Sierra Leone: Forging Ahead into the Future in Spite of all Odds – Part I
In a recent article written by an SLPP propagandist, Dr. Patrick Kagbeni (PK) Muana, he chose to pick on the very recent and decent scores attained by our country in this Year’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Scorecard with a negative spin as is expected of him. This rebuttal article points out that it was written to deliberately mislead the people of Sierra Leone in an elections year.
The 2012 scorecard is a reflection of the positive trajectory that SL is on and no bad mouthing or negative propaganda based on lies and fabricated stories is going to stop us from attaining that which is deserving to us and where we ought to be (headed). No one!
But before we proceed into the piece proper, let me quickly explain what the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is all about. The MCC is an innovative and independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty. It was created by the U.S. Congress in January 2004, and it speaks to how best to deliver smart U.S. foreign assistance by focusing on good policies, country ownership, and results. MCC forms partnerships with some of the world’s poorest countries, but only those committed to good governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizens.
To date, the MCC has approved over $8.4 billion in compact and threshold programs worldwide that support country-determined projects in such sectors as: agriculture and irrigation, transportation (roads, bridges, ports), water supply and sanitation, access to health, finance and enterprise development, anti corruption initiatives, land rights and access, and access to education. So we should now see, clearly, why the MCC is an important target on the Government of Sierra Leone’s radar. When we improve the lives of our people through positive governance we have the potential for being rewarded for doing so. A win-win situation!
The government of Sierra Leone in 2008, launched the first Presidential Task Force on the MCC to which I was appointed as the only non-government member, along with government officials. That Task Force did not accomplish much because for whatever reasons we were not able to gel, secure funding for an office and executing on exactly what has now been done under the Office of the Chief of staff. With the hiring of Caroline Thomas and the setting up of a desk to monitor the indicators the government of Sierra Leone was able to oversee the gathering of data and the reporting to the sub-indicator institutions that will eventually report the results to the MCC that are ultimately reflected in the annual scorecards.
With this effort mentioned above, Sierra Leone jumped from passing a meager seven to now twelve indicators. An almost unheard of result in just one year among all countries that participates in the MCC program; no doubt!
Those of us who know how the MCC operates and have worked with them on behalf of Sierra Leone over the years know that all data comes from independent sources – sub-indicator institutions, and it all goes through a lengthy verification process. There is no possibility whatsoever for massaging or embellishing figures as the Muana article erroneously, but deliberately suggests in an attempt to water down the great accomplishment of the GoSL. It is, in fact, insulting to the MCC and all assessors to suggest that a country would be able to massage or embellish figures. It shows one of two things; or both: Muana does not know what he is talking about which is scary for a presumably high-ranking officer/member of the opposition SLPP to show so much ignorance that it makes us wonder as to what kind of blind leadership their party has to offer Sierra Leone. On the other hand he, like the party he represents are being genuinely dishonest.
Suggesting, as Muana’s article does, that figures have been massaged or embellished, unnecessarily spreading false information and ‘politicising’ this scorecard, could have a damaging effect on Sierra Leone’s chances of receiving funding and that we should be responsible enough to understand that such lies could harm the chances of every Sierra Leonean to receive these important funds – funds which would positively impact this country. But we know that is what some of these SLPP supporters want. No progress for Sierra Leone if it is not being led by their party, and thereby negatively impacting all Sierra Leoneans; including their own siblings and/or relatives. What a farce!
The truth of the matter is that ALL Sierra Leoneans – regardless of their political views, interests or alignment – should be proud to see Sierra Leone’s positive results in these important international benchmarks. This is the highest score Sierra Leone has ever received.
By Amadu Massally
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