By Ralph Simeon Sesay
As it clocks one year in office, President Bio’s New Direction Government has been overwhelmed with poverty and lawlessness. The Government, according to many Sierra Leoneans who spoke on the Government’s one year track record, has not been able to roll out sound economic policies for the people of Sierra Leone.
It is no doubt that the Government has improved greatly on the areas of prudent management of the economy, management of external debt, revenue mobilization and expenditure, fighting corruption and the Free and Quality Education scheme.
All these efforts by the Bio Government have not been able to trickle down to the bread and butter issues affecting the ordinary Sierra Leonean. The President, who waged three peaceful wars in May, 2018, targeting poverty, lawlessness and corruption, has woefully failed in two of these wars (poverty and lawlessness).
Lawlessness has remained the order of day in Sierra Leone. Clique violence, gangsterism and violence in schools, universities have preoccupied the corridors of learning and other areas where youths gather. The Police have been accused of largely lacking the capacity to deal with serious crimes in the country. This assertion was justified by the United States Embassy in Freetown, which had cautioned their citizens in a travel alert last year that they should avoid venturing at night in certain areas in the capital of Freetown. The US release also stated that the local Police is increasingly incapable to deal with serious crimes due to logistical and equipment challenges.
While in opposition, President Julius Maada Bio was highly concerned about the menace and had vowed to fight it. In fact, many had believed him at the time due to his military background and discipline backed by the record of the National Provisional Ruling Council where he was a strongman.
In fact, many Sierra Leoneans believed that President Bio was voted by Sierra Leoneans due to this track record rather than his promise of Free and Quality Education.
One year down the line the situation around lawlessness in the country, both in public office and in ordinary life, remains alarming. Killings, through stabbings and other forms of violence, is a huge concern for the Bio Government and this is further excercebated by the lack of a common position by the Government on the death penalty.
The story is the same on the economic front; the leone continues to depreciate against the dollar, and this has got a negative impact on goods and services. The Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone has pinpointed the use of the dollar on non trade goods and the illegal sale of dollars as issues that would continue to affect the stabilization of the economy.
Government has reportedly raised over five trillion leones in one year and has also introduced the Treasury Single Account (TSA) amongst other economic reforms, but this is still to impact the economy.
On the side of the opposition, their argument has pointed out to the fact that the economic team of the New Direction is not up to the task even when they had campaigned that they have the solution to the country’s damning economic issues at the time. They have been lambasted for continuously complaining about what they inherited as a Government.
Government, on their own part, has noted that they inherited a messy situation and are paying a total of over 50 million dollars on domestic debt alone. This, they noted, is constraining the economy and hence things will not suddenly change overnight.
During an interview with the BBC over his one year report card, President Bio admitted that the economic challenges are huge. He attributed that to the strong economic reforms his Government is making at the top and hopeful that with time the government will fix the economy.
President Bio’s New Direction Overwhelmed With Poverty and Lawlessness
