By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
In 2018, riding a wave of public frustration, Julius Maada Bio and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) pledged a decisive break from the corruption, impunity, and donor dependency that had come to define the All People’s Congress (APC) era. Promising a “New Direction,” Bio styled himself as a reformer — a moral alternative to the kleptocracy of Ernest Bai Koroma’s administration. Seven years later, that promise lies in ruins.
Rather than dismantle the elite networks and foreign dependencies that had long hollowed out the state, Bio’s government has entrenched them. What emerges from his Presidency is not a narrative of reform, but of betrayal — a betrayal perpetuated not only by domestic political elites, but also by international donors and neocolonial actors who thrive on the illusion of change.
THE FALL OF THE APC: WHEN RHETORIC COLLIDED WITH REALITY
Between 2007 and 2018, Sierra Leone under President Ernest Bai Koroma sank deeper into systemic inequality and donor dependency. The administration embraced the language of reform but delivered:
The mismanagement of over Le14 billion in Ebola relief funds, as reported in the 2015 Auditor General’s report.
Questionable energy deals, notably the Karpowership agreement, which provided short-term electricity at an unsustainable long-term cost. Youth unemployment soaring above 60% in urban areas, according to the ILO. An external debt load that nearly doubled to $2 billion by 2017. Offshore tax avoidance by government officials, as revealed in the Panama Papers.
Disillusionment ran deep. For many voters, the SLPP offered less an ideological alternative than a vessel for protest — a hope that politics might, finally, serve the public good.
THE SLPP’S ‘NEW DIRECTION’: ILLUSION OVER INTEGRITY
Upon taking office, Bio moved quickly to cast his administration as a corrective to APC misrule. But beneath the surface, the same patterns of opacity, elite enrichment, and foreign capitulation persisted — in some cases, even intensified.
Among the more glaring failures:
A $217 million loan for the controversial Lungi airport project was secured from Turkey’s Summa Group with no Parliamentary approval or public consultation.
The adoption of IMF-backed austerity measures led to wage caps and cuts in health, education, and social services.
By 2023, Sierra Leone ranked 112th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index — a damning indictment of agricultural neglect.
Civil liberties eroded, with violent crackdowns on protests in Makeni and Freetown, and a drop to 76th in the global press freedom rankings.
Chronic underfunding of basic services triggered recurrent strikes by teachers and nurses, while medical supplies remained scarce and salaries went unpaid.
In rhetoric, the SLPP decried its predecessors. In reality, it mirrored them — proving that continuity, not change, was the order of the day.
AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH: THE STATESMAN WHO DEFIED DEPENDENCY
To fully understand this betrayal, it is worth contrasting Bio’s duplicity — and Koroma’s decay — with the principled leadership of the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
Kabbah governed in a vastly more difficult era: a nation emerging from brutal civil war, grappling with deep structural poverty, and under immense international pressure. Yet he chose a path few dared to take — one that prioritised sovereignty, institution-building, and multilateral diplomacy over the short-term seductions of foreign control.
During his tenure (1996–2007), Kabbah:
Rejected exploitative contracts from Western-backed firms seeking to strip Sierra Leone’s mineral wealth without accountability. Fostered bilateral ties with non-aligned states — including Iran — that respected Sierra Leone’s right to self-determination. Strengthened domestic institutions such as the National Revenue Authority, Anti-Corruption Commission, and judiciary — key pillars of a recovering democratic state. Stabilised the macroeconomic environment, achieving single-digit inflation and consistent GDP growth.
His defiance did not go unnoticed. Western interests — unsettled by his refusal to capitulate — mobilised an array of tools to undermine him: international NGOs, donor-funded civil society groups, and even local musicians were enlisted in a campaign to paint his administration as corrupt. Yet the accusations lacked the gravity or evidence later associated with the regimes that followed.
In his 2007 handover notes, Kabbah warned explicitly against surrendering Sierra Leone’s governance to foreign manipulation. Those warnings were ignored. His legacy was undermined — and ultimately buried beneath donor-engineered narratives.
THE EBOLA CRISIS: A MASTERCLASS IN DISTRACTION
In 2015, still in opposition, Bio authored a widely circulated open letter lambasting the Koroma administration for mishandling Ebola aid. He invoked the language of moral outrage, calling for “transparency, integrity, and national interest”.
The letter struck a chord. It resonated with an exhausted public — and with international donors eager for a reset.
But recent investigations by Sierra Leone Live complicate this narrative. Their findings reveal that over 85% of Ebola funds were managed not by the Sierra Leonean state, but by international NGOs, UN agencies, and bilateral donors. These actors ran parallel systems, hired foreign consultants at exorbitant rates, and operated with minimal accountability or transparency.
Bio’s letter ignored all of this. Instead, it aligned perfectly with the donor-class narrative: blame the local state, shield the international apparatus. Seen through this lens, the letter appears less a plea for justice than a calculated audition for donor support.
DONOR COMPLIANCE AS GOVERNANCE STRATEGY
Once in office, Bio wasted no time deepening ties with the same international institutions he had once critiqued. His administration:
Embraced IMF fiscal orthodoxy, constraining state investment.
Surrendered strategic planning to donor-led frameworks — with an estimated 40% of the national budget shaped by foreign agencies.
Signed opaque contracts, like the Summa airport project, that advantaged foreign firms over local capacity.
Rather than negotiate a new model of development, Bio entrenched the old one: dependency dressed as reform, obedience rewarded with photo ops and headlines.
A SYSTEMIC BETRAYAL, NOT JUST A FAILED PRESIDENT
To reduce Sierra Leone’s predicament to Bio or Koroma alone is to miss the point. The crisis is structural — a political economy built on extraction, elite complicity, and foreign orchestration.
Consider:
A rentier state reliant on minerals and loans.
Hollowed-out institutions incapable of asserting sovereignty against donor parallel structures.
Political elites more responsive to embassies than to the electorate.
According to Afrobarometer’s 2023 survey, more than 70% of Sierra Leoneans believe the country is on the wrong track, and nearly two-thirds say politicians care only about enriching themselves. This deep disaffection undermines not just governance but democratic legitimacy.
FROM DEPENDENCY TO DIGNITY: A NATIONAL RECKONING
To break the cycle, Sierra Leone must move beyond reformist slogans and confront the deeper architecture of dependency. That means: Rejecting austerity and asserting policy autonomy from the IMF and World Bank.
Auditing not just government spending, but donor and NGO operations.
Recovering stolen assets and imposing progressive taxes on multinational corporations.
Investing in local industries, agriculture, and public goods.
Protecting civic space to empower watchdogs, unions, journalists, and the public. Above all, it requires abandoning the belief — deeply embedded — that salvation lies outside our borders.
SOVEREIGNTY OR SUBMISSION
Bio’s 2015 letter was not a cry for national redemption. It was a signal — to foreign powers — that he could be trusted to manage their interests with better optics. His presidency has delivered precisely that: a seamless continuity of elite-driven governance, foreign dependency, and donor appeasement, disguised in the language of reform.
By contrast, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s leadership — flawed but fundamentally patriotic — now stands as a warning and a model. He resisted foreign domination, invested in state capacity, and fought for a sovereign Sierra Leone.
The lesson is clear: submission earns temporary favour, but never lasting freedom. Until Sierra Leone dismantles the systems that reward betrayal and punishes resistance, the cycle will continue — and the people will keep paying the price.
References:
Auditor General’s Report (2015). “Report on the Audit of the Management of Ebola Relief Funds.”
Sierra Leone Government of Sierra Leone, Office of the Auditor General.
Available at: https://www.auditor.gov.sl (for the most recent audit reports)
Karpowership Agreement (2016). “Power Purchase Agreement Between Sierra Leone Government and Karpowership.”
This deal was to supply short-term electricity, but the terms were seen as unsustainable.
Available at: Sierra Leone Power Purchase Agreements (Note: Specific links may need further investigation through the Ministry of Energy or reports)
International Labour Organization (ILO). Youth Unemployment Report 2017: “Sierra Leone Country Profile.”
International Labour Organization (ILO).
Available at: https://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and-databases/lang–en/index.htm
World Bank (2017). “External Debt in Sierra Leone: A Historical Overview and Current Outlook.”
World Bank, Sierra Leone Debt Reports.
Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/country/sierra-leone
Panama Papers (2016). “Offshore Tax Avoidance and Sierra Leone Government Officials.”
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Available at: https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/
Summa Group Loan Agreement (2019). “Loan Agreement for Lungi Bridge Project.”
Summa Group / Sierra Leone Government (no public direct link, may need verification through Ministry of Transport and Aviation or loan documents).
Reported by local press and Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Finance.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2018). “Sierra Leone: 2018 Article IV Consultation and IMF Austerity Measures.”
IMF Country Report No. 18/113, May 2018.
Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/SLE
Global Hunger Index (2023). “Global Hunger Index 2023: Sierra Leone Ranking.”
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Available at: https://www.globalhungerindex.org
Reporters Without Borders (2023). “World Press Freedom Index 2023.”
RSF (Reporters Without Borders).
Available at: https://rsf.org/en/ranking
Sierra Leone National Health Workers’ Union Reports (2021). “Report on Teacher and Nurse Strikes in Sierra Leone.”
Reports on recurrent strikes due to underfunding of essential public services.
Available at: http://www.slnhwu.org or through local press outlets.
Afrobarometer (2023). “Public Opinion Survey: Sierra Leone 2023.”
Afrobarometer Survey Report.
Available at: https://www.afrobarometer.org
Bio’s Open Letter (2015). “Open Letter from Julius Maada Bio Regarding Ebola Aid Transparency.”
Published by Bio’s office or relevant political press outlets.
Available in press archives or through political party resources (for context).
Sierra Leone Live (2023). “Investigation into the Management of Ebola Funds by International NGOs and Donors.”
Sierra Leone Live (local news outlet).
Available at: https://www.sierraleonelive.com
UNDP (2022). “Sierra Leone National Budget Analysis: Donor Dependency and Its Impact on Policy Autonomy.”
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Available at: https://www.sl.undp.org
Economic Growth Reports (2001–2007). “Sierra Leone GDP Growth and Economic Stabilization under President Kabbah.”
Sierra Leone Government Economic Reports / International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/SLE