By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
Executive Director of Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), Ibrahim Tommy on Thursday 7th Aril 2022, told members of the fourth estate that after reviewing the Whitepaper, they generally observed that the government rejected key recommendations in the Whitepaper seeking to reduce the powers of the presidency or have it functions shared with other officials of the State.
Mr. Tommy made this statement while giving their report on the Sierra Leone Government Whitepaper title Re-making a constitution as an engine of progress on the whitepaper at the Teacher Training College, Tower hill in Freetown.
He said a recommendation for an amendment to the provisions relating to the composition of parliament so that president will cease being a member was rejected and a recommendation for the president authority to appoint sessions of parliament be exercised in consultation with the speaker was also rejected.
“In the lead up to the constitutional review process, citizens had expressed concerns about the excessive powers of the President, in Justice Cowan’s report and the Whitepaper under review, there has been little effort to even remotely reduce or regulate the exercise of those powers, we therefore recommend that a Presidential Act that seeks to somewhat regulate the powers of the President be passed in the future,” he said.
CARL Executive Director continued that at the launch of the constitutional Review Committee in 2013, former President Koroma urged the committee to ensure an all-inclusive process making sure that a document that captures the best values and aspirations of Sierra Leoneans in 21st century is produced.
He said in January 2022, the government released the long-awaited Whitepaper in which it accepted 50 of the 134 recommendations and rejected 84 of them.
He further that the government also inserted three new recommendations for constitutional amendment, but they has reviewed the Whitepaper and they applauds the government for accepting 47 progressive recommendations and disagreed with the government for rejecting 40 it adjudges to be sound.
He said it is disappointing that the government seems to have pushed back on some recommendations that could have helped improve governance, strengthen the rule of law and promote accountability in the executive arm of government.
He continued that the government also rejected a recommendation that would allow citizens to institute legal action against the government for violating rights guaranteed under sections 16 through 27 of the constitution and the government further reject a proposal to repeal Section 77(i) (k) and (i) which inhibits parliamentarians ability and freedom to debate freely having regard to their consciences and commitment to national issues.
“We want the government to keep an open mind and embrace the feedback emerging from citizens that could make our Constitution better and more progressive. We urge the leadership of parliament to create a genuine space for more citizens’ contributions during the pre-legislative discussions on the constitutional bill. We also urge the government to expedite the process in a very consultative and inclusive manner with the view of delivering a new Constitution that strengthens governance, protects women’s rights, and the aspirations of Sierra Leoneans,” he recommended.
