By Alusine Fullah
The Government of Sierra Leone in collaboration with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has on Tuesday 1st November, 2023 launched the Targeted Review Report on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Sierra Leone and APRM Bi-annual Report on Governance Mechanisms for the implementation of agenda 2063 and agenda 2030 with special focus on Aspiration three and SDG16. The primary goal of the APRM report in Sierra Leone is to promote good governance, transparency, and accountability, with the aim of fostering socio-economic development and improving the well-being of Sierra Leone’s citizens.
In his key note speech, the Chief Minister, Dr. Sengeh highlighted the essence of the report. He said: “This report represents an extensive and participatory examination of the causes, consequences, and prevention of unconstitutional means of acquiring power in Sierra Leone since independence. It is also composed to provide important recommendations for revitalizing democratic institutions and advancing good governance in Sierra Leone and the continent of Africa. The APRM, as a voluntary self-assessment and peer review process, aims to foster good governance and socio-economic development across Africa. Established in 2003 by the African Union (AU), it serves as a powerful tool for mutual learning and the exchange of best practices among African countries. Sierra Leone has been a member of the APRM since 2004, when it joined the voluntary self-assessment and peer review process. The country completed its first country review in 2012, showcasing its governance achievements and challenges.”
This particular review was instigated by none other than His Excellency the President, Brigadier Rt. Dr. Julius Maada Bio. As President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chairperson of the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government, he officially requested the APRM undertook this critical review in 2020. The Chief Minister went further to vividly state government’s commitment in working with the APRM recommendations.
The Chief Executive Office for APRM, Professor Eddy Maloka mentioned the recommendations of the report, APRM. He said: “This report recommends the following: the finalization of the constitutional review process to address the weaknesses of the 1991 constitution; the increase of funding for vocational and technical schools that have been established to train unemployed youth in skills; the encouragement of democratic institutions such as the National Commission for Democracy, the Peace Commission, the Human Rights Commission, and the Anti-Corruption Commission by providing them with the legal authority and financial means to promote human rights in all spheres of Sierra Leone society, etc.
In his welcome remarks, the APRM Executive Secretary, Mr. Mohamed Sheshu Sheriff spoke about the commitment of the secretarial in making sure that the prescribed recommendations by APRM are implemented to the letter.
Sierra Leone was subject to a Targeted Review on unconstitutional changes of government (UCG) from 10 to 20 October 2022, in accordance with the decision made by AU Heads at the 16th Extraordinary Summit. The APR Forum is chaired by H.E Julius Maada Bio who has made UCG review a top priority. The study was conducted using a combination of concurrent triangulation and concurrent nested strategy, which allowed for the simultaneous collection of quantitative and qualitative data.
Given the data gaps and the nature of the available data on unconstitutional changes of government on the continent. According to the report, 200 experts were conveniently sampled, and the findings served to explore the salient issues.
