By COCORIOKO Diplomatic reporters
Usually reliable sources at the Sierra Leone Foreign Ministry in Freetown have told COCORIOKO exclusively that the new Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Francis KaiKai, has arrived in New York to take up his new assignment.
Before his appointment to his new job, Dr. KaiKai was the Chief /Principal Civil Affairs at the United Nations Mission in Liberia. In that capacity , he was Chief Adviser and Head of the Peace Consolidation Services Section of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL,) and when the Mission transitioned and drew down, “the key focus is on governance reform (Decentralization and LocalGovernance, Land reform), national reconciliation, natural resources/concessions management,integrity issues, as well as support to civil society in governance. ”
Between August 2003 to October 2007, Dr. KaiKai was the Chief Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Officer of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan ( UNMIS ).
Dr. Francis Kaikai served in different capacities during the country’s transition period from war to peace. Prior to that, during Rtd. Brig. Bio’s three months tenure as Head of State under the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), he was appointed Secretary of State for Education. Later, he served as Director of the National Commission for Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (NCRRR) otherwise called the Triple ‘R’ Commission and later became the Executive Director of the then National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR), a flagship programme of the then SLPP government which saw the first Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) released. He also headed the Development Assistance Coordinating Office (DACO), then in the Office of the President.
As PR in New York, he is expected to shine like his predecessors –Ambassadors Shekou M. Turay and Adikalie Foday Sumah –in one of the most important positions of his new job, as Coordinator of the African Union Committee of 10 ( C-10) , during which he will lead the African Group in the UN Security Council Reform Negotiations. Sierra Leone has done an awesome job in this very important assignment to bring comprehensive reforms to the UN body primarily responsible for the preservation and promotion of international peace and security.
It is believed that Dr. Kaikai has arrived to also lay the groundwork for the forthcoming UN General Assembly in September during which President Maada Bio will make his debut .
We wish the ambassador all the best in his new job.
