APC versus SLPP: Similarities and Differences

The ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) and the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), have been dominating the politics of this country since independence in 1961, therefore, it goes without saying that they are largely responsible for the persistent underdevelopment of this country. If this country has been relegated to the annals of the UN development index, these two parties are to account.

These two political parties are one as they are always made up of the same generation of corrupt politicians who are in this party today and in the other tomorrow and back to the other the following day. Many politicians who were key players in the SLPP are the same politicians playing key role in the APC. This is a country where you need no passport to travel from one political party to another.

These two parties are sharply divided along regional lines with the SLPP dominant in the south-eastern region and the APC predominant in the North-West. Whenever any of these two parties is in governance, there are always sporadic reports of landmark corruption stories breaking out in this or that ministry.

While the SLPP appears to be a Western-oriented and conservative party overloaded with elites, the APC resembles a Communist-oriented China-based party with less number of intellectuals but more grass people or commoners. Many Sierra Leoneans describe APC as a very grateful party that has the good character of rewarding its supporters with either money or position regardless of their qualifications. The SLPP on the other hand is branded as an ungrateful party that easily expels its supporters and does not reward mediocre with serious positions.

While the SLPP seems to be a party that believes in theories and legal proceedings, the APC appears to be a party that believes in pragmatism and radicalism. APC is a party of actions, not intentions whereas the SLPP is a party whose actions are usually in the pipeline.

The APC has a record of undertaking elaborate infrastructural projects that end up upsetting the national economy; Siaka Stevens hosting of the OAU and the consequent economic hardship that followed is a living example. The SLPP is renowned for human resource development that is why the party constructed schools in every nook and cranny of this nation; it is a party that invests huge money in education.

To be fair with the APC, it has constructed more infrastructure in the form of buildings and roads more than any other party, possibly because it ruled the country continuously for about two decades before the overthrow of one of the worst presidents this country has produced, Joseph Saidu Momoh. The party has been ruling again for nearly a decade, so, it has every reason to build up this country’s infrastructure.

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