By: Emmanuel Mbowa
Freetown, 2nd March 2026- The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Plan International, the World Food Programme (WFP), and Women United for Progress for the distribution of 27,369 bags of rice. These supplies consist of donations from the Chinese Government (20,369 bags) and ECOWAS (350 metric tons, equivalent to 7,000 bags) in support of the National School Feeding Program.
The distribution of the Chinese donation is allocated as follows: 40% to Plan International, 40% to Women United for Progress, and 20% to the WFP. Minister Conrad Sackey noted that a robust monitoring process will be implemented to ensure the effective delivery of the rice, supported by vehicles provided by the EU and other partners.
”With the advice and guidelines from the Ministry’s Internal Auditor, we are ensuring that the entire handover process is transparent and accountable,” said Minister Sackey.
”The Fourth Estate, CSOs, and representatives from the Anti-Corruption Commission are involved to monitor the process and ensure these donations are utilized for their intended purposes,” he added.
Andrew Ivaguha, Team Lead at Plan International, welcomed the gesture and commended the government’s efforts to support learners through the school feeding initiative.
”This is a crucial program that we fully support. We invite you all to see how this gesture is being utilized and shared among the identified schools,” Ivaguha stated. “We also want to commend the Ministry for maintaining such a transparent process.”
The Ministry’s Technical Team noted that from the 7,000 bags of rice received from ECOWAS, 100 bags will be allocated to boarding homes while the remaining 6,900 bags will be split equally, with Plan International and Women United for Progress each receiving 50% (3,450 bags each).
