By Ralph Sesay
A seasoned lecturer at the University of Sierra Leone, who also doubles as peace expert and communicator, Mr. Tonya Musa, has stated, during the recently concluded Bintumani III conference, that Government should rectify what he called the grey areas of Act No.6 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone for sustainable peace and national cohesion.
Mr. Tonya Musa, who made a succinct presentation on behalf of the media in Sierra Leone, noted that, “Since the adoption of the 1991 Constitution to date most of our problems have been defined by this Constitution, undermined by this constitution, purported by this constitution and manipulated by this constitution. We will keep this constitution for no good reason,” he emphasized.
He added that, if there is sincerity of purpose, steps should also be taken to review the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
The issue of amending the 1991 Constitution started after the end of the war in 2000, when the Tejan Kabbah led Government constituted the Peter Tucker Commission, which later submitted recommendations for the review of the 1991 Constitution.
The process was taken over by the Ernest Koroma Government, which constituted a Constitutional Review Committee and pumped one million United States dollars into the work of the Commission. The Edmond Cowan Commission did a marvelous work and produced numerous recommendations on several issues that range from land rights, women’s issues, citizens’ rights and executive powers of the president, etc.
The APC disappointingly dismissed a good number of the recommendations. They could not push the process further as many Sierra Leoneans preferred the new administration to push forward with the process.
One year down the line the Government of President Julius Maada Bio is under immense pressure to commence the process. In fact, many believe moves to restoring lasting and sustainable peace should first start with the constitutional review process.
It was also a wide held view at the conference that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Recommendations, which, among other things, had suggested for the creation of the Independent Commission on Peace and National Cohesion, should also be looked at in the process of chatting the way for lasting and sustainable peace and national cohesion.