By Bampia James Bundu
Government spokesman, Abdulai Bayraytay, has said that the government is happy about the establishment of the Institute of Governance Reform (IGR) to provide a platform for people to discuss and exchange ideas on national issues.
He told the gathering during the launch of the Think Tank at the British Council Hall in Freetown that debates would engender dialogue and help government modify its operations and also work in line with the expectations of the people.
He said in many countries across the world such groups “set the pace for effective national discussions as they also provide government with the leverage to know exactly how the people think and feel about their operations. As a government, we will ensure that we listen to you and also make ourselves available in your debates”.
Executive Director of IGR, Andrew Lavallie, said the purpose of establishing such a group was “to bridge the gap between knowledge and policy and to help provide solutions to the numerous challenges facing the country.” He said their guiding principles range from independence and neutrality to fairness and being solution-oriented.
Lavallie said Sierra Leone “needs home grown solutions and local experts to solve some of its problems,” noting that they would be doing a lot of researches to support government policies and ensure that those policies were in line with the needs of the people.
Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Bernadette Lahai, commended IGR “for coming up with such an idea to bridge the gap between policy makers and the people.”
She agreed that all other governments in this country had failed to think in that direction, noting that they would ensure they support the initiative at all times.
The ceremony ended with a panel discussion that brought civil society leaders and academics like Dr. Isha Ibrahim of the University of Sierra Leone, Valnora Edwin of Campaign for Good Governance and Abdulai Bayraytay from the office of government spokesman to deal with immediate pressing governance matters.
(C) 25 February 2014
