Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698083296857.pdf (Sierra Leone)
Sierra Leone National Action Plan IV (December 2021– June 2023) Sierra Leone National Action Plan IV (December 2021– June 2023) Sierra Leone National Action Plan IV (December 2021– June 2023) Sierra Leone National Action Plan IV Table of Contents 1.

Foreword 2.

Acknowledgements 3.

Introduction 4.

Issues to be addressed 5.

Open Government efforts to date 6.

National Action Plan development process 7.

Commitments 8.

Annex A – NAP IV Commitments by Grand Challenge 9.


Annex B – Key Actors Foreword a High Level consultation with heads of Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Para- statals to ensure their participation in future NAP commitments and milestones and to reiterate the importance of their commitment to the process.
The National Action Plan IV will address the challenges of enhancing citizens’ engagement in the extractives, and beneficial companies that engage with government, ensure equal access to justice for all by reforming the justice sector or the use of traditional mechanisms to resolve disputes, opening up Parliament for public scrutiny and further strengthen the relationship Society between organizations and ensuring a free fair and impartial national elections process.
and Civil Parliament The Government of Sierra Leone is committed to utilizing to ensure the OGP process transparent and accountable governance.

It will continue to make government more open and accessible through frequent engagement with citizens, using different platforms and working with all sectors to ensure equitable service delivery.
for I thank the National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED) and the entire Steering Committee their continuous commitment and support to the OGP process, and the implementing agencies who ensured we met most of the milestones in the NAP III.

I will continue to work with you to support the implementation process.
Our government has continuously embraced the tenets of democracy and good governance through its all-inclusive mode of governance; which is in sync with the objectives of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

The implementation of the National Action Plan III was challenged by the global COVID-19 pandemic but as a country we were able to make significant gains in its implementation.
In the areas of Access to Justice, Education, Open Parliament, Duty Waiver and Tax exemption and Gender Equity; most of its milestones were achieved.

Even though the process itself was marred with challenges – inadequate resources, prohibition on social gathering and ban on inter-district travel; which impacted a lot on meeting OGP for nationwide standards consultations.

However, the use of local media ensured citizens participation at all levels.
and processes In developing the National Action Plan IV, one of the major challenges that was addressed was Acknowledgement The National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED) would like to thank His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone for giving space and commitment to the OGP process.

He opened his doors to the OGP Global Support Unit in 2018 and has since continuously recognized and supported the drafting and implementation of National Action Plans.
We would like to express special thanks to the Chief Minister, Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, the Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to Cabinet Mr. John Sumailah for their participation in the NAP IV development process and reiterating the Government’s support at the highest level.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Minister of Information and Communications – Mr. Mohamed Rahman Swaray, the Ministerial lead for the OGP, for his dedication and continuous support not only at Cabinet level but in all aspects relating to the OGP Process.
We are hugely indebted to the OGP Steering Committee for their commitments and relentless effort in ensuring that OGP procedures and guidelines are met, monitoring the implementation of the milestones in the National Action Plans and rendering their technical expertise as and when needed during both the implementation and development of National Action Plan Commitments and milestones.
We are most especially grateful to Rev Alusine Diamond Suma, Country Representative, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Ms. Yeama Thompson, Executive Director, Initiative for Media Development, Sahr Kendema, Project Manager, Campaign for Good Governance and Ms. Eleanor Thompson, Deputy Director Programmes Namati, our lead writers and editors to whom we express our deepest thanks.
We will be remiss in our duty if we fail to acknowledge the invaluable support of the Staff of the National Council for Civic Education and Development, especially the Chairman Mr. Kalilu I Totangi who is the OGP In-Country Point of Contact, for his relentless efforts and dedication in ensuring that the doors of implementing Ministries, Departments and Agencies are opened as and when needed throughout the process of the implementation and development of National Action Plans, while providing technical advice and administrative support to all OGP activities.
Finally, we are grateful to our Supervising Ministry, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development for their administrative support.

We also want to recognize the efforts of the OGP Global Support Unit – Mr. Joe Powell Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Ms. Maureen Karuiki Senior Regional Coordinator, Africa and the Middle East for their technical advice throughout National Action Plan cycles.
We would like to thank all our media partners both the print and electronic, civil society organizations, donor agencies for your roles in giving us the platform to engage and ensure citizen participation at all levels.
Mrs Hannah Hamida Jimmy Mr David Korvayah Biandoma Open Government Partnership Unit, National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED) INTRODUCTION Government Priorities Sierra Leone has made tremendous progress since the development and implementation of its National Action Plan (NAP III).

Significant progress was made on Access to Justice, duty waiver and tax exemptions, Gender, Education and Open Parliament.
This ensured that citizens remained confident in government, its ability to provide for the public good and further consolidated the country’s commitment to democracy.

The NAP IV will build on the successes of NAP III and address lessons learnt.

Some of the notable progress made include: 1.

Access to Justice: The Government of Sierra Leone prioritized Access to Justice on its National Medium Term Development Plan.
Cluster 4 of the plan speaks to reforms by the Justice Sector Coordinating Office (JSCO), the strengthening of the Legal Aid Board which provides legal services to the poor and marginalized society and the rolling out of Paralegals to provide greater access to justice at the grass root level.

At the JSCO, a web portal has been developed to enable access to information.
The JSCO in partnership with the Child Justice Working Group (CJWG) with support from UNICEF has validated the Diversion and Alternative to Detention Framework.

The JSCO has also reviewed the draft amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 1965.

Passing this Bill into Law will strengthen Sierra Leone’s criminal justice system and improve service delivery.

The Ministry has also established a Justice Sector Monitoring and Evaluation Unit and a Justice Sector Communications Coordination Unit.
Sierra Leone also co-chaired the Pathfinders for Just Peaceful and Inclusive Society with Argentina and the Netherlands to accelerate action on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 targets for peace, justice and inclusion.

2.

Education: The Teaching Service Commission (TSC) recruited Deputy Directors and District Officers in all 16 Districts.
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the Teaching Service Commission and the National Civil Registration Authority have also completed an assessment of teachers’ records which made recommendations for motivational benefit schemes.

Data on enrollment in all government and government assisted schools is also now available supporting the provision of core textbooks to pupils in all government and government assisted schools.

3.
3.

Open Parliament: Through the Open Government Partnership process and with support from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Sierra Leone Parliament established the Parliamentary Working Group and trained Members of Parliament, with a mandate to work with the OGP and WFD to support openness and transparency in the House of Parliament.
Citizens from all walks of life were given unhindered access to Parliament during the Open Parliament Day 2019, where they were able to observe Parliamentary proceedings and speak with Members of Parliament.

A Parliamentary technology application has been developed to enhance citizen’s engagement in the business of parliament.

This app has been very effective in creating an open space for both citizens and Members of Parliament to interact.
It is accessible on Google play store and IOS platform for apple users.

A Service Charter has also been erected within the vicinity of Parliament and a disability access ram in almost at its completion stage.

4.

Gender: The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affair is now a stand-alone Ministry and in 2020 reviewed and adopted the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment policy to incorporate emerging issues.
A Gender Statistician has been assigned to the Ministry of Gender Affairs, who is now working with the Senior Management Team of the Ministry and UN Women to collate and disaggregate data on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country.

Government has already started a Model Court that is helping to fast-track GBV cases in the justice system and delivering justice to victims and their families.
The Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill was tabled in Parliament and had its first reading in October 2021.

Nationwide consultations are currently ongoing to revise the draft Bill to ensure it reflects progressive reforms.

5.

Duty Waiver and Tax exemptions: The National Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance have developed a comprehensive duty waiver and tax exemption policy which makes provision for six monthly publications of tax exemptions.
Budget Advocacy Network is currently monitoring compliance.

The Open Government Partnership has been very important for Sierra Leone as it sets minimum standards for government performance.

The OGP is led by the National Council for Civic Education and Development Information and (NaCCED) with Communications (MIC)as the Ministerial lead at Cabinet level.

This partnership also includes a collaboration of equal representation of government and civil society which makes up the Steering Committee.
The OGP process has further strengthened trust between the Government and Civil Society on issues of national interest especially on transparency, accountability, and citizen participation.
It also gives space to Civil Society to effectively advocate their concerns and opportunities to participate in good governance processes, bolster capacity of decision- makers to gather input from citizens and stakeholders, be more transparent and accountable in government processes, and be more responsive to citizens’ needs.
the Ministry of Consequently, Sierra Leone has consistently increased its score in the corruption indicator in the Millennium Challenge Cooperation Scorecard moving from forty-nine percent (49%) in 2017 to eighty-three percent (83%) in 2021 making a thirty-four percent (34%) progress upwards.
Similar exponential in other respected Global Corruption measurement institutions like Afro Barometer which confirms that corruption prevalence has considerably reduced from seventy (70) % in 2015 to the latest low of forty percent (40%) in 2020. jumps have been recorded ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED BY NAP IV Despite the tremendous progress made, some key challenges remain, which will be addressed in the implementation of NAP IV.
Notable among these are: Equal Access to Justice for All: - The primary challenge for the justice sector has been capacity building.

Across all the justice institutions there is a serious lack of funds, skilled personnel, and infrastructure.
Capacity building is crucial and re-building the capacity of justice institutions provides vital breaks to strengthen their accountability by improving oversight and information systems, addressing barriers to access and discriminatory practices and involving citizens in decision making.

There is currently an ongoing review of over 1000 cases by the Judiciary to decongest correctional centres throughout the country.

However, there is still more to be done in increasing equal access to justice for all.
Thus, the NAP IV commitments intend to address the issues of further ensuring that all citizens benefit from a fair, impartial and effective justice sector through enabling increased access to justice, expedition of justice services and equal opportunity to all citizens in accessing justice.

There is recognition of the importance of the informal sector; even though significant progress has been made there are still challenges in this sector.
It is thus important that efforts to address inequality within the justice system are linked with broader measures to empower marginalized groups.

Open Elections (Free, Fair and Credible): - Another key issue to be addressed in this NAP IV is public confidence and trust in the electoral process.

The inadequacies of existing legal frameworks have implanted certain judicial decisions on Sierra Leone’s electoral processes, or instance, over voting, result transmission and management.
There is a necessity to bring the electoral framework in tandem with international standards and best practices; in order to eradicate ambiguities, inconsistencies, and gaps to further enhance the effectiveness, transparency, and integrity of the electoral processes.

Public confidence and trust in the electoral process is critical to enable citizens believe in the authority and legitimacy of the government.
Credible elections will ultimately serve the long-term goal of consolidating and deepening democracy, peace, and stability in Sierra Leone.

Thus, in addressing the issues of mistrust in the electoral processes and legality the NAP IV will aim to address these challenges.

Open Parliament: - Parliament currently has very limited platforms to engage with citizens and CSOs.
Also, a number of studies authored and published by CSO partners have raised concerns about Parliament’s transparency and accountability strides even when Parliament has improved largely on those areas as scored in the implementation of the Open Parliament Commitment in NAP III.

Therefore, Parliament has proposed to further strengthen its relationship with Civil Society and other partners through the NAP IV.
Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (SLEITI): - The passing of the Mines and Minerals Development Bill which makes provision for beneficial ownership disclosure, and SLEITI Bill will provide the legal framework to further enhance transparency and accountability in the extractive sector.
It will remove all legal obstacles to the implementation of EITI in Sierra Leone and ensure that government institutions and all companies in the extractive industry disclose their payments and receipts periodically and ensure public disclosure of beneficial owners of extractive companies.
OPEN GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO DATE Sierra Leone passed 11 out of 20 indicators in the recently published Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) FY2020 Scorecard which the Government of the United States of America uses to assess the performance of countries across three broad categories including: ruling justly, investing in citizens and economic freedom.
Since the introduction of the MCC Scorecard in 2014 the MCC has used it as a tool to determine countries that are eligible for US Government assistance programs.

Having met the hard hurdle of control of corruption and passing over half of the scorecard (11), Sierra Leone is now eligible for MCC Compact consideration.

This year’s scores illustrate a progressive trend in the fight against Corruption with an eight percent leap from 71 percent in FY 2019 to 79 percent in the recent scores for FY2020.
There is a drastic improvement on the scores for Girl’s Primary Completion Rate from 40% to 68%.

Sierra Leone also passed the Primary Education Expenditure indicator moving from spending 0.95% of GDP on primary education to over 1.8%, this is over a 100% transformation on this indicator.

This success can be attributed to the Free Quality Education Program which is the flagship program of the Government of President Julius Maada Bio.
A Peace and National Cohesion Conference was convened in May 2019 to help foster national unity, and Parliament in December 2020 passed into law the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion bill.

The Government recently repealed the draconian Part 5 of the Public Order Act of 1965 that criminalized libel, while the President has also signed into law the abolition of the death penalty.

1.
1.

Improved Public Services In an effort to improve public service delivery, government has laid premium on improving government structures, systems, and processes for efficient and effective service delivery at the highest level and it remains government’s top priority.
Some examples include: Open Parliament: A major reform is ensuring an open parliament for all, a 1.1 commitment to enable parliament to become more open and transparent to its citizens and efficiently collaborate with other actors in dispensing its functions.

For the first time in the history of the country, parliament is now more open to citizens.
For instance, parliament has catered for access not only to the able but also to people with disabilities with the provision of a ramp and a sign language interpreter for the deaf and dumb.

There is also the parliamentary app which, with a click of a button, brings the proceedings in parliament to citizens, wherever they are.
Despite all these achievements, there’s still much to be done in the area of annual report publications, engaging civil society participation in the works of parliament and the display of the parliamentary service charter at regional level.

1.2 Education: The government of Sierra Leone has allocated 22% of the national budget in 2021 to education.
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education has also introduced technology to showcase results at no cost for both the National Primary School Examination and the Basic Education Certificate Examination and application to access past examinations papers at no cost.

The government’s provision of school buses nationwide at minimal cost has also eased the burden on parents.

Increase in enrollment has also been attributed to the school feeding program.

2.
2.

Increased Public Integrity for offenses under the Act; strengthened protection 2.1 The Anti-Corruption Amendment Act of 2019 provides among others, for increased penalties for witnesses and whistleblowers; alternatives to prosecution; and a wider scope of corruption offences.
The Act also provides administrative sanctions for public officers who fail to submit their asset declaration forms or knowingly record false, inaccurate or misleading information in the forms; introduces trial in absentia of those accused of corruption; limits declaration of assets to senior public officials and vests in the ACC Commissioner power to direct that contracts with elements of corruption in their processing may not be proceeded with after agreement with the National Public Procurement Authority.
2.2 The Open Data Portal was established to support the emergence of a proactive disclosure culture, one that resonates with the Right to Access Information Act and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

It serves as a one-stop shop to access all government documents and a platform for reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The portal is hosted at the Ministry of Information and Communications and managed by the National Open Data Council of Sierra Leone, steered by the Right to Access Information Commission and Statistics Sierra Leone.

3.

More Effective Management of Public Resources 3.1 Domestic revenue mobilization: The government has streamlined duty and tax waivers, implemented the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and undertaken other important tax reforms.
Efforts are also being made to streamline and rationale the wage bill through the introduction of the biometric verification process and the formulation of the arrear’s clearance strategy.

Other important reforms include the updating of the reference price norms for public procurement, electronic cash registers, increasing disbursements to Local Councils, conducting financial and technical audits.
On 19 November 2021, Sierra Leone’s Finance Minister presented the 2022 fiscal year national budget before Parliament.

This is a regular practice in the budget making process that takes place before the West African country’s financial year kicks off in January of every year.

However, the reading of the 2022 budget was with a difference.

Not only was it broadcast live via television, but also live streamed through digital platforms – YouTube and Facebook.
This was the first time the reading of the budget in the country was going digital; creating platforms for the 2.39 million internet users in Sierra Leone to interact and understand the process.

4.

Creating Safer Communities: Women constitute about 52% of the national population but are routinely marginalized and suffer several forms of violence especially domestic violence.

Government is making several efforts to create safe spaces for women and girls.
In 2019, the President officially declared a National Emergency on Rape and Sexual Violence as a step towards addressing rape and all forms of sexual violence in Sierra Leone.

In addition, in 2021 the government created a fast-track court to try sexual offenders.

The Gender Empowerment Bill 2021 is currently before parliament for enactment.

This bill, when passed into law will ensure 30% reserved seats for women in Parliament and local councils.
4.1 Freedom of Information: The government took an unprecedented step to expunge the infamous Criminal Libel law in the 1965 Public Order Act which successive governments have used over the years to trample on the rights of journalists and citizens to express their views.

The government also enacted the Cyber Security and Crime Act in November 2021.
4.2 Death Penalty: The death penalty which has been in the law books of Sierra Leone even before Independence and which has been used by several oppressive governments in the past to oppress and suppress opposition was repealed by the President in October 2021 5.

Improving Corporate Accountability 5.1 The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: This initiative seeks to promote transparency and accountability in the management of the nation’s mineral and oil/gas sector.
A multi-stakeholder group was established, comprising government ministries, departments and agencies, mining companies (represented by Chamber of Mines) and civil society organizations to provide effective oversight, develop policies and implement programs and activities in line with their mandates and the EITI Standard.

This required a Government of Sierra Leone online Repository and MCAS to contain data on all mining rights, export licenses and related payments managed by the National Minerals Agency.
Beneficial Ownership (BO) Disclosure promotes transparency and help in the unmasking of conflict of interest especially from politically exposed people, corruption, tax evasion, money laundering & counter terrorism financing, etc.
Strides made in the BO implementation includes the establishment of a technical working group and Road Map by SLEITI including a recent study on the institutional and legal framework; the new Mines and Minerals Development Bill makes provision for BO disclosure, 2019 SLEITI report include BO data by some mining companies, and the Corporate Affairs Governance code provides for BO data on “comply or explain” basis.
ACTION PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Society has changed forever as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) with the new normal referring to lifestyle changes including social distancing.

In Sierra Leone, these also include the Government regulations to ensure that COVID-19 measures are respected by all.
At the beginning of the NAP IV co-creation cycle, an 18-person steering committee was set up by the National Civic Education Council (NaCCED) as a critical element to steer and sustain the OGP process and standard amidst the environmental challenges.

These include an equal representation from civil society and government with NaCCED’s Chairman Kalilu Totangi serving as Chairperson.
To ensure standards are met in the OGP national action plan formulation process, the Steering Committee in collaboration with NaCCED and the Campaign for Good Governance incubated an innovative approach to ensure diversity of citizens voices whilst ensuring government and civil society have a voice in the formulation of the action plan.
The dialogue between government and civil society at the national level included a one-day high level consultative to review the lessons learnt from NAP III (development to implementation and monitoring of reforms) and consult on commitments for NAP IV.

The Chief Minister, the Minister of Information and Communications and the Secretary to Cabinet and civil society groups representing national ecosystems identified issues of most concern to a diversity of citizens.
Following this initial meeting, in order for public participation to be more meaningful, a meeting was held with the media and civil society to ensure that identified issues raised in the government civil society meet is linked to more diverse challenges.

The co-creation process also included a meeting with the OGP parliamentary working group which has become a driving force for OGP reforms and an Open Government champion in Sierra Leone.
As the co-creating process was purposefully designed to allow for any interested stakeholders, the Sierra Leone Extractives sector contacted the OGP secretariat to include an Extractives commitment at the end of the consultative process.

The commitment was reviewed by the Steering Committee members and adopted.

Sierra Leone’s unique model of co-creation during the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that civil society and the public at large had a role in creating and shaping the NAP IV.
Furthermore, it created the space for strengthened partnerships with its open government champions.

Several radio discussion and live television programs were held to inform citizens on the NAP III progress and also the development of the NAP IV.
Radio discussion programs with Culture Radio, AI Radio, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation Radio and Epic Radio by different members of the Steering Committee and the OGP Coordinator to solicit citizens' input in the NAP IV development and commitment proposals.

Feedback from these programs through text messages and phone in were recorded and then analysed for the possible NAP IV commitments.
The radio and television programs intentionally seek input from the general public and underrepresented groups in the definition of priorities through targeted awareness-raising and outreach to broaden the circle of engaged actors.

These enabled the following: 1.

The OGP Secretariat received a letter from the Centre of Accountability and Rule of Law for a proposed commitment on the Development Cooperation Framework.

2.
2.

The Steering committee through the OGP secretariat also received a proposal from the Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) for a commitment on extractives.
Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) Commitment Development Training: During the review of the third action plan, the IRM identified that there are opportunities to raise commitments’ level of ambition by (i) aligning milestones closely with policy objectives and (ii) building opportunities for civil society and public participation into commitment milestones.
Thus, a commitment design workshop was held virtually convening IRM experts and SC members to IRM assesses commitments and provided share updated information on how the recommendations on designing results-oriented commitments.

This training helped in shaping the final commitments and milestones during the expert meetings.
Expert Group Meeting: Steering committee meetings analysed feedback from all consultations and radio programs and technical meetings were convened with the relevant line ministries to discuss the proposed milestones.

The milestones were then reframed by the Expert groups and submitted to the SC.
Validation of NAP IV Commitments: The National Council For Civic Education and Development and the Steering Committee deliberated on the commitments and milestones and made recommendations for four commitments on the NAP 1V which includes Open Parliament, Access to Justice, Open Elections and Open Extractives.
Commitment 1 Open Parliament December 2021 - August 2023 Lead implementing agency/actor Office of the Clerk of Parliament Parliament of Sierra Leone Commitment description What is the public problem that the commitment will address?

Parliament currently has very limited platforms to engage with citizens and CSOs.
Also, several studies authored and published by CSO partners have raised concerns about Parliament’s transparency and accountability strides even when Parliament has improved largely on those areas as scored in the implementation of the Open Parliament Commitment in NAP III.

Additionally, since Sierra Leone became a member of the Open Government Partnership in 2013, there have been several commitments that have to do with enactment and amendments of Laws.
But most of these commitments were not fully implemented due to the fact that Parliament was not part of the process.

Without Parliament’s commitment and support in the process it will be challenging for many of the OGP commitments to be fully implemented and there will continue to be challenges.

However, in a Consultative meeting engaged CSOs and come up with leadership of Parliament has the What is the commitment?

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?
what is known as a Parliamentary CSO framework that defines how both parties can work with each other in supportive manner.

This commitment is about building better relationship between CSO and Parliament.

It also further gets CSOs to be less confrontational and more collaborative.

It will also further create awareness among citizens the roles of Parliament and create a feedback mechanism for citizens to effectively participate in the work of Parliament.
By building a stronger relationship, an avenue for dialogue and collaboration between Parliament and CSO.

Increase in awareness on the Parliamentary Agenda among citizens It also makes Parliament accountable to citizens through publishing of its annual report Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?

This commitment is relevant to the OGP values of citizen participation and transparency Sierra Leone Parliament appetites to embrace the OGP principles in an inclusive way.
This period will promote Parliament’s interaction with the CSO community to increase citizens’ involvement in its legislative, oversight and representation work.

This position communities and other vulnerable groups to contribute through their local social structures.

OGP has gained recognition as a model that creates an enabling environment to carry out its functions in overseeing service delivery and enhanced representation, accountability, and transparency.
through the Westminster Foundation In 2019, for Democracy, an Open Parliament commitment was proposed and later incorporated in to the third action plan.
Start Date: End Date: March 2022 March 2023 Additional information Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Regular civil society and Parliament interaction by holding half yearly forum between Parliament and CSO (apart from the Open Day) to share updates on Parliament’s activities and dialogue on issues that are important to citizens Establish a fully equipped CSO desk in Parliament which will host representatives in thematic sectors in governance and provide a platform for CSO to make input into Bills coming to Parliament making it a citizen owned process Reform and strengthen the budget making process to make it people centred and allow CSO participation in the final annual budget debate by expunging section 75 of the standing order Parliament shall conduct a training for members of Parliament on the roles and responsibilities of CSO to enhance the relationship between members of Parliament and CSO representatives Establish Parliamentary – CSO joint oversight Committee Parliament shall erect service charter in strategic locations in each of the following 4 regions – South, North, Northwest and East Parliament shall set up a data management system to analyse and support citizen’s accessibility in its work Parliament shall make public its annual report through different platforms (website, the parliamentary app etc) on an annual basis Dec 2021 August 2022 Oct 2022 Jan 2023 March 2022 March 2023 Dec 2021 Sept 2022 April 2022 June 2023 Dec 2021 June 2022 April 2022 April 2023 Contact information Name of responsible person from implementing agency Hon Dr. Paran Umar Tarawally Title, Department Clerk of Parliament, Office of the Clerk of Parliament Email and Phone hesed4sidida@gmail.com +2327649164 Other Actors Involved State actors involved Parliament of Sierra Leone Parliamentary working group on OGP National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED) CSOs, private sector, multilaterals, working groups  Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)  Campaign for Good Governance  OGP Steering Committee  OGP Parliamentary Working Group (PWG) Commitment 2 Access to Justice Commitment Commitment Start and End Date (E.g., 31 August 2019 - 31 August 2021) Lead implementing agency/actor Ministry of Justice Commitment description What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
This Commitment endeavours to address inadequate Justice delivery services to meet growing demand especially for the most marginalized and deprived sections of the country (2017 Perception Survey on justice delivery) The sector is marred with limited resources; shortage of staff and limited capacity; lack of public trust in the judiciary and police; inadequate funding to support justice sector reform; and poor data and records management systems; overcrowding in correctional centres and Inadequate legal aid services nationwide- once implemented, the commitment will address the aforementioned problems.
What is the commitment?

It will ensure that all citizens benefit from a fair, impartial, and effective justice sector through enabling increased access to justice, expedition of justice, protection of human rights, and equal opportunities for economic development.

Expected outcomes will be:  Strengthened community engagement in justice in improved confidence service delivery and dispensation of justice.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?
 This commitment will further consolidate the trust in the informal justice mechanisms such as the local courts  The commitment will further help in solidifying the use of community paralegals as articulated In the Legal Aid Act.
2012  Improve information sharing between the formal justice system and informal justice mechanism and vice versa The Commitment is encapsulated in the sector-wide Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Investment Plan (JSRSIP) and justice sector institutions' strategic plans are linked to the plan.

The plan, if implemented, has the potential of improving citizens’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities in accessing justice at a moderate level.
The commitment is also set to advance equal access to justice for all at the local level by strengthening legal services available in rural areas Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?

This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of public accountability, by making justice mechanisms cheaper, faster, and easier to access.
It will also create a platform for strengthening channels where citizens can hold the government accountable Additional information Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable A justice centre is established with data aggregation system that promotes interaction between community justice providers and the formal justice system Recruitment of 10 local courts personnel Finalization and roll out of the Diversion and Alternatives to Detention Framework for Children through public engagements in all police stations nationwide Start Date: End Date: Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Dec 2021 Dec 2022 Dec 2021 Dec 2022 Recruitment & Deployment of 30 State Counsels Dec 2021 NAP III Commitment on training of paralegals Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jun 2023 Contact information Name of responsible person from implementing agency JSCO Haroun Sheriff Title, Department Communication Coordinator, Justice Sector Coordinating Office Email and Phone Haroun8701@yahoo.co.uk State actors involved Other Actors Involved  Ministry of Justice  Judiciary of Sierra Leone  Sierra Leone Police  Ministry of Gender  Ministry of Social Welfare  JLTI  LAB  DSTI CSOs, private sector, multilaterals, working groups Namati, NACCLE, CARL, Prison Watch, Amnesty International, Defence for Children International Commitment 3 Open Elections 31st December 2021 - 31st December 2023 Lead implementing agency/actor National Electoral Commission Commitment description What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
What is the commitment?

1.

An Independent and professional Election Management Body that will be free from any outside interference.

2.

Free, Fair, Transparent, non-violent, and credible elections that will be acceptable by all.

3.

The institution to be one that will gain the confidence and trust of the public and the stakeholders that its serves.
This commitment will promote the guiding principles of the Commission in a bid to promote the tenets of good democracy and governance structure in Sierra Leone.

To continue to deliver elections in a credible, transparent, and accountable manner through the How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?

use of modern technology that’s meets current trends and best practices.
To improve the transmission of election results through technology and making them available online in an open data format.

The Commission will continue to promote democratic good governance through the conduct of credible elections that meets international standards and best practices.

It will also address the expectations of Sierra Leoneans for conducting free, fair, transparent, and accountable elections that will be acceptable to all its stakeholders.

outcomes; Inclusive process.


EC-SL will also focus on improving its data and result management systems, ensure electoral integrity and public acceptance of electoral enhanced systems and processes to ensure the efficient use of government and donor resources, whilst continuing its investment on staff capacity building to enhance the delivery of transparent, credible, and violence-free elections.

implementing Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
to to information: This commitment will Access increase access information on elections processes and hence increase transparency in the management of public elections in Sierra Leone.

Technology and innovation: The transmission of elections result will be posted online on NEC website and in an open data format.
Additional information  Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Citizens access to voters register online (hybrid system) A credible voter register produced at least six months before elections.
Conduct integrity training for Electoral Management Bodies (EMB) on the overall management of elections Development and signing of integrity pledges by Electoral Management Body Establish an effective ICT infrastructure that supports the Commission’s ICT operations and Result Management Systems as provided by law Develop and roll out a voter education strategy Start Date: End Date: Dec 2022 July 2024 September 2022 December 2024 Feb 2022 December 2024 Jan 2022 Dec 2024 Jan 2022 Dec 2024 Jan 2022 Dec 2024 Contact information Name of responsible person from implementing agency Title, Department Email and Phone State actors involved Other Actors Involved William Addo Davies Executive Secretary +23230209674  PPRC  ONS  SLP  RSLAF CSOs, private sector,multilaterals, working groups  Election Conflict Prevention and Mediation Group Inter Religious Council  National Elections Watch  CHDRI   Eminent Women    CARL IGR Initiatives for Media Development (IMdev) Commitment 4 Open Extractives/BO & Systematic Disclosures of Extractives Data 01st March 2022 – 31st December 2024 Lead implementing agency/actor Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) Commitment description What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
Sierra Leone rich natural is endowed with resources contributing up to 67% of total exports.

Given that natural resources played a significant role in sustaining conflict during the Sierra Leone transparent Civil War management of remains a national priority.

(1991-2002), these resources the The Government of Sierra Leone first announced its intention to join the EITI in June 2006 to promote transparency and accountability in the management of its natural resources.
Ever since, SLEITI has made steady progress, producing 10 EITI reports covering the period 2006 to 2019 and achieving the global body’s ‘meaningful progress’ status following its last Validation in 2018. to to accrued While progress has been made improve reporting and transparency in the extractive sector, opportunities remain to promote routine disclosure and accountability for i) revenues derived from natural resources extraction and production, ii) the ultimate beneficial owners of companies engaged in extractive projects iii) contracts entered into companies and between government and revenues entities.
reports contain critical Additionally, SLEITI information and data about how the extractives sector the reports are not adequately utilized by the public, and their findings and fully recommendations are often not implemented by the relevant government agencies and companies.

By implication, these pose several problems including inadequate public engagement in the affairs of the sector, and lack of optimization of the benefits that can accrue to the government and the citizens.
is managed, but subnational are To ensure that transparency is an integral and systematic part of extractive sector management, EITI implementing countries including Sierra Leona increasingly making more available online through information systematic disclosures.

Disclosing data at source; through government and corporate databases, online registries, websites, and portals can provide citizens and stakeholders with accessible and up to date information on the sector.

What is the commitment?


in This commitment is about working together with all to enhance relevant agencies and stakeholders transparency through a concrete set of systematic disclosures of data related to extractives sector management including the legal frameworks, licenses, contracts, beneficial ownership of companies, exploration, production, and export, and the extractives sector payments by companies and receipts by governments on all transactions across the sector’s value chain.
Disclosing EITI data at source through government and corporate databases, online registries, websites and portals can provide citizens and stakeholders with accessible and up to date information on the sector.

other beneficial requirements, ownership Like disclosure is a major government commitment to be followed through owing to H.E.

President Maada Bio’s the EITI Beneficial Ownership pronouncement at Conference in Dakar in 2018.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem?
With this commitment in place, EITI reporting in Sierra Leone becomes simpler, timelier, and more cost- effective, in addition to disclosing beneficial owners of corporate entities.

It would help stakeholders to shift their focus from collecting data to using data.

Extractive sector stakeholders would be better placed to analyze and present findings for public debate and reform.
For companies, disclosing data at source would help them to build trust by improving their ‘social license to operate’ and help set the right expectations with communities and citizens in their areas of operation.

Evidence suggests that citizenry engagement in transparent and accountable governance have positive impact on social trust, corporate integrity and efficient management of government revenue.

This in turn contributes to inclusive economic growth and peaceful societies.
Systematic disclosure of extractives sector data will enhance increased public access to and use of information from the sector.

When citizens are empowered with information, it is expected that it would lead to increased public debate about how the sector is managed.

In addition, a more open extractive sector would create a level playing field and send positive signals to genuine investors about doing business in the Sierra Leone.
SLEITI and OGP will work with all relevant agencies to clearly specify information/data that should be routinely disclosed and how best they should be disclosed.

SLEITI and OGP will also work to encourage civil society and accountability actors to improve their engagement and use of systematically disclosed data.

The commitment is targeted at enhancing citizens’ engagement in the extractives sector by increasing access to essential data on extractive sector transparent extractive management.
A more increase corporate and industry will help government accountability, increasing public integrity and trust, ensure effective management of public resources by government and ultimately, create safer communities for the citizens to live and work in.

to Start Date: End Date: 1st March 2022 29th April 2022 1st March 2022 31st March 2024 1st March 2022 31st March 2024 Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
Additional information Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Review and update existing Open Data Policy and orient all relevant government agencies towards open data by default Systematically disclose All oil, gas and mining licenses and contracts in the area of exploration and production, on a publicly accessible government website/portal in both human and machine-readable formats Develop an appropriate and comprehensive legal framework to mandate beneficial ownership reporting (by companies) and disclosure (by government and companies) for companies that hold exploration, production and export licenses and publish in publicly in an accessible formats that are human and machine readable All relevant government agencies commence efforts (for example develops appropriate template or policy/legal provisions) to systematically disclose up-to-date information on their operations (e.g.
government revenue data, subnational revenues) in the extractives sector Redrafting and passage of SLEITI Bill into law Passage of the New Mines and Minerals Development Bill 1st March 2022 31st March 2024 1st March 2022 31st March 2024 1st March 2022 31st March 2022 Contact information Name of responsible person from implementing agency Mr. Mohamed Baimba Koroma Title, Department National Coordinator, SLEITI Secretariat Email and Phone baimbak@yahoo.co.uk/ +23276942857 Other Actors Involved State actors involved  Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development (MMMR)  National Minerals Agency (NMA)  Parliament of Sierra Leone  Office of the Vice President CSOs, private sector, multilaterals, working groups  National Revenue Authority (NRA)  Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)  Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD)  Right to Access Information Commission  National Advocacy Coalition on Extractive (NACE)  Natural Resource Governance and Economic Justice Network (NaRGEJ)  Human Rights Defenders Network (HRDN)  Women on Mining and Extractives (WoME)  Sierra Leone Chamber of Mines (Industry representatives) Initiatives for Media Development (IMdev)  Annex A: NAP IV Commitments by Grand Challenge Commitment Grand Challenges Improvin g Public Services Increasin g Public Integrity More effective managemen t of public resources Creating Safer communitie s Improving Corporate Accountability X X X Open Parliament Open, Inclusive and Transparent x x Legislative Process that will be in the interest of all Sierra Leoneans.
Equal Access to Justice for All Address the inadequate justice service delivery to meet the demands of all l Open Elections Conduct of Free, Fair and Credible Elections Sierra Leone Extractive Industries Transparenc y Initiatives Enhance transparency and accountability in the extractives sector x x x x x x Annex B: Key Actors OGP STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Name Designation Institutions MINISTERIAL LEAD Mohamed Rahman Swaray Minister Ministry of Information and Communications OGP POINT OF CONTACT Kalilu I. Totangi Chairman National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED) GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES Hon Dr. Paran Tarawally Clerk of Parliament House of Parliament Sonia Umu Karim Director – Cabinet Affairs Cabinet Secretariat Emmanuel Turay Director of Communications Ministry of Information and Communications Francis Ben Kaifala Commissioner Anti-Corruption Commission Alex Saffa Commissioner National Elections Commissions Mr Sahr L Jusu Financial Secretary Ministry of Finance Mr Shahid Korjie Coordinator Justice Sector Coordinating Office Mohamed Baimba Koroma National Coordinator Sierra Leone Extractives Industries Transparency Initiatives Pastor Mohamed Sesay Commissioner West Right to Access Information Commission CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES Marcella Samba Sesay Yeama Sarah Thompson Executive Director Campaign for Good Governance Managing Director Initiatives for Media Development Rev.
Alusine Diamond-Suma Country Representative Westminster Foundation for Democracy Eleanor Thompson Director Namati Charles Kamara Project Officer Education for All Coalition Lavina Banduah Executive Director Transparency International – Sierra Leone Abu Bakarr Kamara National Coordinator Budget Advocacy Network Ibrahim Tommy Executive Director Centre for Accountability and the Rule of Law Andrew Lavali Executive Director Institute for Governance Reform