About
Short Biography of Abdul-Rahman Sowa
Mr. Sowa, a Sierra Leone national, until February 2021, has been the UNDP hired international consultant in the office of the President of the Republic of Liberia for the development and strengthening of the public sector performance management and compliance system.
Prior to that engagement, Sowa has been the Director of Performance Management & Public Service Delivery, Government of Sierra Leone, office of the President since 2013. Mr. Sowa is a long-time supporter of people-centered development; a principle he has kept at the heart of his career. He has been especially vocal on the issue of entrepreneurship and pro-poor growth, a cause he has championed tirelessly at the highest level and one that forms the central pillar of Sierra Leone National Development Plans. Mr. Sowa has valuable work experience spanning over two decades, acquired at reputable international organizations including the United Nations (UN), International NGOs, Consultancy services, CSOs and some Governments of Africa. He served for years as the Service Champion for Sierra Leone to the Conference of African Minister of Public Service and Africa Management and Development Institute Network (AMDIN), both of the African Union.
Having covered at work the fields of Education, Private sector, Manufacturing, Governance, Youths livelihood, Child development ,Social protection, Economic recovery, Capacity building, Policy advice and delivery, Technical assistance and guidance, Monitoring and Evaluation and Performance Management, he has gained invaluable experience in: programme development, strategic planning, management and budgeting; technical cooperation; and research .He has been at various times charged with handling programmes aimed at recovery, revitalization and restructuring of weak public and private sectors institutions Mr. Sowa has led numerous initiatives to make government work more relevant and efficient, including the Performance Management System through which performance has been gauged and value for money established for all public service institutions of the Government of Sierra Leone; broadening of financing mechanisms and the strengthening of cooperation with other development organizations. Over the years Abdul-Rahman has overseen the conclusion of milestones in partnership agreements with a large number of bilateral and multilateral partners as well ensured the establishment of the performance management system for the public service with 10 years of performance contract public signature between institutional leaderships and the President for all government institutions in Sierra Leone
Mr. Sowa has also driven institutional change at the office of the President whilst he served as operations director, particularly in the areas of human resource development, administration, finance, policy advice, coordination and public sector development and communications, the latter with a view to increasing visibility and democratic governance and understanding of in both its partners, service up takers as well as within the wider development community. Also in that central role, he acted as the principal focal point in the design and roll-out of Results-Based Management (RBM) in general and performance contracting in the public sector in particular and provided the vital link between the Presidency and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in advancing the ‘Agenda for Prosperity, Sierra Leone’s official Planning document then. Coming from the UN, Mr. Sowa provided close to a decade administrative, technical and advisory services to the Presidency of Sierra Leone and gained a great deal of experience in the design and implementation of the regulatory and supervisory frameworks for the enhancement of accountability, transparency, strategic planning, performance management and working ethics in the public sector.
Mr. Sowa holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Development Studies bias in Development Economics; a Master of Education (M.Ed.) specialising in Measurement and Evaluation, a certified marketing and human resources management diplomas and a host of other post graduate qualifications and is currently a PhD and DBA candidate, in Public Administration and in Business Administration from the Njala University and SMCU Zurich, Switzerland respectively.
