President Kabbah Launches National Social Action Project
By Yusuf Alghali

In furtherance of his government's efforts to reduce the risk of renewed conflict and lay the foundation for poverty reduction, improved health and education, as well as target the rural population, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah today launched the National Social Action Project (NSAP), an offshoot of the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA).
President's Speech

NSAP is a funding window jointly supported by the government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank to "assist war-affected communities restore social services and infrastructure as well as build local capacity for collective action". However, according to the project's objective, priority will be given to areas not previously serviced by government, newly accessible and most vulnerable population groups within those regions.

The President added: "We should take pride in the fact that despite the enormous and complex problems associated with the critical transition from post-war relief to sustainable development, seventy per cent of the projects in the priority areas have been completed, noting that there is "absolutely no reason to doubt the confidence our development partners have in our ability to assume greater responsibility for our own development programme".

The projects cover key sub-sectors, reflecting the priority areas of intervention identified in our National Recovery Strategy, namely: agriculture, health, education, community infrastructure, micro-finance enterprise promotion, resettlement and rehabilitation, shelter and information and sensitisation

President Kabbah said that in fulfillment of his administration's firm commitment to empowering rural communities through decentralisation, participation and good governance, the National Social Action Project, which he described as an instrument of peace and national development, would be launched next week, at the regional level, in Bo, Makeni and Kenema.

Likening the situation of post war Sierra Leone to that of Europe after the Second World War, the Head of State said "the requirements of Europe were 'so much greater than her post-war ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help or face economic, social and political deterioration of very grave character". However, he was thankful to the generosity of Sierra Leone's development partners, which, coupled with the determination of the government and people of this country, were forging ahead with the limited resources available for post-war rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery. But the President went on to emphasise that it was his government's "determination is to work hard and build up wealth to enable us to reduce our dependence on foreign aid". "This policy has not changed," he said, calling on his compatriots to help in the achievement of this objective by, for example, cooperating fully with the newly established National Revenue Authority (NRA) and refrain from discouraging those who are trying to get it started and established on a sound foundation.

He said recent history had taught all that post-war reconstruction in any country, including European countries that were already developed, is a very expensive and complex undertaking. The President observed that the destruction caused by the ten-year rebel war was so massive and extensive that it would take some time to attain pre-war levels in many aspects of our national life. Government and various interested partners have determined that some 300,000 towns and villages, 340,000 houses, 287 court barays, 2000 educational facilities, 2000 health facilities, 5000 water wells, and other infrastructure were destroyed throughout the country. This is in addition to vast acreages of agricultural crops and livestock destroyed. Police stations, prisons, law courts and other social and economic facilities were not spared the widespread damages. Naturally, he added, these caused large numbers of displacement of people both internally and externally.

Such facts and figures, President Kabbah continued, could be overwhelming even for more developed countries which are also engaged in post-war reconstruction. He said these were the objective realities prevailing in the country, which must not be ignored when assessing the state of Sierra Leone's reconstruction and recovery programme.

"Let me re-echo my commitment that one by one, we shall not only rehabilitate and refurbish, but we shall also, where appropriate, rebuild every single structure and every institution in this country that has been damaged by the rebel war by accident or by sheer human neglect.

"This is not just a promise. It is a challenge, a challenge that we must all accept in the interest of our real peace and sustainable development of our beloved country. The increased confidence demonstrated by donors for our efforts continue to encourage us to work even harder to achieve our final goal of not only reconstructing and rehabilitating but also building solid structures on which the future of our country depends."

Earlier in his statements, NaCSA chief Alhaji Kanja Sesay indicated that the social fund approach now being pursued was designed to help build human and technical capacity rapidly in one government entity. He said it could also provide effective assistance in multiple sectors in a post-conflict environment such as Sierra Leone's in which every fabric of society was affected. "This way", he added, "it would help to re-establish governance in large parts of the country and support in poverty alleviation."

Through the World Bank financed Emergency Recovery Support Fund (ERSF), which preceded the NSAP launched today, NaCSA funded 269 or 37% of the total 727
sub-projects implemented so far. The other major partners complimenting Government's efforts in NaCSA are the African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, UNDP, UNHCR, DFID and the Government of France.

The major component of the National Social Action Project is the Community-Driven Program (CDP), which will directly finance communities to establish their priorities, select sub-projects and assume responsibility for managing, implementing, and maintaining sub projects. The CDP, according to Kanja Sesay, will finance at least 1,000 social and economic infrastructure sub-projects and support social capital building activities to facilitate the restoration of basic social services, particularly in health and education. It will also provide an incentive for teachers, health workers and displaced persons to return to their communities, through the provision of basic staff quarters for the schools and health units.

The NaCSA boss also disclosed that the pilot rural public works and shelter programs would provide employment for youths, demobilized soldiers, housing for displaced persons and community roads to stimulate local economic activities. He said temporary employment would be created through the reconstruction and upgrading of 100 kilometers of critical community roads to increase access of farmers to market, thereby promoting food security, while, 1,700 housing units would be built for the most vulnerable groups, including female-headed households, the handicapped and war-wounded. These shelter and feeder roads projects will be piloted only in the three least serviced areas under NaCSA's previous programmes - Koinadugu, Kailahun and Kono. The project also makes provision for innovative activities, including training and technical support.

Mr. Sesay also revealed that his commission was now finalizing the recruitment of NGOs for community mobilization and facilitation country-wide and for the shelter pilot projects covering Koinadugu, Kono and Kailahun districts.

Specifically, he said NaCSA would be funding sub-projects in agriculture, including grain stores, drying floors and post-harvest technologies; primary schools and functional literacy; primary health units, water wells and latrines, community centres, community roads, markets and bridges. "The beneficiary communities, in particular, will be involved in the identification, selection, and implementation of community-based projects," he stressed, adding that capacity building activities for regional and local government authorities and community members would involve beneficiaries in all stages of the rehabilitation and reconstruction process. The projects, which will be implemented under the NSAP in the next five years therefore, are geared towards achieving a more prosperous, stable and peaceful Sierra Leone.

Also in his remarks, World Bank Country Director Matts Karlsson told his audience that "the bank's vision for NaCSA in 2008 when this project will close, is that all local government structures have benefited from capacity building efforts and that they are at the forefront of community driven development in Sierra Leone." He said with this new approach of direct community financing, the World Bank was "confident that communities will be challenged and will do things for themselves".

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