The Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs (MPPA) solicited a Management and Functional Review (MFR) of the Office of Diaspora Affairs (ODA), as part of Government’s commitment to strengthen institutions and improve on service delivery in Sierra Leone.
This report therefore presents the findings and recommendations deduced from the Management and Functional Review (MFR) conducted on ODA led by the Public Sector Reform Unit in collaboration with the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO). The principal objective of this review has been to identify gaps and challenges, as well as the opportunities to strengthen ODA’s functions in terms of clarity of its mandates and relationships with the institution that provides oversight and supervisory role. Part of this review also included helping to gain insight into the administrative and operational functions of ODA, whilst analysing its suitability for delivering its executive mandate with optimum efficiency and effectiveness, should it be aligned with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC).The review has also paid attention to operational efficiency and programmatic effectiveness that are inextricably linked to help redirect the functions of ODA within MFAIC. In doing so, PSRU has been able to justify the need for its absorption into the core management and operational functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, rather than its being an independent institution amidst multiple Government financial priorities and competing resource scarcity. This justification is in line with lessons learned and models of international best practices from other Diaspora institutions in Africa and other parts of the World to recommend the best option to improve on the Sierra Leonean context.
During an inception meeting with ODA, the leadership expressed the willingness and commitment to providing the necessary support to PSRU, to ensure an effective MFR is conducted in compliance with the request made by MPPA and to also discuss some of the prospects and challenges experienced over the years relating to financial and administrative issues. Also, during a group interview with the Permanent Secretary and Director of Public Education at Ministry of Political and Public Affairs, some challenges and technical difficulties were discussed with respect to oversight and supervisory functions of ODA.
The review result shows that the Mandate of the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs (MPPA) is not aligned with the broader mandate and objective outlook of ODA. As such, there has been structural displacement of ODA which has resulted to the lack of the technical capacity to supervise the institution