Samuel Kallon 
In a bid to foster development cooperation in Sierra Leone, the Leadership of the Parliament of Sierra Leone on Monday, 9th December, 2024, hosted a delegation from the Expertise France Group to hold talks on the Human Capital Institute for Cooperation Project (PACOP) in which strategic areas were pinned out which geared towards facilitating parliamentary cooperation between France and Sierra Leone.
It focuses more on Constitutional Missions of Parliament (Legislation, Oversight), Gender Issues, Administrative Organization and Financial Independence of Parliament, on need to promote international partnership, and with an open parliament and transparency.
In his welcoming address, the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament Segepoh Solomon Thomas welcomed the delegation to Parliament. He said Parliament of Sierra Leone is more than willing to enter into such cooperation with France.
Speaker Thomas thanked delegates of France for visiting the Sierra Leone Parliament. Speaker Thomas confessed that the project components highlighted by France Group were impressive. He assured the France Group that the Sixth Parliament is desirous to implement all the project components mentioned by Group.
The House Speaker, however, noted that the twenty-four month target which are needed for the project implementation was “extremely short.”
He reassured the France Group that the Sixth Parliament is open for the implementation of those project components, adding that the project components mentioned by the France Group align with the Strategic Plan of Parliament of Sierra Leone.
The Chief Project Lead of the France Group, Jean Philippe Derosier, assured the Parliamentary Leadership that the project will help strengthen parliamentary cooperation with four African Countries including Sierra Leone.
He elucidated that the PACOP Project is dedicated to facilitating Parliamentary cooperation, granted by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and supported by Expertise France Groupe AFD, a national public agency that is leading the French Government-wide international scientific projects.
He disclosed that the project has three partners: the two Chambers of the French Parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie—APF, and the Parliamentary Assembly of Francophone countries.
The Chief Project Lead added that the PACOP project will be implemented in four African countries; two of them are French-speaking countries, Benin and Gabon, and two others are English-speaking countries, Botswana and Sierra Leone.
He said the goal is to organize activities for parliamentary cooperation between France and the four countries.
He added that the activities would be based on the five components of the projects, as outlined below: Constitutional missions of a Parliament (Legislation, oversight), Gender issues, administrative organization, financial independence of a Parliament, international relationships, and open Parliament and transparency.
He said that the project will be implemented within a two year period. He said it had officially started on September 1, 2024, and will continue until August 31, 2026.
He said they are now in the initiating phase.
As a Field Expert covering Sierra Leone and Botswana, he said, he would mobilize, coordinate, and facilitate the exploratory and subsequent missions of the Project Team in Sierra Leone and Botswana in partnership with the Parliamentary Leadership, Members of Parliament, and staff for Sierra Leone and Botswana.
The Director of Training and Strategy, Mohamed A. Jalloh, made a PowerPoint presentation, explaining Parliament’s Strategic Plan. He disclosed the composition of the Sixth Parliament of forty-two Female Members. He disclosed that the Parliament launched its Legislative role, especially on laws passed are being cataloged as indicators of progress.
He also added that Parliament of Sierra Leone had launched a communique with the Civil Society Organization with the aim of promoting an open parliament.
The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, expressed appreciation to the France Group for such a cooperation between Sierra Leone Parliament and France. He commended the team for pinning a specific project geared towards capacity building for Parliament of Sierra Leone.
He assured the France Group that whatever they invested in the project it will be implemented by Parliament of Sierra Leone.
