Our Man in Hastings: Diary of Sierra Leone Visit, Day Two
Peter Pragnell is part of a delegation visiting Sierra Leone. Read his blog here.
Our first full day here in Sierra Leone and a busy one it was. The advance party and Western Area Rural District Council (WARDC) have put together a full programme with room for relaxation as well.
This morning we called in briefly to Hastings to see the Hastings Twin Town Centre, paid for by all those in Hastings UK who did quizzes, dinner dances etc, which will be officially opened and handed over at a ceremony on Thursday morning.
When I was last here three years ago, it was a network of trenches, into which Deputy Mayor Eve Martin placed a time capsule. Now it is as good as completed. It fair brought a lump to my throat.
A 15 minute drive saw us in Waterloo at the offices of WARDC. After a welcome from Cllr Al-Hassan Cole, the Chairman who is my equivalent, we spent three hours discussing thier needs and potential projects that we could undertake in the next year.
Sierra Leone faces many challenges, which take time to overcome, but one constraint on us is that the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) wants their money spent by the end of March 2011.
It has become clear to me that the greatest priorities for WARDC centre around public health. Sierra Leone has dreadful infant mortality rates as well as adult rates. Our discussions soon began to centre on fresh water supply and waste management.
As a borough council, HBC isn't responsible for water supply but we can possibly talk to the water companies about this. However, we do know waste management. Our talks will continue.
After lunch we drove into Freetown; a real eye-opener for Roy Mawford (HBC chief executive) and Kevin Boorman (HBC head of marketing). Road and traffic conditions have to be experienced to be believed and I'll never complain about a minor hold-up on the Bexhill Road again.
On Tuesday we're off to see the Mayor of Freetown and several ministers, including the ministers of Local Government and of Tourism. Sierra Leone has huge potential but needs massive infrastructure investment to make it competitive.
Finally back to the home of Cecil Coker and his wife in Hastings for the evening, and a most convivial evening it was.
Then back the hotel only for Kevin and me to discover that our rooms had flooded - dodgy plumbing. So, repack and move. However, it's an ill wind....... My new room has a view across the estuary towards Lungi and - best of all - it's air-conditioned.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
