Failed Projects of the APC

The democratic emergence of President Ernest Bai Koroma in to the reign of power in 2007 saw the establishment of organizations such as the Attitudinal and Behavioral Change (ABC); Open Government Initiative (OGI); and Office of the Diaspora, all in a collective endeavour to complement H.E President Koroma’s (in photo) must-do-list.

Honestly speaking, the introduction of these institutions by the government was a laudable step and their presence in the country has been perceived by many political analysts and the general public that they will help immensely in making cataclysmic changes in the famous ‘Agenda for Change’ by President Koroma.

As the political clock ticks in the two and half years of APC rule, many observers have raised eye-brows over the inefficiency of these organizations; a situation that is of great concern to all and sundry. Some regard the work of these organizations as duplication of efforts and a mere waste of state resources, and that since their inception they have yielded no benefit for the people of this country. So far, the developmental strides made by the President Koroma led government are commendable, especially in areas regarding infrastructural development and his proactive stance in maintaining peace among Sierra Leoneans and the West African sub region.

Obviously, one cannot expect President Koroma to undertake every development activity of this country alone, because he is just a human being. Thus, Sierra Leone as a post conflict-nation needs all hands on deck to make a holistic change for all. With the setting up of the aforementioned organizations in response to the President’s call for a change, one would have anticipated that by now we are far ahead in making gleams in our developmental priorities for Sierra Leoneans. But taking a second look at the snail-pace of our development strides, one would conclude that much is needed to be done in see outstanding impact in the ‘Agenda for Change’programme.

By the look of things now, OGI, ABC and the Office of the Diaspora which is hosted at State House to lure Sierra Leoneans and others alike to invest in Sierra Leone have proven futile; and as a matter of fact not too many Sierra Leoneans can claim knowledge of their existence in this country. Interestingly, the Open Government Initiative (OGI) which has been claiming that it brings government to the people through their members of parliament has created little or no impact on the lives of the people in the country. The Attitudinal Behavioral Change (ABC) fame is another white-elephant in the making and it has yielded no fruit of change since it was launched over two years ago.

Considering the failed nature of these initiatives launched by the government, some right thinking-Sierra Leoneans have recommended that, especially for the benefit of the ABC Secretariat, to take the campaign to schools and other tertiary institutions around the country. According to one old think-tank of this country, he has recommended to the government through its ministry of Education to introduce theological subjects into the curricula of our learning institutions irrespective of their areas of specialization. He also hastened to add that theological teachings should not be developed only for people who study theology. This is because, he said, a nation that is God fearing is bound to develop no matter the level of its man-power and resources available.

In essence, the campaign for change should not be an individualistic endeavour but a holistic one that is ready to incorporate every sector in the country. It is in this direction that popular opinions are calling on President Koroma’s ‘New APC’ to ensure that these sub-catalyst organizations formed under his regime strive hard to reach the four corners of Sierra Leone; as their effort in Freetown alone does not justify their actions for change for all Sierra Leoneans. Capitalizing on the shortcomings of these organizations, one would also suggest that a proper decentralization process would suffice for a change that is ubiquitous. 

By Sheik Mahdi

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