APC Sec. Gen Disgraces ECSL Boss
The Secretary General of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, Lansana Dumbuya Esq has described the statement made by the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), Mohamed Konneh as a threat to the peace and stability of the country.
He made this statement in reaction to Konneh’s statement at a news conference held at their Headquarters, on Old Railway Line, Brookfields, Freetown, on Wednesday June 26th, 2024.
The ECSL boss told journalists at a news conference on Monday 24th June, 2024, that his Commission followed all the protocols and laws during the June 24th, 2023, Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Council elections. Konneh maintained that there is no law that mandates the Commission to publish disaggregated data after an election.
“This fight transcends party lines. It’s about defending democracy and ensuring every voice counts,” Dumbuya asserted, urging party members and supporters to exercise patience as investigations continue. He strongly criticized the ECSL’s conduct of the 2023 elections under Konneh’s leadership, adding that it disenfranchised voters and undermined electoral integrity.
Dumbuya described Konneh’s recent remarks that he adhered to electoral protocols as nonsense, illogical and unthinkable for post-election result publication, noting that it is deeply troubling for Sierra Leoneans. He accused him of exacerbating national issues, attributing current challenges to the ECSL’s alleged mishandling of the June 24, 2023, general elections.
The APC Scribe emphasized that Konneh’s statement does not reflect the aspirations of many Sierra Leoneans. He accused the ECSL Commissioner of creating many political problems for the people of Sierra Leone, hence the reason why the Commission is currently in a disgraceful mess.
He reiterated that Sierra Leoneans should exercise patience as the Tripartite Committee’s report including its findings and recommendation would be communicated to the general public. ‘’The fight is not about the All People’s Congress but the issue of respecting democracy and the rule of law,’’ he noted. He questioned if the ECSL had done the needful, why was the Tripartite Committee established.
He concluded that the country is currently experiencing hardship, adding that the only solution is to usher in the All People’s Congress (APC) party to change the narrative.
FAO, Govt. & USAID Strengthen Capacity of In-Service Second Cohort of ISAVET training program.
In a bid to strengthen the capacities of veterinarians and para-veterinary professionals to improve the country’s capacity of detection and response to infectious diseases, including zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFS), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in the framework of the Global Health Security (GHS) Program launched the Second Cohort of In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) program in Sierra Leone.
The first cohort of ISAVET training comprising 13 selected trainees was launched in 2022. The ISAVET training is a timely intervention to address the low human resource capacity gaps identified through various assessments such as the Performance of Veterinary Services Assessment Reports (PVS) Joint External Evaluation Reports (JEE), FAO Surveillance Assessment Reports using SET. The low human capacity constrains the provision of animal health care and delivery of veterinary services to the farmers which negatively impacts on the health, production and productivity of animals in Sierra Leone because of its rich natural habitat, enormous wildlife species and increased human-wildlife interactions resulting from increased agricultural and hunting activities is prone to emerging and re-emerging diseases such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2015 in which human interactions were identified as the cause of the disease outbreak.
In addition to the challenge of porous international boundaries, poor animal disease control infrastructure and the weak human resource capacity is a hindrance to the fight against transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and zoonosis such as peste des petits ruminants (PPR), Foot and Mouth Diseases, rabies and brucellosis. All these diseases outbreaks have a huge impact on health, the economy and socio-political stability. Therefore, epidemiological surveillance, field investigation, response, communication and prevention and control of animal diseases are some of the core competencies urgently required to build the country’s capacity to prevent transboundary and zoonotic animal diseases at the Human-Livestock interface at the source.
To address Sierra Leone’s limited capacity in animal disease detection and response, the Ministry of Agriculture, with support from the FAO, launched the ISAVET program. It is an on-the-job training that addresses critical skills needed to effectively conduct surveillance and response to animal diseases at the local level, focusing on improving disease detection, reporting and response. The second cohort of 21 animal-health trainees will undergo four weeks of formal (didactic) training followed by three months of home-based mentored field projects at the trainees’ duty stations. After the final internship, the trainees will receive certificate of participation upon completion of the field case studies and dissemination of their field reports.
The launch of this cohort was witnessed by high level representatives from the Ministry of Health, academia, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and FAO.
During the launch in Makeni, Mr. Harding Wuyango, Assistant FAO Representative for Programme said that field veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals were an indispensable human resource to ensure animal health and economic growth in the sub-sector. He conveyed greetings to USAID Country Mission Advisor in Sierra Leone and thanked her for her unwavering support.
“Field investigation is critical to curbing animal disease outbreaks. These frontline animal health service providers detect and respond to potentially zoonotic infectious diseases at their source. The Directorate of Livestock and Veterinary Services is the driving force behind the ISAVET Programme. FAO, through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) will provide the desired animal health skills and capacities during the structured on-the-job training,’’ he affirmed.
Honorable Sahr Hemorh, Deputy Minister 2 of Agriculture and Food Security who launched the programme, said, “The ISAVET training will empower the Livestock and Veterinary Service Division to strengthen the national surveillance system and improve detection and reporting of endemic, emerging and re-emerging diseases and serve as a springboard for the Government of Sierra Leone Flagship programme ‘Feed Salone’.” he said.
It could be recalled that FAO, the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD) of Texas A&M University and collaborators launched the ISAVET programme in 2018, aimed at addressing endemic, emerging infectious and transboundary animal diseases (EIDs and TADs) in 14 countries of West, Central and East Africa.
The programme is implemented through the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) initiative with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The ISAVET programme provides “training through service” to Agriculture Ministries by training field veterinarians and paraprofessionals in disease detection, reporting and response to zoonosis and animal-specific diseases.
In preparation for the launch of ISAVET program in Sierra Leone several activities were implemented, including the appointment of the National ISAVET Programme Steering Committee (NIPSC) to coordinate and supervise implementation of ISAVET programme in the country, ISAVET identification and training of trainers and mentors as well the identification of trainees through a competitive process.
©️ Mohamed Lamrana Jalloh @FAO Comms
