4.1 Group 1 Citizen’s Rights a d Responsibilities Facilitator- Melrose Cotay Simon Bamel-MODDA Kailahun John Bangura-MSWGCA-Bo Mohamed Conteh-DDA ATV Koroma-HAM Saffie Jalloh-S.L.A.B Amadu Kabba-S.L.A.B Zainab Kamara E.D.S.I Mohamed Y Turay-One family People Alimamy .B.Kanu-ECBVI Thomas Allieu- ECBVI Bokarie.D.
Koroma-L.A.P.P Kadie Turay-NADWOFF Thomas Joe-MIC Abdul Sheriff-GIC John.T.Kamara-SLUPP Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg Eva .K.Kargbo-NADWOF Isatu Kamara-SLAB Bombali Idrissa Dumbuya-SLAB Freetown Mohammed.B.Mansaray-Kite-SL Freetown Andrew.M.Khamara-Disability Sierra Leone Yemah.H Samura-DAAG Edward Conteh-SLWVA Emma Turay-SLAPA Citizen- An individual born in Sierra Leone where both parents are of Sierra Leone origin and have write to vote and end up to be voted for.
-The quota system in the electoral system is more favourable for PWD’s.

Reasons-PWDs are not economically empowered to finance general and proportional representation in elections.

At least 10% of PWD women should be given more priorities.

Access to Justice There should be a sign language system in all areas of the judiciary e.g.

courts and police stations.

Free Legal aid for PWDs should be provided.

Health Free health for all PWDs and their children.
Transportation    Government should provide free transportation system for all PWDs Adaptation of the road system for PWD’s .e.g.

those with wheel chairs and white cane users.

ID cards should be given to PWD’s as identification for public transport, medical employment, and institutional learning.

Physical Rehabilitation  Free access through the provision of mobility appliances.

Housing Provision of housing for PWDs especially women.
Social Safety Provision should be made for unemployed PWDs and the aged.

 Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg        Government should support existing structures like the Government assisted Braille printing press.

Sport activities for persons with disabilities should be supported by Government.
All persons with disabilities should be mainstreamed into the regular school system and tertiary institutions.

In the case of the severely disabled existing facilities should be upgraded and emphasis placed on skills training.

The curriculum of teachers training colleges should capture special needs education.

Text books for hearing impaired should be made available in various libraries.

Information technology should be introduced in all schools providing education and training for PWDs.
State land should be made available to PWDs for the construction of houses and learning institutions.
2.4.2 Group 2- Private Sector Facilitator- Patrick Taylor Thomas Lebbie-Chairman Abu bakkar Koroma-Secretary Patrick.J.Taylore Facilitator Mariatu Mansaray Alhaji Sulaiman Daramy Adama Thoronka Rosaline Belloh Ismatu Fofanah Sao Momoh Alusine Bangura John .M.Mansaray Alusine Bangura Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg Abdullai.B.Sankoh C.B Choree Mohamed .A.
Conteh Lamin.S.Bangura Agnes Kamara Patricia Mansaray Accountability              Employment into Government offices should be done by merit (non-regional, non-tribal, non-partisan based etc.)

Improvement of living wages and incentives to public officials.

Government should introduce an open door policy to embrace citizen’s participation in government.
Government to review judicial policies with the aim of enhancing the concern’s of PWD’s Government to fast track the enactment of the freedom of information bill.

Government to review the national procurement policies and develop a means of communicating anomalies to the public.

Government to develop a policy to effec tively monitor and evaluate the activities of the private sector.

Review of private Sector policy which should be inclusive the concerns of persons with disabilities.
Private sector to employ persons with disabilities without discrimination.

Government to provide incentives to employees and persons with disabilities.

The enforcement of policies stipulated for persons with disabilities act 2011.

Private sector ensures barrier accessibility of properties that is owned by the private sector.

free environment to enhance physical The Rights and Responsibilities of Persons with Disabilities.
In accessing finance for self-employment of PWDS, citizens with disabilities should take responsibility in cases where misappropriation of funds has taken place.

Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg     Government effects the implementation of a policy of incentives to the private sector in order to enhance job creation for persons with disabilities in line with the persons with disabilities act 2011.
Government to effectively implement the policy of decentralization and devolution of powers to enhance the mainstreaming of disability issues in local development programmes.

To ensure accountability on matters of persons with disabilities.

Government should ensure representation in all forms of employment for persons with disability.
2.4.3 Group 3 Governance and Political and Economy Facilitator-Julius Lahai Cuffie Chairperson-Kabbahkeh Noah Abdul.T.Seasay Elizabeth Kamara Yayah Yanka Kanu Salieu Turay Salimatu Sesay Disil Ramatu Sesay James Charles Gombay-PIDD-SL Simbo.B.Menjor Marie Sesay-SLNAD Harding.M.Kuteh Memunatu Morovia Hawa.J.Moray Winifred Williams Fatmata Thorlley Mathew Thorlley Mariama Jalloh Miatta .S.Kamanda Sylvannus.F.Boima Samuel.C.

Nylender Paul Osman Kabbia-UPBSAA.


Natural Resources: -Government to contract mining companies in order to pay funds into the Government account.

Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg -groups to be set up to monitor the mining companies approved by Government.
-Access and sharing of information (Open Door Policy)-Effective and efficient security force be set up to ensure that foreign boats do not enter into our territories for smuggling our natural resources.

Effective and efficient security force be set up to ensure that foreign boats do not enter into our territories for smuggling our natural resources.

B Mining     Review of policy periodically.

Environmental impact assessment agreement between Government community and community.
Special monitoring team be set up to monitor the corporate social services of the company.

Industrial companies to be set up to process o ur raw materials in order to benefit the citizens in terms of employment, educational infrastructural facilities accessible to disabled persons.

 Review land tenure system to reflect a modern system.

All revenue collection in country disability issues should be prioritized.

 Literacy and training for farmers.

Priority should be given to PWDs.


C. Private Sector  Job creation for PWDs in all sectors.

D: Political       Quota system should be given to PWDs both at regional and national levels.

PWDs representation in all chairs of governance.

Review of 1991 constitution-friendly to PWDs.

Political parties’ constitutions should be friendly to PWDs.

Government to fully support D.P.Ds Government to support disability survey nationally.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg           Duty free concession to be given to D.P.Os.

Accessible industrial court.

Speedy set up of Disability Commission.

Social safety nets be provided for P.W.Ds Government grants to be provided for D.P.Os.

A disability desk should be established in the President’s office.

The orthopedic /rehabilitation centres be fully supported by Government.
Free education/effective learning materials be available in all categories of disabilities.

Learning centres modernized for effective learning process for PWDs.

Disability curriculum be set up in all learning institutions.
2.4.4 Group 4 Natural Resources and Management March to Prosperity Facilitator –Teddy Foday Musa Daulter Mamie-Chairman Sylvanus Bangura-Secretary Teddy Foday Musa-Facilitator The group first identified resources as being: Bauxite, Iron Ore , Rutile, Cocoa, and Coffee Fishery products and Petroleum.

Recommendations        The value, worth, quality and quantity of our mineral resources should be declared and published.

Review mining policies and terms of agreement every three years.
Land degradation addressed and compensated.

Government to set up structures to oversee the planning.

Monitoring, implementation and evaluation of mining activities.

Mining companies should set up area development funds for persons with disabilities to be channeled through the National Commission for Disabilities.

Mining companies should set up a quota system for employment of PWDs.

Minerals should be processed in country.


Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg  Political parties should be made to sign up to all our recommendations through PPRC and passed into law.

How to sustain the Process Follow up discussions were held on how to sustain the process Fifteen Most Immediate Action Points 1.

2.
2.

Establishment of the Disability Commission and the national fund for persons with disabilities.

The establishment of a disability unit in each ministry and the Office of the President.

3.

Government should devolve disability issues.

4.

Government should reactivate the Braille printing press in the Government printing Department.

5.

Government should provide Free Education .transportation and free health care.

6.
6.

By November let Government honor the TRC recommendation of the political quota of 10% youth and 30% women.

10% of the 30% quota for women should be for disabled women.

7.

Establishment of a Ministry on Disability issues.

8.

Establishment of a housing scheme for persons with disabilities.

9.

Government should communicate to universities that disabled should be given a full scholarship and should not be required to pay 50% of the fees before taking exams.

10.
10.

Employers should employ PWDs as a priority as per disability policy 11.

Government should support all orthopedic centers that supply devices to PWDs.

12.

Disability organizations should be fully supported by the Government nationally and regionally.

Strategies to Ensure Implementation 1.

Advocacy and lobbying in each and every district.

2.

SLUDDI organize a national coalition with other disability and civil society organizations.
Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 3.

Produce placard, t-shirts and vanguards l the action agreed on by this conference.

Sub-ANNEX 1 Conference Agenda NO ACTIVITY ACTOR(S) TIME Facilitator Arrival and Registration Participants/Invitees 09:00am-09:30am Prog.

Call Prayers to order and Participants 09:30am-90:55am Secretary- General Chairman’s Remarks Chairman 09:35am-09:40am Hon.
J. N. Cuffie Statement by SLUDI President 09:40am-09:45am SLUDI President Statement Chairperson SLCDT 09:55am-09:50am Chairperson SLCDT The Rules of the forum Chairman 09:50am-09:55am Hon.

J. N. Cuffie Tea break Participants 09:55am-10:15am Zainab Kamara B.
PRESENTATIONS Vandy Konneh 10:15am-10:35am Vandy Konneh The challenges of Persons in Sierra with Disabilities and Leone reaction of public about Persons with Disabilities (Perceptions Discussions 10:35am-10:50am Content of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2011 MSWGCA 10:50am-11:10am Kabbia Discussions 11:10am-11:25am of the United Content Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities inclusive UNIPSIL HRS 11:25am-11:45am Luca Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg Discussions Group formation GROUP WORK Social services Governance- Political & Economic Group -1 Group-2 Natural Resources Management Group-3 Private sector development Group-4 Infrastructure Diaspora Group-5 Group-6 11:25am-11:45am 11:45am-11:50am Melrose Cotay 11:50am-1:00pm Melrose Cotay Teddy Musa Foday- Patrick J. Taylor Group presentation Questions , Answers LUNCH including Zainab (Facilitates) B. Kamara 1:00pm-2:00pm 2:00pm-3:00pm way forward for the SLCDT (Recommendations) Participants/Stakeholder s 3:00pm-3:30pm Sustainability Mechanism for and Development the Transformation agenda (Recommendations) Participants/Stakeholder s 3:30pm-3:50pm Session Evaluation Participants 3:50pm-4:00pm Closing Delegates to guest houses & Retu rn of Participants 4:00pm 21 Rapporteur Kenyeh Barlay Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy
 CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg Sub-ANNEX 2 Participant List NO 1.
42.
NAME Alusine Bangura Fatmata Tholley John Bangura Alex N. Sesay Babah Kallon Simeon B. Menjor Edward Conteh Sorie M. Kargbo Simeon B. Bameh Hawa Morray Mohamed Sow AbuBakarr Koroma Sylvanus F. Boima Kabbah Noah Mohamed Foday Luseni Isata Kargbo Isatu Kamara Sia Nyumah Amadu Kabba Sao Momoh Saffiatu Deen-Jalloh Mariatu Mansaray Jeneba Williams Samuel Nylander John M. Mansaray Paul Jabaty Salamatu Sesay Andrew Kamara Teddy Musa Zainab B. Kamara Sahr Jeremiah Johnes Bangura Agnes B. Gbondo Brima Musa Rosaline Bamoh Mumanatu Morovia Micheal Rogers Abu Koroma Abdul Thomas Sesay Vandy Konneh Francis Kabia Francis Charlie INSTITUTION / LOCATION TDDA – Tonkolili TDDA – Tonkolili MSWGCA – Bo SLAB – Makeni NALPA – Makeni MSWGCA – Bombali SLWVA – Freetown Sign Language Interpreter MODDA – Kailahun MODDA - Kailahun Leprosy Ass.
– Freetown Progress Handicapped Dev.
Association - Waterloo HBSL – Bo SLAB – Freetown SLAB – Bo Kambia Bombali District Kono SLAB – Freetown RTI – Kenema SLAB – Freetown National Disabled Women’s Forum (NADWOF) - Freetown Disable Women Action Group – Moyamba DRIM - Moyamba AMADI – Freetown WDO – Freetown DiSiL Disability Sierra Leone DiSiL NADWOF - Freetown Kono MSWGCA South NADWOF - Freetown OTC – Kenema DRIM – Bo DRIM – Pujehun DRIM - Pujehun HAM – Freetown HYDO – Freetown Bo MSWGCA – Freetown Video Coverage Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 43.
91.
86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

Mohamed Conteh Alhaji M. S. Thoronka Idrissa M. Dumbuya Henry O. Tucker Sia Nyumah Esther A. Massaquoi Mohamed Kamara Mariama B. Jalloh Samuel A. Sesay Agnes Kamara Sylvanus Bundu Saidu Mansaray Albert Goodman Emma Turay John Bangura Isata M. Koroma Kaday Kanu Eva Kargbo Zainab Sesay Nenneh Kargbo Patricia Mansaray Swaray Coker Melrose Cotay Kenyeh Barley Momoh Conteh Mohamed K. Fofanah Kadiatu Turay Mathew Tholley Abdulai B. Sankoh Thomas Alieu D. S. Gbakama Alimany Kanu Rev.
Saa P. Missah Amidu Mattia Alhaji S. Daramy Juliana Mansaray Christian Thomas Hon.

J. N. Cuffie David Josia Elizabeth Janganga Joseph W. Sesay Saffiatu A. Kamara Luca Trinchien Adama Jalloh Winifred Williams Joseph S. Sallia C. P. Thorpe Mariatu Thullah Rugiatu Swaray TDDA - Tonkolili Sign Language Interpreter SLAB – Freetown SLAB - Freetown Kono DRIM – Moyamba Guard Polio Challenge Ass.
– Kabala SLUDI – Kabala PWDGA Kissy Freetown POCA Grafton WESFOD –P - Lungi KITE-SL SLAPA / NADWOF - Freetown SLAPA - Freetown SLNAD - Freetown SLAD - Freetown NADWOF - Freetown HOJ - Freetown NADWOF / SLUDI - Freetown MSWGCA - Freetown SLUDI - Freetown INCLUDE - Freetown Private Consultant Culture Radio – Press African Champion Newspaper NADWOF - Freetown DAAG – Bombali Able for Disable – Tombo Freetown ECBVI - Freetown ECBVI - Freetown ECBVI - Freetown SLUDI - Kono Bonthe SLUDI Executive - Freetown Kenema Kenema Parliament Bonthe Bonthe Guard SLNAD UNIPSIL NADWOF - Freetown National School for the Deaf – Freetown Skill Training Centre Hastings – Freetown SLAB – Freetown NADWOF - Freetown Mayamba Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 92.
141.
Alieu Bameh Marie Sesay Mohamed Kargbo Yeanoh H. Samura George Samon Saidu Mansaray Mohamed Y. Turay Lamin S. Bangura Elizabeth Kamara Aminata H. Kabia James C. Gombay Mohamed Bangalie Zainab Kamara Mohamed B. Mansaray Emma Parker Mohamed A. Conteh Hannah B. Mansaray Santigie Kargbo Momoh E. Mansaray Ramatu Sesay Mrs. Miatta S. Kamanda Nandie Sheriff Sorie Marrah Gibril Sesay Paul Osman Kabia Thomas Joe Samuel Koroma George Samon K. T. John Albert Bessman Thomas Lebbie Umu Bakarr Mohamed K. Turay Abu Bangura Issa Turay Daulta Mammie Joseph Kpaka Mohamed A. Kamara Mariama Jalloh Patrick Mansaray Asdul Sheriff Alhaji M. Rahman Kabba F. Bangura Patrick J. Taylor Mariama B. Jalloh Fanta Dabor Alusine B. Mansaray Josie Kebbie Marian Alpha Moyamba SLNAD - Freetown DAAG- Freetown DAAG - Freetown Port-Loko Port-Loko OFP – Freetown WESOFOD – Kambia WESOFOD – Kambia NADWOF - Freetown PIDD –SL Bonthe EDSI KITE - SL SLAB – Freetown INCLUDE Press LAPP SLAPA SLUDI - Freetown Hosetta Abdullah School – Freetown Koinadugu Koinadugu Universal Radio UPBSA – Freetown MIC SLAD WESOFOD – P -Lungi WESOFOD – P - Lungi Star Radio – Press SLAB – Freetown Star Radio – Press Atomic Press SLUDI - Freetown Handicap International SOS Home for the Physically Challenged Pujehun SLUPP – Freetown PWDGA Hastings SLAB – Freetown GIS – Freetown SLUDI – Freetown SLUDI – Freetown SLUDI / HRCSL Koinadugu Koinadugu SLUDI - Freetown LAPP Kenema Final Draft AANNNNEEXX VVIIII:: RReeppoorrtt oonn PPeerrssoonnss wwiitthh DDiissaabbiilliittyy
 CCoonnssuullttaattiivvee MMeeeettiinngg 142.
178.
Regina Mani Ishmatu Sheriff Joseph Kainessie Flexi Conteh Salieu Turay Alpha Koroma Bockarie D. Koroma Santigie Bujay Sesay Joseph B. Sesay Ibrahim Lincoln Kargbo Edna L. Smalle Abu Bakarr Kanu Bendu Musa Foday Momodu Yayah Kanu Ekundayo Jones Dennis Massaquoi Aunty Joko Kargbo Foday Momodu Bayoh Conteh Abass Kamara Sulaiman Jalloh Abu B. Kamara Abu Kanu Mohamed E. Taylor Saffiatu Dumbuya Fasali Janneh Joseph Dowanah Junisia Pessima Sheku Bah Rachard Sawoi Momoh Josua Eku Scotland Simeon Bangura Solomon Sesay Kailahun SLAB - Freetown POCA SLUDI / SLAPA Vision for the Blind Vision for the Blind LAPP GGM – USA HYDO Galaxy Radio 106.1 FM BBN FM 93.0 FYC Pujehun EDSI IHBDA EDSI Pujehun Caterer ESDI VDH DAAG - Freetown Waterloo INCLUDE Youth Centre Youth Centre INCLUDE SLAD Bonthe South Kono Kailahun MSWGCA Kono East Kambia Kambia Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Technical Workshop Report of the Technical Workshop This report will be available in the documentation section of the SLCDT Website: www.sierraleonetransformation.org Final Draft AANNNNEEXX:: Report of the Focus Group Discussions Report of the Focus Group Discussions This report will be available in the documentation section of the SLCDT Website: www.sierraleonetransformation.org