UN Resident Coordinator's opening Remarks at the 2nd Ministerial DEPAC meeting
The UN system and the Development Community in Sierra Leone have always enjoyed a good working relationship with the Government of Sierra Leone.
Honourable Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr Francis Kai Kai,
Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Abu Bakarr Karim,
Honourable Minister of Energy, Mr Alhaji Kanja Sesay,
Country Manager of World Bank, Dr Gayle Martin
Official representatives of the diplomatic corps and development organizations,
United Nations colleagues,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2nd Ministerial Development Partnership Committee meeting for 2021. As the UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone and the co-chair of DEPAC, I am pleased to join you all in the policy-focused discussions we would be having today in support of the development process in Sierra Leone.
The UN system and the Development Community in Sierra Leone have always enjoyed a good working relationship with the Government of Sierra Leone. This has been especially evident in the implementation of the country’s development programmes as outlined in the Medium-Term National Development Plan, which in turn is directly informed by the Sustainable Development Goals. We had had a challenging year and if left unaddressed, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, social and economic well-being of each Sierra Leonean will be insurmountable. So, it is gratifying that we have a high-level platform like the DEPAC that enables development partners and the Government to strategize around forward-looking, action-oriented approaches that would not only alleviate the impact of COVID-19 but also build on development gains made despite the pandemic.
The theme for this second Ministerial DEPAC meeting is “Post-Emergency Socio-Economic Recovery - Building Back Better from COVID-19”. This meeting focuses on the agriculture and energy sectors, which are crucial to the recovery efforts of the country. Presentations and discussions are to be framed around three specific issues, namely – green recovery, social inclusion, and sustainable financing.
It is my hope that this meeting will enable Government and Development partners to inform each other of progress made in our various interventions pre-pandemic, during the pandemic and how we can continue to partner together in the post-emergency COVID era. Our collective approach to addressing development challenges has provided some desirable results thus far, which is why I believe that this meeting should focus on highlighting the bottlenecks and opportunities in the two sectors selected.
Hon Ministers, Excellencies, let me take this opportunity to congratulate Sierra Leone for submitting the third Voluntary National Review (VNR) report this year to the United Nations. As Sierra Leone seeks to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, a periodic report of the progress made in the achievement of various goals in the form of Voluntary National Report is a step in the right direction. The VNR report not only showcases Sierra Leone’s progress towards the achievement of the SDGs by 2030 but also serves as a pointer to rekindle national efforts in areas that show significant challenges. Sierra Leone, like all other countries in the world, has barely nine (9) years left to achieve the SDGs, which is why the two Sectors under focus today are strongly encouraged to focus on the implementation of programmes that will produce the desired impact on the country’s bottom line.
I wish us all fruitful deliberations and continued commitment towards driving and delivering sustainable development in Sierra Leone.
Thank you very much.
