By Donstance Koroma
Allow me to recall here a little instructive lesson of contemporary history to refresh our minds, said the Speaker of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu on the 7th November, 2023 in the Chamber of Parliament.
He said Sierra Leone obtained its political independence from the British colonizer in 1961, four good years ahead of Singapore, that he said is a comparatively small island country in Southeast Asia that attained its statehood in 1965.
Singapore, the Speaker disclosed was and still is inhabited by a much smaller population than Sierra Leone consisting of Chinese, Malays, and Indians among others. So it is not any less assorted than we are in Sierra Leone, but however, there is this remarkable difference, he pointed.
“Singapore had nothing, literally no natural resource at independence apart from human beings and a deep sea harbor, just as we have our own Deep Water Quay.” Dr. Abass Bundu revealed.
We in Sierra Leone have a lot more assets to be proud of: we are endowed with gold, diamonds, iron ore, bauxite, tantalite, rutile, palm oil, palm kernel, etc. etc. You name it, we have it, Speaker emphasized.
He pointed out that yet, in 1961, Sierra Leone’s per capita income was only $140 and its annual GDP stood at $328 million while Singapore’s per capita in 1965 was $517 and its annual GDP was $975 million.
By 2022, sixty years on, Sierra Leone’s per capita income was still only $488 and an annual GDP of not more than $3,970 million compared to Singapore’s per capita income of $82,808 and an annual GDP of $466,789 million, Dr. Bundu said.
“Today, with this galaxy of notables gathered in this Well of Parliament from both our two main political parties, I cannot resist the temptation to ask the question: where did we go wrong?”
According to the Speaker, It is certainly not for want of human capital, because Sierra Leone was once the accolade of the “Athens of Education” in West Africa99999998888.
He said in recent times Sierra Leoneans are weeping as to how the accolade “Athens of Education” has dived to such a low levels that the young at school are not ashamed to think they have a Divine right to spy to pass public examinations and our public servants are equally busy overdoing the desks of their offices with Degrees and Diplomas, not properly earned, but purchased from non-accredited “Dominion” Colleges with high sounding names.
“Therefore, while Singapore was busy obtaining laurels and moving up the development ladder rapidly from a Third World classification to a First World, Sierra Leone has remained behind staggering in abject poverty and deprivation and fighting with other countries and hoping for the crumbs to fall from the dinner tables of rich countries.” Dr. A.C. Bundu pointed out.
The speaker was left with no option but to asked, with all the brilliant minds we have produced in this country, past and present, where really have we gone wrong?
In response to the said question, the Speaker invited all lawmakers in the well of parliament to borrow a leaf from Singapore’s enviable book of development.
Singapore gave the highest national priority to educating and training their people to the highest standards by sending them to the best of the best colleges everywhere at home and abroad and got them glued on scholarships that obligated them to return and work for Singapore after graduation, Speaker told legislators.
The success of this scheme reached such a point that those who went to the United States, the country with the stiffest requirements in the world for a visa, relaxed their entry requirements for Singaporeans because no Singapore graduate wanted ever to remain permanently in America after graduation because the salaries waiting for them at home were much higher than they could earn in America, he trilled the well.
Second, Dr. Abass continued, Singapore challenged their citizens to absorb a sense of patriotism that was second to none.
“Those who have studied with Singaporeans in colleges abroad can testify to this. A student from Singapore aspires to nothing but a first class honors degree and the day he gets it he is on the next plane back to Singapore”. Speaker narrated.
Third, Singapore developed a culture of appointing to high office people of proven competence and leadership based on meritocracy, Speaker disclosed. Nepotism and cronyism died the very day that an independent Singapore was born and they have remained permanently in their graves to this day, he added.
Remember, how serious this principle is respected in a country with such a small population that everybody virtually knows everybody else. He told lawmakers.
Amazingly, he said Singapore is a country where their development plans are tailored to run for decades and they are executed to the last detail and it matters not who or which political party is in power, Speaker lectured .
Fourth, in Singapore the culture of incorruptibility is second to none as their leaders don’t govern; but lead and also commandingly lead by example, Dr. Bundu disclosed.
Speaker recalled that Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Lee Kwan Yew, was once accused of corruption by a British newspaper in England.
He narrated that the Prime Minister sued the newspaper for defamation in the British Courts and won which he said speaks volumes about the character of the man.
The Speaker told lawmakers that he narrated the Singapore scenario to simply demonstrate the essential ingredients combined to produce the phenomenal economic development of Singapore.
On the other hand, the Speaker noted that the Singapore case studies also points to the fact that Singapore has achieved its phenomenal development and growth over the last 60 years not by luck or happenstance but rather through good and transformative leadership that is highly educated, locally-driven, focused, motivated, dedicated, purposeful and incorruptible.
This is the new challenge facing us today in this Sixth Parliament and it confronts all of us equally regardless of party color or affiliation, he admonished MPs. He therefore invited all MPs to emulate the good example that Singapore presents that he said it’s not yet too late to do so. It may sound like a achievement of unforeseen proportions but it’s not impossible. Together we can do it and achieve it, Speaker encouraged MPs.
