SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) government has come under intense and ceaseless pressure to fix the economy instead of embarking on corruption trials. To many Sierra Leoneans, corruption trials are political trials. Without any pretence, the hardship which has visited Sierra Leone is the hottest topic for discussions and debates among Sierra Leoneans.
From top cadre Professionals in the civil service to the last man in the streets daily make a clean breast of themselves about the country’s hard times which weighs them down very hard.
Sound economy means everything in state governance; one could not talk about quality education, health, good roads among other welfare services if the economy remains weak. Sierra Leone’s economy, over the years, is being weakened by what appears an hyper-inflation in which the low income earners are not assured of the present and the future.
A 50kg bag of rice is now Le500, 000 (five hundred thousand Leones), a sudden leap from Le250, 000 (two hundred and fifty-thousand Leones) quite lately. A Litre of petrol stands at Le15, 000 (fifteen thousand Leones) a sudden increase from Le7, 000 (seven thousand Leones), transport fare has risen from Le45, 000 (forty-five thousand Leones) to Le70, 000 (seventy thousand Leones) from either Freetown to the southern city of Bo or to the northern capital of Makeni. Exploitation of commuters in city’s transportation is everywhere. Price indices of 2019, 2020 and 2021 have not said good things about price for goods and services in the market as they show double-digit inflation.
By virtue of the price index reports, Sierra Leoneans still see an inflation that has shown no sign of receding, a frustrating situation for the have-nots.
But, it is more frustrating when government fails come up with strong measures to turn situation in people’s favour. As hardship persists, several activities have ceased especially travelling within the city as one hardly quantifies how much that goes into transportation. Freetown streets once littered with a huge number of commuters are now empty as only few could travel owing to hikes in fares.
This new wave of hardship which has hit Freetown has ripple effect. The youth have been forced to move to provincial towns and villages where they expect to make life worth living.
Hit by the hardship, workers in public sector have embarked on industrial actions and sit-down strikes to invite government’s attention to their plight, but their situation still remains appalling. Government could not work out miracles to end the economic malaise. State authorities and stakeholders in the economy continue to point accusing fingers at factors outside their control with the Russia-Ukraine war seen as the main cause.
The outbreak of Corona virus in November, 2019 which badly hit world economies is also partially blamed for the hardship in various parts of the world to which Sierra Leone is no exception. Sierra Leone will, no doubt, be the hardest-hit as her economy is as vulnerable as anything else.
To a large extent, Sierra Leone is highly indebted, as she takes a high place in the world’s highly indebted poor countries. Recent reports have shown that Sierra Leone spends about 43% to service the debts which stand at Le30.71 trillion, a big gap for a country with an ailing economy. Sierra Leone’s vulnerability is also visible in the international trade. The country is a price taker in the world market as it is a primary producer.
Since independence, the country has made no move to industrialise as her exports most times is in raw form. Sierra commodities are taken out of the country in a state in which they were extracted. The lack of industrialisation makes Sierra Leone to suffer from unfavourable terms of trade, balance of payment deficits and invariably, recurrent donor-driven budgets.
This is the state Sierra Leone has been trapped, and will continue for years until an enlightened leadership emerges. Government appears to have accepted the prevailing economic situation since no measure has been announced to ease the economic burden on Sierra Leoneans. In a still-birth control measure, governor, Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL), Professor Kelfallah Kallon is attempting to reduce the value of Sierra Leone’s currency with hope that the miserable economic situation would be solved.
But, arguments from few local economists have held that devaluation of a country’s economy works well for an export-oriented economy, that is, an economy that produces more than it consumes.
But, the professor knows best what could work for Sierra Leone’s economy. A popular argument has also held that a reduction of the country’s money is a way of masking up the huge debts which government has incurred from their international and local creditors. Once the new Leones are injected into the economy, the debts will be reduced from trillions to billions but with same effect.
Sierra Leoneans were taken aback at the huge pile of debts government has incurred in their short period of existence especially when one looks back at the promises made by President Julius Maada Bio in 2018. Bio assured Sierra Leoneans that his government would not resort to borrowing either locally or internationally in providing services to the people of Sierra Leone.
The old adage that men are sometimes masters of their fates have caught up with the ruling SLPP, a government that fears what they have created. Many say the authorities are largely responsible for the economic meltdown facing Sierra Leone today.
Everything has a beginning and an end. While fighting to take over state governance at all cost, President Bio promised the country and international community that merely blocking leakages, he would get enough money to run the country.
The promise was made on the backdrop that the tax incentives and holidays the past government conferred on business communities and investors is just too exorbitant, and must be curtailed.
During campaigns, SLPP does not entertain arguments that the tax incentives are a way of encouraging foreign investors to come to Sierra Leone and invest in several sectors of the economy. The Koroma-led government has always argued that Sierra Leone is not the only country with an endowment of minerals which other countries need.
They cite neighbouring Guinea as a country that possesses almost all minerals found in Sierra Leone, and hopes exist that lowering tax would lure investors to Sierra Leone. Now, Bio is here with taxes after blocking leakages, but the actions have yielded no result. Sierra Leoneans still cry for help as they face hunger and starvation.
Bio’s attempt to stop leakages by way of high taxes has been met with serious resistance seen in the folding up of most business institutions who went to other countries seeking economic havens. Sierra Leone’s economy is also weakened by Bio’s deliberate attempt of unwillingness to maintain policies left behind by the former President. Sierra Leoneans recently witnessed the President’s closure of a key Iron Ore miner, SL mining over allegations that the agreement that allowed government to operate in Sierra Leone is faulty, a case that was taken to an international tribunal.
Once in Court, the company, for years, could not export an ore they had extracted for years. No Iron Ore export means less foreign currency coming into the country, a situation that was worsened by a temporal ban on all peace-keeping missions by members of the Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces leading to the shortage of the dollar.
Economists know exactly what it means when many Leones chase few dollars. To get back dollars in the bank, Prof Kallon also placed a ban on dollars in the streets, a situation that resulted into hoarding or what many referred to as black markets. The absence of the US dollars badly affected trade between Sierra Leone and other countries, and the hardship is felt back home. Instead fighting to fix the economy, Bio’s administration is busy going after opposition politicians to silence them with hope that he would be in for a second term.
But, Sierra Leoneans are resolved that even if there is no APC Bio will be kicked out of power next year. Make no mistake about it.