As the dust winds up at Bintumani, where thousands of Sierra Leoneans had gathered over the weekend to search for Peace and National Cohesion, many are judging whether the Government and the other key players in the country’s political space are really ready to follow up and take note of the very frank discussions and recommendations made by Sierra Leoneans at the conference, coupled with the experience sharing from Kenya, Ghana and Uganda.
Many presentations were emphatically clear that there is social cohesion in Sierra Leone due to the numerous inter marriages and interfaith relations across the country. Sierra Leoneans across the 19 ethnic groups in the country have lived peacefully across the length and breadth of the country with no hitches. The country undoubtedly has democracy some 22 years ago with all the relevant democratic institutions, whether they are working as expected is what should have been the focus of our discussions at Bintumani III.
Many believe the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone has several lacunas which have been exploited over the years by past leaders. The process towards amending certain sections of the 1991 Constitution to reflect the emerging challenges as they related to women issues, land rights, executive power and constitution of political parties, etc.
There is also the case of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which recommended a number of issues including the establishment of a Peace and National Commission, among several others. Past Governments had failed to popularize the recommendations of the TRC especially to the younger generation of the country which were not present during the war. The religious bodies have failed to use their religious platforms to popularize the contents of the TRC report recommendations.
Social justice and the independence of critical state institutions like the Police and the Judiciary have been hugely questioned. The Judiciary and Sierra Leone have been moving in support of ruling parties and the governments of the day. These institutions have failed to hear and determine matters brought before them on time especially during and after elections. The Governments of the day have used our courts to oppress their political opponents and justice for the poor is almost impossible and unachievable.
One begins to argue whether we have actually started where we are supposed to have started in chatting the way for sustainable peace and national cohesion.
The sincerity of political leaders, including the current Government, to move the peace and democratic consolidation forward has been questioned as we conclude the Bintumani III conference. Several of the political players in the country were absent during the deliberations and this for many is a huge concern. It is a norm that peace is often accompanied with huge sacrifices along the way.
The new administration of President Bio has been cautioned at the conference to match words with actions by the National Grand Coalition Party and many other presenters as part of their position papers. They have made this key recommendation against the backdrop that the Bio Government is continuously taking steps that continue to divide the country and its people. It is therefore fruitless to be saying one thing and doing the other. Many believed that President Bio as the father of the nation should take inconvenient decisions that many around him would not want him to take with a view to have a sustainable peace and national cohesion.
The President of the Bar Association has also made it clear that we should not be talking about peace and national cohesion when our actions do not resonate towards that end. Just as the conference was going on, we saw several sackings at Statistics Sierra Leone and a number of other actions. Searching for peace without engaging in meaningful sacrifices is very much fruitless.
Bintumani is over and we will eventually establish the Peace and National Cohesion, but whether it would serve the purpose as it is in Kenya and Ghana with such deep sited trust among the countries political players and traditional parties is a kettle of fish altogether.
Our colleagues in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda have made it very clear during their presentations and experience sharing that the Commission for Peace and National Cohesion and its Commissioners should have very high integrity and credibility and should be above politics. They have also noted that it should be inclusive and has the responsibility to ethnic audit appointments in the Public Service to ensure that tribes have about 30% in all appointments. To make this happen they have suggested for certain changes in the constitution which at the moment are largely absent in the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
Whether the current Government is ready to take such huge sacrifices and also speedily take on the requisite reforms is also another issue worth noting as we gauge the entire process.