-Pen Portrait-

On Monday July 1st, 2024, President Julius Maada Bio appointed a new Secretary to the President who does not need much introduction as he has been in the public life for over two decades.

A suave gentleman and an ingenious scholar, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima possesses all the qualities needed to effectively handle the office he has been appointed to. The scion of a rich Mende tradition of hard work, diligence and efficiency, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima was born in Waterloo to parents that hail from Kailahun and Pujehun respectively. At an early age, he was sent to Bo to pursue his primary education at St.Francis Primary School where he successfully sat to the Selective Entrance Examination. He enrolled at the prestigious Christ the King College or CKC where he excelled in both the Ordinary Level and Advanced Level exams. His outstanding performance at secondary school paved the way for him for admission at Fourah Bay College where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Political Science.

On completion of his bachelor’s degree, he immediately  pursued a post graduate Diploma in Cultural and African Studies at the same Fourah Bay College. Due to his spectacular results at the University, he was recruited as a Research and Teaching Assistant (RTA) in the Department of Political science in the then Faculty of Social sciences and Law. While Teaching and Researching in Political science, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima was also appointed as part time Teaching Fellow (TF) in the Institute of African studies to lecture Ethnography and social anthropology.

His quest for knowledge compelled him to pursue post graduate degree in Political science graduating with an MSc (Econ) with a bias in Political science. Upon completion the University of Sierra Leone promoted him to the position of Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone. He also continued teaching and researching in Ethnography in the Institute of African Studies.

Whilst he was lecturing at Fourah Bay College, Dr Gaima also shared his knowledge at the Albert Academy School doing part time teaching at O and A Levels.  It was during this period that he impacted the lives of young professionals and academics who have distinguished themselves in various spheres both nationally and globally.

When the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) desperately needed a Sierra Leonean to guide the country out of the troubled waters of the war and set it on the path to recovery, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima was recruited as the most fitting for that role. He served as the Peace & Development initiative (PDI) National Coordinator and established himself as a program developer and reforms specialist. He was among the pioneers that established the Governance Reform Secretariat which housed the Peace & Development Initiative, the Chiefdom Governance Reform Project, and the Public Sector Reform Unit.

At the UNDP he etched a reputation for himself for hard work and dedication to duty and by 2002 he was principal Lead Person in UNDP working with UNAMSIL to support MOPED in developing the National Recovery Strategy (NRS) for Sierra Leone. It was this strategy that was used to guide the restoration of Civil authority in Sierra Leone, with key components being facilitating the return of public officials and re-opening of public service institutions across the country, restoration of State and Civil authority with support to the security sector; the judicial sector with training and deployment of Justices of the Peace (JPs) to resuscitate Magistrate courts across the country.

As a Public Sector reformist, Dr. Gaima worked with UNDP External experts on Public Financial management. He was part of the Team that worked on reforming the National public procurement process by dissolving the then Central Tender Board (CTB) and worked from UNDP with both National and International experts alongside MoPED to develop the Bill that was later legislated as the National Public Procurement Act of 2000 leading to the establishment of the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA). While leading work on the Public procurement process as UNDPs Governance programme specialist, Dr. Gaima was also simultaneously facilitating the resuscitation of the Local government and decentralisation programme in Sierra Leone which was dissolved in 1972.

In pursuit of an expert to shepherd the decentralisation program which the government of Sierra Leone had started, the Tejan Kabbah led government looked no further than Dr. Emmanuel Gaima in choosing a Director for the Decentralisation Secretariat. There again, he excelled and made a mark for championing the creation the 19 Local Councils, establishing a Local Government Service Commission to supervise recruitment into the Councils. He was also part of the team that reviewed the outdated General Orders and Financial Orders leading to consolidation and development of the first Civil Service Code and Regulations in Sierra Leone.

Our new Secretary to the President also has experience working with Non-governmental organisations in and out of Sierra Leone. He had worked for the United Kingdoms’ largest Non-governmental organisation/ non-profit (OxfamGB) as its first African Country Director in Sierra Leone where he worked with MDAs and Community Based organisations in Service delivery, advocacy, and community development. In 2014 Dr Emmanuel Gaima founded his own national institution (Local Governance Forum – LGF) of which he was Founder and CEO until his appointment in July 2019 by His Excellency the President Brig. Rtd. Dr. Julius Maada Bio as his First Presidential Governance Adviser.

Thus in tracing his suitability for the job of Secretary to the President, it is apparent that Dr. Emmanuel Gaima is adequately prepared for it and more than capable of discharging his duties as prescribed in section (67) of the 1991 constitution which states ‘’There shall be a Secretary to the President who shall be appointed by the President at his sole discretion’’ with functions being; ‘’Principal adviser to His Excellency the President on public service matters.” He brings to the job a wealth of experience in both public and private service and depth of knowledge on how to manage the presidency.