By Ragan M. Conteh

The Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Development and Planning has extols the National Authorizing Office for their exemplary work in the development of the country.

In his opening remarks, on Wednesday 22 February, 2024,  Chairman of the Committee, APC Hon. Peter Yamba Koroma said the meeting with the NAO was to familiarize with officials and looked into their scope of work.

Adding that NAO has been very helpful to the development of the country they want as a party the plan of the government to come to light.

He said the National Authorizing Office had been co-operative whenever they are called upon by the Committee.

Hon. Koroma thanked the director and staff for their swift response to the call of the Committee while he urged them to continue to work closely with the Committee so that work could be easier for them both.

He said there was so much to celebrate with the work of NAO.

To know NAO’s challenges and how the Committee would be of help to it is important.

He thanked them for the documents submitted as they contain all the work being done by the institution.

“They will do more if they have the political will because they have a very big profile,” he said.

The director of NAO, Ambrose James, said the roles of the Committee were very essential.

He said NAO is the office that facilitates development communications of activities between the European Union and the government of Sierra Leone and that NAO’s operation was burn out of European and Caribbean Pacific.

He added that their work is about facilitation but not about implementation of programs.

According to Ambrose James, the mandate of NAO is to ensure effective and a joint cooperation between the government and EU in project preparation, implementation and monitoring.

Mr Ambrose pointed out that over the years they had worked with Parliament in terms of carrying out an oversight functions on the activities of the office.