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*Thurday 25th April 2024 – NaCSA House 14-16 Charlotte Street, Freetown -*
Through the Green Public Works of the Productive Social Safety Nets and Youth Employment Project (PSSNYE) project; the National Commission for Social Action has been positioned to provide short-term employment for 8,000 youth in Freetown.
It could be recalled that in 2023, the Government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank signed a financial agreement to improve access to social safety nets and income-generating opportunities for One hundred thousand beneficiary households across the country. This intervention is part of the PSSNYE project which builds on the successes of the Social Safety Nets (SSN) Project which has established the key building blocks for a basic national safety net system in Sierra Leone.
Speaking to Mayors, Chairpersons and Chief Administrators of various local councils and municipalities, the Commissioner of NaCSA – Ambassador Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina noted that the rebranding strategy of the Commission has been tactically aligned with the government development priorities. *‘’let me apprise the World Bank, all implementing partners and Sierra Leoneans that NaCSA has since 2023 re-energised its operational epitome to reflect the national development agenda. The rebranding strategy of the Commission has gingered the staff and delivery structure to the extent that we are now implementing projects with speed and accuracy and our success stories have been captured by national and international media outlets.’’*
Beyond this assurance, Commissioner Ndomahina further noted that the expression of the beneficiaries, the content of their songs and the display of the Sierra Leonean culture during community courtesy visits indicate that NaCSA is doing an excellent job.
‘’we have commenced implementation of the PSSNYE project with Productive Labour-Intensive Public Works (LIPWs) & Life Skills Support for Youth components. *’’This component will support a community-driven participatory program of activities on Labor-Intensive Public Works (LIPWs) to engage youth in rural and urban areas in productive public works and life skills training. It will provide vulnerable youth (ages 18–35) in rural and urban areas with short-term employment opportunities through productive public works and life skills training.’’* He ended.
The Green Public Works is part of the subcomponent of PSSNYE component two and it aims to plant and grow a total of 250,000 trees across 11 catchment areas in Freetown and the Western Area Rural District (WARD) and also support garbage collection and disposal targeting youths in Freetown.
The subproject of garbage collection and disposal will be implemented in four phases; (four months for each phase) for one year. Wages for beneficiaries are determined based on the minimum wage. The interventions will focus on providing livelihood support for youth beneficiaries engaged in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities in the urban and rural areas of Freetown.
So far, with funding from the World Bank and the Government of Sierra Leone, NaCSA in alliance with Freetown City Council has employed *1,479* youth for tree planting and garbage collection interventions. Similar interventions will be implemented in the regional headquarters towns of Bombali, Bo, Portloko and Kenema.
*For further information on this and other matters, * *Please contact:*
*The Information, Education and Communication Unit*
*+23277022709/+23278319419/+23230518539*