By: Dr. Prince Alex Harding
Chairman, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP)
I would consider myself very fortunate in the recent political history of this country. I was only in my thirties when I was elected to serve as the Secretary General of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) in 1995. At the time, most of the doyens of SLPP politics who had been muzzled and forced underground or into exile by the Siaka Stevens and J.S. Momoh dictatorships, had come alive and it was indeed a very interesting time to be at the center of the fight for the soul of this Party.
I learned then that the soul of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is enshrined in its motto, “One Country, One People”. All its leaders from every corner of Sierra Leone gathered at varied locations to agree to disagree regularly as they sought to revive the fortunes of the party. In the end, we were able to elect a consensus candidate in the Late Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. We waged a spirited campaign around the country, even in the face of the limitations of war. We came out victorious in the 1996 multi-party elections.
By the time of his reelection in 2002, Tejan Kabbah had unified his party around him, and had made inroads into the opposition strongholds. He had endeared himself to the people of Sierra Leone by his inclusivity in governance, which strengthened the base of the party all across the nation. I was the Secretary General leading the party into elections for the second time. Kabbah had a runaway victory in the elections that year.
Fast forward 2017, I was elected Chairman and Leader of the SLPP. Again, I had the good fortune of leading my party into a very crucial election; after the party had been in opposition for ten years. Again, like Kabbah, we had a consensus candidate in Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio. His New Direction appeal and the Paopa mantra won the hearts of Sierra Leoneans and propelled him to victory; to the shock and dismay of naysayers.
In the years since his election, President Bio has been laser focused on delivering on his campaign manifesto; especially the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) which is his Flagship programme. In the four years of his presidency, we have seen school enrollment increase exponentially. We have also seen a sharp decline in the dropout and out-of-school rates; thousands of new teachers have been employed and given pin codes, while others have been reassessed. The New Direction government under President Bio has also registered huge successes in the healthcare sector, infrastructure and energy supply. Villages and towns as far-flung as Masiaka, Bunumbu, Foredugu and many more across the country now have access to 24 hours uninterrupted electricity by way of renewable energy. Bridges leading to major population centers that were long abandoned by the erstwhile regime have been reconstructed, opening up vast swath of the nation to commerce. President Bio has been also able to hold his party together and has made appreciable inroads into opposition backyards. This can only be a good thing.
So as we prepare to go into the elections of June 2023, I can see clear parallels between the Tejan Kabbah reelection of 2002 and the Maada Bio reelection of 2023. In the first place, they have both been successful in their first terms of office. Second, they have both built bridges across party lines and have equitably distributed the resources of the state without regard to who voted for him or not. More significantly, he has cemented his trust with the base of his party. Most people I have spoken to since the 13th National Delegates Conference of the party feel buoyed that the government saw need to bring all their Ministers of government to account for their stewardship to the rank and file membership of the party. This has further rekindled the trust between the Government and the Party. Overall, I dare say not bad at all. Not bad.
So now ladies and gentlemen, it is my singular honour and privilege to present to you the WINNING TEAM, TEAM TOK N DO, the indefatigable Brig (Rtd). Julius Maada Bio and Alhaji Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, the SLPP candidates for President and Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone come 24th June, 2023.
ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE!
May God Bless Sierra Leone.