By- Aruna Rashed Toma Bangura

ActionAid Sierra Leone has presented its annual plans and budget for 2023 past Thursday 23rd February, 2023 at the Sierra Palms hotel along the Lumley Beach Road.

The keynote speaker, a representative from Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Eric Masallay who is the Director of NGO Affairs said MoPED’s mandate is to regulate activities of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Mr. Eric M. Masallay stated that ActionAid has been a leading partner in development and he is well informed about the operations of ActionAid. He noted that he will vouch for ActionAid as an organization that has lived up to expectation. He said he used to visit the operational sites of ActionAid while he was the Monitoring and Evaluation officer at MoPED, adding that one fascinating thing is the organization’s approach to development.

He said when he visited the communities where ActionAid is operating there is a true sense of ownership as that is the reason sustainability is assured in ActionAid programs implementations.

Mr. Eric M. Masallay said that the June24th, 2023 elections are drawing near and one thing government is looking out for is to see how they can get organizations coming together to preach non-violence in communities. He continued that if Sierra Leone is to develop as a nation and to continue on positive trajectories there is need to preach the peaceful co-existence.

He said ActionAid will only be able to implement projects at communities when the beneficiaries see themselves as one and not as competitors. He said when organizations operating in the districts effectively coordinating look at strategies used for the implementation of projects, looks at collective challenges and proffers solutions to those challenges and also when they are in communities will involve the stakeholders and ensure continuity of whatever service provide in the communities.

Mr. Masallay said the programs of ActionAid are well suited in ensuring that come election period there is peaceful coexistence. He said NGOs are apolitical but do not mean that NGOs should not embark on advocacy in civic education to ensure that people live as one and above all see development as development and not as political one, adding that MoPED is pleased with ActionAid for the proper alignment of their programs and assured of their support moving forward.

He said the budget presented speaks to 80% direct projects implementation, adding that fifty years down the line the country is grappling with sustainability because some NGOs are implementing very little projects for huge funds they have received and live a flamboyant life style by organizing very expensive workshops and seminars at expensive hotels. He said that the narrative should change as they must ensure that at least 70% of these funding meet the targeted beneficiaries.

He noted that one area to consider when it comes to effective service delivery and accountable implementation of projects is the involvement of community stakeholders and beneficiaries.

The Executive Director of ActionAid, Foday Bassie Swarray in his keynote speech disclosed that ActionAid will be spending a total of NLe33,793,178.4 (Three million nine hundred and seventy three thousand one hundred and seventy eight new leones).

Foday Bassie Swarray stated that it has been core organizational requirement to be more accountable and transparent to their right owners, donors, government, partners and other stakeholders.

He said ActionAid started the process of openly sharing their plans and budget since 2007 and similar events were also held in Bo, Kambia, Bombali, Kono, Moyamba and so forth where actionaid has ongoing programs, adding that it is not only their ways of working but the right things to do.

The Executive Director of ActionAid said the organization see the need of accountability as a responsible use of power in their works and what they do.

Mr. Swarray said ActionAid received resources for and on behalf of communities from their supporters and donors and have always tried to provide the relevant information to their multiple stakeholders to be able to hold them accountable as an organization.

He furthered that their concept of accountability is deeply rooted in their organization’s theory of change towards their human right base approach and in their global and national policy, adding that accountability is an integral part.

He said they believe that one crucial element of change is that people living in poverty can hold duty bearers to account and, he said fulfilling their accountability promises is important to strengthen their legitimacy as an organization operating in Sierra Leone.

He said ActionAid reputation for being trustworthy and effective to strengthen relations with state and non-state actors to ensure sustainability of their intervention.

Mr.Foday Bassie Swarray said ActionAid embrace and promote accountability rather than just react to it, adding that they are proactive in identifying and abiding to accountability principles and ensure that they improve their practices of accountability. He said they at ActionAid believe that if people living in poverty can hold them to account they will be empowered to hold powerful duty bearers to account and derive their own rights and responsibilities.

He said ActionAid is committed to be transparent and accountable to their multiple stakeholders as they have lot of stakeholders that they must be accountable to as an organization in all their processes, approaches and mechanisms and some of them include choice and right holders which is the most important constituent that they work with.

He said ActionAid is accountable to its primary stakeholders at national level who are men, women, young people, children living in poverty and their communities.

He said that ActionAid received resources for and on behalf of the vulnerable people whom he said that their organization is answerable to.

The Executive Director of ActionAid averred that they are accountable to their donors and supporters, management of ActionAid resources entrusted to the organization like European Union and supporters of different country they should be able as an organization to demonstrate the impact of their work on the beneficiaries they work with as a result of the money they provided to action aid.

He continued that ActionAid is accountable to their partners they work with as their partnership is based on mutual respect and mutual accountability as that is the reason their processes and engagements with partners is always open.

He said another critical stakeholder is the government, because he said they work in an environment that has laws and policies and ActionAid is implementing programs in the country and they are obliged to live by those accountability mechanisms and believe that they are contributing in the national development process, adding that they are also obliged to be accountable to their staff and volunteers of ActionAid as they also need to know about the organization and what funding they have received.

In her statement the newly appointed Board Chair for ActionAid SL, Madam Simitie Lavaly Esq said that she is very pleased to be the newly appointed Board Chairperson for ActionAid and this year’s annual presentation of budget and plans was her maiden one, adding that she joined ActionAid in 2018.

According to Madam Simitie Lavaly Esq, ActionAid believe in gender diversity as that is the reason there is a mix of both men and women on the board.

She went on to thank the Executive Director and staff of ActionAid for taking the lead in transparency as they have been receiving accolades from the community people they closely work with.

Madam Lavaly noted that accountability is the hallmark of democracy, rule of law and progressive development in any society, adding that people should learn to be accountable in processes, accountable with funds received and have to be accountable at every level.

She said that ActionAid prides itself to be opened about it finances and budgets and to be accountable to the people whose funds the organization have received and to show credibility to its donors.

She added that the Executive Director and staff of ActionAid are accountable to the Board as they approved the plans and budget and to make sure that their programs are aligned with the vision and mandate of ActionAid.

The representative from European Union delegation, Mr. Julius I.K Foday Esq in his statement presumed that no one wants to be accountable. He said that he was happy that ActionAid was demonstrating what EU believes as a core mantra in their communication and visibility.

Mr. Julius I.K Foday Esq said in as much that ActionAid is using the donor funds it has to be communicated, adding that if ActionAid is communicating the funds then the project has to be visible. He said as stakeholders they should ensure to monitor the process in achieving the expected result. Because planning and budgeting go in line with what is expected as an outcome.

He confirmed that ActionAid has been a long time partner with the European Union since 2009 and, he has been working with ActionAid since 2013 to present and has monitored their implementations in almost all their intervention areas.

He added that the key strength of ActionAid is that they are people focus as one hardly knows the difference between ActionAid workers and the community beneficiaries as it was demonstrated during his last visit to ActionAid sites at Kambia.

Mr. Foday noted that ActionAid throughout this period has consistently and constantly being supported by the EU through competitive means.

He noted that the process will not end but a starting point in terms of having credible partnership.

He noted that over the years, ActionAid has been calling on EU during their annual plans and budget presentation, a move that he said must be replicated by similar NGOs to openly discuss their budgets and plans with the beneficiaries.