September 21, 2021
BY MOHAMED M. SESAY (LUCKY)
The Courier is not in any way trying to usurp or highjack the work that should have been ideally done by the Strategic Communications Unit at State House, and at the Ministry of Information and Communications by educating the general public on the deliverables in the Bio led New Direction Manifesto. But rather, the Courier just intends to uphold the social responsibility principle of the media by reporting the people to state actors and on the reverse, reporting what the state actors have done for the consumption of the people as a mediated communicator.
The long-nursed credo of politics of shenanigan wherein, politicians make unrealistic promises with no intention to deliver on such mind-boggling manifesto, is under my condemnation. It is equally necessary and obligatory for media practitioners to slosh praise on any state apparatus for deliverables on their manifesto promise. This what the Courier is doing exactly by according praise to whom it is due. The media should not shy from this because the media is not an enemy to the state but rather a partner in the development of the state as the nomenclature reads “THE FORTH ESTATE”.
On that note, the Courier has taken his time to religiously and voraciously read the New Direction Manifesto and praticalize to the reality on grounds which has precipitated my aforementioned conclusion that 34 out of 38 clusters in the New Direction manifesto have been delivered. Therefore, if we are to do real time valuation as in mathematical terms, the deliverables of the New Direction Manifesto stands at 96% completion with a de minimis of 4% which I am sure it will be delivered before 2023. The below highlights unequivocally justify my hypothesis.
IMPROVING ON THE MACRO ECONOMY
In the widely acclaimed New Direction Manifesto, a solemn promise was made by the Sierra Leone Peoples Party Standard Bearer then, and now Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces President Julius Maada Bio, to restore dignity and sanity to a once battered and shattered economy. Don’t get this edition twisted but rather have this in mind that despite the visibility of microcosmic challenges due to the Covid-19, a praiseworthy job has been done by the Bio led regime in resuscitating the already sunken economy under the last regime.
Before the New Direction Government took over governance in 2018, real time growth of the economy reached its zenith of 20.7% in 2013 largely as a result of the boom in iron ore exports.
Non-iron ore growth in 2013 was only 5.5% compared to 7.3% in 2005. As a result of the ill-preparedness of the past regime to effectively manage the boom and the dramatic drop in commodity prices coupled with the sudden emergence of the Ebola scourge, the economy collapsed by 21% in 2015. Following the end of Ebola and the return of normal activities in the real sectors, it rebound to 6.1%. By 2017, the economy further receded by 5.6% due to a slowdown in economic activity. The non-iron ore economy grew by 4.3% in 2016, up from 3.2% in 2015.
Thus, a lot of policy interventions have been carried out by this government which have helped restored dignity and sanity to a once dwindled economy. At the farewell sojourn of the last regime, development partners which include but not limited to the International Monitory Fund (IMF), distanced themselves from the country alluding that, the country had its worst economic strangulation during the last regime. However, the Development partners having seen the vim and vigor in the New Direction government to exhume an economy that was put to its final interment, which precipitated the donor partners to reunite with the government of Sierra Leone with unquantifiable financial supports.
So far, the government has created a Le500 Billion Special Credit Facility to support the production, importation, and distribution of essential commodities. The
National Revenue Authority deferred taxes due on the importation of essential
Commodities, especially for rice, fuel, and other health supplies. There is an ongoing one hundred billion Leones National Micro-Finance project implementation (MUNAFA FUND) in order to provide finance to targeted Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country. Government also provided cash transfers to over a hundred thousand poor and Vulnerable families and informal sector workers all in a bid to cushion the effect of Covid-19 on the less privileged.
HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT (FREE QUALITY EDUCATION)
The new Direction Manifesto identified Human Capital Development as a means to an end which is the more reason they pledged to invest in quality education. Education is the key to individual, community and national development. Education helps lift people out of poverty and creates vast new opportunities to reduce unfair income distribution and increase choices. It creates awareness and helps to sustain democracy and peace of which the Bio led Government made such thunderous promise to provide not only Free Education, but Quality Education for Primary and Secondary School levels.
No sooner such promise was made, than we started seeing doubting Thomases raising red flag including the BBC that such a promise is unrealistic and could never be actualized.
The much-admired “TOK EN DO” (promise and deliver) president proved to those doubting Thomases that the introduction of the free Quality Education is visible, realistic and doable. Under his dispensation since he took over governance, he made a 21% budget allocation towards the implementation of the FQE.
President Bio has ensured that more than any time in the nation’s history, more children, including girls and other excluded child populations, are now in school at no expense to their parents and guardians. They are provided with free learning materials, more school facilities and infrastructure, school-feeding facilities, and school buses.
The government has also affirmed the right to education with its policy of radical inclusion that has irreversibly overturned the ban on pregnant girls, championed
Menstruation health, campaigned nationwide against early child marriage, and
Provided more support for students with disabilities. More recently, the president in his quest to fulfil his manifesto promise, commissioned one hundred schools in four districts. That school project was funded by the European Union and the project covers Bo District, Kenema District, Port Loko District and Bombali District.
THE HEALTH SECTOR:
The Health sector is another area where the Direction Government has done tremendously well. In its desirous mode to ensure that Health workers are well taken care of, the Bio led administration made a colossal increment in the salaries of health workers and also employed over four thousand (4,000) nurses. We have also seen major interventions towards this regime in terms of rehabilitating major hospitals across the country to a standardized form. Also intervention is on the way in constructing a pediatric hospital of excellence in Kono and the recently approved 23.8 million dollars pediatric hospital of excellence with one hundred and fifty-two beds capacity at Lumley. The 23.8 million dollars project is a grant from the Japanese government and that hospital is going to be a game changer in the health sector.
It is my believe that more goodies are on the way from this government which is geared towards taking action to maintain healthcare financing at sustainable levels; continue to reduce maternal and under-five mortality rates; recruit and train more healthcare staff; invest in quality mental healthcare; improve patient referral, transportation, and blood services; upgrade medical and diagnostic equipment; and upgrade healthcare infrastructure.
ENERGY SUPPLY:
Same under the New Direction Government, a glad tidings promise was made as part of the government’s objective to provide energy in sufficient quantities to all regions of the country to permit the continuous realization of the developmental goals of industry and the general population. The specific actions are to restore electricity supply to all district capitals; Initiate a rural electrification programme that will supply electricity to all towns with population exceeding 20,000; Institute a Rural Electricity Board and a Rural Electricity Fund to promote electrification of rural areas with a view to making electricity readily and widely available in rural areas; each year, at least five villages and two towns in each district join the national grid or are connected off-grid on standalone solar or mini-hydro schemes.
Finally, massive investment in renewable energy potentials of the country in the areas of solar, hydro, wind and biomass.
In realization of such remarkable promise in boosting electricity supply across the country, the New Direction Government has allocated 66.4 billion dollars towards district electrification for seven districts. The beneficiary districts are Kambia, Kailahun, Kabala, Moyamba, Mattru, Bonthe, and Pujehun Districts respectively. The implementation of these projects have far gone for completion which will accord residents in those districts to enjoy satisfactory electricity supply.
In addendum to that, the New Direction government has ensured that electricity supply is restored to Lunsar. Another plan is ongoing for thirty-nine (39) Communities to be electrified along the CLSG/West Africa Power Pool’s 225kV transmission network including Zimmi and Potoru in the south; Kangama Gorahun and Njaiama Nimikoro to the east; and Masingbi, Bumbuna, Matotoka, Kamalo, Kamakwie, Binkolo, and Fadugu to the north.
Looking for another edition from the Courier on other deliverable clusters in the New Direction Manifesto which qualifies them as “Tok en Do” government. The next edition will focus on Agriculture, Governance/the fight against corruption, youth empowerment, Tourism, among others.