By Esther Wright
The House of Representatives, including MPs and Staff and the Consultant for the maiden curriculum development for Parliamentary Studies, on the 23rd June 2021 met at the New Brookfields Hotel to discuss and make meaningful inputs aimed at validating the curriculum.
The process at that stage is driven and supported by UNDP to strengthen democracy in Sierra Leone through capacity building.
Deputy Director of Centre for Research and Parliamentary Studies, Gilbert N’habay , in welcoming participants, wished everyone a fruitful deliberation tied with meaningful inputs so as to do justice to the validation process. He also said that the curriculum development is being supported by UNDP to improve and strengthen service delivery in and out of Parliament through professional courses.
Director of Centre for Research and Parliamentary Studies, Mohamed Alpha Jalloh thanked participants and informed them about the merger between Research and Parliamentary Studies, following a decision by the Parliamentary Service Commission in Port Loko District to enhance the capacity of MPs, Staff and MDAs of Government. He said, the Centre for Research and Parliamentary Studies in light of capacity building is aimed at integrating and institutionalizing professional courses by affiliating with Universities in Sierra Leone for the award of Certificate and Diploma.
He also said that the training model is pegged on delivery, partnership and the public and that Directors are to serve as potential facilitators. Speaking on course overview, objectives and learning outcomes, he said that the training methodology would be laced with lecture, case studies, group assignments, brainstorming and presentations. He stated that MPs, Staff and others would pay for courses that would be offered by the Centre for Research and Parliamentary Studies.
Speaking on behalf of the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril F. King, Deputy Clerk II thanked participants for being part of the journey relating to the validation of the curriculum in order to professionalize and expose the workings and operations of Parliament.
He craved the indulgence of participants to make good inputs aimed at enriching the curriculum. He likened representative democracy to Muammar Gaddafi’s “jamarihiya”, saying the people are central in a democracy, thus the need for continuous education of the people. He spoke on the utilization of former and current MPs and Staff of Parliament to enhance and institutionalize parliamentary learning. He also called for additional topics and courses to enrich the curriculum.
He called on government to allocate land to Parliament for the construction of a learning centre for the promotion of professional learning aimed at a sustainable democratic development and advancement in Sierra Leone.
Professor Mohamed Yamba Bangura is the consultant contracted by UNDP for the curriculum development for the Centre for Research and Parliamentary Studies. He took participants through the process of the curriculum development and called on them to make stakeholders inputs regarding the validation of the curriculum.
