Post a comment 
Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, has defended the role of the Chief Minister’s Office in coordinating government activities, saying his responsibility as the Chief Operating Officer of Government requires him and his team to step into gaps across ministries, departments, and agencies to ensure effective service delivery.
Responding to concerns that his office is taking over the responsibilities of other institutions, Dr. Sengeh explained that coordination and collaboration are central to his mandate.
“I hear a lot of people murmur, ‘Ah, the Chief Minister’s Office is doing our job,’ or words like, ‘The Chief Minister wants to do everything,’” Dr. Sengeh stated.
He said the role of his office is not to replace other government institutions, but to support them by addressing areas where gaps exist.
“My job, as the Chief Operating Officer of Government, and my team leading on coordination across government, we actually must do everything: close the gap,” he said.
According to Dr. Sengeh, his office must assist with aspects of government work that institutions may struggle to complete due to limited time, capacity, or resources.
“We have to do part of your job. The part of the job you don’t have time to do, we must do. The part of your job that you don’t want to do, we must do. The part of your job that you don’t have the capacity to do, we must do,” he added.
He emphasized that the ultimate goal of such collaboration is to ensure citizens receive government services efficiently and seamlessly.
“When citizens see government, they don’t see the Office of the President, they don’t see the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, they don’t see Freetown City Council; they see government, they see the state, and they expect us to deliver for them within the defined period of time,” Dr. Sengeh said.
The Chief Minister maintained that effective governance requires institutions to work together beyond individual mandates, noting that collaboration and coordination are necessary to address challenges facing citizens.
“So yes, I will continue doing your job, part of your job, and all of us have the responsibility to close the gap, to do the job of other people. That’s what collaboration is, that’s what coordination is, that’s what my job is,” he stated.
Dr. Sengeh concluded by stressing that all government institutions share a collective responsibility to use available opportunities and platforms to solve problems affecting citizens.
