By Andrew Keili
At the start of the year, I consider it an imperative to continue my reflection on issues that defined the past year for Sierra Leoneans as I have done in previous years. These are issues that in my view probably reflect the general direction of the country. I entreat you to reflect on my list of fifteen and ponder.
- PRESIDENTIAL FLAGBEARER CAMPAIGN-THREE GEAR POSITIONS
Only the SLPP has officially warned its members not to campaign for the flagbearer position of the party. With a good three and a half years to elections, the general observation is that prospective candidates are either overtly of covertly campaigning to be their party’s flagbearer. The First Lady is amongst several influential people who have warned against this for the SLPP and now the party has officially threatened to punish anyone running ahead of the game. Without the starter shouting, “On your marks, get set” and firing the starter pistol, some have bolted out of the blocks in first gear. The APC on the contrary has been too enmeshed in intra party squabbles to wear its running shoes and the shoe lace is probably missing. The party’s gear is stuck in neutral. One has to pity the NGC which seems to be in reverse gear with recent problems, including the expulsion of some top members. The other minor parties are asking: “What elections?”
- TRIPARTITE OVERSHADOWS ALL
With the inter party warfare over the last elections threatening to paralyze the state of governance in this country, the issue of the Tripartite negotiations, supported by our moral guarantors was the only hope for a peaceful resolution of the impasse. After several months of haggling, some consensus was reached. The two leading parties agreed to rein in their supporters and agreement was reached on a host of issues to make future elections credible. Those within the opposition APC who had been calling for a re-run of the elections were left disappointed.
- IT HAS PLEASED HIS EXCELLENCY
There were some notable appointments that affected Ministers and Deputy Ministers. The President himself took over the Ministry of Energy and a new Attorney General and new Internal Affairs Minister were appointed at year’s end. The Chief Justice proceeded on leave to be replaced by an Acting Chief Justice, with a substantive replacement stepping in at year’s end. There were also several swaps in diplomatic positions and some new appointments of Ambassadors and deputies. Changes were also effected in some MDAs.
- PROFOUND PARLIAMENTARY CHANGES
The long-standing Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Abass Bundu retired to be replaced by his Deputy Hon. Sengepeh Paul Thomas. Hon. Paran Tarawalli, Clerk of Parliament, who went on leave under a cloud returned to his position. Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament scored huge successes in getting MDAs to be more accountable, and in the process collecting significant funds for the state by following up on issues of suspected malfeasance, including negative findings in Audit reports.
- WE FINALLY GET THE MCC, BUT……
Qualifying for the MCC compact featured prominently in political debates. Despite impressive scores, it was felt in opposition circles that the disputed elections would put paid to our national aspiration of qualifying for the $450m grant. We finally did get the approval. This will be the first time that sufficient money will be pumped into the electricity sector to address its binding constraints. However, this was also linked to conditional ties associated with the Tripartite recommendations.
- IT WAS A COUP!
Any doubts that the November 26, 2023 uprising was not a coup attempt were dispelled by evidence from accused persons at the coup trials which occupied most of the year. Several long- term sentences were meted out to those found guilty.
Former President Koroma, who was accused of complicity travelled to Nigeria for medical reasons, after being involved in preliminary court hearings; his early return is subject to considerable conjecture. There were also several dismissals in the armed forces and changes in top personnel, some of which may not be unrelated to the coup or perceived state of insecurity in the country.
- LARA TAYLOR-PEARCE-LOVED AND LOATHED IN EQUAL MEASURE
The Tribunal findings indicated wrongdoing by the suspended Auditor General, Lara Taylor Pearce and her Deputy, Tamba Momoh. The President approved the recommendations and forwarded the matter to Parliament. Doubts that the opposition APC would not support the government to achieve the required two-thirds majority were unfounded as some APC MPs voted with the Government to relieve Mrs. Taylor-Pearce of her duties. Meanwhile, Institute of Chartered Accountants Sierra Leone (ICASL), international accounting bodies and several civil society organisations rushed to the defense of the Auditor General and complained about what they said was the unfairness of the process and the findings. The question now being asked is – “What next for Lara?”
- FEEDING SALONE
The Feed Salone Programme ranks Number 1 in the government’s Big Five agenda. It was never short of publicity during the year and the President himself travelled far and wide throughout the country to promote the programme. The reduction of rice importation figures and the ready availability of several food products that were hitherto in short supply pointed to some success of the programme. It is however early days yet to make any definitive statement on the extent of its progress.
- IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
The difficult economic circumstances were largely as a result of the global economic squeeze. Prices of essential commodities spiralled out of control to the extent that the inflation rate reached 54 percent at the start of the year. The parlous state of the economy impacted on bread and butter issues. Local solutions to this dire situation did not meet with much success. However, the exchange rate remained relatively steady during the year and at year’s end the rate of inflation had reduced to 16 percent. Sierra Leone remained largely a donor driven economy with government forced to comply with externally imposed conditions.
- GOVERNMENT PRESS CONFERENCES- A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
A criticism often made about Government in the past was that it does not respond to negative rumours and keeps the populace largely uninformed about events. Not anymore. The Ministry of Information and Communication’s press briefings were a breath of fresh air. Led by the Minister himself and conducted in Krio, Ministers and heads of MDAs were brought to these press conferences to make presentations and take questions from the press. The Minister and his press people made the rounds to air their views in various radio and TV interviews. Sure, some of these had a tinge of spin, but which government would not do so? Altogether good for accountability. Kudos to the Minister.
- INFLUENTIAL “MEDDLERS” ON THE POLITICAL SCENE
The First Lady and the American Ambassador were two of the most influential people not in government that made pronouncements on national issues that reverberated with government and the public. First Lady, Fatima Maada Bio has been making her mark on issues beyond those she has been known for. She could also cut any government official down to size, espouse her views on ruling party issues and make people sit up and notice. She made this apparent during the year. SLPP politicians would know that ignoring her will be at their peril. Some people have called Ambassador David Brian Hunt an undiplomatic diplomat. Whether it was dealing with conditional ties related to the MCC grant, corruption, electricity supply, the private sector or elections, he said things mainly as he saw them. Mostly it was official US government policy that he announced from the “rooftop”, contrary to the views held by “sovereignty advocates”.
- BLOGGERS REIGN SUPREME
Influential social media bloggers came to the fore in all shapes. They included overtly partisan political bloggers who were so brazen as to attach party names to their postings, caustic ones that threatened to cause mayhem in society, often calling for mass action from the populace and subscribing to a perceived state of insecurity, sexist ones and those serving in a purely advisory capacity on some social issues. They often have a large following and people swallowed their messages hook, line and sinker. Some got themselves into trouble by vitriolic attacks on political figures and fell afoul of the law. What is however true is that their influence could not be underrated. The year ended with politicians donating to party bloggers.
- KUSH IS KILLING OUR YOUTHS
The Kush problem continued being a national crisis that needed to be tackled with more seriousness. People called on the President to declare a Public Health Emergency and he promptly obliged. The Ministry of Social Welfare built a drug rehabilitation centre and there was more attention paid by government in addressing this issue. It is however still a serious problem that various MDAs are finding difficult to tackle, mainly because of funding problems.
- NEW GRADUATES? NOW WHAT?
We should as a nation be proud of the number of graduates we are producing in various disciplines from various colleges. One could not however help but notice the inordinately large number in 2024. The graduation ceremonies were accompanied by pomp and pageantry and the new graduates had a field day with photoshoots and social media postings. One question that always comes to the mind of the discerning person is – “After the photoshoot, when is the “job shoot”; where are all of these people going to find work?” Employers are bound to be inundated with applications they cannot handle.
- THE BATTLE OF THE “WIG WEARERS”
The Bar association, created to provide a unified voice within the legal profession and play other roles including: the regulation of the legal profession; the protection of the rule of law; and engaging in law reform was split as a result of its election in Kenema which a rival faction considered irregular. Essentially, an institution that is supposed to defend the independence of the legal profession, ensuring that it is free from state interference and that individual lawyers are able to carry out their work free of harassment or threat is now split down the middle and there are two rival factions.
LOOKING FORWARD TO A BETTER 2025
There are possibly many more issues that could have made the cut that I did not include. This year, I encourage comments on these issues and the addition of any that the readership would consider compelling in brief notes which I can edit and use in a subsequent publication (please send to andrewkeili43@gmail.com and indicate whether or not you wish to be anonymous). As we reflect on these and other issues that arose on 2024, let us hope that 2025 will be a much better year for this land that we love.
Wishing you the best in 2025
Ponder my thoughts.
