By Amin Kef Sesay
During the launch of the Constitutional Review Process by President Julius Maada Bio, which took place at the lawn inside State House on the 13 January 2022 he told members of the diplomatic community, those who served on the review process, representatives of political parties, parliamentarians, women organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups and pupils from secondary schools present and by extension the country that when he promised a new direction for the nation, he did so after much thought and reflection on how the nation could get it right again.
He continued that the anger and brutality of the ten-year civil war and the copious Truth and Reconciliation Report of 2003 were inflection points for the nation as the country tasted the bitterness of war but we had not seemed to learn the lessons.
President Bio said rather than shy away from the hard-hitting recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as his predecessor did, he has actively implemented them because he believes that those governance reforms are in the best interests of the nation.
He stated that just in the last one year and some months, he worked with Parliament, the Judiciary, development partners, and civil society organizations to implement over half of dozen of the key governance and legislative imperatives outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Report.
The President dilated on how his Government has repealed Part V of the Public Order Act saying there is no journalist in prison for the practice of journalism underscoring how the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists and international media and free speech organizations have been consistent that free speech and the practice of journalism are indeed unfettered.
He continued by outlining how his Government has established the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion to identify and resolve potential triggers of conflict in our the country maintaining that according to the Global Peace Index, Sierra Leone is the fourth most peaceful country in Africa.
“To further cement our credentials as a tolerant nation, Sierra Leone will soon be the latest member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance,” he disclosed adding how it is a global alliance that “promotes universal respect for freedom of religion or belief.”
The Chief Executive Officer informed how his Government has permanently abolished the brutal and inhumane death penalty for all crimes saying never again; never again will execution of people will be done.
He touched on how his Government has deepened and speeded up the process of decentralization, decongested prisons, improved prison conditions, and significantly expanded access to justice.
“We have established a standalone Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs and introduced policies and laws to protect and promote the rights of children and women, a Gender empowerment and equality law has been laid in Parliament and we are reviewing the Child Rights Act,” he pointed out.
Social safety, persons with disability, mental health care, improving healthcare, and free quality education for our children, the President said, have all been at the centre of his Government’s agenda to invest in an inclusive and sustainable future for the nation.
He said that adds to their sustained and much-lauded fight against corruption, institutional and governance reforms, overall commitment and success in ruling justly and investing in people.
“Today, we will address gaps, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in our 1991 Constitution that the TRC report identifies as triggers of conflict and bad governance,” President Bio highlighted.
He said especially in the decade preceding 2018, the country witnessed unconstitutional intrusions on matters of the rule of law and on the protection and promotion of rights and liberties guaranteed in the constitution.
The President emphasized that Executive privilege and powers were loosely defined and used, that inclusion and equality were not guaranteed in law not to mention in practice.
“There were significant gaps in access to the essential elements of a thriving democracy – access to fundamental rights, protections, justice, resources, and opportunities,” he noted maintaining how matters of citizenship were not clearly defined and were the basis for exclusion and discrimination.
President Bio said in the New Direction Manifesto, the SLPP party bemoaned the “countless breaches, infractions, and abuses [of the national constitution] by President Koroma and his All People’s Congress” including the sacking of an elected Vice-President of the nation.
He continued that they promised to remedy the “weaknesses, shortcomings and other lacunae that manifest themselves in the course of application of the terms of the Constitution [. . .], by way of specific amendments of its relevant parts, in order to give efficacy to the promotion and protection of good governance and respect for the Rule of Law at all times.
“I have always signalled that only bold and audacious decisions can transform our nation,” he underscored adding how he has always argued that recognising and embracing the inevitability of progressive change is critical for consolidating and enriching the country’s democracy.
According to him his Government promised, worked diligently and today they have delivered. He said when the former APC Government shilly-shallied, they acted decisively because a review and amendment of the 1991 constitution, though long overdue, is urgently needed and is in the very best interest of the people of Sierra Leone.
“So, today, we go full circle from the setting up of a Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) by his predecessor, Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah,” he disclosed furthering how with great reverence his Government remembers the outstanding leadership of the late Justice Edmond Cowan and the 80 other citizens who worked in a CRC reconstituted by President Ernest Bai Koroma.
The President thanked the technical committee that examined the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Commission and the accompanying White Paper with a view to giving effect to them as much as practicable.
“Your work is done today but you give Sierra Leoneans a bigger task – to understand, speak to one another with honesty about why these reforms matter, and work together to make this nation even better,” he commended and projected.
He continued that as he has always said, the ties that bind the nation together has and will always be stronger than the fear-mongering and selfish interests of bad politicians that blind us.
“The bad faith attempt in 2017 to push through a restricted number of recommendations was not only not in compliance with the constitutional procedure but also violated ECOWAS protocol,” he said adding how his Government’s approach is different promising that they will take practical steps to implement the non- entrenched ones immediately.
President Bio informed that the entrenched provisions will be addressed within an exclusive and uncluttered timeline – and in all likelihood, after extensive consultations, engagements, and public education on those provisions.
He said no entrenched provisions will be rushed through a referendum ahead of the forthcoming general and presidential elections.
The President continued that the full White Paper as accepted is rational and more extensive than the 2017 white paper. Giving an example he mentioned how it includes human dignity and equality among fundamental principles of State policy, new sections for gender inclusivity, agrees with change in nomenclature of groups of persons in line with international best practices, and places the burden on the State to prohibit discrimination while promoting national integration and unity.
President Bio continued that it affirms the State’s commitment to providing free quality and compulsory education at primary and secondary school levels and includes civic education and entrepreneurship among the State’s educational objectives.
He said the Government will promote national culture and especially national fashion and citizens will have a duty to respect the National Currency and National Pledge.
According to him, in other instances, sections of the constitution will be renamed.
“For instance, the recommendation to rename Chapter III of the 1991 Constitution to read “The Recognition, Protection, and Promotion of Human Rights and Freedoms of the Individual” in line with its international obligations in safeguarding and promoting human rights of its citizenry, is accepted.”
He disclosed how there are recommendations for a reduced detention period prior to being brought to court further revealing how unlawfully arrested or detained persons shall be entitled to compensation and/or public apology.
“Government also accepts recommendations to protect fundamental rights subject to national security interests”, he stated saying those rights shall not be derogated from during a State of Emergency.
He revealed how Government also accepts that a completely new chapter should be dedicated to clearly defining citizenship and addressing all questions of discrimination and exclusion once and for all.
On elections, the President said, Government accepts the recommendation for fixed and predictable dates for elections and inaugurations. He went further to say a fifty percent plus one threshold is proposed in view of the circumstances, insecurity, and expenses associated with run-offs.
He said loss of party membership shall no longer be sufficient and sole cause for removal of a President or Vice President from Office and a two-thirds parliamentary majority will be needed to ratify any resignation or expulsion notice from a political party and that impeachment processes will also be clearly defined.
In our next publication, we will endeavour to continue to look at President Bio’s view of the other recommendations as enshrined in the Constitutional Review Process White Paper.
