President Koroma’s rule; my take, my view

Sierra Leone is a country that witnessed over a decade long civil war. This civil war saw the destruction of lives and property. Thousands of innocent people were killed and hundreds maimed. Some say, the factors which led to the civil war ranged from bad governance, a corrupt political system that was centered on cronyism, tribalism and nepotism.

The first All Peoples Congress government of late President Siaka Stevens saw the ills of democratic practices, and eventually, his system of governance practically led to the country’s civil war, as believed by many Sierra Leoneans. But all of that is history today, as the country has moved steps ahead in terms of ensuring peace, ensuring the creation of democratic and institutional reforms and also ensuring a peaceful transfer of democratic governance from one government to another.

The country is also today witnessing rapid growth from the political, social and economic aspects. But general attempts have been made aimed at evaluating the performance of President Ernest Bai Koroma since his election into political office by the people of Sierra Leone.

It should be underscored that attempts aimed at assessing the two years political governance of the state by President Koroma must take into account key issues, among them; his determination to fight against graft in a country that was highly infested with one disease called corruption. Also the media landscape in the country must be looked at because the operation of smooth democratic governance must encompass the existence of a free and pluralistic press.

An enabling political environment is crucial in democracy especially in Third World countries where opposition parties are most often that not seen as ‘political enemies’ of the state. So, this must come into play when assessing President Koroma’s two years in office ,and perhaps, must importantly, his resolve to ensure a complete end to the Bumbuna project , a project started over three decades back by the very APC that is today in power.

Political tolerance:

Democracy and good governance call for the creation of an enabling political environment. In contemporary African politics, it has often been difficult for ruling parties to assure their opponents of a politically tolerant environment.  Generally, an opposition party is a government in waiting.

The election of Ernest Bai Koroma came at a time when the electorate were not impressed by the performance of the then ruling party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party. Coupled with the decision by the party hierarchy to impose Solomon Berewa, the people were ready to democratically kick the party out of power, and so, the country saw an epoch making event when an opposition party, the APC democratically removed a ruling party from power.

This was unimaginable as a matter of fact but it did happen. There was a peaceful transfer of power from the ruling party to the newly elected ‘Opposition-turned-ruling-party’ into government. To an extent this was made possible as a result of the enabling political environment that was made possible by outgoing President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who was himself elected under the ticket of the SLPP. He allowed for a transparent election!! Kabbah never interfered with the election processes and he gained international accolades Great!!! -many said of him.  ‘No’, a supporter of the SLPP will say of him ‘… he betrayed our party. Whatever the case, Kabbah has gone down in history

But since the election of President Koroma, the opposition party has always accused his government of not creating the type of environment that was in existence before the APC came to power. However, the government has also challenged the opposition that they have not been realistic in their claims. Recently, the Information Minister, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo told this writer that they (APC government) have always provided a suitable political environment for all parties to operate.  He made reference to the fact that there have been appointments into key ministries of non members of the ruling All Peoples Congress party, though he stopped short from naming names of such people appointed to these Ministers.  As such, he believes there has always been an encouraging political environment.

The Information Minister, IB Kargbo is of the view that the aspect of ensuring an enabling environment also involves the free expression of views by members of the opposition party and he believes this is happening with reference to the way and manner Opposition party Members of Parliament have been working since 2007.  So from general perspective, President Koroma has been ensuring an enabling political environment for all political parties, and in fact he was one of several guest of honors at the convention of the opposition People’s Movement for Democratic Change party in Kenema, eastern Sierra Leone.  He also even opened the then radio station of the opposition SLPP.

Media landscape:

In a book titled ‘African Commitments to Democracy in Theory and Practice…’ Anne Hammerstad wrote that ‘… democracy is not a perfect system of governance… Democracy in this regard is not only understood as majority rule and the holding of regular elections. It includes all the paraphernalia of democratic governance…’  The author made reference to political party pluralism, freedom of speech and association el at as being major component of democracy. Indeed, I can’t disagree more with him. And I think is also key to the success of democracy and good governance.

The media in Sierra Leone has been very instrumental in the promotion of democracy. The media played an instrumental role in the election of President Ernest Bai Koroma in 2007. During the campaigning period, the candidate of the then ruling party was literally caricatured, ridiculed and his chances to win the elections destroyed by the media. The media is a necessary evil’, said Acha Kamara, Sierra Leone’s Inspector-General of Police during a news conference held by the police force.

Since his election, President Koroma has ensured, there is no major case involving the sate and any independent or political journalist. During the era of Ex-President Tejan Kabbah, the Paul Kamara Vs the State matter helped in derailing the gains of Tejan Kabbah .This is mindful of the manner the journalist was treated, and the 13 years of endless unjust suffering he was subjected to at Pademba Road Prison. But this has not been the case yet with the Ernest Bai Korma led government which has been in power for two years. Notwithstanding that the government is yet to come out clean in justifying why the Public Order Act should be maintained in our law books.

Another area that the government has been dammed by critics is the closure of the tow political radio stations. That was a contentious and difficult political decision taken by this government. But it was a decision of whether to allow democratic tenant to take precedence over national security or reversal. In this situation, the country had to take national security as prominent and as such, they were left with no option but to close down the We Yone and Unity radios, belonging to the APC and SLPP respectively.

Also the government is working towards ensuring that laws guaranteeing access to public held information are enacted. At present a coalition of civil society organizations, with the Society for Democratic Initiatives taking leadership role, is undertaking an advocacy drive to get government’s attention for the enactment of the Bill that was drafted by civil society.  There have been several commitments made by the government through the Minister of Information, but it is high time the commitments are put into practical terms. Access to information is relevant to the sustenance of a transparent and corrupt free society.

Fight against corruption:

This is one of the areas given serious priority by the Ernest Bai Koroma’s led government. When he was campaigning for the Presidency, President Koroma did assure the electorate that he was going to ensure the fight against corruption becomes successful.  One of the main factors which led to the democratic overthrow of the SLPP was their apparent failure to take the fight against corruption head-on. Although major cases where charged to court, there were reports of political interference. It reached a time when attempts to tackle corruption in a public institution were viewed as a political witch-hunting. 

But the election of Ernest Koroma saw a new twist in the operation of the Anti Corruption Commission. The law establishing the ACC was reviewed, thus allowing complete independence in its operation. It now has prosecutorial powers on corruption related matters. .

Again, the commitment demonstrated by the President towards the fight against corruption has not been limited in words alone. When he came to power, one major case it has prosecuted is the one involving the Former Ombudsman, prominent Freetown Lawyer Francis Gabbidon. He was removed from office and charged to court for misappropriating pubic funds contrary to the new ACC Act. The case of the recent sacking of the Sheku Tejan Koroma, then Minister of Health could serve as a strong indication of Koroma’s commitment to tackling corruption.

Bumbuna Hydro project:

The provision of electricity for the populace of the country was also a key priority for the Ernest Koroma led government and practically, he has been able to ensure that at least, the capital, Freetown gets relative supply of electricity. This was very lacking during the era of the Sierra Leone People’s Party. Freetown was once described as the darkest city in the sub region but today that is not the case.

Also, the Bumbuna Hydro Project has been completed, a project that aims at providing electricity for the entire country. This project was started by the All Peoples Congress party in the early 1970s.  In a whole, it is my view that Ernest Koroma has scored serious political marks. The conclusion of the donor’s conference in the UK is also going down in history. My only advice is that the APC should not bank on the pledges made by the donor community during that conference. The APC must have learnt from what happened top the then SLPP government. 800,000 million dollar was pledged, and nothing came.

That said, welcome by home, Mr. President.

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