In the last days of 2023, ‘Operation Pay Yourself’ was activated when ex-gratia amounting to billions of Leones was paid to President Julius Maada Bio, ministers and deputies as well as law makers from all political parties.
Parliamentarians from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) and other political parties benefitted from the windfall, the first in Sierra Leone’s political history.
Despite getting much from the national cake, an opposition law maker wasted no time in condemning the operation outright saying it was illegal in all shape and form.
No President ever pays himself unless a successor takes over and pay him his benefits and other entitlements.
Ex-President Tejan Kabba got his benefits from his successor, Ernest Koroma.
In turn, Koroma was also paid by his successor, President Julius Maada Bio. But, for Bio, he breaks from an age-old custom as he pays himself and his cabinet before he leaves power.
Political analysts as well as observers in the media and the public, says the payment of the retirement benefit is a way of preparing for what would come, and the prediction was right owing to the funding cut by the US, UK, EU and the UN.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank too have cut off business with Sierra Leone by withholding grants and loans.
In his last two years in governance, Bio and his ministers saw it coming, and they made hay while the sun shines by getting their money before everything went off the rail.
Through the manoeuvre, they will be safe from penury even when another government takes over.
By paying themselves earlier, President Bio and his team was forestalled a sad repetition of deferred payment of ex-gratia and other benefits to past government officials.
Close to a year, Koroma and his ministers did not get their benefits not until government came under pressure mostly by APC supporters and sympathisers and most likely by the international community.
Even when they were paid, some former government officials were left out with former Vice President, Chief Samuel Sam Sumana being a key victim.
To date, the former second gentleman is yet to receive his money, and it remains unclear whether he would receive it, and Bio as well as his team do not want to fall in the same trap.
For a long time, Bio and his men had smelled the rat about his strained relationship with the international community and prepared for it.
In most of their official pronouncements, it came out clearly that EU and other bodies were no longer in support of his regime as he failed to pass good governance benchmarks.
In a meeting at the Country Lodge in Freetown, EU Ambassador, Manuel Muller pronounced that government would be making sad mistake if he attempted to rig the elections as he said “the last vote would be counted.”
It was also during the briefing that the Ambassador promised millions of dollars in support of the electoral process, but premised on the condition that it should free, fair and credible.
EU’s stance came after a press release was put out condemning the electoral management bodies: Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), the Judiciary and the Sierra Leone Police (SLP).
The Press statement frankly indicated that ECSL failed to implement most of the electoral recommendations that emanated from the 2018 elections although an official at ECSL said 60% of them had been carried out.
Bio’s government also had it hot with EU when they attempted to postpone the elections to 2024 citing Corona Virus as an excuse. The inter-governmental body came down hard on government saying “the election must be conducted in 2023.”
The police similarly came under fire for their undue support to the ruling party at the detriment of other political parties.
The diplomatic community were witnesses to how the police were reduced to a terror tool thus creating panic, fear and insecurity all over the country.
Indiscriminate arrest as well as firing of teargas canisters and live rounds in opposition strongholds were hallmarks of police brutality, and the move kept off several political parties from the race.
The brutality was not just perpetrated in the early days of Bio’s presidency, but extended to the registration and voting periods in which several civilians were intimidated, harassed and arrested on public order-related offences with many running away from registration and polling centres.
Samura Kamara himself narrowly escaped assassination attempts more than once by armed men, an act that resulted into a loss of confidence in the police force.
The judiciary similarly came under fire by the EU for their back up to the ruling party evidenced by the arbitrary removal of 10 APC law makers from parliament contrary to the Public Elections Act, 2022.
The law in question states that where a petition holds, a rerun should be conducted to ascertain the true winners.
It is not the case in the petitions filed by SLPP politicians where the ruling party runners-up were illegally sworn by the Clerk of Parliament, Umar Paran Tarawallie.
On the other hand, the Supreme Court also rejected petitions filed by the APC, a move that imputes the partiality of the judiciary.
The parties regulator, PPRC also has its own slice of Sierra Leone’s democratic backsliding owing to the preferential treatment offered to the ruling party as against opposition political parties.
Most times, PPRC would impose fines on APC for mere utterances deemed insulting and provocative although no justification is provided.
However, officials of opposition political parties especially APC were not spared as they usually receive fines while others had a field day.
The double standards also badly impacted on the relationship between the international community and President Julius Maada Bio. Moves taken by the diplomatic community were enough to tell tag any rigging attempt would be stiffly resisted.
Sierra Leoneans are witnesses to an advanced deployment of diplomatic officials in Tonkolili district to ensure that the elections were free, fair and credible.
The conduct of the bye-election was observed by the UK, EU, US and Irish ambassadors including voting, counting and announcement of final results.
The monitoring never stopped there as subsequent elections including the general elections also came under the microscope.
According to local and international observers, Bio’s victory was much more in doubt leading to tough actions of funding cut, visa restrictions and threats of investigation for corruption and money laundering.
However, Bio appears to be sailing through amid funding constraints, but it is not clear where this would end as government is somehow crumbling within.