By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, Mar. 18 (232news.com) – Movement for Assistance and Promotion of Rural Communities (MAPCO) and Action on Poverty (APT) implementing partners for the European Union (EU) supported Good Governance Project have embarked on a weeklong joint stakeholders monitoring mission in 19 communities in Pujehun districts.
The weeklong joint stakeholders monitoring mission which started over the weekend, is expected to end this week comprise Members of Parliament (MP), CBO members, Village Development Committee (VDC), Ward Development Committee/ Ward Councilors, Paramount Chiefs, Civil Society Organizations, Legal Aid Board, Pujehun District Council and Ministry of Social Welfare.
MAPCO Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Emmanuel Konde Macarthy explained that 19 communities in 9 wards and 9 Chiefdoms in Pujehun District are benefiting from the project.
He pointed out that the project is about Good Governance, disclosing that due to development communication gap between the Council, Ward Development Committee, Village Development Committee and the local people development was slow or non-visible.
“The local people find it very difficult to communicate to the village development committee after some effort by past government to bring development in those areas.”
He went on to say that they have done series of engagements with community, districts and national stakeholders for them to known their role and how far the project has gone for it to lead to sustainability.
The joint monitoring led by MAPCO was conducted by the stakeholders to identify if any gap exists and for them to find out how the project deliverables has reach to the people and how it has benefited them.
Local residents were giving free hands to express themselves about the project in a town hall in all the 19 communities.
From the findings, the team described the project as one of the finest noting that it is on track in the 9 wards in the 9 Chiefdoms and 19 communities.
“We want to link the people to other service providers because the challenges about storage and dry floor is not part of the current project mandate which the community are yearning for.” Said Emmanuel Konde Macarthy.
Abdul Karim Kamara aka AKK, MAPCO Program Manager outline their exit strategy and plans for Chiefdom Development Committee (CDC), he disclosed that the project is a three years one that stared in November 2019 and it will end in October 2022 by empowering local communities in Sierra Leone.
He said the community engagement especially stakeholders and should come around the community and assess the project and also link the stakeholders to the community.
“We look at what the project has done and we try to link to the community. The project in Pujehun district covers 19 communities.”
He said the objective of the project is to bring young people and women together as the project is led by women and geared towards good governance from community to local level followed by district to national level.
He pointed out that good governance starts from community level so it is therefore incumbent to empower the community for them to be able to sit with their councilors and discuss issues which is the reason for the project.
“The project came with lot of packages such as loan for business people, farmers through seeds and adult literacy in which we are targeting 1,900 and 380 for vocational skills training for young people.
Abdul Karim Kamara went on to say that the project has helped people in Pujehun District and it continues to help.
He emphasized that they want stakeholders to take ownership of the project for development to continue to spill into those communities and beyond because MAPCO will not continue to stay with them and whatever asset they have provided in those community should be use effectively and efficiently.
“We will continue to engage EU because they funded the project, we want to thanked them for such funding and all those that are supporting us.”
Hon. Alex Mattia Rogers of Constituency 102 Pujehun district thanked EU and MAPCO for considering his constituency.
The explained that they embarked on the joint monitoring to assess the impact of the project on the lives of the people and the environment.
The project targeted four chiefdoms of Honourable Rogers of which he said,
“I am impressed with the testimony given by beneficiaries. They even go beyond to say bigger NGO has never done such of what MAPCO have done.”
He told his people that government all by itself can’t do all those developments but with the help of NGOs and development partners, such can happen to complement government effort.
He said the appeal the communities made for dry floor and storage facility are very much reasonable one but it is not part of MAPCO mandate but they will appeal to the EU for them to consider such.
He told the communities to continue appreciate such effort and also embrace MAPCO and be grateful to EU.
He described MAPCO as a credible organization and they are managing the project well and what they are giving will remain with the community.
“What impressed me most about the project they go beyond by providing toilet and water facility for some community in the context of health and sanitation.”
He also told his people to hold the project with two hands and for it to be sustainable.
The team described the project deliverable as one that is on trace and it leads to sustainability.
A widow Masaray Kaikai, head of Chiefdom Sowe Council, Pujehun District said they have benefited a lots from the project. “We are now educating our children through the project and doing things for ourselves. I want the project to continue because of the changes it has brought for us”
Francess Rogers Karlu Community YKK Chiefdom said school fees for her children was a challenges but with the presence of EU/MAPCO project things have changed for them.
“I am now paying our children school fees and I am constructing house for the family. We are crying to government to help us with machine so that we will plant more rice”.
Kona Rogers of Saahun Community, Kpaka chiefdom popularly known as MAPCO Chairlady said the coming of the project has changed her life. She explained that she was cash trapped before but now she is going beyond her chiefdom to buy goods for sale in her community.
She also spoke about the toilet and water facility the project has brought them and appeal for more help.
The challenges some of the community are facing including storage for the seed rice, dry floor, and poor road network (Karlu Town).
Statements were made by CBO members, Village Development Committee Representative (VDC), Ward Development Committee/ Ward Councilors, Paramount Chiefs, Chairman Civil Society Organization, Representatives from Pujehun District Council and Ministry of Social Welfare among others.
Award of trade certificates to apprenticeship skills training trainee climax the tour in every community.
