The Sierra Leonean parliament voted on Friday to abolish the death penalty, barely two days after the presentation of a bill on gender equality. An operation to seduce international bodies?
Since the start of Julius Maada Bio's tenure, Sierra Leone has been rocked by numerous corruption scandals. The media have alternately accused the First Lady and at least seven ministers of embezzlement of public funds. Cases that have penalized the State, depending on international aid. Since these cases, the foreign donations, especially American, initially decreased, before being stopped. A hard blow for Sierra Leone, in the midst of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sierra Leonean finances at their lowest, the Maada Bio administration has been struggling since 2019. But the government has decided to spend the second.
Read: In Sierra Leone, corruption on all levels?
The idea of the government, therefore, in order to put an end to the bad publicity caused by the cases of embezzlement is to concentrate on a series of social reforms on themes which, clearly, appeal to the international community. Beyond the secession of the fish market to Chinese investors and the attempt to manage - mitigated - natural disasters, the president currently has nothing to eat. Sierra Leone needs funding. However, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Before garnering new aid, the country had to regain a virginity in the international media, which have not been kind in recent months.
Sierra Leone is a beautiful, resilient and clean country. Freetown, the capital, built on hills bordering the Atlantic, is surrounded by inlets that form lagoons with beautiful beaches. The main roads of the country are asphalted and well maintained. A great job!
- Bah Oury (@bahourykigna) July 19, 2021
Without social gains, no foreign funding
A communication operation that has borne fruit: the major social reforms decided by the Sierra Leonean president have completely erased the bad reputation of the administration of Julius Maada Bio. Whether it be the women's empowerment bill ou the motion voted yesterday to end the death penalty, Sierra Leone would have become a model of progressivism.
It remains to be seen whether the IMF, the World Bank or African authorities will be sensitive to this new image of Sierra Leone. For several decades, despite an almost permanent United Nations presence in the country, international donors have been reluctant to support the government. "State projects have never gone beyond the technical aspects of poverty reduction and institution building", International Crisis Group (ICG) already said in 2008.
However, social gains are used a lot by government aid agencies to justify investments in Africa in general.
Sierra Leone staunchly supports institutional reforms of ECOWAS Commission - says president Bio https://t.co/0UKwuQcuwL
- ABDUL RASHID THOMAS (@ARASHIDTHOMAS) June 19, 2021
To please the United States
Sierra Leone's geographic position and socio-ethnic makeup is remarkable: the country sits halfway between conservative countries in the north, such as Senegal, Mali and the two Guinees, and more progressive countries, such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and neighboring Liberia. What is striking is that before this series of laws, the Western powers were hardly interested in the political and diplomatic development of Sierra Leone.
In Africa, thehe United States is exerting quiet pressure on Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia. Sierra Leone is also in the sights of the White House. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) can easily take advantage of the UN presence in the country. USAID suspended aid for fifteen months. But the votes of progressive laws could allow Sierra Leone to find a prominent place on the chessboard of American diplomacy in Africa.
His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has engaged the Sierra Leone – European Union Political Dialogue at the Credential Room, bringing together senior government officials and the European Union family.#Nigeria #Sierra Leone#USA pic.twitter.com/k5BORLxrVi
- Shout Climate Change Africa (SCCA). (@scca_official) July 20, 2021