Development
Minister Presents "VISION 2025" Document
By Yusuf Alghali
17
November, 2003: Deputising President Kabbah
at the Hill Station Lodge this morning, Vice
President Solomon Berewa formally received the
"Vision 2025 Document Sweet Salone"
presented by the Minister of Development and
Economic Planning, Mohamed Bashiru Daramy.
In
the year 2000, the Head of State had mandated
the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning
to spearhead the task of formulating a National
Long Term Perspective Studies (NLTPS) for Sierra
Leone. The process started in earnest in June
2000 with the signing of the Vision 2025 project
document between the Government Sierra Leone
and the UNDP,
followed by the recruitment of a team of national
experts in October of the same year to carry
out the studies.
Since
President Kabbah's official launching of the
programme on 15th March, 2001, a number of consultations
had been taking place around the country at
various levels to obtain the views of people
and make it country-owned.
According
to Mr. Daramy "the long march to the visioning
process has now been concluded with the production
of the document". He intimated that the
journey, though beset with a number of constraints
that were maneuvered until this final stage,
was a unique opportunity for members of staff
of the ministry.
"I
consider the process to be of extreme importance
because of its participatory nature and the
clear and collective preference proffered by
the people of this country on the need for a
better Sierra Leone within the next 25 years,"
Minister Daramy said and added that the overall
thrust of the Vision document was directed at
poverty reduction and would therefore form the
basis of government's short, medium and long
term planning within a long-term perspective.
Receiving
the hard cover document, Vice President Berewa
on behalf of the President thanked all those
who took part in the preparation of the document,
stressing the degree of importance the President
attached to its completion and subsequent realisation.
Mr.
Berewa recalled the President saying that the
target year of the document suggested that those
presently referred to as youths would be the
main beneficiaries and leaders of the implementation
process.
He
was also pleased to note the extensive consultations
held countrywide, which saw young people making
significant inputs and said government would
ensure that the programmes outlined in the Vision
2025 document would be fully carried out to
help the country come out of the doldrums. The
brief presentation ceremony was also witnessed
by UNDP's Graham Ghipande and Development Secretary
Mrs. Kona Koroma. What remains now is for the
document to be officially presented by President
Kabbah to the people of Sierra Leone.
-End-
