Excerpt from a study of Sierra Leone’s fragility being launched today by the Fragility Commission.
“The “social contract” has never been established in Sierra Leone at the national level. Rebellions and strikes before independence, and coup d’états and economic crises after independence, were repeated regularly. Yet the promises of a new beginning after every crisis up to and including the civil war, have never involved a systematic attempt to understand and resolve the contradictions of the existence of two parallel configurations of the State that were entrenching fragility. Economic growth and political calm prevail for short periods, but are not harbingers of a new social and political order.
Notwithstanding some elements of apparent resilience, the country is therefore still fragile and vulnerable to the forces that led to the collapse of the State and civil war 15 years ago. Political interference in the functioning of institutions continues to stultify growth, undermine capacity and weaken effectiveness, rendering the Government incapable of resistance to the slightest of shocks. There are still few checks and balances to a predatory Executive and ruling class..”
The report is written by Brian Ganson of University of Cape Town and Herbert M’cleod of the International Growth Centre. It is available on my website: www.sierraleonsignposts.com
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