January 15, 2018 By Memunatu Bangura
Chairman of the Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) has disclosed that the World Bank has agreed to sponsor some components of the commission’s work with the sum of fifty thousand United Stated Dollars.
“We submitted proposals to donor partners but we’ve attracted the attention of World Bank who has responded positively and has agreed to sponsor some activities under financial management project at the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Commissioner Unisa Sesay was addressing newsmen last Friday at his Hill Station office during a press conference organised by the commission.
According to him, the activities the World Bank would sponsor include popularisation of the RAIC Act, establishment of records repository in five ministries, departments and agencies, capacity building of RAIC staff and commissioners and promotion of open data.
He stated that as part of the commission’s activities, they would fully engage the media through public education, television programmes, jingles, skits and billboards, among others, in popularising the RAIC and its activities.
Commissioner Sesay said the Commission has also received a proposal from a Sierra Leonean Technology Firm based in the United States of America- LAMTECH – to develop an Open Data platform as a way of enhancing transparent elections.
“I want the media to know that these are Sierra Leoneans living in United States that have vowed to promote free, fair and credible elections in the country by using their knowledge to make information accessible to the public,” he disclosed.
The chairman stated that the commission was faced with financial challenge and that government has been their sole sponsor over the years.
He further explained that the commission has succeeded to fully operationalise the RAIC, expand public awareness and sensitisation programmes nationwide with MDAs, coordinated the open data and data compact processes in the country, as well as implemented programmes in the Open Data Readiness Assessment, among others.