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afrol News, 27 September - The Sierra Leonean government is receiving ample UN assistance in reconstructing governance infrastructure after ten years of civil war and administrative breakdown. Local government institutions, non-existent for decades, are slowly modelled. The UN development agency UNDP has strongly engaged in the promotion of good governance in Sierra Leone. A new governance practice team from the agency is helping lay the groundwork for new local government institutions and promoting government accountability. Sierra Leone has had no local governments since the early 1960s and ranks last on the UNDP Human Development Index, based on life expectancy, educational attainment, and income per person. According to a UNDP release, the agency joined the government in hosting an Eastern Regional Governance Round Table that convened representatives from government, civil society and business in Kenema earlier this month. This was the first of three "up country" round tables on governance. Vice-President Solomon Berewa and UNDP Resident Representative Alan Doss presided over a national governance round table in August, coordinated by UNDP with donor participation. During "a frank dialogue" (UNDP) at the Kenema round table, one discussed the causes of the war and avenues towards good governance, particularly decentralisation and local governance. Sylvia Fletcher, senior governance advisor with UNDP Sierra Leone, asked participants to reflect on fundamental questions as they discussed national and local governance issues: "Why is there almost no farming beyond subsistence production?" she was quoted by UND asking. Mrs Fletcher further asked the Kenema participants to think about further questions: "Why is there almost no industrial production in Sierra Leone? Why are the diamond mining areas as poor, or poorer, than the rest of the country? Why are an estimated 65 per cent of Sierra Leoneans illiterate?" H.A. Bah, representative of the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Presidential Affairs, concluded: "The participants clearly stated that if Sierra Leone is to move forward and experience lasting peace and stability, it will be because local governance, and transparency and accountability in all government activities, are finally put into practice." The round tables provide input for seven papers on governance that the initiative is commissioning from Sierra Leonean social scientists. The papers are supposed to help the government and its partners prepare a road map to guide good governance initiatives and the country's development in the 21st century, UNDP reports.
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