The Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) has ended a three-day staff retreat at the Makambo Village Hotel in Makeni, Bombali District, northern Sierra Leone, on Friday, 17th January, 2025, to reflect on gains made and challenges encountered last year and to better plan and prepare for this year.
The staff retreat, which ran from Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th January 2025, brought together all staff of the Commission at the secretariat in Freetown and the regions, featuring several presentations and engagements on a range of areas bordering on the work of the Commission.
In his statement, Dr Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, the Chairman and Information Commissioner of RAIC, noted the purpose and relevance of the staff retreat, saying it was for staff of the Commission to collectively brainstorm and map out viable solutions to existing and potential challenges. He said:
“This retreat is a moment for us to evaluate our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and priorities go forward. We need to reflect on what has worked well and what has not worked well and why. It is also a moment for staff bonding as the Commission has staff in the secretariat and the regions, so it is a moment to see, bond and shared common experiences to build on our strengths and address challenges together. The retreat also provides for capacity building trainings to sharpen the knowledge, skills and abilities of staff in performing their functions effectively and efficient.”
The Chairman together with all four Regional Commissioners, the Executive Secretary and other staff of the Commission delved into challenges in all layers of the Commission and proffered experienced-based solutions to remedy the identified challenges to realize and sustain best practices and development in executing the overall mandate of the Commission in facilitating access to information in Sierra Leone.
The Public Sector Reform Unit, which had done a management and functional review of the RAIC, presented at the retreat a new comprehensive organogram and detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) that clearly define set qualification and competence of every staff in the Commission with a clear reporting line.
At the highpoint of the three-day retreat were presentations and practical trainings on emailing and digital access to information, legal issues on access to information, report writing, records management, accounting and auditing, administration and leadership. The retreat was climax by developing an annual work plan for 2025, communication strategy and templates for writing reports.
