Open Government Initiative
Ministry of Public and Presidential Affairs
State House
WHAT: OGI Hour – Have Your Say in Governance hosting His Excellency, the President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma
WHEN: Saturday, 29th August 2009, 5:30pm – 6:30pm
WHERE: SLBS television and radio
In its continuing drive to fulfill its mandate of creating an enabling environment and providing a channel of communication between the governed and the governors, the Open Government Initiative (OGI) will hold a live TV and radio programme with His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, during the 12th edition of OGI Hour - Have Your Say in Governance. This particular edition titled ‘Face the Nation with the President’ will provide an opportunity for the President to address important national and international issues, and allowing people from across the nation to ask questions directly to the President through phone-in and text-messaging. The concept of Open Government Initiative (OGI) was borne out of President Koroma’s Bumbuna Presidential Retreat in January 2008, during which he expressed a commitment to ensure that democracy, the Rule of Law and a free-flow of information through open channels of communication between the Government and the people prevail during his presidency. The project is thus designed to enhance transparency in governance and hold elected and appointed officials accountable for actions they take or taken on their behalf. OGI is also designed to enable the Government to better understand the nation’s development needs and priorities and provide it with an opportunity to receive feedback on its performances and areas for alignment.
OGI Hour – Have Your Say in Governance
(OGI Hour) and town-hall meetings are the two major activities of OGI. While town-hall meetings bring the Government directly to the grassroots communities, OGI Hour was launched as a weekly open dialogue television and radio show to ensure that wider audiences have an opportunity to discuss various burning issues directly with relevant government officials. Each Saturday, three panelists are invited to the SLBS studio for a one-hour dialogue with the public. The panelists represent one of the three arms of the government, that is, executive, legislative, and judiciary branches, as well as civil society, which has been recently very active in the design and implementation of OGI activities. This weekend, for the first time, OGI will host the President on its programme which will provide a unique opportunity for His Excellency to address the citizenry in this critical time for Sierra Leone. In his ever-growing determination to meet his goals as the Head of State, President Koroma, accompanied by some senior members of his administration, has just returned from a state visit to Brazil, the first ever to be undertaken by a President of this country. Other recent state visits made by the President included those to China and Nigeria. During the programme, Dr. Koroma will thus explain how these state visits contributed to the strengthening of the bi-lateral relations between Sierra Leone and these countries and what this implies for the future of our nation.
In addition, of great importance to the people of Sierra Leone is the recently concluded meeting of Finance Ministers and Bank Governors of African states (African Caucus), which aimed at finding a way forward for the economic progress of African countries, vis-à-vis the current global crisis.
Observers believe that these activities of the government and events in the country may have a direct link with the socio-economic well-being of the people in Sierra Leone, thus relating them to His Excellency’s ‘Agenda for Change’. OGI Hour – Have Your Say in Governance will thus provide an unprecedented opportunity for the President to draw a clearer picture of the issues the nation is currently facing and propose a way forward for Sierra Leone. For more information, contact Open Government Initiative, Ministry of Presidential and Public Affairs, State House, Freetown.
Tags: President Koroma To Face The Nation
