The Minister of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED), Madam Kenyeh Barlay, has conducted a two-day inspection tour of key government-supported projects in Kono District, showcasing significant progress in healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure aligned with Sierra Leone’s Big Five Game Changers agenda (2024–2030).
Kono Government Hospital: A Future Center of Excellence
On May 30th, Minister Barlay visited the Kono Government Hospital (KGH) in Koidu Town—one of Sierra Leone’s largest health investments and fastest-transforming hospitals. The new facility, implemented by Partners in Health (PIH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, is expected to be completed by March 2026 and will function as a maternal and neonatal center of excellence.
When completed, the hospital will include:
17-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Modern maternity and neonatal units
Fully equipped laboratory, blood bank, and sterilization department
Cervical Center, isolation ward, outpatient department, and two boreholes
Oxygen plant, incinerators, storage and filtration units
28,000 sq. meter warehouse, students’ dormitories, and a training center
The hospital will employ 150 staff, with 80% currently Sierra Leonean—mostly young women trained on the job. The project is being built by Build Health International, headquartered in Boston, USA.
Minister Barlay praised the progress, noting the hospital’s alignment with the government’s development goals and emphasizing the importance of translating investments into impactful service delivery. She committed to addressing staffing shortages and resource gaps raised by stakeholders.
District Medical Officer Dr. Mohamed Sankoh described the hospital’s transformation into a teaching hospital attracting students from Njala and Ernest Bai Koroma Universities. The Mayor of Koidu New Sembehun City Council, Komba Sam, hailed PIH as a national model and rated MoPED’s performance at 95%.
Stakeholder Concerns:
Rising cases of MPOX in the district, prompting school-based sensitization
Expensive generator operations at KGH
Urgent need to complete the theater and laboratory
Staff shortages, with many currently working as unpaid volunteers
High patient volume (1,500+ per week)
Visit to Yormateh Youth Agric-Tech Farm
On May 31st, the Minister visited the Yormateh Youth Farmers Association in Tombodu, Kamara Chiefdom—Sierra Leone’s first locally-owned innovative agric-tech farm. Established in 2012, the project has cultivated 130 acres of rice and offers practical training in agriculture to students.
Kono District Council Chairman Augustine Sahr Sheku highlighted the farm’s significance, emphasizing a shift from dependency on diamond mining to agriculture. He stressed the need to reclaim mined-out lands for farming, while calling attention to the underfunded status of the district council.
Minister Barlay praised the agric-tech project as a model aligning with all five of the government’s Big Game Changers and expressed her desire to see it replicated nationwide. She noted the challenges of limited funding for the Medium-Term National Development Plan and pledged to mobilize both local and international resources, including from the Mineral Wealth Fund.
Some staff of the Yormateh project are scheduled to attend a related conference in Seville, Spain later this month.
Bridge Project Visit
The Minister also inspected the bridge project linking Kamara and Sandor Chiefdoms, funded by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA). The bridge is expected to improve mobility and access between communities and support economic development in rural Kono.