PONDER MY THOUGHTS BY Andrew Keili 2014: SIERRA LEONE’S ANNUS HORRIBILIS Build on the Rock, the Rock that ever stands, Oh, build on the Rock, and not upon the sands; You need not fear the storm, or the earthquake shock, Youre safe for evermore if you build on the Rock. This Christian children’s rhyme would probably best illustrate what has happened to Sierra Leone during the year. It has become apparent that the foundations of our country which we thought were strong were rather fickle and it took an epidemic of immense proportions to expose us. The year got off to an innocuous start. Everything seemed normal-normal Sierra Leone standards and there was a sense of déjà vu. The Government through its various organs went to great lengths to prove that things have never been better, even when external reports and credible internal ones pointed to the fact that all may not be well. Certainly some things seemed to be positive. The spate of infrastructural developments continued and the economy seemed buoyant especially with the macroeconomic indices been buoyed by mining sector figures. At the start of the year we lost President Kabbah. His death evoked tributes and various emotional outbursts from various sources. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, a man with his mortal flaws like any of us had blazed the Sierra Leone political scene and helped put an end to an intransigent civil war. Both President Koroma and former Vice President Berewa gave moving reconciliatory eulogies at President Kabbah’s funeral. April saw the inauguration of 14 new Paramount Chiefs. The new Chiefs included Engineers, businessmen, teachers, administrators, farmers-people from all works of life. The Constitutional Review Committee started its work in earnest to review the 1991 constitution and all segments of society seemed to have some views as to what our new constitution should entail. A National census was embarked upon and trial runs were done and a massive sensitisation campaign mounted. There was another campaign of sorts that came in fits and starts. The “After U nar U “ campaign which seemed to suggest that there was a ground swell of support for letting President Koroma run for a third term even though it was unconstitutional. The opposition saw red (well actually saw green!) and went on a vitriolic campaign which saw a lot of heated exchanges between protagonists and antagonists. Civil society sometimes seemed to turn on itself as was the Media and watchdogs of our democracy were sometimes lone wolves who though inconsistent in their views sometimes, provided an alternative narrative. Meanwhile the OGI and Government organs continued heaping praises on the government’s performance Whilst all this was taking place the opposition turned its sword on itself and continued to self destruct. The reputable Politico newspaper described the SLPP thus: “The Green Movement is sinking deeper and deeper into the unnecessary mess it created for itself. What we call the main opposition party is an intoxicating mix of opportunists, anarchists, people with an exaggerated opinion of their self-worth and badly-led able-bodied young people. Nobody should take them seriously. They are stuck in their past while the rest of us are moving on.” But negative reports started filtering in about the Government’s performance. A report “Losing out” by various international NGOs said that in 2011, Sierra Leone spent more on tax give-aways than on its development priorities, with mining firms the biggest beneficiaries. The following year, the tax exemptions .amounted to more than eight times Sierra Leone’s health budget and seven times its education budget. The second security sector review (SSR) 2013-2022 report which was launched by the President cited security threats to Sierra Leone which included weak capacity in security sector institutions, indiscipline, lawlessness and youth violence, uncontrolled immigration, organised criminal activities, terrorism, bad governance, weak monitoring and implementation of Government policies, weak political will, pervasive poverty and illiteracy, unemployment and environmental degradation and pollution. The report recommended that “Government should ensure that all political appointments reflect the ethnic diversity of the country”. It mentioned that the improvements in the economy have had little impact on the socio-economic life of the populace. “Strong national leadership is predicated on the ability to take decisive action on critical national development issues such as actions that are devoid of political patronage, tribalism, regionalism, and self aggrandizement”, the report concluded. The conclusions of the MCC report on our binding constraints as a country pointed to several deficiencies which included: The lack of adequate, reliable and affordable access to electricity supply to support the emergence and growth of a wide range of economic activities. The extremely poor conditions of secondary and feeder road networks, which provide access to highly productive regions of the country with even higher potentials to drive growth The low quality and availability of Water and Sanitation coupled with the high incidence of waterborne diseases; and Problems with access to land. Meanwhile the 2014 Human Development Report indicated that the country scored a Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.374, which is in the “low human development” category. We continued to plod along as a country until a traditional healer came from a funeral in Guinea where she had contracted Ebola. Several people who came in contact with her died. The ensuing Ebola outbreak is still raging. It confirmed the parlous state of our health system, the poor conditions of service of health workers and poor planning not only within the health system but with allied MDAs that are supposed to collaborate with the Health Ministry in case of a national emergency of this type. Our health system which was weak before the outbreak is now breaking at the seams. Sierra Leone has only one physician for 45,000 people. These and the nursing and other medical staff are being severely tested by this disease to which many have succumbed. Reputable private clinics have closed down for fear of unwarranted infections to their staff. The economy slowed down considerably; the slow down accompanied by rising domestic prices, increased fiscal deficits, increased financial instability, an increased balance of payments financing gap and depreciation of the Leone. Businesses have gone slow and in many instances even closed shop altogether. The hotel and tourism industry has been badly hit with devastating consequences for the economy. Nearly all areas of the formal economy are affected. Some lucky workers have been sent home on pay. Others have been laid off and some put on partial pay. Businesses are hurting. Those that took loans for expansion projects are running to the Banks to put a hold on loan repayments. The Banks themselves are hurting. Sierra Leone’s prospects were bright before this outbreak with the economy expected to grow by some 11 to 14 percent during the year, almost three times faster than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. The mainstay of the economy the mining industry is now in the doldrums. London Mining and African Minerals had their shares fall to unprecedented levels and the closure of these mines appears imminent, even though there are some hopeful backroom negotiations going on. Some mining companies at preproduction stages have put a hold on their operations and even operational ones are apprehensive about their future. Agriculture, which accounts for some 45% of the GDP and which engages a preponderant part of the rural population is also in the doldrums. One agricultural Officer observed: “the disease has killed farmers on cocoa and peanut plantations and rice farms, leaving the crops to rot.” The major airlines deserted us and only Brussels Airlines and Air Maroc and Air Ivoire fly into the country. Air flight costs have shot up astronomically because of expensive rerouting exercises There is now massive external intervention with this Ebola fight and the local response has also been ramped up. There are signs of the disease slowing down, although it seems to have shifted away from the initially affected areas. What started off seemingly as a robust foundation at the start of the year has now been proven to have been on shifting sand. We have learnt through this crisis that human security is paramount and that our governance systems should be geared up to addressing various types of threats. We have also learnt that the bottom can fall off our extractives sector due to bad agreements and the vicissitudes of the marketplace. Perhaps what is disconcerting is the fact that even in the midst of this entire crisis, our little foibles continue and people want to continue things as usual. 2014 has been a horrible year for Sierra Leone. It is indeed our annus horribilis. Annus horribilis is a Latin phrase, meaning “horrible year”. Although coined much earlier it came into prominence in a speech by Queen Elizabeth in 1992 when she described the closing of the year as an “annus horribilis on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”. We should hopefully put many of these problems behind us in the New Year with the right resolve. The current Ebola scourge will become a thing of the past but we need to address many of the problems it has so glaringly brought to the fore. My prayer for all of us this New Year is “May we learn to build on the rock and may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace that we may abound in hope through his power.” Ponder my thoughts
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:17:15 +0000
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