Diamonds endanger democratic decentralisation in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s civil war was largely driven by the trade in illicit diamonds and an imbalance of political power. Since 2000 the international community has been involved in bringing peace, and government has been promoting decentralisation. The post-conflict situation, the chiefdom system and the diamond trade continue to threaten the country’s future.

Agriculturally rich, and blessed with diamonds, gold, bauxite and rutile, Sierra Leone should be wealthy. However, thirty years of corrupt government followed by twelve years of civil war have made the country one of the world’s poorest. Donors provide half of government revenue and Sierra Leone is heavily dependent on imported food. The diamond trade, much of it illegal, is worth up to US$80 million and leads to corruption among elites and international traders.

Sierra Leone is still affected by the legacy of the colonial division into a modern coastal colony and a larger inland protectorate ruled indirectly through chiefs. Post-independence, power and resources were centralised in the capital, Freetown. Abolition of local government in 1972, along with the alienation of youth caused by the chiefdom system, contributed to war in the 1990s.

A report from the University of Birmingham (UK) assesses prospects for establishing an effective system of local government in Sierra Leone. The 2004 Local Government Act provides for a highly democratic system of local governance. The new local councils will have responsibility for a wide range of services and powers, including tax collection and planning. However, there are major obstacles to its implementation:

• Freetown officials may only support decentralisation to please donors, and at local level there is still much distrust of central government: that many of the pre-war management committees are still running raises the possibility of continuing corruption.
• After years of looting and neglect, there is an extreme shortage of buildings and equipment at the local level, and transport and communication links are rudimentary.
• It is hard to find qualified people to serve in rural areas, particularly those along the Guinea border where tensions remain high.
• Since the chiefdom system has been restored without change, many chiefs have returned to the same exploitative activities – levying fines, recruiting ‘voluntary’ labour, and controlling land and diamonds – that discredited earlier governments.
• Decentralisation threatens the trading arrangements between local landowners (including chiefs) and diamond traders.

Supporting accountable local government is the only way to overcome opposition to rural development in Sierra Leone, to provide services and to bring justice to those historically neglected by government. The authors recommend that the government:

• understand the context of decentralisation in terms of local political sensitivities, traditional authority and social structure
• give local councils the chance to justify their existence: not only by providing good quality services but also by engaging with civil society, including traditional leaders, to make people aware of the new system and its voting procedures
• overcome reluctance to transfer significant revenues from central government to new authorities: the new Act is unclear on the question of financial transfers.

It is vital to realise that restoration of traditional authority does not necessarily lead to legitimacy or good governance. The option of returning to pre-war structures may seem convenient but is likely to reproduce the same conditions that led to war in the first place.

Source(s):
‘Chiefs, money and politicians: rebuilding local government in post-war Sierra Leone’ Public Administration and Development, 25, pp 49–58, by Paul Jackson, 2005

Funded by: World Bank

id21 Research Highlight: 28 October 2005

Further Information:
Paul Jackson
International Development Department
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 121 414 7293
Contact the contributor: p.b.jackson@bham.ac.uk

International Development Department, University of Birmingham

Other related links:
'Legitimate authority: reforming the chiefdom system in rural Sierra Leone'

'Strengthening democracy: can CSOs help?'

'Peacebuilding from below: can NGOs promote non-violent conflict resolution processes?'

GRC-Exchange Topic Guide on Decentralisation in Fragile States

The Sierra Leone programme of the U.S. Agency for International Development

Sierra Leone Country Profile on the UK Department for International Development website