ECOWAS and MoPED Complete District-Level Peace and Local Engagement Sensitisation

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) and the ECOWAS National Office in Freetown wrapped up a week-long district-level sensitisation campaign in Kambia, Kabala, Kono, and Magburaka from February 2–5, 2026. In order to increase public awareness of ECOWAS’s activities in Sierra Leone and the larger West African sub-region, the outreach was held at district council halls and the Dr Ernest Bai Koroma Hall in Magburaka Town.

Throughout the visits, the delegation interacted with a variety of people from the community, including local government representatives, security personnel, educators, primary and secondary school students, civil society organisations, traders, commercial motorbike riders, the Drivers’ Union, and people with disabilities. Teams also conducted focused workshops for students and faculty at Apostle Bona Aladura Secondary School, Kabala Secondary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary, Missionary Church of Africa Secondary, and Unique International Academy in Kabala.

The ECOWAS Ambassador to Sierra Leone, John Azuma, informed audiences that the campaigns are intended to raise awareness of ECOWAS’s activities and functions. As Chairman of the ECOWAS Heads of Government, he praised President Julius Maada Bio for his role in promoting peace and stability in Sierra Leone, which he said are essential for sustainable development. Ambassador Azuma urged students to work hard in their studies in order to pursue careers within ECOWAS institutions, highlighting the people-centred approach of ECOWAS Vision 2050, which is in line with the development goals of the African Union and the United Nations. He emphasised that national unity is essential for the survival and prosperity of citizens across all ECOWAS states and mentioned that the ECOWAS Parliament has 97 members.

Planner and Economic Development Minister The campaign, according to Kenyeh Barley, is timed to commemorate ECOWAS’s Golden Jubilee, which is an opportunity to consider the organisation’s history and founding agreement. She emphasised that member nations must work together resolutely to combat terrorism and improve regional security, citing treaty reforms from 1996. Minister Barley cited the influence of ECOWAS over the previous 50 years to support her claim that continued visibility and citizen participation are essential to ensuring the peace and prosperity that support sustainable development.

Aligning ECOWAS goals with Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan, Barley emphasised how the government’s “big five” game changers, such as investing in human capital and creating 5,000 jobs for young people, fit in with the regional organisation’s renewed emphasis on people. As the chair of ECOWAS, President Bio has pushed for a number of priorities, which she listed: restoring constitutional order and strengthening democracy; reviving regional security cooperation; and improving logistics, particularly the ECOWAS Logistics Depot in Lungi, which is set to open in June. She also revealed that a “ECOWAS Village” will be built to accommodate heads of state for the ECOWAS Conference that Sierra Leone will host in June.

Minister Barley outlined several ECOWAS-backed and associated projects in Sierra Leone, including: funding for gifted girls; assistance for the Aberdeen Women’s Center for fistula-affected women; attempts to increase electricity supply through the CLSG project and the West Africa Power Pool; building a University of Science and Technology in Kono District; setting up a joint border post in Jendema; and providing seedlings to farmers in Tiama and Mattru Jong who have been impacted by flooding. Additionally, she said that 25 more volunteers are on the way to understaffed health facilities and schools.

Particular ECOWAS and ECOMOG interventions were outlined in presentations by Dr Robert Moikowa, a technical officer at the Office, and Mr Komba Momoh, Head of the ECOWAS National Office in Freetown. They mentioned projects like building a market in Wai Village (Pujehun District) to facilitate cross-border trade, issuing biometric identity cards, sending out election observers, setting up a sanitary pad factory in Kono District, giving the Sierra Leone Police an information system, and offering drug-affected individuals rehabilitation services at the Kissy Mental Home.

Among the other types of support mentioned were investments in a forensic lab and cybersecurity, support for the Small Arms Commission, donations of crutches and hearing aids to people with disabilities, trade liberalisation efforts, talks on a common currency and tariff harmonisation, and media and telecom projects meant to improve regional connectivity. Additionally, speakers emphasised ECOWAS peacekeeping missions in Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia, as well as a recent US$20,000 donation to Sierra Leone to aid in the fight against monkeypox.
The presenters were open about the region’s ongoing problems, which include poor governance, political instability, erratic political will, extremist-driven insecurity, transnational crime, a lack of institutional capacity, and low intraregional trade. Presentations by Mr Jim Kosseh of the Ministry of Trade and Mr Konneh of the ECOWAS Early Warning System detailed doable steps to alleviate some of these limitations, such as the One-Stop Registration system to ease cross-border trade and the proposed Small and Medium Enterprises Agency to offer low-interest loans to companies.
In order to guarantee grassroots reach, participants suggested that the sensitisation campaign be cascaded further down to the chiefdom level. Following engaging Q&A sessions at the end of each event, participants committed to sharing the knowledge and understanding they had acquired within their local communities. A reaffirmed call for local participation in ECOWAS projects and a common focus on peace, unity, and cooperative action as necessary conditions for significant development throughout the sub-region marked the end of the week-long outreach.