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Nine women are joining ONE this week on a listening and learning tour through Ghana and Sierra Leone. Yvonne Chaka Chaka reports back:
 The delegation that I have the pleasure of being a part of arrived in Sierra Leone last night to continue our Africa tour. This morning, we were joined at breakfast by officials from the United States Embassy and the Sierra Leonian Anti-Corruption Commission for a thorough briefing on the political, social and economic conditions prevailing in Sierra Leone. The first image that comes to one’s mind when you think of this beautiful country is probably out of the movie, Blood Diamonds, which depicted the civil war that was fueled by illicit diamond trading and resulted in the loss of so many lives. But in this now peaceful nation, we were told today that the population, after having suffered so much, no longer wants war and really just wants to move forward. But because jobs don’t exist, peace is fragile and external shocks like a refugee situation from neighboring countries could quickly plunge this country back into crisis.
In order to build on what has been achieved so far, governance structures are being put in place to ensure that gains achieved are entrenched. The Anti-Corruption Commission has been empowered to arrest and prosecute cases of governance abuses and they have already put away a few Ministers and the Head of the Revenue Commission. The President and the government need to be congratulated for successfully bringing to justice many of the leaders responsible for corruption. Sierra Leone is an example to the rest of the world of what can be achieved by good government and strong political will.
But serious challenges remain. For example, the fisheries industry in Sierra Leone is being devastated by illegal trawlers from China, South Korea and Spain! The long-term impact of their illegal trawling could be the destruction of the artisanal fisheries sector which could lead to a food insecurity issues as well as increased unemployment. This is what happened in Somalia where former fishermen turned to piracy in the absence of a means to maintain a livelihood.
Sierra Leone is also used as a transit point for smuggling illegal drugs to Europe and the United States and the drug routes are also being traced to Sahelian countries where the proceeds can go on to support many illicit activities.. Civil society must be strengthened, educated and supported so that they can come out and challenge corrupt practices wherever they exist.
Our group also had a great meeting with Sierra Leone’s resident, Ernest Koroma, who told us about his country’s strategic priorities focused around building basic infrastructure and creating an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish. I am also delighted, as a Global Health Advocate, that the President has approved the removal of maternal and child health-related user fees which will now make their access to healthcare free. This is wonderful and the donors need to support the implementation of this great initiative so that the resources will be there to support.
To better understand the policies that have been put in place to support the private sector, we went on to the Ministry of Extractive Industries to meet with the man at the helm of the country’s most important foreign exchange earning sector. Sierra Leone has so many minerals but just has not had the prevailing conditions for managing their resources efficiently. You have to be certified to operate in the extractive industry in Sierra Leone and the Ministry polices the industry to ensure compliance. There is now a legal framework in place to ensure the equitable distribution of revenue generated from minerals. The government is also mandating special attention to the communities where the minerals are found by building in strong rehabilitation requirements into the new mining contracts.
As an Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) candidate country, Sierra Leone has incorporated the transparency recommendations into the country laws and they now publicly disclose receipts from their revenue proceeds. The new law also requires the mining companies to negotiate socially responsible projects with the communities they operate in before their license is approved. As you can probably imagine, the Ministry is under capacitated but doing their best. Diamond fields spread over a 20,000km area, almost over the entire country. There is 570km of coastline to protect from diamond and gold smuggling and borders with Liberia and Guinea are long and porous. But I am proud to say I noted the government’s commitment to progress in our interactions today and with the support of the international community they can do so much more.
In April of 2009, a group of jewelers were caught trying to smuggle 28 uncertified Sierra Leonian diamonds, with an average weight of about 40 carats each, into New York. They were seized at JFK airport but have yet to be returned to Sierra Leone. The United States government is doing their part to ensure that illegal diamonds do not enter their country and I applaud their action and encourage all other concerned countries to abide by these principles. Thanks to the Kimberley process, Sierra Leone’s wealth can be protected and will not continue to be taken away from its people. Sierra Leone has made huge progress in providing better healthcare and improved governance which is making life better for its people. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and my group of girls will do all we can to support Sierra Leone’s best efforts to lift their country out of poverty and secure economic opportunities for all.
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