A Mid-Term Review Mission for the Accountable Governance for Basic Service Delivery Project (AGBSDP), a World Bank funded operation, commenced on Monday, June 3rd, in Freetown. This two-week evaluation is engaging approximately ten government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as the fifteen Local District Councils, all of which are integral to the project’s implementation.
The AGBSDP is a US$ 40 million investment grant from the World Bank to the Government of Sierra Leone, with a projected implementation span of 5 to 6 years. The project encompasses four main objectives that seek to: (i) strengthen institutional systems and capacity within local councils to improve accountability and resource management; (ii) enhance intergovernmental fiscal transfers and policies for fiscal decentralization, aiding local councils in development planning; (iii) improve government monitoring and evaluation of resource utilization for key local services, particularly in health and education; and (iv) ensure activities supported under the project are well coordinated to achieve intended development objectives.
The Review Mission – which is spearheaded by a World Bank team with Lida Bteddini, the project’s Task Team Leader, as head of the mission, follows about three years of project effectiveness since January 2022. According to Mrs. Bteddini, the Mission is aimed at assessing the strengths and limitations of project implementation, evaluating progress achieved to date, and formulating recommendations to refine implementation across all project components.
During a courtesy visit on the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Secretary, Matthew Dingie, on behalf of the Deputy Minister 1, who is Chairperson of the Project Steering Committee, welcomed the review team and pledged his ministry’s support to actualizing recommendations that will come out of the review discussions. These recommendations are intended to keep the project on course to meet its objectives. Mr. Dingie encouraged project leads to identify actionable recommendations that would enhance the delivery of planned activities within the remaining two years of the project’s lifespan.