Sierra Leone marks 50 years of independence on 27 April. Elected on campaign promises to fight corruption and run the country like a profitable business, President Ernest Bai Koroma must keep up the economic momentum ahead of elections in 2012
The Africa Report: What should Sierra Leoneans think about as the country marks its 50th anniversary of independence on 27 April?
President Ernest Bai Koroma: At 50, we should be reflecting on the history of our independence. We have had moments of happiness, moments of sorrow, moments that we would consider to be the darkest period of the country. We must reflect on all that’s happened, why it happened and use the anniversary as a moment to take a hard look at the causes and commit ourselves not to go that way any more.
Three leaders of your flagship Attitudinal and Behavioural Change Secretariat have been indicted by the Anti-Corruption Commission. Are you winning the battle against corruption?
Well, it is an indication that the battle is on, that it is raging and that we have put in place the institutions that should handle corruption. Ours is a responsibility to set up the institution and make it an effective institution and ensure that they have unfettered access to any government official. The fact that people in the Attitudinal Change Secretariat have been subjected to that kind of investigation is sending a signal that nobody is above the law and that we have to change.
A cup of rice that used to cost L800 now costs L1,000. What can you do to help cushion Sierra Leoneans from further commodity price rises?
Where we can, we have been putting subsidies, especially on fuel. But we’re now trying to phase it out because we believe that at the end of the day it’s not going to show visible assistance of government to the people. We’re at the moment reviewing the entire pricing structure. If we can absorb some of the cost as a government, then it will have an impact on the price of the commodities.
The government has been spending hard and fast, but perhaps beyond its means. Will you have to rein in spending?
The whole government’s development process is guided by the Agenda for Change, an agenda that we believe is what Sierra Leoneans expect us to implement to develop the country. The road infrastructure, the agricultural sector, health care and energy are components of the Agenda for Change.
We have taken the initiative that as a government we should be seen to be doing things on our own. I know it is an ambitious programme but I think we can get on with it if we continue to cut down on the wastages in other sectors of expenditure and focus on real development programmes.
Some of Sierra Leone’s mining contracts have given large tax breaks to foreign investors. Have you struck the right balance between attracting investors and raising revenue?
Over the years we have not had successful mining operations. We have had contracts in the past that have not benefited the people of the country. We adopted the measures of reviewing the existing contracts that we’ve inherited and even those contracts that we have signed, with a hope of increasing the benefits of the people and the government … We have also put in place a new minerals act with [which] we hope that both the investor and the government will benefit from the exploitation of our mineral resources.
Youth unemployment remains high. What can be done to create employment?
We have established the National Youth Commission as a vehicle to coordinate the efforts of getting youths into the job market … We are also in the process of attracting investments, because it’s only when the private sector takes a lead role in the development of the country that we’ll be able to have the unemployment problem addressed on a permanent basis.
The government’s push to decentralise has been a flagship project. It seems to be have been put on a back seat by the appointment of some pending new District Officers with some powers reverting to the centre. Are you still committed to decentralisation in the same way?
There is no connection between the decentralisation and the role of the district officers. I think there is a kind of misconception there. The decentralisation process is on and it is going. We are now moving it at a scale that has never happened in the past. It started in 2002 and the devolution process was still at very low levels, but we have increased it.
We have functions that we cannot devolve. Security functions cannot be devolved. There are other, government supervisory functions that cannot be devolved. That is why because of this established vacuum at the district levels, we have decided to reintroduce the offices of the district officer who will more or less [be] carrying out the functions that will not be devolved which is the responsibility of government. We have to understand the distinction there. They have a role to play. It’s not going to stall the decentralisation process. Our commitment towards decentralisation is more than any other government in the past.
Your cabinet reshuffle in December reached out for support in some non-traditional areas. Have you done enough to win cross-regional support ahead of the 2012 elections?
We have done a lot of work on that. But the issue is not just limited to the individuals representing regions, it’s about development in the regions. There is not a chiefdom in the country that is not going through a transformation process that is as a result of the Agenda for Change … We are trying to move away from regionalism to ideas. It’s not only a question of having a brother in the office, but development is a key issue.
The African Union was slow to react on Côte d’Ivoire and even slower to react on events in Libya. Are you confident it still has the clout it needs to maintain peace and security?
The African Union has now set out the institutions, the established framework, the guidelines to address all of these issues. We have had a zero tolerance on coup d’etats, a zero tolerance on undemocratic issues. And we have the guidelines that we are using.
The African Union has always reacted, but when you take a position on issues and you need to implement that position, that is a time when we believe the African Union should not be acting alone. We need to ensure that we engage the international community at the level of the United Nations. Only when the whole international community is fully engaged will you be able to have a definitive solution to our problems.