On January 25, 2025, Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) Council and Executive Management gathered at the Njala University Campus in Mokonde for a strategic retreat. The retreat reviewed key achievements and challenges from 2024 and laid out the Annual Work Plans for 2025.
This significant event provided a collaborative platform for enhancing Stats SL’s institutional capacity, improving staff welfare, refining service delivery, and promoting effective management and decision-making processes. The retreat commenced with opening remarks from Andrew Bob Johnny, the Statistician-General and CEO of Stats SL, who also serves as the secretary of the council.
He highlighted the importance of keeping council members informed about management plans for the upcoming year, emphasizing that this joint retreat was essential for fostering communication and collaboration. Johnny extended his gratitude to Prof. Bashiru Koroma, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Njala University, for graciously hosting the event. Chairman of the Council, Moses Williams, led the meeting and expressed appreciation for the unwavering support from council members throughout the previous year. He stressed that the retreat was designed to be interactive, encouraging open discussions that would lead to productive outcomes.
Williams invited all participants to engage in frank conversations, which he believed would enrich the overall experience of the meeting. During the retreat, various directorates provided divisional updates, discussing a range of significant initiatives and data collection exercises. Notable topics included the Decennial Population and Housing Census, the ongoing Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey (SLIHS), and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), which is currently in the household listing phase. Additionally, the 50 X 2030 agricultural survey and other key statistical undertakings were highlighted as vital activities for the year ahead.
Dr. Albert Kenneth Bangura-Will, the Coordinator for the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa (HISWA) Project, provided an update on the project’s successes. He pointed to the ongoing construction of the Stats SL headquarters and the provision of insurance coverage for field staff as significant achievements. Bangura-Will expressed optimism regarding the potential extension of the project, the first phase of which is set to conclude in December 2025.
The retreat also featured contributions from the Deputy Statistician General, Lansana Kpewolo Kanneh, and council members representing Sierra Leone’s five administrative regions, along with other institutional representatives. Stats SL remains committed to the meticulous coordination, collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of high-quality, timely data, which is essential for informed decision-making, sound policy formulation, effective program implementation, and monitoring of the impact of various development indicators.
