By Amin Kef Sesay
As per tradition, on the 1st of January, every year, the Head of State delivers a New Year message to the nation. In his message this year, His Excellency, the President Dr. Julius Maada Bio stated that 2020 was an exceptional year – a year in which the raging worldwide COVID-19 pandemic killed over 1.7 million people including Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad; a year in which worldwide healthcare systems and economies struggled; and, a year in which worldwide anxiety and fear have shook hopes for the future.
He pointed out that, as a nation, we took a licking like all countries in the world and in the sub-region; but we kept on ticking as a nation demonstrating unity, resilience and perseverance as a nation.
President Bio highlighted how they have showcased leadership with empathy; churned out opportunity out of adversity; and continue to keep their promises to the nation for progressive and accountable governance of the State.
“In 2020, Sierra Leone has been recognised the world over for simply doing the right things really well,” he disclosed noting that they collectively resolved two years ago that the nation must no longer be defined by the stigma of the past – as a helplessly corrupt nation, vulnerable to pestilence, prone to bloody wars, wracked by human trafficking and illegal migrations, and creaking under the burden of bad governance and failure.
He said our international standing, image and respectability as a nation have continued to improve in 2020.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, one of our nation’s best judges, Justice Miatta Samba, beat out worldwide competition to be elected judge on the International Criminal Court,” he maintained adding that after a decade and more, we paid our dues to major international institutions and we have deepened and heightened our multilateral engagements with nations and institutions all over the world as well as continue to provide continental leadership for the C-10 for the much overdue reform of the United Nations Security Council.
The President told the nation that our international governance and transparency assessments throughout 2020 have been outstanding revealing how, the Millennium Cooperation Challenge (MCC) selected our nation as compact eligible after we passed a record 13 indicators including the control of corruption indicator and the indicator on political and human rights.
“We passed the EITI, assessed for the first time ever to Tier 2 for the Trafficking in Persons assessment by the US State Department, and made progress in the United Nations and World Bank human development indicators,” he continued.
He said the nation’s competent handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been praised by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organisation, the African Peer Review Mechanism and more adding how we have been cited for being innovative, proactive, and predicating our successful policies on data, science, technology, and expert advice.
The First Gentleman said through a central coordinating unit, NACOVERC, they, as a Government, quickly set up ancillary coordinating units in each district, established 6 testing labs, 21 treatment centres with at least one in each district, made available at least 1,000 beds, and ramped up surveillance, contact tracing, and social mobilisation in short order and also provided health insurance for over 11,000 workers saying that consequently the nation has kept case fatalities ratios very low.
He said throughout, their focus had been on saving lives and protecting livelihoods further underscoring how through their Quick Action Economic Response Programme, they launched a 500 billion Leone Special Credit Facility through the Bank of Sierra Leone to support the production, importation, and distribution of essential commodities; deferred taxes by the National Revenue Authority on businesses; provided cash transfers to persons with disabilities, informal sector workers, and other vulnerable groups and households right across all sixteen districts; provided safety net support to 2,368 workers in the tourism and hospitality industry; allotted microfinance support to thousands of women in the informal economy right across the country; and designed the National Micro-Finance Programme for small and medium enterprises.
“We end 2020 with a less complicated business landscape and more engagement with the private sector on business reforms,” he said adding that they have secured funding for improving the Doing Business Environment and reviewing the industry policy for the development of the Special Economic Zone, enacted the Consumer Protection Act, developed a national trade strategy, and reviewed the Cooperative Policy for rejuvenating rural community entrepreneurship.
He said four manufacturing companies – Jolaks, Sierra Leone Flour Mill, Sonocco, Gold Brewery – will soon start producing key consumer goods in Sierra Leone.
The President expressed optimism that those factories will support job creation, skills transfer, and revenue generation.
He said the National Investment Board, a one-stop-shop for investors, will also facilitate more such investments stating how the nation is transitioning into more integrated and electronically-mediated business registration, operations and records systems.
He said those reforms are being complemented with significant investments in modern digital technology infrastructure, an expanded fibre-optic backbone, and greater ICT penetration that will serve as a cross-cutting enabler for the development of other sectors of the economy and for public service delivery.
The President said in 2020, Government deepened its fight against corruption and strengthened the judicial system to support business development.
He said they have stabilised the prices of petroleum products and increased revenue in the downstream petroleum sector with far-reaching reforms that will improve strategic reserves and make the sector more profitable. “Our overall macroeconomic picture is not as bleak as anticipated at the onset of COVID-19,” he stated adding how in 2020, they completed the Nationwide Airborne Geophysical Survey and they are now developing an Enterprise Geo-Scientific Information Management System.
President Bio intimated that the Government has strengthened governance of the mines and minerals sector and formalised artisanal mining.
He said in spite of COVID, three major mineral right holders (Koidu Limited, Sierra Rutile/Iluka, and Sierra Mineral Holdings) continued uninterrupted operations further pointing out how four more large-scale mining projects will soon start with Wongor Investment and Mining Corporation, Kingho Mining Company Limited, the Tongo-Tonguma Kimberlite Project operated by Sierra Diamonds Limited, and Meya Mining Limited.
“In 2020, we have rehabilitated or upgraded trunk roads to all-weather roads to facilitate access to market for rural farmers,” he said revealing how the Government is building bridges, surfacing or completely rehabilitating over a thousand kilometres of major trunk road, and over a hundred kilometres of urban and city roads nationwide.
He again stated that in 2020, the Government also increased installed energy generation capacity, upgraded and expanded the transmission and distribution network, started work on restoring electricity to seven district headquarter townships, and advanced work on the CLSG line that will benefit an additional 39 communities.
“This is in addition to off-grid solar installations in various communities right across the country,” he continued.
President Bio said talking about agriculture, his Government remains committed to implementing the key priorities of rice self-sufficiency, crop diversification, livestock development, and sustainable forest management and diversification as articulated in the National Agricultural Transformational Plan (2023).
He disclosed that due to the pandemic, the Government focused on intensifying staple crop production in order to mitigate anticipated food shortages in the country.
The President told the nation that among other initiatives, the Government acquired equipment for more mechanisation, designed better agricultural financing instruments, improved seeds and seedlings for rice and cash crops, and provided for more private sector engagement in agricultural production.
“In 2020, we also launched a $54 million commercial rice production investment at Rhombe, Port Loko district and significantly advanced rice value chain investments in the south and the north of the country,” he stated.
The Head of State said in the fisheries sector, they developed a comprehensive fisheries management and sustainability plan, invested in inshore patrol craft and other surveillance technologies, provided advanced fishing vessels and equipment for youth and women in the artisanal sector, scaled up investments in sanitary fish processing at both artisanal and industrial levels, and expedited arrangements for the construction of a 55-Million dollar Fish Harbour Complex.
He said they have not relented on creating the right environment for tourism-sector investments in various parts of the country revealing how they have broken sod on the new Lungi International Airport terminal and other imminent investments on Sherbro Island as part of that comprehensive package.
President Bio informed that in 2020, they also commenced the construction of a water treatment plant and distribution networks in Bonthe and other headquarter towns.
He said his Government has significantly improved medical infrastructure and increased bed capacity at maternal and child health units, upgraded medical and diagnostic medical equipment, recruited and trained thousands more nurses and enhanced their conditions of service, transformed patient referral and transportation services through the National Emergency Medical services, streamlined and expanded nationwide medical supplies, and improved blood supply services. Preliminary data indicates that we have reduced maternal and child mortality as well as overall morbidity from common illnesses.
The President revealed how his Government had maintained public education financing at 22% of budget and set up a Multi-Donor Trust Fund of about $72M in partnership with the World Bank, GPE, EU, Irish Aid and FCDO.
He said over 2.6 million pupils are direct beneficiaries of our continuing investments in increased access to education.
“We have developed more school infrastructure especially through partnerships with the private sector and development partners, provided free school feeding for vulnerable school populations, recruited more teachers with improved service conditions, and improved quality teaching and learning,” he stated.
He said a school catchment analysis, a new 5-year Education Sector Plan, and a new Education Act that responds to the needs of the future are on his Government’s immediate agenda.
The President said they are working on transformative higher education reforms and skills development training across the country maintaining that even during COVID-19, the Government paid for all transition examinations at all levels, revised the school curriculum, and held a national forum on the future of education in Sierra Leone if the country is to compete in the global economy.
He furthered that in 2020, the Government created safer spaces for girls, overturned the ban on pregnant girls from attending school, and introduced a policy of Radical Inclusion in line with his Government’s principles of universal access.
In 2020, the President said, the Government strengthened the Sexual Offences Act, introduced one-stop centres for rape survivors, established Sexual Offences Model Courts to fast-track cases of sexual and gender-based violence, launched a Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment policy, and furthered more dialogue with women’s groups, civil society, and advocacy organisations.
He said Government put more unemployed urban youth to work in 2020 through various employment initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Youth.
“In 2020, we have initiated a new disaster management agency to lead on our resilience strategies as a nation and we have built more public safety infrastructure in fire stations in district headquarter towns,” he further disclosed adding that in the same year Government expunged the seditious criminal libel law and amended the Independent Media Commission Act to guarantee free speech noting that no journalist is in jail for seditious libel offenses; and his Government has sustained a structured engagement with civil society and rights groups.
He informed how they have also maintained the moratorium on the death penalty and set up a technical committee to advice on the recommendations of the Justice Cowan-led constitutional review process.
The President said so in spite of COVID-19, the nation has made great progress because of our relentless optimism and resilience in the face of adversity.
He said we are indeed one nation and one people with a zeal that never tires expressing optimism that 2021 will be better because his Government knows and believes that dogged hard work and focus breed success.
“Let us all continue striving even harder to make our Sierra Leone a more peaceful, more resilient, and more prosperous nation. I wish everyone a happy New Year,” the President concluded his New Year’s message.
