While Sierra Leone is generally considered as one of the success stories of post-conflict countries that have made enormous strides at building democratic institutions as well as attracting foreign direct investments, it needs to do a lot more to bolster its rule of law credentials. Democracy thrives on a number of pillars, but perhaps the strongest one is the rule of law. In a country where the rule of law is not effectively administered, injustice, incidents of violence, fraudulent elections, and economic crimes are more likely to occur with impunity. As Sierra Leone inches away from its recent, inglorious history through economic and infrastructure development, it cannot afford to ignore the imposing demands for strengthening national accountability mechanisms. Sierra Leone’s rule of law credentials are clearly not the worst on the continent, but
increased government investment as well as legal reforms to make democratic institutions function more independently of the executive arm of government are required to address some of the immediate challenges confronting them.
The World Justice Project (WPJ) defines rule of law as “…a system in which no one, including government, is above the law; where laws protect fundamental rights; and where justice is accessible to all.” WPJ provides a number of rule of law indices, including limited government powers, absence of corruption, order and security, fundamental rights, open government, regulatory enforcement, civil and criminal justice, and informal justice.
Even a cursory look at these indices in relation to Sierra Leone would give an indication of how far the country has come, but how much more ground it needs to cover. While there have been some limited gains in combating corruption, maintaining a measure of law and order, and respecting some fundamental rights of citizens, there are still immense challenges to confront. Apart from the palpable sense of extensive executive control over just about every state institution as well as pervasive corruption both in the public and private sector, there are also serious concerns relating to the administration of civil and criminal justice, violation of some critical regulatory frameworks (including mineral laws), inadequate funding of state institutions, inchoate professional standards in public institutions, to name but a few.
Sierra Leone’s judiciary needs massive help. First off, the judiciary needs to address the public perception gap that exists. There’s increasing public suspicion that the judiciary is not truly independent of the executive arm. The perceived lack of judicial independence is stimulated by a number of factors, including the somewhat uncomfortable relationship between the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the judiciary. As Attorney-General, the holder of that office performs a professional function by advising the government on all legal matters relating to agreements, prosecutions and drafting. S/he, however, performs a political function when he sits in cabinet as a government minister, while he is also expected to serve as a liaison between the government and the judiciary. Pursuant to Section 120 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, the Chief Justice is the head of the judiciary, and presides over the panel of justices of the Supreme Court. Whereas the Attorney General and Minister of Justice represents the state on all legal matters before the courts, he also has a political duty to liaise between the government and the judiciary. That official relationship or interaction between the two bodies could be dangerous. The fusion of both offices was influenced by the unwholesome emergencies of a one-party state. There should be no argument about the need to decouple the current structure as part of our ongoing efforts to transform state institutions. Section 120(3) further states that in the exercise of its judicial function, the judiciary shall be subject only to the Constitution or any other law, and not to the authority or direction of any other person or authority. To bolster its professional independence, there is need to create a mechanism whereby the judiciary can begin to present and justify its budget before the parliament of Sierra Leone or to the Finance Ministry: At the moment, it is the Justice Ministry, headed by the same person who serves as Attorney-General, which submits the final annual budget for the judiciary and the Justice Ministry to the Finance Department. Of course, it does so in consultation with the judiciary. But what is essentially wrong in allowing a whole arm of government to independently prepare its own budget? We need to have a judiciary that prepares its own budget, based on its most pressing needs, and be given the opportunity to defend it before parliament, if needs be. This is because it would enhance the possibility of increased funding to the judiciary, as well as make the judiciary financially independent of the Ministry of Justice.
The need to increase funding to the judiciary cannot be over-emphasized. The judiciary still faces serious funding gaps. In 2009, for example, the entire budget for the Sierra Leone judiciary was just one twentieth of the Special Court’s budget for the trial of one man – former Liberian President Charles Taylor. If that doesn’t sound like a realistic comparison, then take a look at the 2013 national budget to discover that the judiciary is not among the first four biggest receivers of state funds. In fact, it received only about 1% of the national budget. It is also rumoured that the amount of money allocated to judiciary in 2013 was even less than what it generated from the state in fines and other sources in 2012. And, the judiciary is quite frankly taking its revenue generation task very seriously. I recently paid Le45,000 (approximately $10) for a 20-page copy of a judgement. That’s serious!
To be able to respond to the justice needs of the vast majority of Sierra Leoneans, the judiciary needs to recruit more legal officers, improve conditions of service, and provide training opportunities for its staff, including judges and Magistrates. At the moment, there is a dearth of judicial officers, particularly in the countryside. For most of the provinces, the judiciary operates a circuit system which means that in Bombali District, for example, a single Magistrate covers three judicial districts. This affects citizens’ access to justice while at the same time violating the constitutional rights of accused persons to be arraigned before a court without delay.
Sierra Leone’s rule of law credentials will continue to stagger unless corruption, particularly the public sector is reduced to an absolute minimum. The efforts of Sierra Leone’s anti-graft agency are acknowledged, but everyone recognizes that the agency can’t do it alone. In fact, its efforts appear to be a drop in the ocean. Imagine the amount of money the ACC recovers annually on behalf of the state, and assume that perhaps at least 70% of stolen public funds go unnoticed. One of the ways to stem the rising level of corruption in the public service is to undertake a broad systems review across all sectors with the view to developing or building structures that make corruption much more onerous. The Anti-Corruption Commission had begun such reviews, but there is currently no update on the status of it. The government must also move beyond its publicly stated commitment to combating corruption by being more transparent in disclosing information on mining deals and income from mining and other sources of income, procurement deals, budget development, among others. A freedom of information law would be a good step forward, but effective implementation will continue to be a bigger challenge. A citizens budget has been launched, which is quite laudable, but a lot more needs to be done to give real meaning to the concept of inclusive and participatory public finance management.
In subsequent editions, I’ll focus on corruption and the security sector a bit more, but for now, it is clear that the people of Sierra Leone deserve a lot more than what’s on offer. There is great appetite for institutional and constitutional reforms in this country. You can sense that by just talking to people. It is time to do the right thing by every Sierra Leonean. When democratic institutions function effectively, everyone benefits, regardless of their social, economic or political status. When they malfunction or are made to malfunction, only a few people “benefit”. Sierra Leone’s economic development and democratic aspirations cannot be achieved unless the institutionalized rule of law is strengthened. Rule of law is absolutely critical to making prosperous and fair societies possible. Let’s march to genuine prosperity by stepping up our commitment to the values and principles of rule of law.
