Moyamba eagerly awaits launching of DDR

The paramount chief of Kayamba, in Moymaba District, south of Freetown has said her subjects are looking forward to the launch of the disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programme, the information bulletin of the National Committee for DDR reported on Friday. Madam Gullama, one of the longest reigning paramount chiefs in Sierra Leone, was addressing NCDDR officials who had come to visit DDR sites in the district and to arrange a workshop in the area in April. The aim of the workshop is to give ex-combatants a clear insight into the DDR programme and to explain the practical benefits of peace. The NCDDR team visited Levuma and Kovehun, some 10 km and 11 km from Moyamba town. It is estimated that the site at Levuma can accommodate some 500 ex-combatants and Kovehun can hold double the number, the bulletin reported. Meanwhile the Executive Secretary of the NCDDR, Francis Kaikai, told five representatives from the eastern region that the DDR programme was making steady progress, despite some occasional setbacks. On the reintegration aspect of DDR, Kaikai said that the low absorption capacity of Sierra Leonean institutions had been a major problem, despite efforts by the secretariat to provide a meaningful reintegration package for every former fighter. One of the overall aims of the reintegration programme is to arrange for ex-combatants to live productive civilian lives after discharge from demobilisation centres, the bulletin reported. Meanwhile Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said on Friday that Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette would deliver a speech at Monday’s donor’s conference for Sierra Leone in London. The meeting - which is being co-chaired by Frechette, British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short, and by a senior representative of the World Bank - will focus on reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction. The UN Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Carolyn McAskie, will lead the discussion on humanitarian issues.