By Hassan Osman Kargbo
The Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MoICE) has on Tuesday 27 August 2024, successfully held a town hall meeting which focused on the future Peace and Security of the country. This engagement many saw it as an advantage to map the way forward for peace and national cohesion in the country.
The event brought together a diverse panel from different sectors of society; government officials, opposition, religious leaders, civil society and activists. The theme of the conversation was “What we can do to facilitate the culture of peace in Sierra Leone?” That particular theme was seen by many as a way to strengthen the tribal line and religion line in the country.
The reflective dialogue in the Town Hall engagement within Sierra Leone’s political landscape is a significant one in the country.
A member from the opposition APC Hon. Brima Koroma, expressed his dissatisfaction towards the manners in which the constitutional review process and other related activities that the government is undertaking with the inclusion of the main opposition party in the country.
The Town Hall comments reflect the growing awareness within both major political parties in Sierra Leone of the need for internal reflection, reform, and open dialogue to address the challenges arising from their historical and present-day influence. By accepting collective responsibility and advocating for internal change, and also the peace of the state, there is potential for a more constructive and inclusive approach to governance and national development that the Town brought.
The Town Hall meeting also discouraged the issues of tribalism and regionalism in the country because it created more space for people; the concept of tribalism and its historical context, mainly focusing on its impact in Sierra Leone as a whole.
The Town Hall meeting opened space for historical roots that discharged tribalism, asserting that the notion of tribes and tribalism did not exist in our society.
Keynote speaker at the town hall meeting, Chief Minister, Dr David Moinina Sengeh singled out the ministry for how much it has accomplished with facilitating crucial conversation like these.
Speaking on the theme of the town hall, the Chief Minister said: “Our critical workforces are the young people and women, if they don’t have peace we will not live in peace.”
Executive Director of Fambul Tok, John Caulker praised the initiative and urged the ministry to take it deeper in to communities.
“I am happy for this initiative; we should take conversations like these in to communities, chiefdom and so many other lower levels.”
Different audience members whiles giving their reaction praised how events like these are opening the civic space and fostering a culture of engagement. An attendee said: “I am so happy for this is the first time I am seeing all these stakeholders gathered in one room having a crucial conversation like this. This will go a long way to foster the culture of peace.”
“We have normalized dialogue and civic participation, which is the bedrock of peaceful co-existence,” Chief Minister said during his remarks.
The Information Minister said, the ministry’s new role which is civic education is to foster engagement and dialogue about roles and responsibilities of citizens.
