Only time will tell as Dr Samura Kamara prepares to migrate from technocracy to presidency as democracy is about to be restored in Sierra Leone. Dr Kamara, the presidential candidate and leader of the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC), contested June 24, 2023 elections with the incumbent, President Julius Maada Bio who was announced in somewhat dubious circumstances.
Bio’s fraudulent victory is threatening the country’s peace and security and same time worsening economic hardship in the country. Backed by the international community, a vast majority of Sierra Leoneans wanted the election results re-counted or a rerun to ascertain the true winner.
As an economist, Dr Samura Kamara served at the World Bank for several years with a distinguished record, and later held the post of Chief Economics Officer, at the International monetary fund where he acquired a huge experience in managing developing economies in various parts of the world.
Kamara also served at the Commonwealth Secretariat in a senior capacity where he also excelled.
Locally, Dr Samura Kamara was Financial Secretary in the Defunct National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), a military government that existed between 1992 and 1996. Although he operated under difficult and turbulent circumstances, Dr Kamara maintained a clean slate with the Bank of Sierra Leone and other financial institution kept well afloat.
The country’s scant financial resources were in safe hands winning the admiration of then President Ahmed Tejan Kabba who also employed him Bank Governor after NPRC went out of power.
Kamara also continued his technocracy in the finance sector 2007 after Tejan Kabba rode into the sunset.
Kabba’s successor, ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma appointed Dr Samura Kamara Bank Governor and later Finance Minister to handle Sierra Leone’s finances and most importantly the economy which was sickly at the time Kabba was leaving the political stage.
It was during Kamara’s tenure as Finance Minister that Sierra Leone’s economy was rated the fastest growing economy in 2013. He brought new initiatives to state governance and was the brain behind the Agenda for Change which was predicated on the revamp of energy, infrastructure, health, education and agriculture.
The Koroma regime is highly successful in these areas as the legacy still lingers. He however faced one of the greatest challenges when Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses struck Sierra Leone and neighbouring Liberia and Guinea. The virus wreaked the greatest havoc in the Mano River basin claiming thousands of lives with Sierra Leone taking a fair share.
It was an extraordinary situation that called for extraordinary measures with the economy as victim. Declaration of a state of emergency, imposition dusk-to-dawn curfews, Banning of trade fairs (doweis and lumas) in the provinces, lockdowns and restrictions on inter-district movement, trade and commerce badly hit an economy that was on the threshold of recovery.
With such restrictions, economic situation worsened with local and international investors pulling out of the country seeking fortune elsewhere. The country’s biggest Iron Ore miners, London Mining Company and African Minerals Limited ran away alongside their expatriates ran away to keep themselves safe from the virus.
The fall in the demand for Iron Ore at the global market also made matters worse as such twin shocks were enough to paralyse the economy.
But, Kamara proved to be a good captain that could navigate troubled waters as rough seas make good captains. In spite of the dangerous situation, Sierra Leone was a bit well afloat as compared to today when there is no state of emergency, no twin shocks and no virus to threaten the economy.
Through manful control, the virus subsided in November, 2016 coinciding with the appointment of Dr Kamara Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, a position he used to mobilise international action for Sierra Leone’s post-Ebola recovery.
He was also successful in his effort to see that Sierra Leone rise from the wreckage as the sun shines after a torrential downpour. Within a year, Sierra Leone was back on her feet with investors knocking on the doors.
The Chinese company, Shandong and Timis Corporation filled the revenue vacuum created by AML and LMC’s departure. Sierra Leone, once more, was moving towards the path of successful recovery and middle-income status when the Koroma regime came to an end in 2018.
No gainsaying that Bio’s dispensation which appears more lethal and abusive of people’s rights, freedoms and liberties took the economy to the abyss of destruction owing to bad governance.
As then President Koroma was about to end his political life, the succession disputes within then ruling party APC was beyond control as 28 flag-bearer aspirants showed up in a National Delegates Conference held in Makeni city, Northern Sierra Leone.
Within the heat of controversy fuelled by vaulting political ambitions, Samura Kamara became the ultimate choice to continue APC’s development projects. The intra-party politics and laws favoured Samura Kamara as then APC Constitution had a ‘selection clause’ that permitted officials to be chosen as an alternative to election.
Big conflicts arose following Kamara’s selection, but he kept cool and consoled others who failed to make it. He went into election the following year with then opposition leader, Julius Maada Bio now President of Sierra Leone, but lost and conceded defeat although there was strong evidence that he won the election.
APC was highly popular at that time and ex-President Koroma was politically weighty making it extremely difficult for Bio to defeat Samura Kamara in a free and fair encounter. APC got 69 seats in parliament while SLPP got 49, a factor that raised serious debates about Bio’s victory. A close examination of Sierra Leone’s voting patterns showed that voters for members of parliament are also the same for a president.
Sierra Leone’s political history also indicated that there was no time a flag-bearer whose party had less seats won the presidency.
Siaka Stevens who won the 1967 elections had more seats than his challenger, Albert Margai, President Tejan Kabba won the 1996 polls as he gained more seats than his rival, John Karefa Smart and ex-president Koroma who bagged the presidency in 2007 got more seats than his contender, Solomon Ekuma Berewa. Why Maada Bio who had just 40 seats could defeat a man who had 69?
But, Kamara accepted the outcome of the elections because of peace and stability, but bounce back in June, 2023 with another victory which again was hijacked for the second time, but it would come back.
It is just a matter of time as the people need a Moses to take them to the promised land. The people of Sierra Leone have wept for too long and their cries appeared to have fallen in the ears of the international community who are pushing for an election probe.
As part of its support to the election investigation, the United States has offered $1.5m to the tripartite committee to speed up their work. According to a stance by the international community, there is no democracy in Sierra Leone until the elections are thoroughly examined.
Leaders of the sub regional bloc, ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) have resolved to restore democracy in Sierra Leone through peaceful and diplomatic means, but it is clear that they would not hesitate to use force if the situation warrants them to do so.
The proposed deployment of amphibian tanks on Sierra Leonean waters means ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) may resort to peace enforcement if they fail in their peace-keeping role in Sierra Leone.
Currently, there is no democracy in Sierra Leone as President Julius Maada Bio holds and exercises a “stolen mandate.”
He hijacks Kamara’s presidential victory in daylight and the Election Investigation Committee is about giving to CAESAR WHAT BELONGS TO CAESAR.