Last week, the Minority Leader in the House of Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, said a government that is not open to criticism is undemocratic.
“A government that does not accept criticism is not truly democratic,” he said.
Criticism like the right to freedom of speech and expression is good for any government. It is equally good for anyone working in the public and private sectors, going down to the family unit and other interpersonal relationships. Criticism if allowed to flourish is good for any organisation or individual hoping to improve on his or her performance.
Since time immemorial governments of Sierra Leone have made it their ambition to openly welcome praise while at the same time vehemently kicking against critical thoughts or alternative perspectives, which action is tantamount to denying people their democratically protected rights to freedom of speech and expression.
Since coming to power, the government of President Julius Maada Bio while trying to placate the public, especially so media practitioners, supported the repeal Part 5 of the Seditious Libel Law that in effect criminalised free speech. However, before the dust settled on this repeal the people were literally slapped with the Cybercrime Law which is more draconian and restrictive of free speech and expression than the earlier repealed Seditious Libel Law. In the addendum it appears that the presidency or government is regretful of expunging the Seditious Libel Law which may have precipitated the Cybercrime Law. The Cybercrime Law became necessary as the freedom of expression granted to the people of Sierra Leone for the first time since 1965 resulted to the mushrooming of citizen journalism, especially over social media, which is far reaching and can be accessed instantly around the world than the traditional media.
In its work to craft public policies to meet and keep promises made to the public, governments need ideas and suggestions from all well-meaning people in the furtherance of such plans and actions to develop the state. However, public policies are influenced by a variety of factors including public opinion, economic conditions, new scientific findings, technological change, interest groups, NGOs, the media, business lobbying, and political activity.
It is from criticism that governments can have an idea of how their plans and actions are affecting the most vulnerable in society. By tackling issues such as inefficient service delivery, lack of transparency, inadequate infrastructure, accessibility barriers, data security concerns, political interference, ineffective communication, and procurement challenges head-on, governments can improve public trust, enhance service delivery, and uphold the rule of law. A good leadership will consider and listen to open criticism as suppressed criticism is bad for any government and can be the breeding grounds for insurrection, insubordination and wrecking of government’s plans and actions.
A bad government refers to how decisions are made in government and business, and is the polar opposite of good leadership. Bad governance entails systemic corruption and a lack of openness and accountability, arbitrary policymaking, and the deception of those who are ruled. Critics are there to expose such malfeasance in governance, as presidents and other leaders are routinely misled by the people close to them responsible for monitoring how the president’s plans are working for those with the least access to public services and programmes that can equally not afford rising costs of goods and services.
The hiring and firing processes of the government must also be open to criticism. There is growing concerns that selective hiring that considers the applicants’ areas of origin, political and tribal affiliations is rife in government ministries, departments and agencies. This has led to the government of Sierra Leone to be described as a kakistocracy, a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens. The word was coined as early as the seventeenth century.
Constructive criticism is the springboard to effective governance and must be welcomed by any government hoping to please the citizens from whom the regime gains their mandate to lead by winning their votes. There is a myriad of socio-economic issues that can hinder a government’s plans and actions being maximised for optimal effect. Therefore as social, economic, and environmental issues become more intricate, government agencies are required to adapt and develop innovative solutions to address them, using public criticism as a great starting point to being aware of the ineffective outcome of their policies.
A government that is open to criticism that allows for the people to freely express their views on public leadership limits the tendency of popular regimes to digress to tyranny. A tyrannical regime puts a firm grip on dissenting views and opinions by disallowing public protest which is a product of failure of the regime to address criticism of its plans and actions. A tyranny is a cruel, harsh, and unfair government in which a person or small group of people have power over everyone else. Such regimes can also be described as dictatorships.
The government headed by President Julius Maada Bio is not welcoming or open to criticism. Ruling party and government stalwarts have severally stated that under Bio’s leadership they see a strong leaning towards his days as a military dictator when his governance track record can only be described as autocratic. But autocracy has no place in a democracy whose defining quality is freedom: freedom to choose, to associate, to speak, to peaceful assembly, to disagree, to expose, to praise hence to express.
Despite the disputed way in which President Bio became a second term president, as it is expected according to the constitutional limits placed on presidential tenures, that as he prepares to exit the stage for the president to give a nod to people speaking out and openly criticise his government. The president and his government would learn a lot and gain incredible insight into how to tailor their plans in the true interest of the people.
The president’s governance credential has been marred by blood, the blood of protesting citizens shot and killed at scenes of public protest against rising costs of living and electoral injustice. Even citizens that were under the control of the state at the nation’s premier correctional facility at Pademba Road were murdered by state security officers linked to the office of the president, whose deaths have gone without the dead and their families getting justice. The Sierra Leonean citizens that died across the country at Lunsar, Makeni, Mile 98, Tonko Limba, Tombo, Koidu, on 10 August, 2022 and 11 September, 2023 in Freetown, died for trying to criticise the government of President Julius Maada Bio.
They died for trying to exercise their democratic right to criticise their government’s excesses. Lonta!
By Jerry Saccoh Kai-Lewis
