By Ibrahim Mansaray
On Thursday July 18 2024, AdvocAid Sierra Leone facilitated what they referred to as a “ microcredit dialogue”. The roundtable engagement is part of the organisation’s Petty Offences Project which is jointly implemented with the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL). The project, which is coming to its end, pushes for the decriminalisation and declassification of petty offences in Sierra Leone, which include loitering, traffic offences and fraudulent conversion. According to AdvocAid, they learnt through research that petty offences have been one of the major causes of incarceration and overcrowding of correctional facilities around the world and in Sierra Leone.
Women in particular have been caught in the web of fraudulent conversion in Sierra Leone when they default in the repayment of loans from microfinance institutions. As a result, AdvocAid created a platform for an all-inclusive conversation which was graced by women who have been locked away for petty offences, the Sierra Leone Police, Ministries of Gender and Trade, and microfinance institutions.
For many female petty traders in Sierra Leone looking to expand, obtaining loans is a way to go. However, the women say there are a lot of challenges associated with securing loans. “When we opt for loans, we don’t only have to deal with the high interest rates, staff of the institutions providing these loans request bribes and small favours before and after the loan is secured,” says Mariama B. Jalloh, a market woman. The 40-year-old adds that these are some of the causes of the difficulty in repaying the loans. As meagre as the sum may be, people still demand a deduction from it for doing the job they are paid to do, according to the market women.
The problem doesn’t end there. “When time is due for the repayment, we face multiple issues again including abuses and other unethical displays by the debt collectors,” adds another market woman. The women say when there is a delay in the loan settlement the institutions hastily resort to Police involvement. And in the absence of sureties and guarantors, the case is charged to court and they are sent behind bars.
The incarceration can only come to an end when there is a payment plan in place. Thanks to the intervention of organisations like AdvocAid, Don Bosco Fambul Dem and others who intervene on behalf of these women to secure their release and chart a way forward for their creditors to be settled.
The microfinance institutions refute the bribery allegations. Most of them say they have a zero-tolerance policy for bribery or asking for small favours from loan seekers. They argue that the problem of being unable to repay the loan on time as agreed, entirely rests on the women and how they manage the money given to them. “Most of the women misuse the loans, either spending on purposes different from that which the loan was granted for or entrusting the money with people who end up misusing it,”says Badamasie Cole from Oya Micro-Credit Company, an institution providing “working capital” loans.
“Most of these women also don’t know how to manage loans, so it’s important they are capacitated,” says Baimba Tejan Fofanah from A Call To Business (ACTB), a savings and loans company.
“Market women also take multiple loans and there are others who, in addition to not having an existing business, do not have a plan to set up one,” says Jimmilia Johnson from Aziza Financial and Commercial Enterprise. Jimmilia adds that they have had instances where women who do not have businesses connive with real business owners to obtain loans. The institutions say these are some of the reasons for the involvement of the Police.
The Sierra Leone Police say that when the elements of an offence are involved, the law is applied. “But we hardly detain people for such issues these days,” says ASP Dahlia Wellington, Deputy Head of the Legal and Justice Department of the Sierra Leone Police.
To reduce the issue of women borrowing from microfinance institutions, the Ministry of Trade says there are funding opportunities for those who own registered businesses. “There are even opportunities to showcase Sierra Leonean businesses in international trade fairs. However, branding is important,” says Jim B. Kosseh from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Market women, however, say that they are unaware of these opportunities.
Assistant Director of Gender and Children’s Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Hannah A. Lahai-Robinson calls for the popularisation of opportunities for women and the lowering of the collateral requirements for loans. She adds that women should also be provided with training on entrepreneurship.
AdvocAid was instrumental in the Passing of the Criminal Procedure Act 2024.With the recent success, the organisation says it will continue lobbying for legislative reforms for the freedom and empowerment of women in particular.
