Sierra Leone

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History

BACKGROUND:

Sierra Leone is found in the west coast of Africa bordering the republic of guinea and Liberia. It has an estimated population of about six million inhabitants with various ethnic groupings of various cultures and traditions. This small West African state was colonised by the British immediately after the abolition of slave trade.

The country is divided into 4 main regions with 12 administrative districts and 147 local governing authorities known as chiefdoms. There is an administrative head known as the District Officer. He is the direct representative of the government and a local traditional head known as Paramount chief representing the chiefdom and also custodian of the traditions.

Sierra Leone attained its independence from Britain on the 27^th.April 1961. It copied the British system of having a legislature (Parliament) responsible for law making, an executive branch (Cabinet) responsible for law implementation and a judicial system or the court.

Members of parliament are voted in from their various constituencies and the executive positions are nominated by the chief executive (President) with the approval of parliament. The president has executive, veto and reserve powers vested in him. The ministers are the political heads of their various ministries while the permanent secretaries are the professional heads.

Members of parliament are representatives of their people in all parliamentary proceedings.

Democratic principles and practises came into effect during this period by sworing in an indigene to run the affairs of the state. It was a period of power struggle between the All Peoples Congress (APC)headed by Siaka Stevens and the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) headed by the then prime minister Sir Milton Margai.

There were 1967 elections that ushered in the APC to power. The 27 years rule by this government was characterized with corruption, Non respect for human rights, thuggery etc.

This administration was headed by late president Siaka Stevens and during his retirement, he handed over power to the military head Joseph Saidu Momoh who publicly announce to the country that people should forgive him because he has failed the nation.

Recently, the country goes back to the District/town council elections that had been suspended for more than two and half decades.

THE APC REGIME:

As mentioned in the background, The APC government ruled the country with all social and economic odds. The country realised the worst economic declined during their regime with multiple debts from the World Bank and stringent IMF conditionalities. All social amenities the country used to enjoy decline and hunger and poverty was the order of the day until their removal from power by the young military boys calling themselves National Provisional Ruling Council headed by a 27 years captain, Valentine Strasser.

THE REBEL WAR:

The war started on the march 1997 by a dismissed army corporal called Foday Saybana Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Sankoh waged a rebellion against the APC claiming that he is coming to save the populace from corruption and all social odds but his campaign turned out to be the worst in human history.

Because of the huge amount of precious materials in the country, the war attracted many players like Liberia, La cote D’ivoire, Burkina Faso, Libya and even some European countries that were operating under the straws for them to benefit from these resources.

Some of the worst crimes committed by the RUF are:

Amputating people's limbs, killing, looting and indiscriminate burning of both private and public homes.
Naked corruption by siphoning all the countries wealth to other countries that are friends of RUF;
Abduction of International peace keepers, observers and humanitarian staff.

1992 MILITARY COUP:

The coup was organised by a group of soldiers calling themselves NPRC and they governed S.Leone for almost 4 years. At the end of their 4 years time table of returning the country to a civilian rule, a palace coup was staged against Strasser by his closest guys and confidants. Sierra Leonean rose up against such activities and demanded for power to be returned back to the civilians. There was serious brutality and intimidation by the military boys but there was a hard resistance from every angle. The NPRC yielded to this pressure and conducted the elections that brought The S LPP to power headed by President Kabbah.

At the first 14 months after his rule, another military coup called the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council(AFRC) headed by a military major called Johnny Paul Koroma. This illegal regime was an association of both military and rebel forces. The 9 months rule of the AFRC finally subjected the country to its knees. The president and his government went on exile to neighbouring Guinea until his restoration back to power in 1998 by the West Africa peace keeping force, ECOMOG.

It is worth to know that the rebel forces had a long time marriage with the military and at some point, every military was a rebel and people were referring to them as SOBELS meaning soldiers in the day and rebels at night.

DISARMAMENT PROCESS:

After the signing of the Lome peace accord that ushered in Sierra Leone to permanent peace and stability, there was a mass sensitisation of the disarmament process. Today Sierra Leone is one of the most successful disarmed states in the world. An estimated figure of about 72,000 armed personnel were disarmed, reintegrated and demobilised to their communities.

Hope to hear from you.

Osman

Political and socio-economic perspective of Sierra Leone:

Sierra Leone became an independent country from Great Britain in 1961 with democratic ideals inherited from their colonial fathers. The principles and practice of separation of powers and the rule of law which is fundamental to the survival of democracy, was observed by the infant democracy. The people choose their leaders freely and fairly as evidenced by the victory of the opposition party in the first post-independence elections in 1967.

Corruption and other forms of bad governance were hardly heard of.

However, the situation started changing when in 1968; the new government assumed office and initiated rapid transformation of the country into a single party state. With the other political parties formally rendered dysfunctional and illegal, the new ruling party practically eliminated opposition to its policies and became an unchallengeable monolith.

Under the single party administration, traditional democratic institutions collapsed. In particular the judiciary and Parliament became rubber-stampers of the policies of the executive. The most significant local governments, the district councils that formed the nucleus of participatory democracy and community development initiatives, were completely abandoned. The once revered traditional institutions of paramount chieftaincy was politicised and eroded of its dignity.

City/Town councils were reduced to mere management committees appointed by the government of the day. Majority of the appointees to these committees are either party thugs or stalwarts. The military, the police and the civil service were all politicised as political patronage determined recruitment and promotions in these institutions. The consequences of these were an inefficient and corrupt civil service, unproductive force and a military people never trusted.

Thus the single party system over-centralised governance and deprived the citizens of their right to choose their leaders freely. Corruption was institutionalised, maladministration of justice became so commonplace that the citizens lost confidence in the judiciary and the common law enforcement machinery, socio-economic facilities dwindled, social services degenerated and infrastructural development moved at an appallingly slow pace.

At the same time, the rural agricultural sector employing over 70% of the population was neglected. Rural production and incomes in turn dwindled and poverty increased dramatically. Consequently, life in the rural areas became unattractive to young people, setting the motion a mass exodus to urban and mining areas, creating a reservoir of unemployed youths and illegal diamond miners.

Similarly, the educational system could only cater for less than 50% of the children of school going-age; while young early school leavers had little or no vocational training facilities and graduates had few employment opportunities.

It is generally agreed that the civil conflict that had plagued the country with immeasurably catastrophic consequences for more than a whole decade now has been caused by this dismal socio-economic and political situation.

THE CIVIL WAR:

Sierra Leone has been eclipsed by one of the most horrific and brutal war of economic and social dislocation in recent history of mankind. The conflict fought for more than a decade has been characterised by a bewildering degree of cruelty, terrorism and inhumanity committed largely against an innocent civilian population. The degree of human degradation like rape, murder, forced labour and marriages, massive amputations and abductions have been unprecedented. The death toll has been estimated at about 300,000; the number of amputees over 6,000 (today we have a new generation of people without Limbs), and the number of children abducted was estimated up to 10,000, while 80% of the population was internally and externally displaced at one time or the other.

The economic and infrastructural destruction has been massive. It is estimated that in the countryside, over 2,000 villages, about 80% of schools, hospitals/health posts or centres and other public infrastructure have been destroyed, while water supply systems and power supply stations have simply been wiped off.

It is further estimated that, over 500 houses both public and private were burnt down in Freetown when the city was invaded by the rebels on the 6th.January 1999, leaving hundreds of thousands of citizens destitute and homeless.

Cash crop production ceased completely while food production declined to less than 20% of pre-war levels. The results of these are that, nation-wide malnutrition is estimated as high as 55 to 70 percent. The bulk of the population has been surviving on international relief which is now not forth-coming. People barely live on hand to mouth bases feeding on less than a dollar a day.

Diamond mining on the other hand has before the war controlled by Lebanese and other west African illicit miners that paid monies into the coffers of either the chiefs or the member of parliament representing that region or some senior government officials. During the war, these places were controlled by any of the warring factions with superior weaponry and support of some foreign governments.

Social and community disintegration has been dramatic, with the prevalence of child and adolescent fighters. It is estimated that 20% of the estimated 45,000 fighters are children between 9 and 16 years. Another estimate is that, over 40% of these fighters are below of 25, making them children and adolescent when the war started in 1991.

Youngsters as young as 9 years have been easily recruited after the loss of family members to war brutality, to avenge the violence or as a result of no perceived alternative to survive, while some have simply been abducted, trained and forced into combat. This militarization of the children has greatly accelerated the disintegration of the traditional family and community structures, including the traditional village-based economic and social "safety-nets", resulting in mounting domestic violence, anti-social behaviour, including crimes, drug abuse, youth prostitution and murder.

Sierra Leone has a pre-war population of 5 million inhabitants.

SOME RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE CIVIL AND POST-CONFLICT PERIOD:

Unlike the atrocities committed in the country side, the disastrous and bloody invasion of Freetown alerted the international community to this most brutal civil war in modern African history. Pressure was brought to bear on the rebels and the government to undertake serious negotiations to end the war. This automatically resulted to the Lome Peace Accord of July 1999.

In contrast to previous efforts in resolving the conflict, this accord was supported by the international community, which has committed itself to provide the necessary financial and technical support for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of combatants; with the presence of a United Nations Military team (UNAMSIL) to facilitate the process.

Despite the steps backward caused by the delay in the disbursement of resources, the commitment of the troops to the UNAMSIL forces and numerous violations of the agreements, the disarmament, demobilisation and encampment of combatants are in progress and people are developing confidence in the peace process.

An equally important factor is the disastrous incursion of rebels from Sierra Leone and Liberia into Guinea in September 2000. The subsequent widespread (national) hostility to refugees resulted in the destruction of several refugee camps and massive human rights abuses, including imprisonment, murder and rape of young girls. This in turn led to the large-scale self repatriation of refugees to Sierra Leone.

Consequently, hundreds of thousands of former refugees have returned and are currently living in worst conditions in their homes. Majority did not have access to any activity that will raise their level of earning. Others live in make-shift structures as a result of the inaccessibility to housing scheme.

Moreover, as a result of the ruthless pursuit by the Guinean troops, the rebels suffered massive atrocities. This weakened them and reduced their ability and resolve to fight. This more than their commitment to peace constitute the main reason for the disarmament in several parts of the Northern province of Sierra Leone. The successful disarmament of the combants and the pronouncement of the end of the war by the Head of State in 2002 were a mile stone for future prosperity and development for this impoverished nation.

Consequently, as a section of Sierra Leonean and the International community consider the crises to be over, it is important to bear in mind that by far the most critical factors remain the commitment of the fighters to the peace process and especially the rate at which alternative means of subsistence could be made available to them and the gigantic task of resettlement of millions of displaced citizens.

Further more, the district/ town councils that were suspended for more than two decades have been reactivated again by the government. This is because, the international community thought it wise for power to go back in the hands of the people and above all, this will enable the resources of the country to be shared equitably to all the regions.

Also, another good step and development that the government pursued is the Poverty Reduction Strategy Peper (PRSP).This paper contains two main ingredients;

To prepare a paper that will successfully enable the government to have access to loans from the International Community that will be interest free or even a grant and;
All loans or grants received from the international community should be implemented for the general well-being of the communities.

CONSEQUENCES:

As indicated above, the war in Sierra Leone is an unprecedented human disaster characterised by far reaching economic and social disintegration. In summary, we can cite the following among the multiple consequences:
Food scarcity, hunger and deprivation.
The widespread lack of shelter, healthcentres/posts, schools and other economic and social infrastructures.
Massive population displacements and considerable brain-drain, resulting from the exodus of educated and highly qualified Sierra Leonean.
A traumatised population resulting from the violence, loss of loved ones, loss of property, loss of dignity and self-respect as a result of rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and as victims of amputations and drug addiction.
The disintegration of social, family and community structures, leading to increase in anti-social behaviour, including drug abuse, rape, prostitution and domestic violence.
The militarization of children and youth (male and female) and the proliferation of arms.

GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS:

The country is divided into 4 regions and 12 districts.

PROVINCE / REGION PROVINCIAL HEADQUARTER TOWN

Northern Province MAKENI
Eastern Province KENEMA
Southern Province BO
Western Area FREETOWN.

* note that there are 3 provinces and the Freetown Urban and Rural district is the western area. This is because, during the colonial era, Freetown was the colony (under direct colonial rule) whiles the 3 provinces were the protectorate under the rule of the natives or indigenes.

PROVINCE AND NAMES OF DISTRICTS:

1. Northern Province Head Quarter Town

Bombali Makeni
Kambia Kambia
Koinadugu Kabala
Port Loko Port Loko
Tonkolili Tonkolili

2. Eastern province

Kailahun Kailahun
Kenema Kenema
Kono Sefadu

3. Southern province

Bo Bo
Bonthe Bonthe Sherbro
Moyamba Moyamba
Pujehun Pujehun

4. Western Area

Freetown and the peninsular district

CHIEFDOM

The districts are divided into chiefdoms with the exception of the western area. The chiefdom is the smallest administrative unit recognised by the central Government. It is an area usually occupied by a district ethnic group, recognised as the traditional owners of that area. Other ethnic groups may and do settle there and consider it their natural home, but the ownership of a particular ethnic group and in few cases a combination of particular ethnic group(s) is recognised, traditionally and by common law. The whole country is divided into 147 Chiefdoms and each chiefdom is governed by a Paramount Chief and a council of elders selected from important families, often related to the ruling houses or class.

THE DISTRICT

Administratively, the district is the second largest portion after the chiefdom. The district is administered by district council representatives (counsellors) who are directly elected by their people. The council is a local government representing the central government at district level. The head of the district council is the Chairman of the council. Representation in this council varies according to the size and population of a particular district.

THE PROVINCE

The province is the largest portion in the country. As indicated above, the province is divided into districts. Politically, the province is headed by a Minister of State and at administrative level; it is headed by a Provincial Secretary (PS) who handles all administrative activities of the districts including the chiefdoms.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF KAMBIA DISTRICT:

The district is located in the north west of Sierra Leone, along the border with the Forecariah prefecture in the Republic of Guinea (Conakry). Kambia district is the smallest of the 12 districts of the country.

Administratively, the district is divided into 7 Chiefdoms namely, Bramaia, Gbinleh- Dixing, Magbema, Mambolo, Masungbola, Samu and Tonko-Limba. A Paramount Chief and a council of Tribal Authorities govern each of these Chiefdoms.

The central government is represented by a District Council Chairman and elected District Council. These institutions were destroyed during the civil conflict and are now being rehabilitated.

The district had a pre-war population of about 400,000 inhabitants with the Temnes constitute about 40%, followed by the Soso 28%,the Limba 21% and the rest consists of other ethnic groups like the Fullahs, the Madingoes and others.

The largest town and district headquarter is Kambia town, with an estimated pre-war population of about 35,000 together with its surrounding villages. Other larger towns are Rokupr, Mambolo,Madina,Kukuna,Kasirie, Kychom, Kamassassa and Tombowala with population varying from 8,000 to 26,000.These towns with the exception of Madina and Kamassassa are all located along the great Scarcies river that provides an important (Trade) route to Guinea, Freetown in canoes and boats.

All the chiefdoms had medical centres or posts with the only referral hospital located in Kambia town, the district headquarter town. There are less transport facilities in almost all these places to the headquarter town. This made it possible for the highest number of death rate especially infant and maternal mortality in Kambia than all other districts in the country. There are 13 secondary schools in the district, located in KAMBIA town, Rokupr, Kasirie, Kychom, Mambolo, Tombowala, Madina, Kamassassa and Kukuna; three of the 13 of the secondary schools together with the hospital were all burnt down in February 1999 during the intensive fighting in the district, while the remaining 10 were systematically vandalised to an extent of completely ruining them.

As the district was hit later by the war than most other areas of Sierra Leone, it hosted a huge number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) until September 1998 when it sustained a heavy rebel attack by the RUF rebel fighters. Much of the population, together with over 40,000 IDPs who had sought refuge in the district fled to neighbouring Guinea. The inhabitants of this district constitute the majority of the refugees in the Forecariah prefecture (District).

Agriculture and Ecological aspect:

The district is considered as the main rice bowl of Sierra Leone. It has an agricultural zone per excellence with large swamp areas found in every chiefdom, but more in the south-west, dominated by mangroves and large river estuaries and escalves.The rest of the vegetation consists of a mix between forest to the south and grassland or savannah to the north east; with annual rainfall above 2,500mm.The district has an impressive potential for both upland, inland valley swamp and mangrove swamp farming system.

The population is mainly farmers, practicing off-season activities such as gardening, hunting and as migrant labour. The major food crops grown by the people is mainly, rice (the staple food), cassava, millet, sweet potatoes and sorghum while groundnuts and maize constitute the major cash crops.

In addition to farming, fishing along the many river estuaries and streams is practiced by a large proportion of the population of the district. Fishing is an important source of income for the district, as traders come from other areas on both sides of the border to the fishing Islands and enclaves. This sector more than any other, demonstrates the division of labour between men and women in the community. While the men are the fishers, the fish trade is completely dominated by the women.

Animal rising of small ruminants practiced on small-scale units has declined in the face of systematic sales in order to compensate for the chronic fall in agricultural production and the subsequent rural poverty.

Cattle rearing by groups of resident Fullahs in the North-east of the district have similarly disappeared as they have migrated to Guinea, due to the protracted civil war. An FAO report in 1996 stated that 40% of Sierra Leonean livestock was now in Guinea.

Trade:

Outside agriculture, commerce is probably the most important source of income for the population. In addition to domestic trade, cross-border trade expanded to all the different chiefdoms in the district. This is due mainly to the grow Outside agriculture; commerce is probably the most important source of the traditional weekly market villages known as the "LOUMAH" along the border. Although disrupted during the war, these weekly markets have resumed and increased in number from 5 in the pre-war period to 15, with traders coming from various parts of both countries, from as far as Conakry, Nzerekore, Macenta and Faranah in Guinea and from provincial Headquarter towns of Bo, Kenema, Kono,Makeni and the capital city of Freetown, giving these village markets a true international character. The products offered are mainly agricultural and food products, clothes and some imported consumer goods.

Like other commercial activities, women traders from both sides of the border were the principal actors in such markets, travelling from one town and village to the other. However men are increasingly participating in commerce and here also, a pattern of division of labour between sexes could be observed as the women trade mainly in agricultural products and processed food items while the men are mainly in imported consumer goods.

Problems of the district:

Kambia district was the last to experience the civil war, with the first wave of attacks by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in January 1995 and later in 1998. Finally, in February 1999, the rebels occupied all the major towns in the district including the headquarter town of Kambia until disarmament in May 2001. It is also here that the reintegration efforts have been less successful and have fallen victim to donor fatigue.

In the early phase of the war, this border district functioned as host for a large number of internally displaced persons and transit zones for refugees. Later in the war, it became an operational zone and no-man’s land for fighters of various factions. During the last year of the war and the disarmament period, it became the station for thousands of International peacekeeping forces (ECOMOG and UNAMSIL). Similarly the neighbouring district of Forecariah has been host to over 210,000 officially registered refugees (residing in 10 camps) during the civil conflict. Over 60% of these refugees originated from the Kambia district. It is estimated that more than 90% of them have now returned to their various communities in the district.

Secondly, in addition to the domestic war, most of the heavy fighting between the Guinean troops and the rebels to dislodge the invading rebel forces from Guinea occurred in the district. As a result, the district suffered one of the highest rates of population displacement and possibly the worst infrastructure destruction.

It is also significant to note that, the rebel invasion of Kambia town in 1995 was one of the first occasions in which children were abducted in large numbers since all the schools were in session when the town was invaded. Most of these children are now young adults and have returned to the community without passing through any formal demobilisation process and with very little resettlement and social reintegration support.

A major consideration is that the large majority of these young people are unemployed. A small proportion of them survive on occasional casual labour opportunities as porters, cleaners and dancers. But by far their most important sources of survival are the smuggling of goods, mostly drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and light arms across the border, juvenile delinquencies, and as sex workers and concubines of the large number of national armies, peace-keeping forces, Para-militaries and long distance travellers.

Since the end of the war in both countries early 2002, the district has witnessed regular and large-scale movements of people across the border. The reasons include the return of thousands of refugees and visits by relatives. But by far the most important factor is the rapid revival of the cross-border trade in the traditional weekly market towns and villages on both sides of the border. These markets, traditionally known as ‘Loumah’ have increased from 5 in the pre-war period to 15. Moreover, they now attract thousands of traders and other visitors from large and far-off towns including the capital cities (Freetown and Conakry) and mining areas of both countries.

In addition to the Loumah towns and villages, the district also has several large towns such as Rokupr, Mambolo, Kasseri, Kukuna, Kamassassa, kychom and Yeliboya that are famous for their trade in fish and agricultural produce such as rice, groundnuts, palmoil and pepper and as ports for inland water transportation to destinations in both Guinea and the rest of Sierra Leone, including the capitals of Freetown and Conakry. These factors have encouraged a relatively large concentration of young people in these towns.

Discussions with members of the community indicated that in addition to the consequences of the civil war, a major problem is the insufficient support for food production. Food scarcity is widespread and is one of the reasons for an increase in the number of street children, since few families could afford sufficient food.

The current low levels of agricultural production and poor harvest of rice (the staple food) and groundnuts (the most important commercial crop for the district) are bound to reduce income even further and exacerbate the food problem. Similarly, support for income generation activities and (self) employment opportunities are lacking, leaving members of the community especially young people with little alternative means of subsistence.

Young people and children interviewed repeatedly indicated the lack of activities focussing on the youth such as insufficient schooling and vocational training facilities, sports and other social activities. They further emphasised the following:

Trauma and depression resulting from the experience of the war.
Community hostility, rejection, lack of parental care and normal patterns of socialisation.
Unawareness of the disease (HIV/AIDS), its causes, modes of transmission and method of prevention.
The difficulty in gaining access to condoms, the community's perception of sex and the tradition of shame and taboo to discuss such issues.
Lack of access to agricultural seed input and means of transportation of produce to the market.
Lack of financial loan to cope with their agricultural activities.

The above problems have either led to or accelerated the following:

Exposure to drugs, alcohol and sex at an early age.
Increased prostitution as a means of survival.
A large number of pregnancies and unwanted children.
Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmissible disease (STDS).
Increase in sexually and gender-based violence.
Large number of school drop outs and no means for vocational / technical training facilities.

NOTE:

During our meeting, all what we plan to undertake will be discussed indepth and see how we can reach a solution.

Facts

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sl.html

Embassy

http://www.slhc-uk.org.uk

SL Embassy in UK
Sierra Leone High Commission
Oxford Circus House
245 Oxford Street
London
W1D 2LX

SHADE