By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah
A recent statement issued by the British Department for International Development (DFID) revealed that England has provided some US$72 million to support what it refers to as “a new social and economic reform program” in Sierra Leone to be carried out by the newly imposed neocolonial regime of Ernest Bai Koroma.
Britain’s Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, says the money is part of Britain’s “renewed assistance to the government of Sierra Leone now headed by Ernest Bai Koroma” and designed to “help the government carry out the implementation of policies that will maximize revenue as part of a new national recovery plan.”
This announcement is the result of discussions between Ernest Koroma and officials of the British government following his recent visit to London as a guest of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and imperialist queen Elizabeth II.
In a presentation held at Chatham House (formerly the Royal Institute for International Affairs) during his visit to London, Ernest Koroma told British politicians and multinationals that his government is committed to a “corporate agenda” — one that will provide guarantees for multinational investment and exploitation.
Assuring his imperialist masters of his willingness to carry out their dictates, Ernest Koroma re-echoed his inaugural statement that his government’s intention is to run Sierra Leone as a corporation. The government would take the form of a company-like administration with himself as the General Manager and his ministers as departmental heads providing guidance and support to multinationals who will occupy a shareholder status in the affairs of the country.
He called on Britain’s capitalists to take advantage of the opportunity provided them in the transformation of Sierra Leone into a limited liability company now called “Sierra Leone Limited.” He says, “The success of this vision depends on international partnership with England who has remained supportive of Sierra Leone political dispensation over the years.”
Ernest Koroma also vowed to the British political class that his government would continue to provide security and guarantees for both British corporations and multinationals intending to venture into Sierra Leone and those already operating in the country as part of his “government’s new agenda.”
A reassured Britain throws support behind Koroma’s regime
Consequently, it is unsurprising that subsequent to Ernest Koroma’s London visit, the British re-echoed their continuous commitment to maintaining the status quo in Sierra Leone by providing support to the newly imposed neocolonial government of Ernest Bai Koroma.
As a matter of fact, Koroma’s accession to power is overtly facilitated by Britain, the United States and the various western multinational corporations engaged in the theft and plunder of the country’s resources. The fact that the British and their imperialist allies, in favor of Ernest Koroma’s All Peoples Congress (APC), fraudulently rigged the elections in Sierra Leone is no longer an issue of debate.
What is important is that subsequent to this controversial election process that resulted in the mock-up victory of Ernest Koroma, several British corporations and multinational financial organizations immediately developed a sophisticated international public relations strategy aimed not only at lending credence to this fraudulent electoral process rigged by the United Nations and the various imperialist organizations but also to showcase Sierra Leone as a bastion of stable democracy with endless marketing opportunities conducive for international financial investments.
With the use of the imperialist media, they employed the theatrical concept of make-belief as a political tactic to parade Ernest Koroma as the new democratic statesman in Africa. They put him forward as the opposition leader who supposedly enjoyed mass support to win an election against a hated incumbent.
Lesser of two evils?
But the reality is that people who appear to appreciate Ernest Koroma’s supposed success in the past elections were neither convinced that he has the answers to the numerous problems facing the poor and exploited masses nor were they persuaded by a political program he provided them that differs with that of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) he replaced. Koroma just appears to be, in their own eyes at that moment, the only alternative between two proportionate evils.
It should be remembered that towards the elections, the Kabbah government that Ernest Koroma replaced had become hugely unpopular and hated by the masses because of its neglect of the people’s welfare and interest. Kabbah had necessitated — as a condition for his continuation in power — increased imperialist and multinational build-ups in the country, which eventually isolated the people from their own resources and also left them with no social services required for growth and development.
Low life expectancy, high infant and maternal mortality rates, a rapidly declining economy and a vastly hungry population became the hallmarks of Kabbah’s policies and eleven years of office. It is therefore sufficient that this violently hostile situation will nurture seeds of mass discontent inimical to the existence of a peaceful environment needed for multinational corporate activities and the operations of international finance.
British and North American corporations hold huge stakes in the economic activities of the country and therefore require security and protection for their corporate interests and multinational investments in Sierra Leone.
Realizing the frustration of the masses against the SLPP under Kabbah and the potential threat posed by increased Chinese influence and economic ventures in the country, the British and their imperialist allies felt the severe threats that their large multinational interests faced needed to be countered. This played a major factor in the imperialist machinations to rig the past elections in favor of Koroma and the APC.
Continuing misery was expected under Koroma
Prior to this election, however, we had pointed out that regardless of the outcome, the situation of the African masses in Sierra Leone would still remain insufferable. We knew that there would be no significant changes in policies that would reverse the trend of affairs experienced under Kabbah’s SLPP government.
The fact of the matter is that this policy of “corporate colonialism” has resulted in endemic, institutionalized corruption, which in turn developed a rogue middle class that sees political power as an instrument for the salvation of themselves and their families at the expense of the masses.
This is why we say that Ernest Koroma’s decision to transform Sierra Leone into a corporation is the climax of a neocolonial, capitalist exploitative tendency machinated by Britain, the United States and their various multinational corporations profiting from the numerous resources in the country. It is a political and economic strategy designed to enhance easy access and monopoly over the resources of the country by western capitalist cartels through the enactment of policies that favor a range of guarantees and tax incentives for the development of capital by western capitalist corporations.
It strengthens the protective relationship that already exists between the middle class political elites and the huge multinational finance representatives guarded by the various British and United States counterintelligence agencies and secret security services currently stationed in the country. It is an advanced strategy of market economy that puts every sector of the country on auction to the highest bidder whereby the questions of “profit” and “capital regeneration” are prioritized at the expense of the welfare of the masses.
Sierra Leone being sold to the highest bidder
During the last few weeks following Koroma’s return from England, several delegations representing huge British multinational interests have flooded the country negotiating for various concessions. These have included a so-called high powered British business delegation representing the London Mining Company which has already concluded agreements during the last few days with Koroma’s regime to carry out mining in the iron ore mining reserves at Lunsar and Marampa in the north of the country.
Koroma’s regime regards multinational corporate interventions as key towards the achievement of his neocolonial objectives and realization of his “corporate agenda.” The British government sees Ernest Koroma’s “corporate agenda” as a potential tool in curtailing growing Chinese influence and economic ventures in the country.
Very recently, a British-owned timber logging company is believed to have influenced Ernest Koroma’s decision to ban the Chinese logging companies from logging the country’s forests. Although Koroma claimed that his decision is influenced by environmental concerns, reports have indicated that his Ministry of Forestry and the Environment is engaged in negotiations with several British and American companies interested in logging.
Consequently, while multinationals continue to flood the country, the conditions of the masses have grown worse than they were under Kabbah’s SLPP. Barely four months after the elections, the country has been hit twice by severe shortages in petroleum products and foodstuffs.
During the last two months, the country has witnessed over seven different strikes from workers in various government departments over non-payment of salaries and politically motivated sackings of their colleagues. At the same time, prices of basic commodities including rice, flour, palm oil, groundnuts and other food provisions have skyrocketed and experienced over 50 percent price increase.
High import and export duties recently imposed by Koroma’s APC regime in its desperation to extract domestic revenue have also severely affected indigenous commercial ventures that are now faced with devastating investment instability. But the policy appears to work favorably for the huge multinationals that monopolize the various sectors of trade and commerce in the country. In fact, they make alarming profits out of the scarcity and price escalation.
Solution for masses is power in own hands
At the moment the anxiety and expectations that accompanied Ernest Koroma’s ascension to power is rapidly vanishing from the minds of those who had hoped that an APC victory would have automatically transformed the harsh conditions they face. People are quickly becoming clear that Koroma and his APC are no different from Kabbah’s SLPP government that they replaced. Both groups belong to the same soup.
This is where an alternative political program becomes the answer. The fact is that freedom from this situation of exploitation and oppression will only come through organized efforts of the workers and peasants.
The workers and peasants need a program that addresses their needs and aspirations and one that helps them realize their selfish interests as a class. The fact of the matter is that the African working class can only free itself from this situation only through the overthrow of the existing social system, and the actualization of this process is the task and responsibility of African revolutionaries and progressives around the world.
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