Africa’s Man of the Year

To be an outstanding citizen of an African country is not sufficient for anyone to be given the honour of being referred to as Africa’s Man of The Year. To have made an important contribution towards the enhancement of a better standard of living for your people and to have put the interest of your people and your country first would have earned you some recognition. But when you become the President of a country and in the space of 2 years you are able to accomplish what within the African context would take ten years for your counterparts in other parts of the continent to achieve, then it is indeed commendable.

Sierra Leone is indeed fortunate to have as its leader a man whose vision is slowly being spurned into reality by implementing a dramatic change agenda in a country that has long been overdue of this amazing commitment from its leaders. There is no doubt about the commitment of the Sierra Leone President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, to end the poverty environment structure that threatened not only the livelihood of his people, but that deprived them of a basic education system that is ever more needed for the effective functioning of a productive country. The sheer determination to get the attention of the world to end the suffering facing his people and the call for international assistance in the areas of Education, Health and Agriculture and to invite international donors to implement a transparency environment in the disbursement of funds is indeed rare in the corridors of African power.

Africans in general expect a lot from their leaders. This is quite understandable. And the tendency for leaders to lose the faith and confidence of their people when they are not seen to be making an effort to bring about necessary changes that are much needed is high, as most Africans may not be fully aware that implementing change and achieving results in a country that has been marred by corruption and embezzlement for decades is not an easy accomplishment. Not only does the political system have to be rebuilt but the civil service structure and government administration has to be designed to meet such challenges. It doesn’t matter what agenda for change a leader has, if the machinery to implement such change is not up to the task they will fail.

Some of the difficulties the Sierra Leone President has been facing has come from those he appointed to public office who have not shared his vision and who do not have the interest of the people at heart. There still lingers that propensity that some only come into government to get rich quick and as a result have underestimated the resolve of the President. He has indeed not let his people down. Several Cabinet ministers accused of corruption have been sacked; top officials in government agencies accused of embezzlement have been relieved of their jobs. The Anti-Corruption commission has been given a free hand to investigate malpractice at the highest level – not even the Attorney General and Justice Minister can interfere with its workings. The sacking of the current Attorney General and Minster of Justice will indeed be an act worthy of commendation as he is known to be unscrupulous. His presence in the government does hinder the credibility of an otherwise noble administration.

The Koroma administration is implementing the necessary economic and social reforms that the country needs. A country that has only known darkness for most of its recent history has finally seen its government accomplish the impossible. The people are enjoying 24 hours of electricity and guess what? It is absolutely ozone-friendly – hydro-electric generated and practically cheap! As I mentioned in one of my other articles, without electricity a country cannot perform to its fullest capacity. Industries will fail because they cannot meet their energy demands and businesses will not function effectively as their reliant on power supply is an integral part in the day to day running of a successful enterprise. There cannot be an effective electronic communication capability as computers rely heavily on the presence of electricity and as such people around the world would be deprived of constant information and events happening in and around the country as there would not be any access to the internet. So in other words what President Koroma has done by providing constant electricity supply for his people is, he has laid the foundation for economic prosperity.

At the Trade and Investment Forum recently held in London the untapped mineral wealth and natural resources of Sierra Leone was the focus of attention as the government of Sierra Leone presents its country’s potential to would be investors who stand only to gain in a country that has even just discovered that a vast quantity of oil deposits is buried beneath its shores. The political climate has indeed seen a dramatic transformation as stability and good governance is introduced by a dynamic new leadership that has brought not only a new atmosphere of security but significant reduction of corruption in high places.

Sierra Leone is witnessing a growing awareness that democracy requires a government that is not only accountable to its citizens, but also subject to restraint and oversight by other public agencies. Modern democratic principles require elected leaders to agree to complex series of self-binding mechanisms. The move to invite former British Prime Minister Tony Balir to have a hands on in the monitoring of government initiatives and offer advice to the Presidency is a clear indication that the President is desperate to get result.

Sierra Leone’s road network is having an overhaul. The president has made it his priority to ensure that major roads linking the important regions of the country are being completely reconstructed including the feeder roads between them. In my 20 minutes conversation I had with the President on the phone he also outlined his vision to make Sierra Leone self sufficient in Agriculture and he assured me that Agriculture is now his number one priority. He said that his aim is to employ the transformation of the agricultural sector and make the country self-sufficient by 2010.During the conversation the Head of States expressed his determination to help his people and hinted on a program to implement a national grid network that will bring electricity to all parts of the country. The President was keen to affirm his no-nonsense approach to corruption and emphasised on his no-sacred-cow policy and promised that anyone found guilty of corruption will face the full penalty of the law.

The President was also asked about the much talked about cabinet reshuffle on which he said that it is imperative upon him to do an annual review of all cabinet ministers in their performances and that it is inevitable that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent.

© 2010, Ahmed M Kamara. All rights reserved. Discuss this article on the Salone Forum Salone Forum

Tags:  Africa’s Man of the Year, President Koroma, Sierra Leone

By Ahmed M Kamara