The local authorities in the Kuntaur Area Council in Central River Region North, in collaboration with Concern Universal Exel project recently held a three-day self-assessment exercise, in a bid to identify the strengths and weaknesses of local authorities and find possible plans towards addressing it.
Speaking at the meeting, the Governor of CRR Ganyi Touray spoke at length on the importance of the meeting, adding that the forum seeks to refine strategies towards facilitating effective execution of the plan.
According to him, with the calibre of experts and other stakeholders, the outcome of the workshop will be certainly fruitful. Governor Touray urged participants to explore the agenda in order to come out with a refined strategic plan from 2009 to 2013.
For his part, the chair person for Kuntaur Area Council, Mr. Mamat Mbye described the occasion as a step in the right direction, adding that his council demonstrates commitment towards the improvement of the life of rural dwellers. He then expressed optimism that the authority will live up to expectations.
Yayah Sagnia, one of the facilitators gave an overview of the assessment exercise, adding that the exercise will serve as a guiding tool, which the participants can use to measure development plans. He called on the participants to work harder in order to achieve the desired results.
Mr. Omar Ceesay, Director of Planning at the council, gave an overview of the revised strategic plan, stating that the blueprint seeks to address the concern of local authorities in a holistic manner. He noted that the outcome of the exercise is the formulation of an organisational development plan.
According to him, the exercise is timely and will definitely impact on the work of local authorities.
