Sierra Leone Ambassador to the United States Reacts to MCC Scorecard
By Dennis Kabatto – The publication of a recent news article titled “Sierra Leone Fails MCC Benchmarks” has raised a furor among some politicians and both independent and government leaning media houses.
Ambassador Bokari Stevens – Sierra Leone Ambassador to the United States
Case in point: The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors selected Sierra Leone in December 2012 as eligible to develop a compact. On November 6, 2013, the MCC released its Fiscal Year 2014 Country Scorecard depicting Sierra Leone as passing half overall in meeting the criteria to be eligible to develop compact and threshold Programs with the MCC.
However, Sierra Leone’s fate in maintaining its compact seems to ‘hang in the balance’ as it awaits a decision by MCC Board of Directors in December.
Ambassador Bokari Stevens has represented Sierra Leone as ambassador to the United States of America since 2007. From the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago where he is currently presenting his credentials, he responds to an inquiry on Sierra Leone’s performance and result of the MCC Scorecard.
What is your reaction to the publications of premature and false reports that Sierra Leone has failed the MCC Compact?
The simple fact is that Sierra Leone has not failed the MCC Compact criteria.
If anything, Sierra Leone passed more than half of the scorecards of the MCC. That is the fact and the reality. Yes, we failed one of the criteria amongst others (Control of Corruption) but we passed more than half of the other criteria. Much has been said about this and I do not want to over-state or react to these false reports. We are still part of the compact process and Sierra Leone has not been de-selected.
These false reports are not only misleading but also disconcerting. What has been employed here is a well-known strategy, which involved discrediting the government of president Koroma in order to diminish the impact of clearly visible developments undertaken by this government.
The MCC Compact is not only about grant or money that is tied to it. The Compact selection is a reward for good governance with the principle aim of reduction of poverty. These benchmarks are critical scale for development meaning that compact or no compact countries that invest in what the compact stands for often pursue the most sensible road to development.
Is there any relationship between the MCC Compact and the ongoing consultative dialogue on the attainment of the Agenda for Prosperity initiated by H.E. President Ernest Koroma?
The Agenda for prosperity certainly synchronizes with the Compact process. They are both aimed at sound financial governance, management and the reduction of poverty. The compact grant could also go a long way to realize the aspirations envisaged in our infrastructure programs as espoused under the Agenda for prosperity. They certainly complement each other.
The Scorecard shows that Sierra Leone’s performance in the area of Ruling Justly – Control of Corruption is the worst out of all the 20 indicators used to determine country eligibility for MCC program assistance?
The fact remains that Government actions on the critical issue of corruption have recorded notable successes by ways of convictions of officials at all levels of Government and subsequent dismissals and incarceration of these officials. Moreover, the public is more aware of corruption issues and the fight against it, which has contributed to the increased amount of reports of incidences of corruption to the ACC by citizens.
The Government of Sierra Leone is aware that the fight against corruption, especially the more inimical problem of petty corruption requires consistent and curative action around prevention, education and enforcement in the key sectors (the Police, the Judiciary, registry and permit services, land services, education, tax revenues utilities and health services).
Sierra Leone Scorecard reflects that performances in Government Effectiveness- the government score of 31 percent and Land Rights and Access 30 percent respectively, were beyond expectations. Are there any land reform plans underway?
Certainly one of the most hotly contested issues in Sierra Leone is the distribution of land. Land tenure in Sierra Leone is governed by a two- tier tenure system, which has been criticized for its inadvertent discriminatory stipulations.
The Ministry in conjunction with the UNDP has developed a new National Land Policy to ease some of the challenges in the current law and create room for Government to responsibly handle the new phenomenon, large-scale land acquisition by foreign investors especially for non-food production in a manner that protects the interests of the indigenous landowners. Eventually, this policy will inform a revision of the law to ensure improved access to land especially for women and other vulnerable groups.
The Ministry has also been challenged with issues of corruption in the process of acquiring land, which is costly, and time consuming.
Furthermore, the lack of automation and appropriate record keeping resulted in opportunities for Officers to take bribes for offering services and a litany of land disputes between citizens. In order to address these problems, the Ministry has implemented several key reforms to increase efficiency, improve record keeping, increase transparency and reduce opportunities for bribery.
