The current government has clocked six months since President Julius Maada Bio was sworn in a rather strange and bizarre ceremony.
But, he rules without much recognition that will ensure a stable country. Bio took the oath of office in June 27, this year after controversial election results were announced by Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, a man who many saw as more PAOPA than Bio himself.
Although the results, according to election observers, were fake, it is however a great opportunity for the President who has set up a cabinet of youthful and energetic ministers struggling to make things work, but legitimacy challenge pulls them backwards.
Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh, Information Minister, Chernor Bah, Communications Minister, Salima Bah, Foreign Affairs Minister, Timothy Kabba and others appear to be young men and women ready to serve Sierra Leone although the boss’s mandate remains contentious.
In spite of perceived illegality, Bio continues to appoint and run a cash-trapped government looking for support from within and outside Sierra Leone.
Bio’s government, in the past six months, has come up with bright initiatives with ‘Feed Salone’ being the flagship.
It is an agricultural initiative aimed at enhancing the production of rice and other crops to ensure food security and self-sufficiency.
If it goes well, government will not only feed Sierra Leoneans but export food to other countries in West Africa and beyond. The ‘Feed Salone’ initiative is among the ‘Big Five’ game changers contained in the SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) manifesto on whose ticket Bio’s government came to power.
The project is a financially demanding venture and Donor support is critical to its successful realisation in the short and long run.
Towards this direction, Bio has been moving closer to Chinese investors to till the Tomabom and Gbondapi boliland in the Southern Sierra Leone to keep his government well afloat.
Other major towns and communities in the Northern region will also have a fair share of the agricultural initiative.
Within the six months of illegal rule, Bio’s government is encouraging business entity particularly Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP) and the Chinese company, Leone Rock to invest in the mining and agricultural sectors to create jobs for thousands of jobless youth in Sierra Leone.
The Chinese company has taken over the port and rail in PortLoko and Tonkolili districts while Arise IIP has seen a fortune in the creation of economic zone in Koya Chiefdom in PortLoko district set to transform agricultural produce into finished goods.
With the success stories in the two sectors, thousands of youth will be put to work, and Bio hopes for safe ride although he did not win the election.
Within six months, Bio also chases China for the construction of a six-lane bridge between Tagrin and Freetown to ease transportation.
The bridge which will be operated on a toll system initially amounted to US$2.1bn but has been reduced $1.1bn just to woo investors, but the Chinese are yet to come in owing to fear of getting back what they shall have invested in a country plagued by political instability.
Although Bio seems to be making impressive inroads in his short time of political existence, he has however failed to unite the country.
Under Bio’s six-month rule, North-Westerners and South-Easterners have not seen themselves as people sharing a common destiny, and this boils down to the legitimacy crisis hunting President Bio and his government.
Opposition politicians as well as their supporters are yet to see Bio as their President until genuine results come out.
In most of his public addresses, the opposition leader and Presidential candidate of the June 24, 2023 elections, Dr Samura Kamara has always referred to Bio’s government as an “illegal regime” and called for a rerun.
In the recent inter-party dialogue brokered by the Commonwealth, African Union and ECOWAS, Kamara minced no word saying that “I am negotiating with colleagues of an illegal government.”
The Commonwealth mediation was held to end a three-month boycott by APC parliamentarians, mayors, chairmen and councillors who did not recognise Bio’s government as a legitimate entity.
The stand off ended only after a communique that established the Election Investigation Committee (EIC) was signed by SLPP and APC as well as Development Partners.
Despite the challenges, the EIC is now in full swing looking into ECSL’s procedures and processes that resulted into the announcement of results which, many said, failed to reflect the will of the people of Sierra Leone.
The EIC’s mandate will last for six months beginning from 18th October, 2023, the date the communqiue came into effect, and there was neither an escape route nor a hideout for Bio and his officials.
Government’s attitude to the tripartite committee was somewhat negative as they reached a point where they attempted to cut off cooperation with the opposition party and the international community.
Government’s murky tricks came under the spotlight when they included the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, the Peace Commission, and civil society activists in a body provided for only the APC, SLPP and the donor community.
It was in the midst of the row over EIC’s composition that the November 26 attacks at military and police facilities were carried out putting the public into great fear.
Although government was worried over the attacks, It exploited the atmosphere of insecurity to evade the probe.
Monday 27th November, a day after the attacks, was supposed to be the start of the investigation, but no government official showed up.
Placed under pressure, Mr Sengeh made it clear that they would participate only if APC helped them bring back the runaway prisoners to their cells.
The statement prompted a backlash from the APC camp questioning the party’s role in the escape of the prisoners. Patriotic Sierra Leoneans too also posed similar questions.
Without answers to the questions, it became clear that government officials are playing pranks to water down EIC’s importance, but it was extremely hard and almost impossible as the people of Sierra Leone and the international community are determined for a change.
They are hopeful of taking back control of their lives and future once Bio is out of the political scene.
As a show of deep commitment to the election probe, UK High Commissioner, Lisa Chesney recently visited Chief Minister and discussed with him about the need to start the investigation which should not be derailed by the November attacks.
In return, APC officials met with the UK diplomat to show their readiness to cooperate with the election investigators.
Chesney’s meeting with the Chief Minister followed a response from the United States Embassy in Freetown calling on the parties to stay true to the communique by honouring the agreement and making EIC a reality.
In a press statement of October 19, 2023, the US embassy sates that “the United States Embassy recognises that this agreement represents but a first step in the process of rebuilding trust, promoting national cohesion and strengthening democracy in Sierra Leone. For this process to advance, leaders of all political parties will need to ensure that the agreement on national unity implemented rapidly and fully in letter and in spirit.” The US call is shocking to Bio, but it was too late for him to escape as he had already penned down his signature on the communique.
From the outset, it is clear that until the election results are thoroughly investigated, it will be difficult for Bio’s government to enjoy recognition among the vast majority of Sierra Leoneans.
In the ensuing controversy, Mohamed Konneh carries the blame which he shares with no one as uneasy lies on the head that wears the crown.
Konneh heads the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), an agency mandated by law, to conduct and supervise public elections in the country.
In such capacity, the ECSL boss is under obligation to ensure free, fair and credible elections as laid down by the Public Elections Act, 2022.
In what looks like a move to see the incumbent party, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) retains power, Konneh allegedly stole APC’s votes in daylight, the first illegal act any election chief could commit in the country’s political history.
As such, the people of Sierra Leone as well as the international community is finding it difficult to accept Bio’s rule thus lending credence to the notion that the people’s consent is the basis of government authority.
This notion is bolstered by the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991 which says sovereignty belongs to the people of Sierra Leone from whom government derives its powers, legitimacy and authority, but, many say, has broken the rule.