Presidential candidate of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) has sent out a peace and reconciliatory message to all Sierra Leoneans as the Tripartite recommendations are being rolled out. Samura Kamara’s reconciliatory message transcends borders as it touches everyone irrespective of tribe, region and political affiliation.
Kamara is APC’s presidential candidate of June, 2023 controversial elections said to have been won by the incumbent party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). The multi-tier elections were widely discredited by local and international election observers particularly EU, Commonwealth and the Carter Centre. Amid the publication of the reports there was a general feeling that the response by youth of the opposition party would have been brutal had Kamara chosen the same path.
However, uneasy calm hangs on the atmosphere and there was fear and insecurity all over the country.
Instead, Kamara maintained peace, calm and composure and called on all to move towards the same direction.
The APC leader made the appeal to the people of Sierra Leone for peace and calm while addressing the nation.
“Peace and reconciliation is the only way out for a united and prosperous Sierra Leone,” he appealed to the people of Sierra Leone while emphasising that development will only take place in a peaceful country.
He also urged political leaders to embrace opposing politicians for the sake of peace and stability. “Politicians within SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) and those in the APC should see themselves as one people sharing a common destiny,” he stressed.
Samura Kamara’s recent call for peace and reconciliation reminisces previous appeals he made to the people of Sierra Leone to maintain peace at all times in the face of provocation and intimidation.
While appealing for peace, Kamara based his message on several pillars delved into by this article.
Reconciliation Strengthens Peace And National Cohesion
Thuggery and violence during elections in most African countries is seen as a way of life with the leaders of political parties being perpetrators. The politicians, most times, incite the violence and later became victims when they are trapped or consumed by what they make out of their hands.
Such scenes of political violence are seen almost everywhere in Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya among others in their recent elections.
Sierra Leone is no exception as supporters of Sierra Leone’s two main political parties, SLPP and APC can be at each other’s throats resulting into physical injuries and sometimes deaths.
Such situation becomes worse when they are fueled by senior members of political parties.
The persistence of these political divisions and thuggery makes it difficult for political leaders to govern after winning elections, but it will be more difficult if the leader fails to reconcile the people so that the pillars of peace could be strengthened and pillars of conflict weakened.
Sierra Leone faced a dangerous moment in the aftermath of the 2023 polls in its political evolution as scores of youth of the two political parties wanted their candidates to win the election regardless of the means used.
Supporters of the incumbent party, SLPP fought hard to ensure that their party would not be counted as one that made history for ruling just one term after the introduction of multi-party politics in Sierra Leone.
APC youth, on the other hand, who had been exposed to the largesse of state power between (2007-2018) wanted a second coming at all cost.
The result however turned out to be in favour of the ruling party, creating room for allegations and counter-allegations of election rigging.
In the process, there were clashes between the two political parties, and some pockets of resistance before, during and after the elections prompting the international community to keep a watchful eye on Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone was initially labelled a fragile state, but sound political leadership keep the sate going.
The two leaders, President Julius Maada Bio and Samura Kamara contributed to the peace effort of the international community by calling for an independent investigation of the alleged electoral irregularities with recommendations to forestall a repetition of the same blunders in the future.
The two leaders maintained peace throughout the investigation and urged their supporters to refrain from violence while they looked forward to the international community.
Now, the investigation process is at an end and the opposition leader, Samura Kamara is the first to appeal to his constituents to continue the work of maintaining peace and reconciling with their brothers and sisters in other political parties if they are to enjoy the fruits of Sierra Leone.
Peace Is The Way To National Development
Local and internal reports bordering on Peace and development indices have shown that peace and development are two sides of the coin. The two are inextricably linked as one cannot go without the other.
Samura Kamara being a technocrat of development that has served a number of inter-state bodies, the Commonwealth, the UN, World Bank and IMF, knows that peace is strongly necessary for the development of Sierra Leone.
As such, he has a lot on his plate to deal with if he is made President of Sierra Leone.
In an era of globalization, no one walks alone, and Samura Kamara would need the moral and financial support of development partners to move the economy and better the lives of the people of Sierra Leone.
During the presidential debate on the eve of the 2018 elections, Samura Kamara put it simply and bluntly that he was experienced in managing economies in developing countries than any other presidential candidate.
He is still hailed by some top-notch politicians within his party, the APC for pouring progressive ideas in the Agendas for Change and Prosperity which would have transformed Sierra Leone into a middle-income economy.
Therefore, Kamara will be scratching his head about how he would translate his big dreams into realities by mobilising the effort of development partners and investors to contribute to his development agenda.
During his 2018 and 2023 campaigns, his main message to the people of Sierra Leone is centred on “international competitiveness” as a centerpiece for development.
As earlier mentioned, the international community sets some governance benchmarks or parametres which countries are required to meet if they are to attract the support and cooperation of the international community.
One of those benchmarks is peace which will only come after genuine effort of reconciliation
Participatory Democracy and Good Governance
Current political trends have shown that democracy is the best model of government for societies yearning for peace, stability, good governance and development. Abundant evidence exists to show that democratic nations in the 1980s prospered while countries that lacked democracy faltered and failed in development.
In a democratic order, the electorate (the people) are the political sovereigns (the masters), and that government derives all its powers, legitimacy and authority from them.
It means in a democratic setting, the people exercise the decision to choose who should lead them and same time change those leaders if they abuse their confidence or when their term ends.
In this context, Samura Kamara believes that participatory democracy calls for peace, reconciliation and tolerance.
He is ready to build the framework of participation by reforming and restructuring institutions that builds and maintains standards.
Democracy is benchmarked by free speech, periodic elections and the rule of law.
In most of his public speeches, Samura Kamara often assures the people of Sierra Leone that he would create a space where everyone speaks freely as long as it is done within the confines of the law. Through free speech, the people can hold duty bearers accountable for their failings and weaknesses or if they renege on their duties to the people.
The APC leader has also assured Sierra Leoneans that he would ensure free, fair and credible electoral processes throughout his reign, and that he would not hesitate to hand over power peacefully if genuinely defeated in the ballot box.
The rule of law, he went on, would be part of his top priorities in state governance to ensure that every action, programme or policy pursued by government is within the framework of the law.
The rule of law as it is known for centuries is anchored on three pillars: supremacy of the law, equality before the law and recognition and protection of fundamental human rights.
For the first limb, the rule of law means that the law is superior to individuals and state institutions including government whose processes and activities are bound up with the law and conditioned by the law.
Under his rule, the people will be free from the arbitrary rule of any authority and that any action of a government authority will be within the law.
Under the limb of equality before the law, Samura Kamara’s speech shows that every person in Sierra Leone is treated equally in the eyes of the law regardless of tribe, region, place of birth and political affiliation.
The people of Pujehun, Kailahun, Kenema, Bo, Bonthe, PortLoko, Makeni, Kambia and other parts of the country will enjoy equal opportunities and benefits provided by the law.
No one will be discriminated on account of being an SLPP member or a native or indigene of South-East regions.
The Rule of Law also calls for respect for the basic rights of the people and these rights include the right to life, liberty, security of the person, enjoyment of property, movement, assembly association, free speech, privacy among others.
To ensure that these rights are respected, Samura Kamara further assured the people of Sierra Leone that with the help of the international community, he would restructure, retrain and re-equip the security forces and other public institutions charged with the responsibility of protecting people’s rights to make them fit for service in a democracy.
Build A Culture Of Political Tolerance And Equitable Distribution Of State Resources
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report, 2004 clearly cites the unequitable and unfair allocation of state resources as one of the main causes of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war which claimed the lives of over 50, 000 people and displaced millions.
Sierra Leone’s social capital (infrastructure) was totally vandalised, bringing the country to its knees.
This finding became true when it was found out that the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) fighters brought large areas of Kono and Tongo in the Eastern province often referred to as the bread baskets of the nation under siege. They mined and sold so-called “blood diamonds” to procure weapons to prosecute the war.
The people from those areas took back control of their land asset only after the war was declared over.
This sad situation where the people do not benefit from what belongs to them by way of unfair distribution of state resources will be reversed when Samura Kamara takes over state governance as he rightfully promised the people.
He has promised Sierra Leoneans that resources will be deployed according to need and such allocation will not be dictated solely by political consideration.
He says if it appears that the people of Bonthe or Kailahun need more resources than those in PortLoko or even his home district, he will ensure that the resources are deployed in places where they are needed most.
The Right To Work Will Be Respected and Prioritised
The right to work is recognised and protected by the laws of Sierra Leone and several treaties and conventions to which the country is a signatory.
Respect for the right to work means respect and enforcement of the laws that govern employment in the public and private sectors.
Under his watch, he said, no one would be dismissed and removed from work because he hailed from South-East regions widely seen as heartlands of the ruling party.
Studies have shown that lack of security in jobs is a recipe for corruption in Sierra Leone.
People steal or siphon state resources mainly because they fear that a change of government takes away their jobs and they must prepare to keep themselves safe from want at the public detriment. The APC leader, Samura Kamara has allayed such fears in workers.
His message is that they need not fear any transition since they will be safe in their jobs.
Workers at NASSIT, NRA, ACC and other agencies will not be coerced or harassed to leave their jobs until they are lawfully retired or terminated.
Instead of removing people from jobs, he will invest in jobs by expanding the private and public sectors to create more jobs for the jobless youth since job security can contribute to the peace and stability of the state.
Samura Kamara has demonstrated peace at all times from the outset, and the people of Sierra Leone must also embrace peace, reconciliation and tolerance if Sierra Leone is to catch up with other nations in terms of development.