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Home Suites Hotel Debunks ‘Baseless’ Allegation

Home Suites Hotel

By Foday Moriba Conteh

Insinuations made that the Home Suite Hotel,which is located at the Aberdeen round-about is posing serious health risks to residents within that community further creating the impression that the business entity’s sewage waste is uncontrollably flowing along nearby streets is totally mischievous ,unfortunate and very misleading.

During sustained and thorough investigations mounted by this medium over a period of timeit was proven beyond all reasonable doubts that the situation is otherwise as it came out glaringly that the flow of the said waste is not in any way coming from or caused by Home Suite Hotel as some are attempting the public to believe. As a matter of fact it is a calculated move on the part of some to tarnish the good image of a business entity that believes in upholding sound sanitary conditions and co-exists decently without any objective of inconveniencing its neighbours.

The current and real situation at the scene is this : there is a supermarket just close to the hotel which is allegedly oozing out the sewage waste which goes under the fence of the hotel from where it is spilling out on the streets creating a very nauseating and pungent smell in that environment. According to an official of the Management of the hotel when this problem emerged they drew the attention of the Freetown City Council but the latter responded that they will contact the Sierra Leone Road Authority but lamented that no action was taken by the two institutions to rectify the situation. He emphasized that as a business entity they do not have that power to dig any street or road as it does not fall within their purview. The official disclosed that they decided to fund the digging of a passage, with the assistance of the military,that runs underneath via the Aberdeen Police Station to the sea. “Already the area that was dug has been tarred,” he also revealed.  The good news is that construction work on the drainage is currently completed and the residents in the locality are very cooperative in that regard.

“We are really impressed with the move so far made by the Management of the Hotel to facilitate the construction of the drainage although some of us are very mindful of where the sewage waste is coming from. As far as we have resolved we will give our meaningful inputs to ensure that the problem is solved once and for all,” Musa Stronge, one of the youth activists intimated this medium during one of the fact-finding investigation adding that they are calling on the attention of the Government to intervene as there is the likelihood that the sewage waste could affect other localities.

“One cannot really fathom how a business entity such as Home Suite Hotel, which is competing with other hotels in that part of the country can complacently sit by and pamper an ugly thing like this to happen when in actual fact it is trying its best to attract customers,” the Hotel official logically argued adding that it is possible for such a thing to happen based on intermittentdislocations or technical hitches but they will not turn a blind eye to it. He, however, regretted that instead of trying to really find out where the problem lie some are peddling the negative information that the sewage waste is coming from Home Suite Hotel.

Still trying to hammer home his point he rhetorically asked: “Does it make sense for us to see the sewage waste gathering at our fence with our customers and even ourselves feeling uncomfortable with the offensive smell?”

He said the problem is one that could be caused by clogged or corroded pipes but said that it could be surmounted further underscoring how they are willing and ready to work collaboratively with all the stakeholders in order to timely construct the drainage and ensure that the sewage waste has a proper channel that it could go through for it to be disposed safely.

NP’s Ascendancy is Breath-Taking

National Petroleum (NP) SL Limited

By Ranger

The National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is a very successful petroleum selling entity that assiduously continues to ascend the slippery ladder within the economic landscape of this country. The meteoric rise of NP should not come as any big surprise to anyone as it epitomizes the crystallization of determination, hard work and sheer entrepreneurial skills on the part of Sierra Leoneans who formed the company and the capable managerial teams that have been steering the affairs of a 100% indigenously owned outfit. Its continuous ascendancy is indeed a clear manifestation of dogged commitment by all those who are associated with it to succeed.

If there is one outstanding feature which makes the company quickly identified then that could be its innate passion to give maximum care and attention to its numerous customers. The company’s shareholders and management do not joke with Customer Care as it is prioritized in all the company’s transactions. This could sound very simplistic when looked at from the face value but for NP, its thorough and cautious implementation is very close to their heart and indeed such is paying fruitful dividends. Of course it really makes sense that availing customers with qualitative petroleum products, dealing with them respectfully , negotiating win-win deals will all contribute in retaining customers as well as wooing new ones. With all amount of certainty it could be safely concluded that NP has mastered that business technique, deepening it and is working well to which many have attested.

It has been established by development specialists that proper implementation of the Local Content Policy is indeed a very important cog that should be in the wheel of the engine to thrust growth. One business entity that is strictly adhering to enhance the Local Content Policy in this country is NP. The shareholders and Management of the company have made it a matter of policy to get in its employ indigenes and even in cases where expatriates are engaged, local members of staff are given the opportunity to understudy them so that at the end of the day they will imbibe the necessary skills to take over. This is very advantageous in the sense that it helps in providing jobs and to develop a crop of competent individuals which the country needs in its development interventions.

Cooking is an inevitable aspect of human life, whether for domestic and commercial purposes. Man depends on food for survival, individuals invest in food businesses and the like. Very mindful of the hazardous effects of depleting the environment, using traditional means of cooking, here specifically talking about making use of wood, charcoal, the company deemed it prudent to introduce NP-Gas which is very fast to ignite, quick to perform, safe and highly convenient. NP Gas, which is in different sizable cylinders could be accessed at the company’s filling stations and authorized dealers.

The company has high profiled customers with tight schedules who may have limited time to always wait in queues in order to purchase petroleum products. Besides, some people are not used to have huge cash in their possession but prefer using smart cards. For these reasons the company went the extra mile to introduce NP Smart Card which customers, those who can afford it, could use to purchase petroleum products. From what was so far gathered all the customers who are using NP Smart Card are well satisfied doing so saying it is very convenient further praising NP for rolling out that initiative.

The viability of NP could be measured by its expansionist achievements both within the country and in the West African sub-region as is evident with the opening of branches in Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia. For a hundred percent indigenously owned company to go to such a level of spreading its tentacles is actually commendable and worthy of praise. As far as we know the branches in all those countries are doing extremely well although there are inevitable challenges which it has been surmounting.

One thing which cannot be challenged is the fact that NP, not only here in Sierra Leone but in other places where it is functioning, is greatly contributing to revenue accumulation when we think of its timely payment of taxes which Governments are using to fund various development projects.

Regardless, of all the teething challenges that stand in the way of NP, one of which is the depreciation of the Leone to the Dollar, as the company purchases petroleum products in dollars, yet still the company is navigating its way through murky economic waters.

Without mincing the truth, NP’s ascendancy is really breath-taking and highly impressive.

Orange Committed to Provide Best Telecom Services

Orange

By Orange SL PR Unit

Orange is one of the leading telecommunications operators in the world, present in 29 countries with 154,000 employees worldwide. Orange operates in about 20 countries in Africa meaning that one in every 10 people is an Orange customer.

Orange acquired the Airtel operations in Sierra Leone in July 2016 and was recorded as the first company to invest in Sierra Leone immediately following the end of the Ebola epidemic.

Since the inception of Orange operations in Sierra Leone, the company has invested about $112 million dollars in the areas of network modernization and expansion; human resource as well as corporate social responsibility in the last two years.

The company has further invested about $96 million dollars in modernizing and expanding its network infrastructure. This investment has resulted to the construction of about 94 new sites mainly in the rural areas, the modernization of the company’s passive infrastructure and active RAN equipment, the replacement of all core equipment, the implementation of a new intelligent network platform for prepaid billing management; the establishment of a new switch to handle voice traffic, a new packet core for the internet traffic and the launch of a new Data Centre.

This exceptional and incomparable work done so far, has resulted to the connection of about 925 new localities with thousands of Sierra Leoneans now accessing data, voice and financial  services for the first time.

In respect of human resource, Orange has invested about $16 million dollars in the last two years. The company prides itself in capacity building by ensuring that its employees benefit from soft skills, technical and leadership trainings. The company nurtures talent from on-boarding; ensures retention and provides exposure opportunities to other Orange affiliates.

Orange being a multi-service provider and a responsible corporate citizen places emphasis on corporate social investment. In the last two years, the company has invested about $ 400,000 dollars mainly in the areas of women empowerment, health, education and the environment.

Orange remains the first operator in Sierra Leone to contribute to the government’s Free Quality Education (FQE) agenda by pledging the sum of $1.5m in material assistance over a period of five years beginning from 2019.

In honour of its pledge, the company recently launched five major projects under its FQE initiative as follows:

  • The Super Coder Academy to train 100 senior secondary school students in five years.
  • The provision of 10,000 hygiene packs for girls between the ages of 12-18 years over a period of five years.
  • The running of an inter-secondary school quiz and debate competition every year for five years with the aim to provide one computer lab for the winning school every year.
  • Open classrooms to provide 300 free certifying digital courses for 500 teachers.
  • The distribution of 1,000 solar pack kits to 1,000 schools in 1,000 off-grid villages.

Orange also recently launched the first Coding School in Sierra Leone in partnership with the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) with an estimated cost of about Le2.75 billion ($308,000).

The coding school is scheduled to commence in December 2019 with an aim to train youths in coding and other software skills in readiness for the country’s digital transformation, to foster entrepreneurship, reduce unemployment and develop the country’s innovation ecosystem.

As part of the company’s strategic ambition for Sierra Leone, Orange is present in the country with a strong industrial project that will lead to invest significantly to cover most of the population in the country with telecoms and mobile financial services. This is why orange is committed to invest additional $24 million dollars this 2019 to build 55 new sites, and to extend its 4G Services to the rest of the country.

Orange remains committed to providing the best telecom services in Sierra Leone ensuring its customers get an “unmatched “experience

Sierra Leone Former President Koroma in Court while other APC Members still on the run

Former President Ernest Bai Koroma

By George English – 16th  August 2019

In the small West African country of Sierra Leone, two main political parties, the All People’s Congress (APC) party and the Sierra Leone Peoples Party have dominated the politics of the country ever since after the country attained independence from the British in 1961,although currently  there is  in existence other political parties. After every five years, as the country’s constitution stipulates, there is bound to be the conduct of Presidential and Parliamentary elections by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) availing eligible citizens the opportunity to exercise their franchise and vote for candidates of their choice.

Lamentably, electioneering periods in this part of the world have never been smooth and rosy as they had been fraught with violence, most times along ethnic lines, perpetrated by supporters of both the dominant APC party and SLPP. There had been reported cases of electoral malpractices, intimidation and political harassment. Individuals have been murdered and even jailed in the aftermath of Presidential and Parliamentary elections when new Governments are formed.

During the 2018 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections there was a swift twist in the political landscape when the incumbent ruling APC Government, headed by erstwhile President Ernest Bai Koroma was defeated by the then SLPP, with its presidential candidate, Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio succeeding in becoming the country’s new President with a five year tenure in office.

Upon the SLPP assuming political power, most of its irate supporters started to violently hound recognized or earmarked APC supporters, killing some and in some cases inflicting serious bodily injuries on others.  This worsening and ugly situation naturally forced and is still forcing many APC supporters into self-exile out of fear that their lives were and are at serious stake.

Added to that the SLPP Bio led Government, immediately it assumed power, set up a Transition Team to look into the activities of past APC Government officials within the context of conducting investigations to know whether those officials were really acting in the best interest of the country when they were in State Governance.

In the wake of the Transition Team Report three Commissions of Inquiry were set up to investigate certain past APC officials referred to as  “Persons of Interest” for alleged corruption   and among those that were named is former President Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC. The President first appeared before one of the Commissions on the 16thAugust, 2019  and he is currently attending court proceedings for alleged corrupt practices being represented by a battery of lawyers headed by Lawyer Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, the country’s one time Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Political reprisals continue to rise unabated as intimidation and attacks keep soaring. The lives of perceived APC supporters, especially those who have been identified as staunch supporters are not safe according to revelations from an undercover and sustained investigation mounted by this medium.

“Many are now afraid to go about their activities peacefully as they are persistently threatened by SLPP supporters which is not good in any vibrant political dispensation,” Ambassador Foday Yansanneh, APC party National Secretary General informed this Press going further to intimate that despite several complaints made to the country’s Police Force no tangible actions have been instituted to stem the tide of political reprisals or revenge.

“What I am seeing going on in Sierra Leone is not healthy for political interaction  and growth as political violence is stifling good political discourse,” a foreign diplomat expressed dismay suggesting that the political heads of the APC and SLPP must try their level best to restrain political attacks.

 

 

 

30 Sierra Leone Journalists Depart for China

By Amin Kef Sesay 24 August 2019

As part of the crystallization of the strong bilateral relationship between Sierra Leone and the People’s Republic of China, spanning decades, thirty Sierra Leonean journalists were awarded scholarships to benefit from a three weeks media related training programme in China. The beneficiaries, who will depart on Monday 26th August 2019, are drawn from both the Print and Electronic media, all coming from different news outlets. I, Amin Kef, aka Ranger is one of the proud beneficiaries of the scholarship.

It must be noted that this is not the first time that China has offered Sierra Leonean media practitioners the opportunity to benefit from media training and to get first -hand experience of that country’s  cultural mix bag. Of course this is a clear demonstration, on the part of China, to meaningfully contribute towards improving the capacities of journalists in the country and by extension enhance the overall media landscape.

The role of the media, in terms of triggering transformation in different spheres of life in any country could not be really overemphasized when cognizance is taken of the fact that it informs, educates and entertains thereby becoming a very powerful channel through which residents in communities could be enlightened.

In this country, the media has been fraught with various challenges one of which is lack of training opportunities for journalists which has been identified as one factor that is responsible for poor reportage and performance output by some media houses. Indeed, the Mass Communications Department of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, though it was long overdue for it to be established, has been doing tremendously well in grooming aspiring media practitioners.

The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) have also been facilitating training opportunities for journalists although both entities are most times constrained with resources to do more than they may want to offer.

It is against such a backdrop that the Chinese Government’s gesture in offering training opportunities to media practitioners comes handy as such have been greatly helping to fill in the gap and enhance the media landscape.

The very good thing about this training programme is that it makes it possible for journalists from different parts of the world to meet in the People’s Republic of China and interact, share ideas, experiences which will definitely broaden their horizons and position them better to make lasting friendships.

Speaking to one of the beneficiaries, Mohamed Fadlu Bah, he intimated that he is elated and very grateful to be offered the opportunity furthering how he is very expectant to benefit from the training programme with the determination that from what he will gain so far will be cascaded in his day to day work. “I want to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government and People of the Republic of China for standing by the side of this country during good and bad times. It is a testimony of the good bi-lateral relationship between the two countries from which both had and are still benefitting,” he expressed gratitude.

 

 

Africell Sierra Leone Hail by OBBA

By Amara Samura – 24 August 2019

In appreciation for the huge  support the leading mobile phone company in Sierra Leone, Africell, made to members of the Old Bo Boys Association (OBBA) during their 90th anniversary celebrations last year, a cross section of the national Executive of the organization made a courtesy call to the headquarters of the Company at Wilberforce  on Friday August 23, 2019.OBBA comprises former pupils of Bo School.

The Manager of Afri Radio, John Konteh, who received the delegation, lauded them for the visit.

Konteh spoke about the positive impact the school has had on the nation, since it was founded and the influence it continues to make in the education sector, an ideal that is shared by their company.

Speaking on behalf of OBBA, the President, Prof. Alpha Tejan Wurie, said their Association which was inaugurated in 1929 greatly appreciated the special intervention made by Africell during their 90th Anniversary celebrations last year.

“The support that Africell gave, created a bond and long term connection with OBBA members,” Professor Wurie who also doubles as Minister of Health and Sanitation said.

Responding, the Managing Director of Africell, Shadi Gerjawi  acknowledged and thanked the impressive nature of the courtesy visit. He further reiterated the Company’s commitment to improve the communication sector in the country as well as being partners in nation building.

“A big thank you to OBBA men for this historic visit today. We wish you all the best in your current and future endeavors,” Shadi said.

It could be recalled that as part of their corporate social responsibility, the Company supported OBBA during their 90th anniversary celebration held in Bo.

It must be emphasized that Africell has always supported education in Sierra Leone and beyond.

As they give back to society… Sierra Leone Golden Tulip Donates to ‘City of Rest’

By Alim Jalloh – 24 August 2019

One of Sierra Leone’s most prestigious Hotels Golden Tulip-Kimbima Hotel situated at the Aberdeen in the  West End of Freetown on Friday August 23, 2019 donated food and non-food items to the mentally ill patients at  the City of Rest Rehabilitation Center in Grafton.

In his statement, Rahul Chatururvedi, Deputy General Manager of Golden Tulip said they decided to choose the City of Rest because they are aware that the patients there are among the most vulnerable individuals in the country and therefore must be shown love.

He stated that Kimbima Hotel has always been in the good books of Sierra Leone because they are taking the lead in developing the country’s tourism sector.

Parmala  Kaikai, Sales and Marketing Manager of the hotel said what they are doing is part of the entity’s Corporate Social Responsibility and they believe that though the patients are mentally disturbed at the moment yet still they have a brighter future and deserve a better place in society.

She stated that Golden Tulip Essentials is an international hotel with 2500 hotels worldwide in 53 different countries.

The Hotel key locations offer travelers easy access to both to the central business district and the historic heart of Freetown as well as to some of the most exotic beaches in West Africa.

She continued by revealing that the Hotel offers innovative and unique dining exercises to match their stunning sea front location and offers a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean.

According to her they cater for wedding events, workshops, accommodation that can host up to 500 guests, offer high speed Wi-Fi services, fully equipped gymnasium supervised by personal trainers.

“Our environment offers guests a perfect oasis of calm and relaxed stay. Over 90% of our staff is Sierra Leoneans,” she ended.

Receiving the donation, Pastor Alfred Sesay, Program Coordinator of City of Rest thanked the Management and staffs of Golden Tulip stating how they have been praying for such a gesture to materialize.

He stated that the rehabilitation home was established by, Raven Morrie S. Ngobeh in 1988 and started full operation in 1996 with a vision to rehabilitate persons who are mentally affected as a result of illicit drug using Christian doctrines.

Alfred stated that through prayers, medication and counselling the center has succeeded in healing lot of young people who are now contributing to national development. In the past two months ,he said, the center has discharges 4 cases and currently is dealing with 20 male and 1 female.

He mentioned the numerous challenges they are facing ranging from limited funding and staff to handle certain cases.

 

Bombali Stakeholders Impressed with Sierra Leone New Direction Agenda

By Alim Jalloh – 24 Aug. 19

Stakeholders from Bombali district on Thursday 22 August 2019 met with His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio to commend him for his Government’s impressive performance since his election in April last year.

Minister of Information, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, who chaired the meeting, said that the New Direction Government had a bold vision for a united peaceful Sierra Leone where everyone would have equal access to opportunities and justice, irrespective of region, tribe or political interest. He stated that the entire country was resonating with the vision of the President and that the meeting was a testament to that.

Head of the delegation, Ibrahim Jalloh, said their team comprised members from various facets of life in the Bombali district who mirrored the collective aspirations of the people of Bombali, adding that the delegation and visit were the outcomes of extensive engagement and consultation with their people. He emphasised that they were therefore serving as ambassadors for the people in that part of the country.

He mentioned that they were of the belief that engaging with the national leadership in a constructive manner on issues around good governance and national development priorities were not only a civic responsibility but also a solid indicator of growing confidence in the leadership and governance of the State.

“We want to commend your sustained and ferocious fight against corruption. The damaging consequences of corruption cannot be over-amplified and they are consistent across tribe, region and political party. It is a war for which every Sierra Leonean must take primary responsibility. The national collective engagement in fighting corruption spiced with your abounding political will can lead to a resounding victory.

“We also want to applaud your drive and leadership in developing the human resource capital through the provision of Free Quality Education, applaud you for the development strides and overall leadership in the governance of the State and again commend your Government for organising the Bintumani 3 Conference on peace and national cohesion. We must entertain a sense of urgency to dismantle our national dividers and strengthen our national connectors,” he said.

In his brief response, President Julius Maada Bio said he was happy to receive the visiting team because there was need to bring everyone on-board the development process. He added: “Our programmes, especially the Free Quality Education, are centered on national interest. We are offering free quality access to education to shape a brighter future for all Sierra Leonean kids. We are all one people and we should at all times discourage tribal and hate among ourselves. My Government is for everyone and we will continue to take development to every part of the country,” he assured.

While delivering the vote of thanks, Paramount Chief Massayeli Tham III of Gbante Chiefdom in the Bombali district said  they were very much grateful to the President for agreeing to meet them, saying that that was a manifestation of his commitment to leading an inclusive nation. He assured that they would continue to share the vision of the President to their subjects.

 

 

 

Sierra Leone Bar Association Executive Meets Pres Bio

By Alim Jalloh – 24 August 2019

The new Executive of the Sierra Leone Bar Association paid a courtesy call on His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio at State House in Freetown on Friday 23 August 2019.

President of the Association, Robert Kowa, commended President Bio for his strides to ensure that the State was smoothly run amidst the challenges, noting that they were aware of the challenges. He said they were prepared to give their support and work with the Government, adding that the Bar Association is a professional body and would remain so in the best interest of the country.

He said the new Executive had adopted a collaborative approach and would constructively continue to engage in the governance of the State, while also ensuring that the rule of law prevailed in the country.

He added: “It is our responsibility as lawyers to ensure that the State becomes a lawful State wherein whatever is done is done properly and in that respect we pledge our commitment. It is also our concern that for the Rule of Law  prevail in this country, we have realized the need for a review of the Constitution. Our country has grown past this Constitution and this may be one of the reasons for several constitutional issues over the years.

“We are pleading with your office to speedily expedite the constitutional review process. This process took place during the last administration but after wide consultations and with the report being submitted what came out from the White Paper was not reflective of the views of the people. We are held back by that document and it is creating a lot of problems and we have to look at it properly,” he said.

He mentioned that they were ready to cooperate with the Government and make their inputs and presence felt around the process, adding that that could be one of the landmark achievements President Bio would leave with Sierra Leoneans and it would be the turning point for the country. The President of the Bar Association also used the occasion to solicit the Government’s support in the construction of the proposed Bar Association Secretariat.

In his response, President Julius Maada Bio congratulated the new Executive at the Bar Association, adding that it was an essential element of the country’s democracy that plays an integral part of the governance system. He said he would expect the Association to play its professional role to make the governance system more effective and accountable.

He noted that Sierra Leone had gone through a lot and it was the responsibility of every Sierra Leonean to play their different roles to enrich democracy and the development of the State. He said his Government is not averse to constructive criticisms and engagements because that would enrich Government’s decisions.

“This is a country of laws and those laws must be respected. Today, things are moving much faster and the Constitution, which regulates how we do things, must also be considered for change because quite a lot has changed. We have started the process of thinking about how we can start the process in a collaborative and inclusive way so that every facet of society is involved in shaping that document. I look up to the Bar Association as a partner in this process,” he ended.

History of the Huge Debt Burden Sierra Leone & Most African Countries Face…

PERSPECTIVE

By Amin Kef Sesay – 24 August 2019

That Africa generally has been under the unbearable weight of a debt crisis is not disputed. Over the years, most African countries have had debt sustainability problems. This explains why they have not been able to exit from the debt trap, necessitating the resort to debt rescheduling and relief measures.

By debt crisis, we mean a condition whereby a country has accumulated so much debt that it can no longer sustain the management of the debt, resulting in severe distortions and contra-dictions in the domestic  political  economy.

This has been the reality for Sierra Leone in particular since the late 1970s when the government t turned to the IMF for budgetary support that gain with Structural Adjustment Program conditions that included devaluation of the Leone, reduced public sector spending and laying off of redundant workers in the public service.

The origin of Africa’s debt crisis can be traced to the colonial period where the foundations of the crisis were laid based on the condition of African foreign trade which exhibits five major defects, which were largely responsible for its debt crisis.

These defects, a result of ‘the extreme disarticulation and distortions of Africa’s colonial economy and the late decolonization of the region’, are:

High export dependence;

High concentration on a few commodities;

Low and declining terms of trade;

High instability of exports earning due to these factors; and.

Chronic balance of payments crisis

It  was  upon  this  weak  economic  base  that  most  African  countries  attained  political independence, mostly in the 1960s.

The implication of this bad financial start was the inability of many new African economies to withstand the post-colonial shocks that were to come, including internal pressures for improved living conditions in Africa as promised under the anti-colonial ideologies of legitimization.

As  the pressure heightened, several African countries were compelled by domestic politics to jump-start development programs, relying largely on external funding for implementation.

At the same time, to encourage economic growth, there had to be some significant level of investment in the economy which can only be achieved when there is an adequate investible surplus.

In the absence of this surplus, alternative means of generating funds must be devised, most often through borrowing.

For these and related reasons, African countries began to seek and receive external funds to fill their savings and investments gaps.

Borrowing may not necessarily be bad for an economy. In fact, it is even considered  as  one  of  the  best  alternatives  to  the  creation  of  money  during  periods  of recession.

What is negative about borrowing generally relates to the conditions attached to debt, and the cost of management of that debt.

In the African experience, the burden of conditions and the cost of servicing extensive borrowing remain at the heart of the continent’s debt crisis.

Africa’s external creditors have  insisted  on  deregulation  of  the  economy, devaluation of the local currency, and recently, political  liberalization, which, as has been demonstrated, actually undermined African economies.

To make matters worse, poor economic management at the domestic front in the form of wasteful and unproductive expenditures, in addition to the mismanagement of the borrowed funds by inefficient public enterprises, were a major feature in Africa.

These forces have combined disastrously to lead Africa into a severe debt burden.

The overarching implication is an unacceptable level of poverty and  inequality, both of which symbolize the marginalization of Africa in the international economic system.

A number of initiatives have been taken, especially by the creditor nations and agencies in response to Africa’s debt crisis. At the initial stage, they resorted to an adjustment mechanism as typified by the austerity measures and SAPs.

The basic features of the SAP regime include ‘import and exchange liberalization;  getting prices right; privatization and reduction of labor’s share in national economy’.

 

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