Sierra Leone Action Plan Review 2024-2028

Sierra Leone’s fifth national action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... aligns with the government’s five-point agenda. It continues to take on ambitious reforms to open parliamentEnsuring access to legislative information and creating mechanisms for public participation are critical to building an open, trusting relationship with citizens. Technical specifications: Commitments..., strengthen anti-corruption measures, and enhance legislative frameworks for extractives sector transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More. Despite a short timeframe, the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... brought together government agencies, civil society, and the public to inform an action plan that reflects both government and citizen priorities.

Sierra Leone’s 2024–2028 Action Plan has six commitments covering anti-corruption and integrityOGP participating governments are working to root out undue influence across government affairs, because the use of public office for private gain erodes citizens’ trust in their government and its ..., open parliament, open extractives, access to justiceAccessible justice systems – both formal and informal – ensure that individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system tha... More, youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr..., and right to informationThe legal right to request information from the government allows the public to follow government decision-making, participate in ensuring better decisions, and hold the government accountable. Techni.... As Sierra Leone’s first four-year action plan, stakeholders will have an opportunity to refresh the plan at the midpoint of the February 2024–June 2028 implementation period.

This review focuses on three commitments identified to have the greatest potential to open government. CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 1 touches on a new reform area in Sierra Leone’s OGP efforts and was identified as a civil society priority. In it, the government and civil society will seek to institutionalize the fight against corruption in government ministries, departments, agencies, and local councils by expanding and operationalizing the Integrity Management Committees.

Under Commitment 2, reformers aim to build on previous open parliament achievements by creating a Legislative Transparency Portal. It will proactively publish legislative information and enable public comments, and aims to continue building civic participation mechanisms by strengthening the Parliament Civil Society Organization Network (ParlCSONet) and the joint civil society-parliamentary committee.

This action plan also continues Sierra Leone’s efforts to increase extractives sector transparency by passing the Sierra Leone Extractive Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) Bill under Commitment 3, in line with the Sierra Leone’s 2024–2030 National Development Strategy.[1]

OGP Sierra Leone Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru... members reported a stronger co-creation process compared to the last action plan. Even with a tight timeline, this included targeted visits to government agencies, a five-step process to select the final six commitments out of the 254 proposals gathered through consultations, and recurring feedback mechanisms. The process concluded with a stakeholders’ validation meeting on 9 February and public launch in May 2024.

Commitments 4, 5, and 6 directly align with current government priorities. Commitment 4 continues access to justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... reforms incrementally started in previous action plans. Commitment 5 advances implementation of the National Youth Policy but lacks a connection to open government as currently written. Notably, the objective of Commitment 6 is to operationalize the Right to Access Information Commission and legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r.... However, the milestones include modest activities that do not support this aim. Reformers can amend Commitments 5 and 6 at during the midpoint refresh to be re-assessed by the IRM.

Stakeholders identified partnership, political goodwill, as well as technical and financial support as key drivers for higher level of implementation of the action plan. They also observed that the four-year period will give government sufficient time to stagger the commitments, check implementation progress, as well as reflect and refine implementation strategies.

Promising Commitments

The following review looks at the three commitments that the IRM identified as having the potential to realize the most promising results. Promising commitments address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. They must be verifiable, have a relevant open government lens, and have modest or substantial potential for results. This review also provides an analysis of challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to contribute to the learning and implementation process of this action plan.

Table 1. Promising Commitments

[1] “Medium Term National Development Plan 2024–2030” Government of Sierra Leone, 28 January 2024, https://www.nepad.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/28.01.24.Abridged%20Version_MTNDP2024_2030.pdf.