No More Delays: Cooperation Is the Missing Link in Sierra Leone’s Sanitation Reform
For far too long, Sierra Leone’s efforts to improve sanitation have faced an avoidable hurdle; one that has nothing to do with technical capacity or government policy, but rather with unresolved personal differences at the highest levels of our institutions.
Immediately after the 2023 elections in Sierra Leone, a Presidential order issued a clear and strategic directive: move the sanitation mandate from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, to create greater focus and accountability in the sector. The goal was simple; ensure that communities across Sierra Leone benefit from stronger, more coordinated services that leave no one behind.
Yet, despite this clarity from the top, progress has stalled. WASHNet and other civil society partners have worked hard behind the scenes, engaging both Ministries, offering support, and encouraging dialogue. But what we’ve found is troubling: the deadlock is less about institutional transition or technical hurdles and more about a personal feud between individuals within the Ministries involved. It’s a standoff that does not respect the spirit, let alone the letter, of the President’s directive.
In response to the ongoing stalemate, a Technical Assistant is now being recruited—with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)—to help guide and accompany this mandate transition. While this is a welcome step, we must be honest: no amount of technical support or outside expertise will make a meaningful difference if the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation and the Ministry of Health are not prepared to sit together and engage directly on this matter. Progress in the sector depends on trust, cooperation, and a genuine commitment to the national good.
This is more than a bureaucratic inconvenience; it has real consequences for the people we serve. Every week the impasse drags on is another week of broken promises to rural families, schoolchildren, and urban communities struggling with inadequate sanitation. It undermines public confidence and risks wasting the political momentum created by the President’s vision.
Our call is simple and urgent: personal interests should never be allowed to override the needs of the nation. The sanitation mandate transfer is not about individuals or egos; it’s about lives, dignity, and the country’s future. We urge the leadership of both Ministries to put aside their differences, honour the directive, and work together in the interest of the country.
WASHNet remains ready to support a genuine, good-faith process to move this transition forward. We call on all stakeholders; including the Parliamentary Committees on WASH, Health as well as Legislative, the Public Sector Reform Unit, Office of the President and above all, the two Ministers of MoH and MoWRS; to reflect on their responsibility, act with integrity, and help deliver the progress that our people deserve. The time to act, together, is now.
