By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
When President Julius Maada Bio unveiled his “New Direction” manifesto in 2018, it was lauded as a transformative agenda to steer Sierra Leone out of decades of dysfunction. It promised sweeping reforms—macroeconomic stability, infrastructure development, education, job creation, and, most notably, an all-out war on corruption.
Seven years on, the nation remains shackled by the very conditions the manifesto vowed to dismantle. Not only have the promises gone largely unfulfilled, but new evidence suggests that the administration has, in some areas, reinforced the old systems of political patronage and elite impunity. Far from a new direction, Sierra Leone appears trapped in a well-worn cycle of lofty rhetoric and limited reform.
A Legacy of Dysfunction: The Historical Roots of Present-Day Failure
To understand the failure of the Bio administration’s reform agenda, one must trace the nation’s institutional dysfunction back to its colonial past. As Jeremy Ridgeway (2021) notes in Corruption in Sierra Leone: Consequences of British Colonisation, the country inherited a governance framework that prioritised extraction over development—systems built not to serve citizens, but to control and exploit them.
This legacy persisted through independence and into successive postwar administrations. The 2007 Chatham House report, Sierra Leone: Reform or Relapse?, warned that unless systemic issues—
Promises vs. Performance: The Government’s Reform Record
Despite early momentum, the Bio administration’s implementation record has fallen dramatically short:
- Macroeconomic Mismanagement
While the manifesto pledged to stabilise inflation and boost domestic revenue, the Leone depreciated by 34.2% between September 2022 and 2023, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration (Country Commercial Guide: Sierra Leone, 2023). This eroded both investor confidence and household purchasing power, especially in urban and peri-urban areas.
- Infrastructure Rhetoric, Limited Reach
Infrastructure was declared a national priority, yet basic services in rural regions remain scarce. Roads remain largely unpaved, and electricity access is inconsistent. The International Growth Centre (IGC) noted in its 2018 Sierra Leone Infrastructure and Growth Report that logistical costs remain among the highest in West Africa, a situation largely unchanged.
- Informal Labour Market Still Dominant
Roughly 90% of the workforce remains in the informal sector, with no significant policy implemented to transition workers into more stable and productive formal employment.
- Anti-Corruption Efforts Undermined
Although the government launched high-profile initiatives, such as constructing the Anti-Corruption Commission’s Integrity House, the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report reveals ongoing misuse of public funds. Transparency International’s 2023 Accountable Mining Programme points to continued corrupt practices in Sierra Leone’s resource sectors, suggesting that structural accountability mechanisms remain weak or politicised.
- Legal Gridlock and Land Insecurity
The unresolved clash between customary and statutory land laws continues to deter foreign and domestic investors. According to Conciliation Resources’ Peace Matters report (2021), elite capture of land not only impedes economic expansion, but also deepens local conflicts and inequities.
Structural Causes: What Development Economics Tells Us
A 2024 analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) titled Development Economics and Service Delivery, offers key insights into why the “New Direction” failed at the structural level:
Uncoordinated reforms and fiscal misalignment led to incomplete or abandoned initiatives. Ambitions were not matched with budgetary discipline or long-term planning tools like Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF).
Elite capture allowed politically connected groups to obstruct reforms that might reduce their privileges.
Neglected inequality meant that national policies failed to account for deeply entrenched regional and class disparities.
Ballooning external debt constrained domestic investment in healthcare, education, and local infrastructure.
Policy implementation gaps—ranging from bureaucratic inertia to capacity shortages—resulted in well-intentioned plans never reaching the grassroots level.
Resource Exploitation and the Shadow of Neocolonialism
Sierra Leone’s mining and timber sectors remain dominated by foreign corporations, whose contracts often resemble the extractive models of the colonial era. According to Peace Matters (Conciliation Resources, 2021), these arrangements provide limited local benefits and deepen dependency on volatile global commodity prices. Despite joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), enforcement remains tepid and opaque.
What Should Have Been Done: Policy Alternatives and Missed Opportunities
To ensure the manifesto’s success, the following evidence-backed reforms should have been prioritised:
- Realistic Fiscal Planning
Anchor all reforms in an MTEF to align goals with available resources.
Reduce recurrent expenditure and increase development allocations.
Ensure transparency in loan acquisition, avoiding non-concessional borrowing.
- Genuine Anti-Corruption Independence
Make the ACC independent of executive influence, with parliamentary oversight.
Establish a separate anti-corruption judiciary to expedite high-level cases.
- Address Structural Inequality
Implement redistributive policies like equitable land reforms.
Introduce conditional cash transfers and subsidised agricultural inputs to empower rural communities.
- Transparent Resource Governance
Mandate public disclosure of all mining and timber contracts under the EITI framework.
Enact a local development royalty—allocating at least 20% of revenue to affected communities.
- Invest in Human Capital
Improve teacher and healthcare worker training through performance-based incentives.
Provide universal access to basic education and healthcare materials, with monitoring by civil society.
- Decentralise Service Delivery
Grant local councils budgetary control and require quarterly public reporting.
Use mobile technology to enable real-time citizen feedback on service delivery.
- Reorient Foreign Aid Strategy
Reject or renegotiate loan terms that undermine social investment.
Pivot towards South-South cooperation and regional integration for resilient development.
From Hope to Disillusionment—and the Urgent Need for a Reset
The “New Direction” was never merely a policy document; it was a covenant with a people long denied justice, opportunity, and accountability. Its collapse under the weight of political expediency and bureaucratic failure signals a national crisis of credibility.
As Ridgeway (2021) aptly observes, “Combating corruption in postcolonial states demands a transformation of institutional norms, not just technocratic fixes.” For Sierra Leone, this transformation must begin with a sober reckoning: development cannot be achieved through slogans or imported models, but only through homegrown governance built on equity, transparency, and grassroots inclusion.
Unless Sierra Leone decisively breaks from its historical cycle of elite enrichment and external dependency, the next manifesto—regardless of its name—risks becoming yet another broken promise.
References:
Ridgeway, Jeremy. (2021). Corruption in Sierra Leone: Consequences of British Colonization. Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy.
— An academic analysis of colonial legacies and institutional corruption in post-independence Sierra Leone.
Chatham House. (2007). Sierra Leone: Reform or Relapse?
Available at: https://www.chathamhouse.org
— A key pre-election policy report assessing the fragility of Sierra Leone’s post-conflict state institutions.
Auditor-General’s Report. (2022). Annual Report on the Management of Public Funds – Government of Sierra Leone.
— Public financial audit detailing irregularities and systemic inefficiencies in fiscal management.
Transparency International. (2023). Accountable Mining Programme: Sierra Leone Report.
— Research on corruption risks and accountability gaps in the extractive sector.
Available at: https://www.transparency.org
U.S. International Trade Administration. (2023). Country Commercial Guide: Sierra Leone.
Available at: https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/sierra-leone
— Analysis of Sierra Leone’s macroeconomic environment, currency fluctuations, and business climate.
International Growth Centre (IGC). (2018). Sierra Leone Infrastructure and Growth Diagnostic Report.
Available at: https://www.theigc.org
— Empirical research on infrastructure deficits and growth constraints in Sierra Leone.
Conciliation Resources. (2021). Peace Matters: Transforming Resource Exploitation in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Available at: https://www.c-r.org
A policy-focused report on conflict-sensitive resource governance and the role of foreign corporations.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). (2024). Development Economics and Service Delivery: Theory and Evidence (Working Paper Series).
Available at: https://www.nber.org
An in-depth study on why public service delivery fails in low-income countries and what structural reforms are needed.