The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kai-Kai has urged focal persons from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) involved in a week-long training in project development and understanding project appraisal to share the skills and knowledge gained in order to add more value to their respective institutions in terms of project development, implementation and management.

He made this statement while addressing participants at the end of a week-long Training of Trainers session conducted for project developers, planners, economists and engineers in government get practical hands-on knowledge in developing projects and understanding appraisal techniques in the Public Investment Management cycle, which would enable them to develop bankable projects for their respective MDAs and even local councils in the near future.

The Minister said it was important for the participants to upgrade existing knowledge and hone their skills to further train other colleagues which would help improve productivity in all the sectors of government.

He appreciated the team of experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for conducting the training, noting that the trainees would now use the experience to address the deficiency in project development/conceptualisation and appraisal phases of public investment management system in the country.

Martin Darcey, the IMF Expert, Public Investment Management expressed his delight at working with the participants throughout the training process and getting them to understand concepts and developing skills in project development, implementation and management. He urged the participants to make the training manual a breathing, living and working document that would help them create better and quality projects.

He called on the trainees to follow the manual, use the templates and ensure that they work closely with MoPED to improve on project development in Sierra Leone.

The Director of Public Investment and Management Department, Alpha Kapri Bangura, concluded by thanking the Minister for developing the idea and also playing an integral part in ensuring that the training was successful. He said that he would continue to work closely with the Minister to develop other trainings of this nature for more Sierra Leoneans.

The participants, on their part, said that they were very pleased with the training outcomes, expressing high appreciation to the training team. They were all handed certificates for their participation in the training.

The training is supported and facilitated by AFRICTAC West 2, the IMF Resident Representation in Freetown and the EU State Building Programme, who provided the logistical support in making it a reality.