It was recently discovered that more than six communities within the Western Rural and Urban District are in dire need of proper sanitation, Peripheral Health Units (PHU) and educational facilities.
This was learnt during two recent District Service Summits held at the Western Rural District Council and the Freetown City Council on Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 January 2018, respectively.
Organized by SEND Sierra Leone with support from UK aid through Christian Aid on the SABI project, the events attracted community stakeholders including chiefs, youth and women leaders, representatives of disabled groups and service providers.
The objective was to create a level playing field for the community people to express their concerns and challenges in accessing the appropriate service providers so that they can find a way of addressing their concerns.
The youth leader at Gbendubu community in Ward 332 York Rural, Lahai Mansaray, made similar remarks, adding that in their own case, water runs through their community but that they do not have access to it and that there is no PHU in the entire community.
Saffa Kanneh, representing the Health Ministry, admitted that they are aware about the attitude of health workers across the country, which is why Health for All Coalition is currently undertaking a monitoring exercise across the country.
Representing the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MES7T) was Hannah Bockarie. She spoke on the issue of unapproved teachers, saying there are procedures to follow and that the Ministry of Finance also has a major role to play in that direction in facilitating salary arrangements before giving the MEST the green light to hire teachers.
She further disclosed that many people are now opening schools as business places to exploit the masses, which is why the Education Ministry is finding it difficult to manage the aspect of unapproved.
