Now in the first year of his second tenure as the democratically elected leader of Sierra Leone, President Julius Maada Bio has been in the control room of the political economy for six uninterrupted years. But he can claim a whopping 27 years worth of experience in the country’s affairs. That far back, as head of a military junta that ran the country for a three-month stint, he impressed the world by organizing an election that returned the country to democracy. President Bio has always had the stirrings of a democrat and the rule of law in his heart.
A democrat and development buff to boot, President Bio regrets the return to the bad old days of military coups and the undermining of democratic rule in the West African sub-region. He wants African leaders to spend more time on development issues rather than divisive, domestic politics. A multi-degree holder himself, he believes better, quality education would help to equip the people with the virtues of representative democracy. He demonstrates this through passion for education, which incidentally has remained one of the priority areas in the ambitious National Development Plan since he took the reins of power in 2018.
The president’s candid remarks in this interface with the editorial team of THE AFRICAN ECONOMY take us through the challenges his administration has had to surmount to focus on education without diminishing attention on the Big Five Game Changers whose goals are food security, human capital development, youth employment, infrastructure upgrade and public service spruce up. This exclusive interview reflects vintage President Maada Bio and his burning passion for his country.
Your Excellency, 27 years ago, as a military Head of State, you organised Sierra Leone’s first democratic election after a 30-year hiatus. Today, you are in the saddle. How has the political process deepened the democratic culture in Sierra Leone? Do you think that democracy has come to stay?
It has come to stay. After I handed over power in 1996, there was another coup a year later in May 1997, which encouraged ECOMOG’s military intervention in overthrowing the military government. What we did was not just to conduct an election; we genuinely built the pillars that would deepen democracy. I had travelled to Ghana and J.J. Rawlings had just transitioned. We looked at their model and the various institutional arrangements that had been made to support the transition. We took their blueprint and brought it over, adapting what they had to fit our situation. So, we had the institutional support for the fledgling democracy that we established in 1996, which was anchored on various institutions that the military was unable to dismantle when it decided to take over.
Nearly 27 years later, as you mentioned, since we came, we have strengthened the democratic ethos. We don’t just have representative democracy, we also have liberal democracy. We have brought freedom and rights home so that our people can express themselves freely. About five years ago, we had a seditious libel law that tightly controlled the press, and the death penalty, which cowed many politicians in the country. However, we have removed all of those and numerous other institutional arrangements to give the necessary freedom to the people, including women. They are now free to engage fully in politics because of the advances we have made on that front. Thus, it encompasses not only representative government but also associated liberal programmes and freedoms. Because of this, we believe that democracy has come to stay and the foundations we have established will endure.
Analysts say that the absence of a two-thirds majority in Sierra Leone’s Parliament is a tricky situation. You have stated that the situation encourages constant engagement for a more harmonious, stable, and prosperous Sierra Leone. How far have you succeeded in this direction?
It is a process. Some democracies have lasted for two to three hundred years; ours is only a few years in the making. However, we are looking at the good aspects and what will make it last. Our situation encourages dialogue. We must recognise that, despite going through the democratic process every few years, we are a nation. We, the people of Sierra Leone, are the ones who will make it happen. There are numerous other things as well. We have our own traditions and culture, which we are infusing into our body politic to strengthen our democracy. We have maintained healthy dialogue among key stakeholders in our political space so that when we have difficult situations, we can resolve them amicably. In addition to other institutions, we have set up a body—the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion—to ensure there will be unity, peace, development, and prosperity in our country. The suggestion to establish such a body in order to preserve peace and harmony within our country stemmed from the conflict. Because of our ability to put those together, we are able to preserve our democracy.
In this process, has there been any way to engage the opposition?
We engage in the parliament. A tripartite committee was recently established to review the country’s electoral systems. We engage with the opposition, the international community, civil society, the United Nations, and other interested parties. Beyond the statutory institutions like the parliament, as I mentioned earlier, we interact with the opposition in several spheres—informally, formally, and in other fora that we have established—to promote effective dialogue and interaction that is constructive for our nation. So, we have different means and fora where we engage them.
Five years ago, you pledged to transform Sierra Leone by addressing critical challenges and promoting social development through what you termed the New Direction manifesto. To what extent would you say your expectations have been achieved?
Development, like democracy, is a process. Five years is a very short time to accomplish entirely what you want to do. However, in the last five years, we have laid a solid foundation and achieved results that are irreversible, which will help any future administration to succeed. The New Direction I took, which was a departure from what we had always practised in this country, accords a lot of emphasis on harnessing and developing our natural resources to support growth. I then shifted away from that, and prioritized the development of human capital. Indeed, it is crucial to enhance human capital to promote growth and development. Our significance as humans surpasses that of the diamond, gold, rutile, iron ore, bauxite, and numerous other material resources that we have. For me, as precious as they are, I consider humans to be the most valuable resource. So, we decided that the best way to develop the people is through education. That was why we introduced free, quality education. The New Direction’s flagship programme is education because investing in food security, health care, and education is the only thing that can make a human being worthy of living well in the 21st-century.Education is the most formidable foundation for any human being, which may propel our people to reach their full potential in life.
Since education is undoubtedly expensive and a large portion of the population is challenged financially, and thus cannot afford to send their kids to school, we decided to make it free. For this reason, primary and secondary education is free for everyone across the nation. That is very expensive, and many thought we would not achieve it because we inherited empty coffers. And financing the education of three to four million children definitely presents a significant challenge for us. Nevertheless, despite COVID, the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and other external and internal obstacles, we were steadfast in our match towards making sure that every child has access to free and quality education. We kept our focus on making sure that nothing derails us on this track of education.
Our efforts are being acknowledged globally. The UN Security Council recognised us. I was part of the high-level steering committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). I am a champion of universal access to basic education. In addition to learning outcomes, we have greatly improved both the quantity and the calibre of students transitioning from secondary schools to universities in Sierra Leone.
Looking at your programme, your transformation agenda generally, which is encapsulated in the New Direction manifesto, in concrete terms, what do you want to achieve?
It is a departure from the old ways of doing things. We decided to innovate around the same perennial challenges that have kept us down and to be able to achieve new results that can change the fate of the country. Our challenges are essentially the same. We have been grumbling about unbridled corruption, which is why we had to take strong action against it. Importantly, we have risen more than 21 spots on the global corruption index.
So, it is just changing our ways of behaving and innovating around the whole problem to be able to achieve better results. My focus is on education because I firmly think that you cannot start a development process in a nation when three out of every five adults cannot read or write. As tough and costly as it is, I did say that I have to go back and construct the foundation, which is the human capital, since it is the means to grow a country. I am passionate about education.
Your Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024-2030 has been described by some as one of the most ambitious and visionary programmes on the continent. How feasible is the attainment of its goals in the face of some challenges you have to grapple with?
The challenges are unavoidable. We are not cowed by the challenges we face. We have to be ambitious as a people. As an administration, we need to be ambitious without looking for excuses. We have to take on the challenges, surmount them, and deliver for our people’s needs. If we just look at the enormity of the challenges ahead of us in a world that is completely in the grip of geopolitical tensions and economic crises, and all of these things, we will never be ambitious in our planning or succeed in achieving the transformative goals we have set for Sierra Leone in our new National Development Plan.
In concrete terms, what are the major development challenges facing Sierra Leone, and what kind of support do you expect from the international community?
One of the reasons we took on the education challenge is because of the severe capacity shortages that exist at all levels as a result of years of educational neglect. Consequently, we don’t always have access to the necessary technical expertise and support. And, of course, with the decadence and unchecked corruption, we had a situation where you don’t have the people to do what you want to do. You can only achieve very little without people with technical expertise and capacity in the institutions at various sectors to provide service delivery at those levels. It is not just about technical capacity but also ethics. We owe the people because we made these promises, and then I have to use the engine of the public service to deliver. That has proven to be a big challenge. People will often focus on the financial aspect because it is necessary for all of these reforms and some of the major things we want to do, which is why we have mobilised domestic resources. It has never been sufficient. However, we have been able to build enough confidence with the IMF.
When we took over the reins of leadership, the IMF had already left Sierra Leone, and we had no programme. However, within seven months, we were able to gain their confidence, and they returned. We have been able to work with them ever since as a result. Our most recent programme just concluded, and the next is now being planned. Thus, in addition to issues with technical proficiency and corruption, we have also faced difficulties obtaining the necessary funding for our development initiatives. For example, when we made education free, a huge number of families enrolled their children in school, overwhelming the number of classrooms that could accommodate them. We thus needed to employ more teachers and construct more classrooms.
Overall, you seem to be very passionate about education. Why is this so?
You are very correct. Education is my passion. It is the key to our present and the future. When I said in 2018 that I would restore free quality education, many people, including our development partners, laughed and said it was impossible. But after I launched it and they saw the momentum and determination with which I was pursuing this very laudable venture, we were able to get support from the international community.
We also received support from our people after explaining to them that we cannot escape poverty in the 21st century unless we have access to a high-quality education. So, many people came on board. Even during my last campaign in the smallest of our communities, people would come out and praise me for providing free quality education, free school meals, core texts, teacher training materials, and transportation in some cities.
So, when I mentioned free quality education in my New Direction manifesto, I actually meant free access to education. But once I made free education available, I found that some individuals may still go to school hungry, and as a result, they were unable to learn. So, we implemented the free school meal plan. And then kids go to school, but they don’t have textbooks at home or in school, and the teachers don’t have basic teaching materials, so we had to bring in a lot of unexpected stuff.
What is your perspective on domestic politics in terms of development?
I believe that the nature of our domestic politics presents additional challenge to development. We spend too much time discussing politics rather than development, which should be our main focus because we are lagging behind. We should talk more about how our country is evolving from the perspectives of all political parties, including the opposition and the ruling administration. But we seldom do because we are distracted. For instance, we had the election over a year ago, and the opposition has refused to accept the outcome from the electoral commission. Additionally, the electoral commission says that no protocols have been altered and that the same rules, procedures, and processes were followed to designate the same opposition winners for two terms in a row. Now, the opposition has rejected the procedures and processes. We have reviewed each one of them. We believe in dialogue. We don’t want to be distracted. We have been engaged with development projects like the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024–2030. Conversely, we had to engage them to tell us what it is, but they haven’t produced any meaningful information and have any data.
In fact, the opposition is supposed to go to court if they are unhappy. That was what I did when they declared I lost in 2012. As a law-abiding citizen, I truly and genuinely believe in the development of this country. When the nationally mandated institution declared the result, I contested it by going to court. But now they refused to go to the court because they don’t have any data to substantiate their outlandish claims.
These are some of the challenges. As we address these challenges, we are attempting to foster an environment that encourages significant investment. Our people don’t have enough jobs to go around. It’s incredibly small. We are creating space for the private sector to thrive, succeed, and grow. By so doing, the economy would employ more young people.
But in the midst of this, are there positive partners?
Well, there can be positive partners if they don’t back the wrong horse. Within five years, despite challenges, we were able to establish a government that won the compact. Our predecessors, for the 11 years they were in power, had a best score of 49% on MCC’s control of corruption indicator. We have reached 83%, and I believe that the international community should be able to assist a government that can accomplish such a feat even in the face of all the obstacles. This is a reason for the lack of tranquilly in our sub-region.
Considering the unconstitutional changes and economic challenges we are facing, we, who have managed to stay and navigate these challenges to maintain significant stability should be given special preference and support to strengthen weak and vulnerable state institutions. This is lacking. Look at how West Africa is becoming increasingly independent of the West. It is due to their foreign policy stance.
Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, what strategies did you deploy to lessen the negative effects of these crises on Sierra Leoneans?
We had a quick action economic plan to deal with the negative impact on the economy. We were able to develop a fund to help certain health institutions and a host of sectors, like tourism, in managing the issues they faced at the time. But the most important thing was to deal with the health challenges because it was about lives and livelihoods. We had to save lives; we had to stop the menace of COVID-19. Keep in mind that we had just come out of Ebola a few years ago, which was very devastating for our country.
Nearly 4,000 people died in this country alone from Ebola. Due to COVID’s epidemiology, which was very similar to Ebola, we have vestiges of Ebola’s institutions and architecture. By the time of our index case, we had closed the borders and fought off COVID-19 very effectively. So, we did not have up to 200 deaths. For the most part, we were free of the disease. We were gripped by fear, and the rest of the world was closed to us. We had just been in office for a year and a half, and we were ready to settle down and start doing a lot of things when the COVID-19 epidemic happened. That is why when we talk about what we achieved in the first term, it should be viewed against the backdrop of heavy challenges and headwinds we faced. We inherited nothing in the coffers, and when we started what I have called an ambitious plan—quite properly, as I have made my government ambitious—we had the COVID-19 outbreak, which caused the world to shut down for almost three and a half years. Subsequently, the conflict in Ukraine and disturbances in the supply chain ensued. And in spite of the lasting effects of all of these in just five short years, we have accomplished great progress that has won the respect of both our people and the international community.
How would you react to recent instances of military intervention in the democratic process in some West African countries?
First and foremost, I believe that few of us in the West African sub-region are still there as a result of stringent democratic processes. We must remain strong. We must be protected so that we do not fall prey to the gimmicks that emerge when a state feels vulnerable. I can vouch for some of my colleagues who say they are doing so to protect the state.
The West is not ready to come. So, we will go somewhere else. I am not sure if what they are bringing to the table is enough to protect me, but they say a drowning man can even grab on to a broom straw. So, they should protect and help us in various ways. They should support us to strengthen and deepen our democratic institutions.
Our economy can be supported so that we have the basics of life. When our people realise that democracy has worked for them, they will support it. Nevertheless, if we, the democratically elected, are unable to deliver the dividends of democracy, the military will say, “Oh, we are better.” In Burkina Faso, they said they were taking over because Campaore was unable to defend them, yet they were also unable to protect their own country. And now all of those states say they want to declare and move somewhere, but I’m not sure where. So, we have those types of states.
We have other governments with too young or too old leadership and no visionaries. So, looking at the length and breadth, it’s extremely frightening. I believe that the West should make a concerted effort to support the states that are still hanging in there, if that phrase is fair, so that they may feel confident in carrying out their people’s mandate. We believe that Africa has not been treated fairly. So, we want to bring that issue straight to their doorstep and see how they react. We should not limit it to the UN General Assembly where we make these announcements. We will now take it to the UN Security Council floor.
Finally, looking at the general development issues in Sierra Leone, you have talked about the domestic political challenges and the not-straight body language of the international community; let me put it that way. You also have this lofty idea that by 2039, that is, 15 years from now, Sierra Leone aspires to be a middle-income nation. In the face of a lack of technical capacity and dwindling resources, how achievable do you think that will be?
Sincerely, I believe that our aspiration to make Sierra Leone a middle-income country by 2039 is achievable. We do not want to be a begging country all the time. We want to improve the living conditions of our people. And I believe I will be able to inspire my fellow Sierra Leoneans because we were the first to embrace the goal of being a middle-income country by 2039.
First, we have to believe that we can do it and then strive towards it. This will persuade the entire world—the international community—to support us. In this view, we acknowledge the interconnection of our global fate. As intimidating as it may appear, our task cannot be accomplished in isolation. It necessitates collaborative efforts, mutual trust, and a resurgence of global solidarity.
Of course, the financial sector must be vibrant, responsive to people’s needs, and offer affordable access to finance. I am talking about entrepreneurship. These young people with great ideas don’t have money. They should be able to access the capital market and obtain affordable cash with which to develop and repay debt while also expanding.
I believe strongly that effective implementation of our new National Development Plan will propel Sierra Leone towards our middle-income aspiration by 2039. We are working hard towards it.