In a demonstration of real South-South cooperation in practice, Prime Minister Hon. Dickon Mitchell invited Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister and Chief Innovation Officer Dr David Moinina Sengeh to participate in the Cabinet Retreat held over 2 days from 7–8 June.
The retreat was convened as Government’s 2-year anniversary approaches, so that the Cabinet and key government advisers can reflect on progress made to date and discuss their agenda and plans to accelerate delivery for Grenadians in the coming years.
Dr Sengeh has been in Sierra Leone’s Cabinet since 2018 and held the post of Education Minister for 5 years before being appointed Chief Minister in 2023. He dialled in from Freetown as a special guest speaker to share his experience after coming into Sierra Leone’s Cabinet at only 31 years of age in 2018 and delivering significant change in the country across his innovation and education portfolios.
As Chief Minister, Dr Sengeh’s role is to serve as an adviser to the President and Vice President and to work with other ministries, departments, and agencies to deliver on the government’s agenda.
Dr Sengeh reflected on establishing a new Directorate for Science, Technology, and Innovation under the Sierra Leone Presidency, leading a bold policy initiative to ensure radical inclusion in education nationally, and learning how to navigate the complexities of government and politics on the job.
A key element in Dr Sengeh’s presentation to Cabinet members was the importance of engaging with citizens, listening to, and responding to their needs, and balancing the need to invest in large-scale economic and social transformation, while continuing to deliver at the community level on matters that affect the daily lives of citizens.
Reflecting on the exchange, Prime Minister Mitchell expressed his gratitude and optimism about the partnership. “We are grateful to Dr Sengeh for his contributions to Grenada’s Cabinet discussions and sharing his experiences in effectively delivering for his people. This has been a meaningful example of South-South Cooperation, which is important both practically — to share evidence and lessons of what works to help accelerate progress — symbolically — collaboration amongst the “global south” and less developed economies — demonstrating we can support ourselves and each other. The connection between Grenada and West Africa is also meaningful, as our population is part of the wider African diaspora.”
The 2 governments committed to continuing their exchanges and exploring follow-up meetings at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September.
For more information about Sierra Leone: https://statehouse.gov.sl/ and https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra–Leone
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