IGR discusses economic and governance issues with president Bio

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 October 2018:

The Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) in Sierra Leone, last Friday, 19 October 2018 held talks with president Bio at State House, as concerns grow over the country’s economy, rising unemployment, and financial hardship facing many in the country.

IGR is a multi-disciplinary policy-oriented research team that focuses on improving economic governance, strengthening political governance and promoting sustainable development.

Andrew Lavalie – the Executive Director of IGR spoke with the president about recent political developments in the country, especially the promotion of democracy and good governance in Sierra Leone, which the opposition APC party say are in serious decline since president Bio took office in April this year, an accusation the government denies.

The IGR leader welcomed the government’s introduction of free quality education for all school pupils as well as the monthly cleaning exercise, which he noted would prevent the country from flooding and avert the outbreak of diseases such as cholera. (Photo: President Bio needs to think outside the box about the state of the country’s economy).

He told the president that IGR is working as part of a consortium that is currently in extensive discussions with the Ministry of Finance, on possible ways to tackle poverty in the country, through the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).

The Executive Director also discussed the institute’s recent report titled: “Beyond Business as Usual: Looking Inward to Change our Story”, which focuses on strengthening local governance, building inclusive societies and the role of civil society in state accountability.

President Bio promised the IGR leadership that he will look at strategies to improve policy decision making in the interest of the country.

The president reaffirmed his government’s commitment to transparency and accountability. He said that he welcomes the idea of donor accountability to enable service delivery at all levels of the public sector, and assured of his commitment to working with the IGR and the broader civil society on areas of public policy.