The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) hands over vehicles and motorbikes to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) to strengthen social protection coordination across the country.

The handing over ceremony was done in the MLSS conference room, New England in Freetown following the just completed implementation of the Covid-19 Ep Fet Po/Social Safety Net Project done by NaCSA.

NaCSA said that this handing over ceremony was done in addition to establishing core social protection systems and the project progressive expanded its coverage to reach more than one million individual beneficiaries across the 16 districts in Sierra Leone.

It was evident that the project contributed to human capital development, increasing consumption in poor and food-insecure households, mitigating shocks and support to persons with disability and other vulnerable groups.

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It was also said in the handing over that in the implementation of these projects, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and NaCSA have enjoyed a long-standing partnership. Whilst NaCSA hosts the National Social Protection Secretariat, the Ministry Co-Chair the Inter—Agency Forum for Social Protection.

In stating the purpose of the ceremony, the Senior Director and National Coordinator of the National Social Protection Secretariat ,Idris Turay, noted that the essence of the meeting is to handover office equipment to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. He said this ‘’… is part of the continued efforts to strengthen the existing relationship between NaCSA and the Ministry especially in implementing social protection programs.”

Sao-Kpato Hannah Isatta Macarthy, Commissioner of NaCSA, delivering her statement thanked the team from the Ministry for their continued supports at the Inter-Agency Forum for Social Protection and the Social Protection Steering Committee, she furthered that coordination is key in strengthening the national social protection systems. She said, ‘’… NaCSA collaborates with many partners and the Labour Ministry is a critical partner. We recognise the fact that the Ministry holds the mandate for social protection in the country, the more reason we have collaborated very strongly at all levels and we have made collective gains. The issue of social protection is still filmed in the new Manifesto of this government which has started its second term. All the five pillars contain a spread of social protection. As an agency that currently houses the National Social Protection Secretariat, we, at all opportunities, want to build the capacities of our partners. We are here today to hand over three hard top Landcruiser and ten Honda XL motorbikes to facilitate and promote the social protection work across the country…’’

The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Honourable Osman Timbo remains optimistic that the next five years of His Excellency will be an era of more jobs. ‘’…as a government, re-electing His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio is a testament of sustained development across all sectors and in every part of this country. We are very impressed with social protection progress; both the social protection policy and the social protection strategy are exemplary and as we move towards enacting the social protection, we are assured of a combined effort to reduce poverty and create more jobs. We are happy and we remain grateful to His Excellency, the World Bank and UNICEF…’’ He Ended.

The meeting ended with the handing over of three new hard top Toyota Landcruiser and ten Honda XL motorbikes.