By Albert David
In every democracy, there are moments when the conduct of public officials forces a nation to confront uncomfortable truths about governance, integrity, and the meaning of public service. Sierra Leone is living through such a moment. And at the center of this civic conversation stands Mr. Paran Tarawally, former Clerk of Parliament and now Secretary General of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
Mr. Tarawally recently appeared on Liberty Online TV to speak about ethics, democracy, transparency, and good governance. These are noble themes. They are also themes that demand consistency between words and actions. When public figures speak on such matters, they do not merely express opinions, they set standards by which their own conduct must be measured.
This is where the national discomfort begins. A public servant cannot credibly champion transparency while controversies surrounding their own stewardship remain unresolved in the public conscience. Sierra Leoneans vividly recall the episode involving the employment of Mr. Tarawally’s spouse in Parliament, an employment widely perceived as irregular, opaque, and ethically troubling.
The Anti‑Corruption Commission (ACC) later announced that all salaries and bonuses received were refunded and that Mr. Tarawally bore no administrative responsibility. Yet the public was never provided with a transparent, detailed explanation of how such an appointment occurred, who authorized it, and why it went undetected until public scrutiny forced a response.
Refunding money does not erase the ethical questions. Refunding money does not restore public trust. Refunding money does not substitute for accountability. When low‑income parliamentary workers were laid off during the same period, the contrast became even more painful, a symbol of inequality, privilege, and selective justice.
Equally troubling is the episode in which ten elected Members of Parliament from the All People’s Congress (APC) were removed and replaced with SLPP members. This event remains one of the most controversial parliamentary decisions in Sierra Leone’s recent democratic history. Whether one views it as a legal maneuver or a political strategy, its consequences were unmistakable: It undermined public confidence in the neutrality of state institutions. It deepened political polarization. It created the perception that parliamentary authority could be bent to partisan advantage. For a Clerk of Parliament, the custodian of parliamentary procedure, to be associated with such an episode raises profound questions about institutional independence and democratic ethics.
When Mr. Tarawally, now Secretary General of the SLPP, publicly stated that he does not know whether the ACC Commissioner is a member of the SLPP, despite widespread public discourse about the Commissioner’s political ambitions, it further strained credibility. Leadership requires clarity, not evasiveness. Integrity requires candor, not selective memory, and democracy requires transparency, not convenient ambiguity. A Secretary General of a ruling party cannot credibly claim ignorance about the political affiliations of a high‑profile figure rumored to be seeking the party’s presidential flagbearer position. Such statements do not strengthen public trust, they weaken it.
Ethics is not what one says on television.
Ethics is what one does when no camera is present. Good governance is not a slogan.
It is the daily discipline of respecting institutions, processes, and the people those institutions serve.Transparency is not a press release. It is the willingness to open the books, answer difficult questions, and accept responsibility. Democracy is not the dominance of one party. It is the protection of every citizen’s right to representation, fairness, and justice, even when it is politically inconvenient. Accountability is not the return of funds. It is the acknowledgment of wrongdoing, the correction of systemic failures, and the commitment to prevent recurrence.
Sierra Leone deserves leaders who embody the values they preach. The nation deserves institutions that operate above suspicion.
Citizens deserve a political culture where integrity is not optional, and where public office is treated as a sacred trust, not a personal entitlement.
Mr. Tarawally, if you wish to speak about ethics, democracy, and good governance, then the country expects you to demonstrate these principles with clarity, consistency, and courage. Public trust is not inherited, it is earned. And once broken, it must be rebuilt through transparency, humility, and genuine accountability. Sierra Leone is watching. The world is watching. History is watching. And history is never kind to those who preach values they do not practice.
