By Fasalie Sulaiman Kamara
Information officer at the ministry of labor and social security, Lansana Bayoh Sesay, has told Politico that the Sierra Leone government has put aside Le 2 billion forthe vulnerable aged across the country.
He said the category of beneficiaries was identified through a survey conducted by Statistics Sierra Leone, which put people qualified for the scheme at 60 years and above.
“The program will target four poor districts like Tonkolili, Kono, Moyamba and Western Area rural”, he said, adding that if all went as planned the beneficiaries would each be receivingLe 100,000 on a quarterly basis. Already 100 people had been identified in each of the four districts.
Sesay explained that the reason for selecting them was because they had been excluded from many programmes “since the war ended in spite of the fact that other classes of vulnerable people hadreceived support from different quarters.
He said after the survey by Statistics Sierra Leone the labor ministry embarked on a nationwide registration of the aged in 2010 and verified them in 2011, thus identifying the beneficiaries.
In an earlier press conference, the minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Matthew Teambo said “the program is called the National Safety Net and is targeting the poorest district in the country with vulnerable aged 60 years and above.
About the ministry’s role in monitoring employers/employees relations, the PRO said they were handicap in making sure that industries and companies adhere to “our terms and conditions”.
“The ministry is poorly provided for in running its affairs. There are factories all over this country but there are no vehicles to facilitate our movement in monitoring companies across the country. There are no personnel no logistics in the ministry”, he stated.
(C) Politico 03/12/13
