With the announcement of the June 24 Presidential Election result in which the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), Mohamed K. Konneh, controversially declared the incumbent, Julius Maada Bio, as winner, many Sierra Leoneans have been left with no alternative but to describe the move as one that has condemned them to another five years of ‘Paopa’ terror, intimidation, misrule and hardship.
Many Sierra Leoneans hold that view because the country that hosts the Bretton Woods Institutions (the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund—IMF), the United States of America (USA), is unhappy with the lack of transparency in the June 24 multi-tier elections in Sierra Leone and therefore might withhold funds, loans or grants to the government of President Bio. According to the published reports from the Public Debt Management Division at the Ministry of Finance, the disbursed and outstanding debt owed to the World Bank by Sierra Leone increased by US$31.3 million to US$463.8 million in 2021.
In a “Joint Statement” by Sierra Leone’s Development Partners (U.S., UK, Ireland, Germany, France and EU Delegation), dated Wednesday 28 June 2023, they noted “significant logistical problems [which] hampered voting on election day in certain areas….[and] the lack of transparency in the tabulation process”. This means that because the June 24 multi-tier elections are not credible in the eyes of Sierra Leone’s principal funders, they might withhold their funds and other aids which will bring about more hardships to ordinary Sierra Leoneans that might eventually lead to general disenchantments among the populace.
According to TheOrganiser.net, an online Sierra Leone newspaper, the country’s Development Partners are said to be now discussing punitive measures to squeeze the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) economically. “Economic sanctions will be imposed soon and they would be backed by travel bans for all SLPP government officials from [President] Bio to others down the ladder. Their family members would also be affected in this case. Their properties would be seized and bank accounts overseas would be frozen among other punitive economic and social measures”, the online newspaper claimed.
If such happens, then the next five years under the Bio-led government will see the skyrocketing in prices of local foodstuff and basic commodities, ultra-hyper inflation, and general hardship among the populace which has never been seen before in Sierra Leone.