South Africa-Nation – 50 Years Forward Or Backward?

Concord Times (Freetown)

John Momoh

30 May 2011

analysis

Freetown — Sometimes when people read in the foreign press, listen to radio reports or watch television analysis about events in Britain, USA, France etc concerning corruption, abject poverty, mal-governance and the embezzlement of public funds, one may be tempted to easily pass judgement that since independence in April 1961 fifty years ago, no significant progress had been achieved. But this is a fallacy. Of course certain significant development landmarks are there to show that among other things the country succeeded in laying the foundations of a formidable educational system, improving on the healthcare delivery system that the colonial power passed over such as the Connaught Hospital in Freetown, the largest in the country; and the government hospitals in the provincial headquarter cities such as Bo, Kenema and Makeni.

One may also indicate without hesitation the important improvements in the mining sector especially after the introduction of the UN spearheaded Kimberley Certification Scheme, which is useful in tracing the origins of diamond stones, thereby helping to minimize the smuggling of the precious stones without the payment of tax to government. Recently, the APC government set a record in the mining sector through an open door policy that led investors to make important mineral discoveries in the country and to make huge investments for their exploration.

While the Koidu Holdings diamond mining contract has been suspected to be full of flaws to the disadvantage of government, the contracts that government entered into with the African Minerals Limited (AML), the Cape Lambert iron company and London Mining will go a long way in salvaging the economy of this country. It was noted that the AML’s iron ore deposits whose mining will span over 40 years is one of the world’s principal iron ore deposits, and the Sierra Leone government will benefit about a billion dollar tax revenue annually.

Such a colossal amount into government revenue will only be the tip of the iceberg in this country’s economy if revenue from petroleum products, other minerals and the agricultural sector are added to it. This was perhaps what tempted President Ernest Bai Koroma to state in his 50th Independence Anniversary Day message that in 20 years from now Sierra Leone will be donating rather than soliciting financial assistance from other countries.

The fact of the matter is that the image of this country is often besmeared not only by the negative publications of the local and foreign media, but major international institutions as well sometimes with tangible statistical data to back their claims. The Annual UNDP Human Development Index which gives a comprehensive listing of variables that determine development trends and the standard of living, the London-based Transparency International, a global corruption watchdog on countries in developed and developing countries are among those often painting a negative image of this country by placing it at the tail end of countries with worse cases.

What is obvious is that despite the negative trends such as: high maternal and infant death rates, reliance on importation of rice – the staple food, low level of incentives admirable qualities for attracting foreign investments, low annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate, few ‘coal-tar’ roads, and the general income earning capacity for the average Sierra Leonean below one dollar a day, this country was able to make some development strides to showcase the spirit of independence. Few attractive buildings such as the National Stadium, the Youyi Building, the Bank of Sierra Leone and the Commercial Bank are among those giving Freetown the capital an attractive image. Many new hotels especially along the beaches are becoming tourist attractions.

Indeed corruption and poverty as well as political instability and constant military interventions are the principal forces holding down the development of this country. Each time there is military intervention, the incoming democratically elected civilian government would face the challenge of starting things afresh. And as if to add salt to injury, the 11 years rebel war brought untold destruction to most of the infrastructural gains made since independence. During the war the socio-economic and social fabric of this country, once admired as the Athens of West Africa, completely grinded to a halt. Farmers were forced to flee to displaced centres or cross the borders to live as refugees in foreign countries. Mining companies folded up and many of the traders that imported goods took an exit.

The argument that is sometimes traded is that although the war brought untold destruction, suffering throughout Sierra Leone, sustainable development had been more rapid in the past 20 years sometimes considered as the rebel war era than during the first 30 years since independence. Those who hold to this view often back their arguments with the fact that the war generated the sentiments of the international community towards the poverty and corruption plight of this country. It was during the past 20 years since independence that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was established in the year 2000, which is a tacit acknowledgement of the existence of corruption in this country especially within government circles.

It was during the past 20 years that about 60% of the budget became relied on donor support, while more primary schools were built under the SABABU project and the number of schools and pupils and students tripled. Some tertiary institutions were either founded or developed so as to bring education to the door-steps of every Sierra Leonean such the diversification of the curriculum at Fourah Bay College and Njala University with a new campus in Bo, while the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET) and the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) made serious unprecedented improvements in increasing enrolment.

The past 20 years also marked the formulation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), a national development that was designed in collaboration with the UN system while Sierra Leone made a commitment to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goal (MDG), a development agenda that seeks to reduce the poverty gap between the rich and poor countries by the year 2015.

Of course the establishment of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) that tends to bring government tax collection under one roof and the formation of the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) and the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) were among efforts to bring a new leash of life in the area of efficient revenue collection and improved management techniques in the country. There is also the re-introduction of the decentralization of local government institutions and efforts to privatize dormant public enterprises.

The big question now is whether future governments will make a maximum use of the development foundations that have been set in the past 20 years. Indeed more have been done but a lot more remains to be done. Although more schools have been constructed there remains the issue of addressing better conditions of service for teachers in all levels of the educational system. The procurement system in the country is still full of loopholes and most Sierra Leonean technocrats cannot be trusted, and only few of the country’s major road networks have been constructed while the cost of living continues to soar at a time that the economy is yet to be energized; and at a time of no concomitant creation of jobs to ease the high unemployment rate in the country!

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