“We always hear about the rights of democracy, but the major responsibility of it is participation”. Wynton Marsalis
Sierra Leoneans turned out in large numbers across the country’s 14 electoral districts last November to elect their President, parliamentarians, councillors, and mayors. The elections were generally peaceful, in part because there was little doubt that the country’s economic and development aspirations could be bolstered by credible, transparent and non-violent elections. The results showed, in many respects, that Sierra Leoneans wanted meaningful changes both in their lives and in the way the country is governed. There were personnel changes in all but one of the four categories of elections – the Presidential. The changes in parliament and councils were striking: of the 124 parliamentarians that were elected in 2007, only 42 of them were re-elected. These include 23 members of the ruling All Peoples Congress and 13 representatives of the Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party. Only half of the Paramount Chief Representatives in parliament were re-elected.
Nearly four months after exercising our right to make changes in various governing bodies, however, Sierra Leoneans are slowly resigning to the all too familiar fate that their power to make meaningful changes in the administration of local councils is limited. The limitations are caused in part by the Local Government Act 2004 and the somewhat unchanging disposition of local council administrators towards critical governance issues as transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation. Participation in governance could take the form of voting or contesting elections; one could also participate in meetings convened by Ward Development Committees or participate in developing annual development plans. There is hardly any doubt that the greater the participation levels in communities, the more likely local council policies, decisions and actions will support local needs and objectives.
A synopsis of current situation in Sierra Leone:
A Local Government Act was promulgated in 2004 as part of efforts to create platforms and opportunities for residents to directly participate in developing initiatives for community empowerment and development. It was hoped that increased public participation could spur greater transparency from the councils and contribute to the community development agenda. In truth, each of the 19 Local Councils and the Ministry of Local Government have generally under-performed since 2004, even if in varying degrees, to create an enabling atmosphere for genuine community participation in the administration of councils. There’s urgent need to address this gap. Part of the solution could lie in depoliticizing representation at the local level. Where elections are conducted on the basis of individual strength and merit, it is more likely to advance competent representation rather than the current system that tends to elevate party loyalists to serious positions, regardless of their ability or level of competence. In the course of implementing an OSIWA-funded project in 2011, many participants at community outreach events complained that a majority of Ward Development Committee members were either selected on the basis of their political affiliations or through botched elections organized by councillors. The Ward Development Committees essentially seemed to lack legitimacy in the eyes of the people. This partly explained why the number of participants at Ward Committee meetings was increasingly dwindling all the time. The few Ward Committees that remained functional hardly received support from the councils. It was quite shocking to have heard that some councillors reportedly concocted minutes of Ward Committee meetings, if only to claim monthly allowances from councils. Ultimately, many council administrators became distrustful of reports submitted by councillors, and rightly so. Additionally, it was clearly evident from discussions at community and media outreach events that councillors and council principals were at loggerheads over just about everything – including the process of awarding development project contracts, revenue generation and utilization, among others. In all of this, the perennial losers are the people. They have been deprived of the opportunity to genuinely participate in the planning and monitoring development activities in their communities. Some of these challenges could be addressed by amending the Local Government Act 2004 to ensure that roles are properly defined and representation in councils is based not on party politics.
To further help address the participation gap that currently exists, there is also a need to review the Local Government Act 2004 to make provision for direct financial support to councillors and Ward Committee members. The current arrangement is at best unfeasible. Genuine participation at the local government level starts with effective, legitimate, and well-resourced Ward Development Committees. It is important to underline the point that only councillors participate in council meetings. Members of the public can only observe, if they choose to attend such meetings. Their views, concerns and recommendations can only be heard during Ward Committee meetings. Those views are expected to be presented by their respective councillors during council meetings. Theoretically, community development projects are expected to reflect the outcomes of those meetings. In the absence of regular and effective meetings at ward level, it is difficult to see how local voices can impact community development projects. At the moment, Ward Committees are not functioning effectively. Part of the reason is that the incentive or motivation is pretty much absent. Community people and their Ward Committee members have painful experiences of total neglect by councils. This does not inspire them – it weakens their enthusiasm and spirit of volunteerism.
It is also worth mentioning that Ward Committee members do not get any stipend or remuneration for their time and services. They are simply volunteers. The councillors receive a paltry sum of money as monthly allowance. In many instances, however, the allowances are not regularly paid. During a recent consultative conference organized by CARL and its partners, various councillors complained that Le50,000 (approximately $11) is slashed from the paltry Le250,000 (approximately $58) monthly stipend they receive as mandatory contributions to their respective political parties. That is simply scandalous and unacceptable. I recommend that the Ministry of Local Government and other relevant state institutions intervene to stop this blatant extortion. This is part of the reason I think the future of effective and competent representation at local government level lies in completely removing party politics from local governance.
There seems to be a representation and participation crisis at the local level that needs immediate attention. The good news is that there have been elections for Ward Committees in most or all of the Wards in the Western Urban District, and CARL has been quite involved with monitoring the process. The elections were generally transparent and a positive departure from the selective nature of previous ones. It gives me hope that with increased support from council administrators, this could help engender interest and participation in governance issues at the local level. There seems to be a general lack of enthusiasm, however, to participate in Ward Committees probably because of the many years of broken promises by councils and the unrewarding nature of the voluntary services provided by Ward Committee members.
How can some of these challenges be addressed? It’s time to scale up support for our councillors and Ward Committees. To help strengthen Ward Development Committees, there’s need to ensure competent representation through transparent and credible elections. The Ministry of Local Government should also take its supervisory and facilitation role much more seriously than it has since 2004. Additionally, councillors and Ward Committee members should be given more resources to facilitate interaction between them and their communities. Ward Committee members should also receive stipends for their useful contributions to their communities. Once they are incentivized, they could be resourceful in terms of tax collection. For some of these recommendations to work, there is an obvious need to amend the Local Government Act 2004.
As part of efforts to plug the participation and transparency gap in local government, thanks to ongoing support from OSIWA, CARL and its partners will recruit and train at least 10 community-based monitors each in six districts to help monitor the level of compliance or otherwise with transparency provisions in the Local Government Act 2004. CARL and its partners will also help local councils develop communication strategies as well as encourage transparent elections for Ward Committees. We will provide basic training and guidelines that will help them do their work better. The challenges are certainly huge, but addressing the participation gap in local government is certainly not beyond our reach. It’s time to do it!
By Ibrahim Tommy, Executive Director, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL)
