After the launch of the new manifesto, the ruling SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) has set the right framework to rectify mistakes of the past. In yesterday’s press briefing, Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa assured Sierra Leoneans that lapses in the past five years will be addressed for a better Sierra Leone.
“Through the game changers for building an inclusive and prosperous Sierra Leone, the mistakes of the past will be set right,” Mr Saffa assured Sierra Leoneans during a media update. Agriculture, human capital development, job creation, revamping the public service and tech and infrastructure pathways remain SLPP’s key priorities between 2023 and 2028.
In the agricultural pillar, government hopes to boost agriculture to ensure food security and inclusive economic growth. The mechanism, for Sierra Leone to be self-sufficient is being laid since over-reliance on food from other countries raises questions of sovereignty.
“The topmost priority for President Julius Maada Bio in his second term is to ensure that Sierra Leone is food self-sufficient within the next five years. Government will boost agriculture productivity to fuel inclusive growth, boost food production, reduce hunger, boost export earnings, create jobs and build resilience,” the manifesto reads in part.
In a bid to achieve their promises in agriculture, government aims at increasing government budget allocation to agriculture to at least 10 per cent, develop and implement policies to make local production of rice competitive, invest in research to boost the yields of priority groups like rice, cassava, Cocoa, Coffee and Cashew as well as livestock productivity and expand area under rice cultivation through mechanisation and irrigation in the rice bowl of the country among others.
Several reports have indicated that Sierra Leone prides herself with 70 per cent arable land, but not well exploited costing government USD350m annually on food imports. It anchors negatively on the the country’s exchange earnings. In such a situation Sierra Leone stands on wrong side of the balance of trade.
However, with a concentrated effort on agriculture, the economic threat will be turned into an opportunity for the common good. Chief Minister also did not lose sight of the human capital development component which has been government’s flagship project in the past five years nurturing skills for the 21st century industry. The sector attracted 22 per cent annual budget allocation for the past five years. Government pledges to continue its expenditure trajectory.
“Building our human capital development base continues to be a priority for the SLPP. In the past five years, we made tremendous gains with our Free Quality Secondary Education flagship, with the country experiencing one of the largest pass rates in the university entrance examination in recent times,” a portion of the manifesto also reads.
Government being poised to do more has laid the policy and legislative foundation to realise set objectives. Government has also learned that investing in foundational learning will make our job easier at the primary and secondary levels. Government made gains at the higher and technical level by expanding access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Maths (STEAM) courses.
Government further promised to sustain budget allocation to education, continue to expand access in primary and secondary education, provide free sanitary pads to girls in schools and attract women in STEAM courses among others between 2023 and 2028.
Apart from the two key areas, the new SLPP government sets to shoot up a Youth Employment Scheme that will create 500, 000 (five hundred thousand) jobs for the youth in Sierra Leone. Government is quite aware that joblessness nurtures crime.
“Persistent youth unemployment poses a big threat to sustaining economic growth and stability,” the Manifesto also reads. Youth between the ages of 15-35 make up more than a third of the population of Sierra Leone, and going jobless is a disaster to the country, a problem government seeks to fix if elected again.
The strategies government will pursue include the provision of incentives to the private sector, set aside a special fund to reimburse costs of hiring, training and upskilling and adopt s government policy that encourages the inclusion of youth in public work and infrastructure projects. The list is not exhaustive as government hopes to make similar achievements in other areas.