By Abass Jalloh
No commitment was made by the current government in the allocation of 20% of domestic revenue to healthcare and extension of free healthcare to the aged and persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone as was demanded by the citizens, the latest assessment report of the 2017 Citizen’s Manifesto (CM) revealed.
The report which was launched by a Review Committee comprising various stakeholders in society at the Brookfields Hotel in Freetown last Friday was to develop citizens’ capacity as decision-makers in selecting the type of leaders they wish to elect and to make political leadership more responsible through persistent dialogues between citizens and political leaders, according to the committee.
In the first year of the current administration, according to the report, the 2019 Health Expenditure was 8.75%, which included healthcare goods and services consumed during the year, and not capital health expenditures such as buildings, machinery, IT, and stocks of vaccines for emergencies or outbreaks. “This figure (8.75%) increased by 3.5 for 2021/22 however, it did not cover the aged or disabled,” the report states.
The report stated that extreme poverty prevents most families from accessing health care and that often the care they need is not available, given Sierra Leone’s severe shortage of health infrastructure and medical supplies, noting that: “Sierra Leone has long struggled with some of the world’s worst health outcomes including high maternal mortality for which a woman’s lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is 1 in 20.”
Seven issues identified in the 2017 CM were Asset Declaration, Female Political Representation, Youth Representation, Representation of Persons with Disability, Citizen’s Share in Mining and Agriculture, Transparency in Campaign Financing, and more importantly Commitment from the Incumbent in the First Year of Administration.
On the political party’s commitments to the 2017 CM, out of the 16 political parties that contested the 2018 elections, the presidential aspirant for the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) was the only one to adhere to asset declaration.
Section 119(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 provides that “every public officer shall, within three months of becoming a public officer, deposit with the Commission a declaration of his income, assets, and liabilities, and thereafter in every two years that he is public officer”.
“Asset declaration is an approach that seeks to minimize corruption in a nation that routinely scores high on corruption indices over the years by anchoring the issue of ethics and integrity to the political class,” the report added.
The CM demanded 40% of women's political participation, but, according to the report, no party had 40% for both Member of Parliament and Local Council combined.
However, despite the lack of required representation, the report suggested that there is a continued need for more education and training for women who make up more than half of Sierra Leone’s population to be confident and compete for more public jobs.
15% was demanded for youth political representation, but no candidate or party committed except the National Grand Coalition (NGC) which gave 10% of all appointments to youths.
No commitment from any party or candidate was given for representation of persons with disabilities.
On the indicator of Citizen’s Shares in Mining and Agriculture, commitments were only made from the APC, NGC, and SLPP to revisit their policies committing to the area.
No commitment was made by any party or candidate to the indicator on Transparency in Campaign Financing, wherein the CM demanded that presidential or parliamentary candidates open campaign accounts in recognized banks and ensure all donations and support from local and foreign businesses, government officials and departments are made public.
However, in the area of commitment of the current government in 2019, they adhered commitment to the free quality school education project, effects of the Bintumani III and Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion Act (2020), 2019 education budget of 33.86%, repeal of the Criminal Libel Law in 2020, and execute environment protective programmes.
Copyright © 2022 Politico (13/07/22)
