The Open Government Partnership Point of Contact (POC) in Sierra Leone, who also doubles as the Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED), Mr. Joseph Munda Bindi, on Tuesday, 30th September 2025, chaired the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee (SC) meeting at the conference room of the ACC’s Integrity House in Freetown.
The Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Francis Ben Kaifala, welcomed a cross-section of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies for what he described as their unwavering commitment to Sierra Leone’s representation at the global level of the OGP.
He said that the key values of OGP centers on making governance open, accessible, and creating platforms for open conversation for tangible deliverables for the benefit of Sierra Leoneans.
Expanding on the purpose of the meeting, the Chairman, Mr. Joseph Munda Bindi, emphasized that the SC meetings are conducted to internally track the progress/achievements, challenges, and lessons learned in the implementation of the milestones set in the NAP 5 by the various MDAs concerned.
He went on to say that there are grey areas in commitment and milestones set by some MDAs which do not fully comply with OGP principles and standards as was noted in the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) Report; hence the need to carry out a midterm review of those commitments and milestones as this will not only make the commitments ambitious but will lay the foundation for substantial results and change.
Bindi also reflected that President Dr. Julius Maada Bio had made a global commitment to the Open Government Partnership, and it is now the responsibility of MDAs and CSOs to follow through for the benefit of Sierra Leoneans. He admonished all present to remain committed to implementing the NAP5, as Sierra Leone will not settle for lesser results but the most substantial and impactful results.
During the meeting, the Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) milestones were discussed, reviewed, and finalized for the attention of the Government, our OGP global partners, and for full implementation. Of Key importance in the RAIC commitment and milestones are the promulgation of the Data Protection Act and the Amendment of the Right to Access Act 2013.
The meeting resolved that the ACC commitment and milestones will be fully discussed and reviewed in subsequent SC meetings.
