By Beny SAM
Like seriously our Former president Mr Ernest Bai Koroma never met his judicial deadline and everything seems like normal. Great! Definitely it is somehow characteristic of us Sierra Leoneans to allow very salient issues that speak to the survival and security of especially poor citizens, to be swept under the carpet! But listen: the key issues cannot be solved by the usual moral laxity, judicial unethicality, political compromise that is not in the interest of the masses, and corruption powered non-punitive and frivolous actions. We have had dialogs and having tripartite meetings but the impasse between the Government/ SLPP and the APC portends no end in sight. We cannot allow our political experts and thinkers to forever continue scratching their heads and biting their pens over our now seemingly intractable political stalemate.
Yes, I have a way out … Interim Government. But wait a minute, definitely not now. It should be after President Bio’s current second term. We have to wait and see how much more sanity he may drive into our political chemistry. For a lot of Sierra Leoneans, the idea of an Interim Government might be an arrow in the dust. But tell me what else is the solution? You might say our country has not gotten to an interim stage but definitely we cannot continue like this, with our state security threatened by the day. We still have fugitives connected with the November 26 2023 attempted coup including the former President who has breeched his court appearance order for March 6, 2024. Well the matter was adjourned to March 27, 2024.
Sierra Leone may not have had an interim government experience. Perhaps one could have actually been after the rebel war. We lost that chance and hurried into elections. One thing we also missed was scrapping/ banning existing political parties.
What is an interim government? Also called provisional government, emergency government, or transitional government, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse. Provisional governments are generally appointed, and frequently arise, either during or after civil or foreign wars, or during difficult times such as during invasion, economic crisis, or widespread infiltration of saboteurs and terrorists.
When an interim government is put in place, it holds power until all outstanding statutory challenging issues especially those related to the Constitution and democratization, political party formation, human rights and justice and fresh elections are held with fresh political parties and a new government is formed.
In our Sierra Leone situation, tribalism and regionalism, among many other malaise have been identified as serious existential challenges negatively impacting on our political progress. Most people determine their political support based on whether the political figure belongs to the same tribe, region or family and friends. When parties are formed, you see this trend although the constitution dictates that membership should be broad based and the founders should be drawn from different regions and tribes. The situation, has been like this from independence! There has been this persistent tendency for most of the people from the North to support parties from the north and those from the south to support parties originating from the south. The East and West are somehow fairly spread although they sometimes swing depending on candidates.
Like I mentioned earlier perhaps Sierra Leone’s best previous chance for an interim government was after the Civil War. That interim Government could have negotiated and ended the war and also prepared for general elections. It could also be given the power to ban all existing parties and come up with a criterion for Party formation that will speak to all the anomalies that had been mentioned.
For Sierra Leone, it has become an unpleasant reality that as a country we are stuck with virtually only two parties that are capable of drawing supporters to win elections. However, after over 50 years of independence, we are yet to see marked democratic progress and good governance that will bail the people from perpetual abject poverty and inertia.
It seems that the APC and the SLPP have agreed between themselves to be embroiled into the kind of rancor that for long has defied every definition. They virtually disagree on almost every issue even if it is an issue for the country’s development. This has carried on for a long uncomfortable period.
As it seems today we have come to the realization that politics is not after all so much about morality; otherwise we should not be where we are today with all the God-given endowments strewn all over the place and our fastidious religiosity. We will continue to thirst for justice because the law cares more about siding with the rich than giving the poor man his right.
Sierra Leone cannot definitely continue to be besieged by political ignominies cooked and served by our own compatriots who we have given the opportunity to lead, be they in the presidency, parliament, cabinet, ministries, departments and agencies. I can tell you for free that one of the safest jobs in Sierra Leone today is being a Member of Parliament or a cabinet Minister. Their facilities are far above the average Sierra Leonean Office worker with the same or better qualification. A stupid irony in our socio political scenario is that when the poor are squeezed dry to starvation, that is the time those in governance jealously guard their privileges. A lot of compatriots are of the thinking that instead of passing the economic burden to the poor, those in top governance could forgo some of their privileges at least to show solidarity with the people they claim to work for. The recent over hundred percent hike in the electricity tariff, coming hot on the heels of other price increase shows for the most part government’s insensitivity to the plight of the poor. Tell me why not reduce the fuel gallonage of ministers and other top governance personnel. Sometimes I wonder why the 15 odd other opposition parties do not come together in a Third Force with the aim of ousting the two top political parties to opposition.
Well as it stands now our nation should be worried about being relegated to a failed state. This make the introduction of the Interim government, a step in the right direction. After all we all know we cannot go on like this!