By Jara Mina Jara
During the official inauguration ceremony of the All People’s Congress (APC) party branch in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, former foreign affairs minister Dr Kaifala Marah, in his keynote address, called for deep reflection on the challenges facing the country and the current state of the APC.
According to Dr Marah, 80 percent of the population grapples with food insecurity. One in four children suffers from malnutrition despite the abundance of natural resources such as fisheries and marine. Inflation has soared above 20 percent, and the burden of unsustainable debt is suffocating the economy. “These numbers are not abstract; they represent the rash realities faced daily by our people,” he stressed.
Marah argued that while the impact of external shocks like COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war have had global ramifications, neighbouring countries have relatively managed to recover and stabilize. Yet, Sierra Leone, he said, lags behind, which is a clear indication that internal mismanagement and poor policy choices have exacerbated our plight.
It would be recalled that since the Sierra Leone People’s Party – SLPP came to office, it has not ceased pointing the accusing finger at the APC (even though the party has been in opposition close to seven years now) of managing an economy riddled with leakages. However, the APC flag bearer contender noted that the economy the SLPP is operating is not just leaking, but “drowning in waste, characterized by excessive overseas travel and poor expenditure management.”
As former finance minister, Marah advised the SLPP government that, since salaries and pensions are mostly delayed, and budgetary allocations lag behind, leaving vital MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) in disarray, they should establish a “cut waste panel” to rationalize revenue and expenditure, reduce waste and create fiscal space. He also urged the government to suspend domestic borrowing which is crowding out the private sector and escalating domestic debt. 
“When I served under President Ernest Bai Koroma as Minister of Finance and Economic Development in 2013, we implemented such measures, reducing domestic interest rates from 27 percent to under-5 percent and bringing inflation down from 12 percent to 6.4 percent by May 2014. We also introduced the Treasury Single Account for better resource management, which, regrettably, is not functioning as intended,” he said.
Dr Marah called out the Bio administration for its failure to build on the successes of the Ernest Bai Koroma presidency particularly in road construction, energy and water. He disclosed that the APC government constructed over 1,000 kilometers of paved roads compared to less than half of what the Bio led government had delivered. In water, it was the APC that commissioned water projects in Kenema, Kailahun, Pujehun, Bo, Makeni, Port Loko, Mile 91 and Kabala. In energy, the government of president Koroma also delivered 50MW from the Bumbuna hydro dam along with additional projects like the Charlotte, Bankasoka and Makali hydros, 6MW in Lungi, 8MW in Kono, 6MW Solar Park, Barefoot Women Solar project, and also facilitated the CLSG power supply network.
The former finance minister who also served as Bank Governor described the tax increase on rice as unjustified and a burden on an already struggling population, lamenting on the fact that the APC used to waive duties on rice, easing the cost of living for the ordinary man and woman. He promised that with the APC at the helm of affairs, such neglect of the welfare of the people will be reversed because the party has the expertise and strategies to restore hope and prosperity.
