By Jarrah Kawusu-Konte
President Ernest Bai Koroma has called on the people of Tonkolili, Kambia and Port Loko districts to be monitors of the implementation of post Ebola recovery programmes launched by government with support from development partners to drive social and economic recovery over the next 6 – 9 months, putting Sierra Leone back on the Agenda for Prosperity pathway and move the country towards a resilient zero.
The president made this call over the weekend during his working visits to those districts to reiterate the message of vigilance to attain and maintain a resilient zero for 42 days after the last Ebola patient would have been discharged from treatment center. During the trip, the president also officially released the largest quarantined of homes, including a whole village – Massesebe in Tonkolili district.
According to President Koroma, government’s post Ebola recovery plan will target four major priority areas – health; education; social protection; and revamping the economy and livelihoods by facilitating private sector recovery and growth.
He informed the people that it was imperative that everyone monitors the implementation of post Ebola recovery programmes to ensure mutual accountability and transparency. This, he said, will help ensure service delivery is effective and maximizes the chances of beneficiaries receiving government’s support to restore livelihoods and enhance private sector recovery.
This latest call by the Head of State reechoes his keynote address during the formal launch of the Post Ebola Recovery “Battle” Plan at Miatta Conference Center, Brookfields on 24th July, 2015. He warned that “seeds must get to farmers; medicines to the sick, educational materials to the pupils.” He went on to note that the post Ebola recovery plan is to ensure that frontlines of the battle get far more of the resources than the backlines. “That must be the guiding principle, for that is what will get this country resilient and our people well-served,” he pointed out.
In view of this, the president disclosed that his next working visits will focus on conducted tours of services and support transferred to targeted beneficiaries to ensure efficiency and real time accountability in the implementation of the recovery plan.
“I call on everyone to get involved to help monitor the implementation of the recovery programme,” President Koroma who has been dubbed the chief social mobilizer, urged.
From the analysis by President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma (informed by the respective briefings of the different Ebola point men in the three districts), it’s quite clear that if the two remaining patients in treatment centers countrywide are discharged without any new positive case, Sierra Leone will soon begin the countdown towards a resilient zero for the next 42 days as stipulated by WHO. The call now is for all Sierra Leoneans to not just support, but also act as monitors of the recovery programmes in order to accelerate government’s quest for prosperity for all citizens.
The president was accompanied on this trip by the British High Commissioner Peter West, DFID Country Representative Marshall Elliot, the Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr Abu Bakarr Fofanah, the CEO of NERC Major (Rtd) Paolo Conteh, the UNMEER Crisis Manager Bintou Keita, the Special Adviser to the President and Ambassador at Large Professor Monty Jones, other senior government officials and State House staffers.
