ISSUE 1 VOLUME 1 YEAR 2015 Sierra Leone Constitutional ......In a Press Release dated February 4th 2015; the Government endorsed the extension owing ... FREETOWN 4TH FEBRUARY, 2015

ISSUE 1 VOLUME 1 YEAR 2015

Sierra Leone ConstitutionalReview Committee

The Government of Sierra Leone has extended the mandate of the Constitutional ReviewProject from March 2015 to March 2016.

In a Press Release dated February 4th 2015; the Government endorsed the extension owingto the prevailing circumstances, the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which wreaked havoc on thenation. The release went on to state that the CRC could not hold the much anticipatedstakeholder and public consultations in the provinces hence the need to extend itsmandate.

The constitutional Review Committee (CRC) was inaugurated on 30th July, 2013 to reviewthe Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No 6 of 1991 in tandem with the report of theCommission to review the 1991 Constitution. Here is the Press Release from State House.

Office of the President

PRESS RELEASE

SINCE THE LAUNCHING OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW PROCESS ON 30TH JULY 2013,THE CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE (CRC) HAS MADE CONSIDERABLE STRIDES INCARRYING OUT ITS MANDATE. THE CRC HAS WITH SUPPORT FROM UNDP UNDERTAKEN ASERIES OF ACTIVITIES... INCLUDING CIVIC EDUCATION TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE OFCONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES AND TO SOLICIT POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROCESS, ASWELL AS STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS ON NATIONAL ISSUES OFPRIME IMPORTANCE.

Continue on Page 2

Government extends CRC Mandate to March 2016

His Excellency Dr. Ernest BaiKoroma, President of the Republic

of Sierra Leone

● Government extends CRC Mandate 2016

● Judiciary Sub-committee chair replaced

● CRC holds Media Dialogue Forum withEditors of Newspapers

● Call for strong chapter on MineralResources discussed

● Sub-committee presents strong case forLocal Councils

● Information, Education &Communications Sub-committeeadvocates for media chapter in revisedConstitution

● Consistency and sustainability of PoliticalParties in Sierra Leone’s democracy

● State Policy Sub-committee engagesParliament

● Officials recommend a Ministry of ICTs

● CRC/UNDP produces state-of-the-art civiceducation gadgets

● Local Government Sub-committeeconsults Western Urban Market Women’sAssociation

● Sierra Leone Association of the Blind(SLAB) adds their voice to the reviewprocess

● Council of Tribal Heads appeals forconstitutional recognition

● Legislative Sub-committee engagesParliament

● Research Sub-committee dialogues withAll Political Parties’ Association (APPA)

N

CRC Newsletter - January - February 20152

Office of the President

PRESS RELEASE (Continue)

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMMITTEE’S OPERATIONAL TIMETABLE, IT WAS PLANNED TO IMPLEMENT NATION-WIDE STAKEHOLDER PUBLICCONSULTATIONS IN THE SECOND AND THIRD QUARTERS OF 2014 AIMED AT REACHING OUT TO CITIZENS TO COLLECT FEED-BACK FROM THEM. DUE TOTHE UNPRECEDENTED OUTBREAK OF THE EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE AND THE ENSUING DECLARATION OF A STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCYTHROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, THIS ACTIVITY WHICH IS ONE OF THE MAIN THRUSTS OF THE REVIEW PROCESS WAS PUT ON HOLD. ALSO, THE CRC WASDEPRIVED OF THE SERVICES OF INTERNATIONAL CONSTITUTION EXPERTS WHO COULD NOT COME TO ASSIST THEM BECAUSE OF THE SUSPENSION OFINTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TO THE COUNTRY. MEANWHILE, THE COMMITTEE HAS ENHANCED ITS MEDIA ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ON RADIO ANDTELEVISION, AND THE SUB-COMMITTEES ARE HOLDING FOCUSED CIVIC EDUCATION MEETINGS ON BROAD THEMATIC ISSUES WITH NATIONALINSTITUTIONS, MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.

IN VIEW OF THE AFOREMENTIONED CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS, THE CRC CANNOT MEET SET TARGETS AND SUBMIT ITS FINAL REPORT IN MARCH2015 AS PLANNED. HOWEVER, IN RECOGNITION OF THE EFFORTS MADE BY THE COMMITTEE SO FAR, UNDP HAS SIGNED AND SECURED EUROPEANFUNDING SUPPORT TO COVER A SIXTEEN-MONTH OPERATIONAL PERIOD FROM DECEMBER 2014 TO MARCH 2016 INCLUSIVE. THIS WILL ENABLE THE CRCTO FULFIL ITS NATIONAL MANDATE TO REVIEW THE 1991 CONSTITUTION IN TANDEM WITH THE PETER TUCKER REPORT OF 2008.

IT IS AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND THAT HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT HAS GRACIOUSLY APPROVED THE EXTENSION OF THE MANDATE AND TIMEFRAME OF THE CRC TO MARCH, 2016.

END.

STATE HOUSEFREETOWN 4TH FEBRUARY, 2015

Honorable Justice NicholasColin Browne-Marke

Judiciary sub-committee Chair replaced

been appointed to act as the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone. Justice

Valesius Thomas acted as the Chair of the Judiciary sub-committee

from February 2014 – February 2015.

He will hopefully steer the Judiciary sub-committee until the 1991

Constitution is reviewed. The CRC is divided into 9 sub-committees

that are charged with the responsibility of reviewing specific sections

of the Constitution with a view to bringing them up-to-date with

modern constitutionalism.

The Judiciary sub-committee was established to review the provisions

and related clauses of the Constitution of Sierra Leone pertaining to

the Judicial Branch, examine the Report of the Peter Tucker

Constitution Review Commission in a similar manner and make

recommendations to the CRC. In carrying out its responsibilities, the

Committee may be guided by Sierra Leone constitutional history and

such other knowledge gathered from external sources on

constitutionalism.

A new Chairman has been assigned to the Judiciary Sub-

committee of the Constitutional Review Committee

(CRC).Justice of the Supreme Court, Nicolas Colin Browne-

Marke replaces Justice Valesius Thomas who has recently

parliamentarians, political parties, youths,women, traditional and religious leaders andmany others.

The Chairpersons of the various sub-committeesor their representatives succinctly described theiractivities in 2014 whilst noting the challengesthey encountered during the period.

Whilst concluding her presentation on behalf ofthe Judiciary sub-committee, AdministrativeSecretary to the sub-committee and webspecialist, Maimunatu Massaquoi expounded onthe state-of-the-art multipurpose CRC/UNDPflash drive that was made available to editors.

Presenting their strategy on ways of popularizingthe CR Process, the President of Guild of Editors,Donald Theo Harding highlighted the publicationof half page tailor-made messages on weeklybasis on all the major newspapers; the coverageof every sub-committee activity/event by tworeporters, among other contributions.

In his presentation on Constitutional provisionsrelating to information, communications and themedia-insights from constitutions of othercountries, the Head, Communications andOutreach, CRC, Mohamed Faray Kargbo broughtexamples from Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria,South Africa, Uganda and Switzerland.

He informed all about the absence of separatechapters dealing with information,communication and the media in theconstitutions of the aforementionedconstitutions noting that thematic issuesrelating to this subject matter were accordinglycaptured either in the state policy andfundamental human rights sections of thoseconstitutions.

Sanaullah Baloch is UNDP’s Chief TechnicalAdviser to the Sierra Leone ConstitutionalReview process; he admonished mediapractitioners to publish articles relating to theprocess as part of their civic responsibility and toshow their unblemished patriotism to SierraLeone. “This is a call to national service becauseall of us would rip the benefits if we produce aconstitution that would stand the test of time.”Mr Baloch concluded.

The journalists agreed that Sierra Leonedeserved a constitution that would serve as amodel for other countries in terms of goodgovernance, inclusiveness, transparency andaccountability, peace and development andconflict-sensitivity and gender equity. Theenthusiasm to contribute to the process wasevident in the utterances of the editors whowere encouraged to file in a position paperindicating their varied interests.

f the state of public emergency islifted by the end of March 2015,the CRC will immediately embarkon the nationwide stakeholdersand public consultations and theinterim report would hopefullybe ready by September 2015whilst the final report would bepresented to Government inNovember 2015.”


Media Dialogue Forum in session

CRC holds Media Dialogue Forum with Editors of Newspapers

IThese were the words of the Chairman of theConstitutional Review Committee (CRC), JusticeEdmond Cowan to media practitioners whoattended a day’s forum at the Miatta ConferenceCentre on Tuesday February 10, 2015. Deliveringthe keynote address to journalists, Justice Cowanlamented that the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)affected the review process such that the muchanticipated nationwide civic education and publicconsultations could not be held as planned.

He cited progress made so far in the review processincluding the visitation of over 100 Institutions onconsultations, production and distribution of thesynchronized 1991 Constitution and the Report ofthe Commission to review the 1991 Constitution;the reception of over 50 position papers fromMinistries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) andCivil Society Organizations (CSOs); the engagementof over 30 Experts on various thematic issues, theairing of radio and television programmes,engagements with key stakeholders

4

objectives, provisions and true spirit of therecommendations, the need to move from anorthodox constitution to one that is alive withemerging issues that are not blanket but specificand that the constitution must address theseissues that should not be organic or ad-hoc laws.

Members of the sub-committee also called for atime limit on mining agreements, that somecountries like Ghana use their natural resources ascollateral for development.

It was also revealed that the NGO, Green sceneryhas presented a paper to the CRC on land andworking on other natural resources that the sub-committee has a lot of work to do unlike othercommittees in addition to developing and buildingthe foundation of the chapter. Concerns aboutbulky documents, the other constitution havevarious chapters on natural resources thateverybody should be included in the process, thatnobody should consider being left out and that theCRC plenary is the body that will adopt and defendthe recommendations, were also highlighted. Itwas also disclosed that the CRC would commencepublic consultations in June/July this year,complete its work and start report writing to befollowed by the National Consultative conferenceof the prime process.

Officially opening the session, the CRC ExecutiveSecretary, Mr. Samuel Coker admonished membersto be attentive and make salient inputs for therecommendations that would be taken to the CRCplenary. The facilitator, Mr. Chernor GashimBangura of the PMSU at State House highlightedthat some countries were experiencing droughtand climate change and suggested how theseperspectives could be addressed in theconstitution. He continued that Sierra Leone hasmade considerable progress in the economic,education and social fronts with an average GDPincrease of 8% since the end of the war but thatmanagement of the environment has challenges.

Mr. Chernor Bangura also revealed thatGovernment established the EnvironmentProtection Agency (EPA) but not much has beenachieved as the laws are not adequate in terms ofprovisions in the constitution. “There areinadequacies in the constitution with regard theenvironment”. He further underscored the need formarine, agriculture and food security to beaddressed in the constitution.

According to the facilitator, the constitution mustalso be specific on how to reduce the rate ofpoverty, fair distribution of resources to prevent themovement of people to urban areas, global securitythreats like terrorism and Islamic extremism,gender, youths, unemployment and environmentalsustainability. He further enlightened that theNigerian constitution is similar to Sierra Leone interms of the management of natural resourceswhile the Angolan constitution has a whole chapteron economic, social and cultural rights includingthe right to work and training. The Egyptianconstitution of 2013 was also discussed.

Some of the concerns raised by members of thecommittee included: that drafters would dilute the

Members of the sub-Committee were urged toidentify gaps in the 1991 Constitution relatingto natural resources, that Sierra Leone needs avery strong chapter on mineral resources, thatthere were gaps in balancing the pillars ofsustainable development, that other lawsshould expand further on specific issues whilethe basic ones must be in the constitution, thatthe 1991 constitution places more emphasis onthe state structure than its objective and theneed to synergize or infuse therecommendations.

Call for Strong Chapter on Mineral Resources Discussed

he Constitutional ReviewCommittee (CRC) Sub-committee on NaturalResources on 16th February2015 held an expectengagement meeting at theCRC Secretariat, MiattaConference Centre, YouyiBuilding, Freetown.

TNatural Resources sub-committee Expert meeting


Executive Sub-committeediscusses critical issues

relating to thepresidency

embers of the ExecutiveSub-committee of theConstitutional ReviewCommittee (CRC) werethrilled by thepresentation of Dr HabibSesay who expounded onthe criteria to contest thepresidency, as it shouldbe. These included the

mfollowing, age limit, citizenship status,residency requirements, knowledge ofindigenous language, contributions to nationaldevelopment and matrimonial status.

In a day’s Expert Engagement at the CRCSecretariat on Thursday February 12, 2015;members of the committee displayed theirknowledge on the subject matter and the needto develop recommendations that wouldimprove the governance structure of SierraLeone.

Hon Ibrahim Ben Kargbo is representing the AllPeople’s Congress in the CRC, he had a contraryview on the issue of indigenous languagerequirement to contest the presidency, mostchildren couldn’t speak their local languageswhilst simultaneously stressing that the needfor Upper House is to remove ParamountChiefs from parliament to serve as advisers.

Continue on Page 5

5 CRC Newsletter - January - February 2015

The Chairman of the Sierra Leone People’s Party(SLPP), Chief Somanoh Kapen maintained that thePolitical Parties Registration Commission (PPRC)should ensure free and fair elections, promote thedemocratic process whilst indicating that the 55%requirement was incorporated into the Constitutionto ensure that the winning candidate command themandate of the people.

Critical issues discussed during the deliberationswere:● the maintenance of the 55% threshold● Dual citizenship must be given serious

consideration● The incumbent Government must not be al-

lowed to conduct elections.● The president must pay Tax● Residency Requirement should be left opened● Paramount Chiefs should be elected by Electoral

College supervised by NEC.Executive sub-committee Expert meeting

He was officially opening the expert training for members of the CRC Sub-committee on local government during which he appealed to all to comeonboard for the CRC to accomplish its task and assured that governmentwould address the concerns of the CRC.

According to the Executive Secretary, the training was to tap the expertiseof the resource persons to create a level playing field for members to makeinformed decisions maintaining that it is a privilege for him to contribute tothe review process.

Floyd Davies, who facilitated the training, dilated on the topic, ‘FinancialDecentralization,’ highlighting the various sources of income for LocalCouncils that include government grants, the Local Council FinanceCommittee, a very important body which allocates resources to LocalCouncils, informing that the 19 Local Councils were re-established over 10years ago.

Floyd Davies further articulated that there are four major principles ofdecentralization comprising transparency, revealing that the criteria forCouncils to access funds includes presentation of procurement plan,financial progress and technical progress reports, signed subsidiaryagreements and informed that all Local Councils have been trained on theuse of the PETRA Accounting System.

He further pointed out that the tax base of Local Councils is low whilerevenue collection is weak, adding that government determines the amountto be paid as local tax-I.e. every adult male and female.

Sub-committee presents strong casefor Local Councils

T he Executive Secretary of the Constitutional ReviewCommittee (CRC), Samuel Coker on 11th February, 2015disclosed that the CRC would in the next three monthsstart its public consultations in the provinces andstressed that the Committee is in readiness as there maynot be another extension of its term due to any otherunforeseen situation like the Ebola outbreak.

The facilitator also revealed that the Decentralization ServiceDevelopment and the Reproductive Child Health Projects for LocalCouncils are funded by the World Bank. Other issues raised by members ofthe committee were that 50 % of some chiefdoms do not pay local tax, lateprinting of local tax receipts and many more.

The role of Local Councils, decentralization that is key in modern daygovernance and the need for the Committee to present a strong case forLocal Governance in the CRC plenary, were emphasized.

Local Government sub-committee Expert meeting


Dr Victor Massaquoi, newly appointed member of the board of the SierraLeone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), on Friday 13th February, 2015informed a day’s interactive engagement with members of theConstitutional Review Sub-committee on Information, Education andCommunications (IEC) that unlike the constitutions of other countries whichare very clear on media issues, much is not said about media issues in theSierra Leone Constitution but clarified that media issues in Sierra Leone aretied to freedom of expression in the Constitution.

The sub-committee also recommended the creation of a whole chapter inthe revised constitution that deals specifically with issues relating toinformation, communications and the media as is the case with theexecutive, judiciary and the legislature.

Dr Massaquoi urged the IEC sub-committee to look at the major principlesof media law as human beings are guided by principles. He appealed to thecommittee to review, discuss and produce abstemious recommendationson IEC issues in the country. The facilitator asked participants whether thecurrent provisions relating to media and communications were sufficientand suit Sierra Leone’s present context and evolving circumstances. Hefurther asked about the beneficiaries of the changes, the ramifications andrelated issues.

Other issues discussed were a guide to the committee on certain theoreticalprinciples linked to IEC and the media, information access/sharing andmodern technology.

Participants deliberated that the media law is not sufficient citing emergingdevelopments, that the existing provisions in the constitution are not

effective, that not much is said about media law in the constitution inaddition to the need to have a law on social media that is ‘to some extent’regulated in other countries.

Dr Massaquoi disclosed that anytime a law is enacted, it is theresponsibility of the executive to popularize it citing the Access toInformation Law ratified a year ago but people are still ignorant about itscontents.

“There is nothing like absolute freedom, in the exercise of one’s rights, caremust be taken not to infringe on the rights of others. The media hasmetamorphosed over the years as evident in the current digital migrationglobally.” Dr Victor Massaquoi noted.

Other prominent issues dilated on were the capacity of the IndependentMedia Commission (IMC) to handle media issues, the absence of a policyon fibre optics among others. They urge the Sierra Leone Investment andExport Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) to be inviting the Sierra LeoneAssociation of Journalists (SLAJ) and the IMC to investment for them toargue their case for the private sector to invest in the media as well ascreate the enabling environment.

The meeting was chaired by Madam Memunatu Pratt, the Head of Peaceand Conflict Studies Department at Fourah Bay College (FBC) who isrepresenting the National Elections Watch (NEW) on the ConstitutionalReview Committee (CRC).

Information, Education & Communications Sub-committee advocates formedia Chapter in revised Constitution

Information, Education & Communications sub-committee Expert meeting


Consistency and sustainability of Political Parties in Sierra Leone’s democracy

The Constitutional Review Project in Sierra Leone presents an enviableopportunity for experts to share knowledge with CRC members and todeepen their thoughts around constitutional and non constitutional issues.Since October 2014, skilled personnel from various fields of academia havebeen meeting with the thematic sub-committees to discuss pertinent issueswith them but more importantly to develop recommendations forconstitutional change. One such meeting was facilitated by Daniel T. M.Gbondo on 11th February, 2015 with the research sub-committee.

Talking on consistency and sustainability of political parties in Sierra Leone’sdemocracy, Mr Gbondo described political parties as the nerve centre ofdemocracy in the democratization process. He said that the 1951 StevensonConstitution laid the framework for the introduction of political party systemin the country.

Daniel Gbondo highlighted certain benchmarks that are crucial for thesustenance and consistency of political parties. These include the following:

1. Party Law: This involves the rules, the institutions and the critical mass ofcitizens. The rules basically set the framework that determine howsociety is governed; the institutions are charged with the duties toimplement the rules; and the critical mass of citizens refers to those whoare not in governance to hold accountable their elected representatives.

2. The party constitution should have clear and concise rules that defineand protect the right of individuals to join a political party.

3. There must be clear rules about party financing, both public and private.Public by giving money from state coffers to the political parties for theday to day administration of their parties. He said because political partyis a very strong feature of our democratization process and ourgovernance pattern, it must be the duty of the state to provide funds forstrengthening of political parties.

4. There must be accountability mechanisms.

5. There must be limits and restrictions on spending, e.g. to ensure thatvotes are not bought; to ensure that people are not influenced withfinances; to ensure that there is a level playing field for everyone so thatbigger parties do not muzzle out small parties because of their capabil-ity to amass funds; disclosure of donors and contributors to make surethat people who donate to political parties are known, how much theydonate, what each political party get and to have an effective auditsystem.

6. There must also be effective grievance resolution mechanisms such aslitigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, consensus building, etc.

7. Clear external management and communication structures should beprovided for in the party constitution. There should be clear policiesas to how parties are organized and administered on a day to daybasis, hierarchy, recruitment strategies and procedures, and transpar-ent fund raising structures within political parties.

8. There must also be transparent and participative means of selectingcandidates.

9. Messaging in campaigning should resonate with voters. This meanselection should be more effectively tied with citizens’ interests. Themessage should therefore be enveloped to suit the audience beingaddressed.

10. There must also be robust election monitoring mechanism.

11. The support base must be maintained and expanded. He said itshould not just be about getting the people but maintaining themand reaching out to those who are not in your fold.

Research sub-committee Expert meeting

Research sub-committee Expert meeting


State Policy Sub-committee engagesParliament

High Table at the meeting

Welcoming the CRC to the House of Parliament, the Speaker, Hon SBBDumbuya cited that the constitution is such an important document thatwithout it the country cannot function well.

Olatungie Campbell, Chairperson of the Sub-committee informed membersabout the mandate of the sub-committee which is to review the provisionsand related clauses of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone pertaining tothe fundamental principles of State Policy and Human Rights, to examinethe report of the Peter Tucker Constitution Review Commission and to makerecommendations to the CRC.

She informed the house of the activities of her sub-committee whichincludes consultations, technical meetings on chapter 2 and 3 of the 1991Constitution, radio and television discussions which were carried out duringthe course of the year 2014, and further informed the house of plans forpublic consultations to the provinces when the current Ebola epidemicsubsides.

In addition she stressed the significance of the workshop forParliamentarians in the State Policy Committee as it will equip them to be atpar with the CRC sub-committee, because parliamentarians have the finaldecision before a referendum is passed.

Lois Kawa appealed to Honorable members of Parliament to activelyparticipate in the workshop citing the long period since the constitution waswritten and the need for it to be reviewed to meet the growing moderneconomic, social, political, educational needs of the country.

The Chief Technical Adviser Sanna Baloch enlightened the House ofParliament about the significance of parliament in making a constitution

because without parliament’s consent, consensus, participation and activeengagement it will be difficult for a coherent constitution.

The workshop facilitator, Jane Aspden thanked the Honorable Speaker fordeclaring the workshop open and gave a preface of the workshop.Participants were divided into groups and deliberations were madesection by section by participants and presentations were delivered byrepresentatives of each group addressing various vital human rights issues.

The MPs agreed and disagreed with some of the recommendations of thesub-committee relating to issues of state policy and human rights. Specialemphasis was made on developing provisions relating to citizenship,public officers, justiciability and non justiciability of state policies and soon.

he interactive session with members of Human RightsSub-committee of Parliament was spectacular asevident in their enthusiastic participation in thedeliberations of Wednesday February 4, 2015 at theHouse of Parliament in Freetown. No better sub-committee would have done the consultations thanthe CRC sub-committee on State Policy and HumanRights.

T

Group work

9 CRC Newsletter - January - February 20159 CRC Newsletter - January - February 2015

There is need to separate the regulator from the department that formulate the policies to avoid asituation of the referee being the player as is currently the case with NATCOM

An affirmative action is needed on ICTs in Sierra Leone. This would undoubtedly provide the enviableattention that ICTs so much desire in the overall national development strides.

During the deliberations a lot of pertinent issues were discussed including the very deplorable statusof education currently.

“Had university education gone online, the educational system would’nt have suffered the crisis it nowsuffers due to the unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). We are on the verge oflosing a whole academic year because we lack the necessary ICT infrastructure to provide teaching andlearning services online.” Noted CRC member, Memunatu Pratt.

The meeting unanimously agreed that there exists the need for a mindset philosophical change in theICT sector and the establishment of a national portal that would host information on all GovernmentMinistries, Departments and Agencies.

Officials of the Information Ministry also raised concern about the low budgetary allocation to theMinistry adding that it fell far below the expectations of the Ministry and would impact negatively onthe development of the ICT sector which is very capital intensive.

The IEC Sub-committee members encouraged their counterparts to develop a position paper to bepresented to the CRC for onward discussion and recommendation to the entire CRC plenary.

In a consultative meeting with the Information,Education and Communications (IEC) Sub-committee of the Constitutional ReviewCommittee (CRC) and officials of the Ministry ofInformation and Communications on FridayFebruary 13, 2015; salient issues relating to theoverall development of ICTs were adequatelydiscussed.

In her introductory remarks, the Chairperson ofthe meeting, Madam Memunatu Pratt thankedthe Director of Communication and team for theopportunity given to the Sub-committee to holdconsultations with them, more so when theCommittee had once visited the Ministry. Shesaid the Sub-committee was pleased to listen tothem as ICT drives development in the 21stcentury.

Welcoming the IEC team, the Director ofCommunications, Bakarr Tarawally expressedsatisfaction that the CRC was reviewing a veryimportant document and requested that theCommittee look very seriously into issuesrelating to digital economy as they were alreadyputting together laws on e-transactions. DirectorTarawally emphatically stated that thecontributions of the ICT sector has considerablysurpassed the mining sector hence the need toconcentrate on ICTs.

The following were recommendations madeduring the consultations:

● The same importance that is given to theAccountant General in the 1991Constitution must be given to the ICTSector. The ICT Department at the Ministryof Information and Communication mustbe made an autonomous body with clearmandate, budget and reportingprocedures.

● A separate Ministry of ICT must beinaugurated with a class A status

● ICT must be a criteria for promotion in thecivil service to discourage the lackadaisicalattitude of civil servants towards ICTs,improve productivity in the workenvironment and enhance best practice atall times.

Officials recommend a Ministry of ICTs

Director of Communications Mr. Bakarr Tarawally

fficials of the Ministry ofInformation andCommunications haverecommended theestablishment of a Ministrythat would solely beresponsible for Informationand CommunicationsTechnologies (ICTs) in SierraLeone.

O

As technological innovations continue to dominate the world, the Constitutional ReviewCommittee (CRC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have produced a 2gb

write protected multi-purpose flash disk. The disc contains all the relevant documents needed topromote civic education on constitutionalism and the constitutional review process of Sierra Leone.

Such is the interactive nature of the Gadgets that they contain the CRC Public Submission Forms of 7sub-committees which could be filled and submitted to the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC). A

2 gb space is also provided in the gadgets to create an avenue for other relevant information to bestored and retrieved.

The seeming difficulty in accessing Constitutions of other countries has been solved by theinclusion of the constitutions of countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Itcontained the Constitutions of countries like Guinea, Afghanistan, USA, Switzerland, Kenya and

many more.

The various volumes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report of Sierra Leone withtheir indispensable recommendations, including the review of the 1991 Constitution. The twovolumes of the Sierra Leone Conference on Transformation and Development, are among thepackage in the specially formulated, multi-purpose flat disc.

A glossary of Constitutional Terms, entrenchment clauses and country cases are accordinglycontained in this equipment making it one of the most convenient digital mobile library ever

produced for a national process of such magnitude. Terms like binding referendum, ad hoc,sovereignty, unitary state, written and unwritten constitutions are succinctly defined in the glossary of

constitutional terms.All the newsletters produced from January-December 2014 are packaged in a single folder. This affordsusers the enviable opportunity of accessing information about the activities of the CRC during the year2014.

CRC Newsletter - January - February 2015910 CRC Newsletter - January - February 2015

CRC/ UNDP produces state-of-the-art civic education / sensitization Gadgets

recommendations including the development of a whole Chapter that deals withlocal government since it is absent in the 1991 Constitution; the legislation of local tax; theempowerment of traditional leaders; maintenance of the Chiefdom Councils and the legislationof a House of Paramount Chiefs; equality in the election of both sexes for paramountchieftaincy; overhauling of the civil service and many more.

They finally agreed that the local council and the chiefdom council should work simultaneouslyand their roles and functions must be adequately spelt out.

The chairman applauds the effort, contributions and recommendations made by each andevery individual that attended the meeting and expressed his profound gratitude for theparticipation of all.

The Market Women were satisfied with the outcome of the consultations and asked theConstitutional Review Committee (CRC) to incorporate their contributions into the revisedConstitution so that the overall national development of the nation would be enhanced nowand forever.

The enthusiasm to overhaul the status quo wasconspicuous in their actions and inactions throughoutthe meeting. It was uncommon to convince marketwomen to abandon their stalls to participate in nationalprocesses of such magnitude.

But the Local Government and other ancillary branchesof government succeeded in galvanizing them intoaction. The Western Urban Market Women’s Associationspoke fearlessly but clearly about the issues militatingagainst the proper functioning of local governance inSierra Leone. “Local government deals with issuesconcerning the grassroots and other organizations andmarket women constitute that segment of society.”Maintained Marie Bob-Kandeh, the organization’sSecretary General and representative at the CRC.

Critical issues discussed include the following: localgovernment tax collection, chieftaincy and traditionalleaders, government departments, and the civil service.

In what could be described as an unprecedented showof civic responsibility, the women made a number of


Local Government Sub-committee consults Western Urban Market Women’sAssociation

Local Government sub-committee consultsWestern Urban Market Women’s Association

heir faces beamed with unusual brightnessas they presented their position to theLocal Government Sub-committee of theConstitutional Review Committee (CRC)on Friday 20th February 2015.T


Sierra Leone Association of the Blind (SLAB) adds their voice to the reviewprocess

“I fell down twice into a ditch hurting myself very seriously. This wasthe direct effect of a disable-unfriendly environment aggravated by agenerally poor road network in Sierra Leone.” Osman Bangura lamentedduring the visit of the Information, Education and Communications (IEC)sub-committee of the 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution Review Committee(CRC) to the Sierra Leone Association of the Blind (SLAB) on Friday February20, 2015 at their Walpole Street Headquarter.

uch is the precarious situation of persons living withdisability that the president of the Blind Association, ThomasLebbie remarked that that was the first time a nationalinstitution of such caliber was consulting them to solicit theirwishes and aspirations for a revised Constitution.s

With white cane sticks that guide their path, the visually impaired personscame from far and wide; the lucky ones have sighted persons who aid theirdaily movements. The hope of this neglected segment of society hangs onthe review of Sierra Leone’s 24 year old statute. This was conspicuouslyevident in their enthusiastic participation in the consultative meeting.

CRC Member, Marie Bob-Kandeh, who chaired the meeting, encouraged theSLAB to speak up the issues that they were desirous to see in the revisedConstitution. That singular opportunity was well utilized by the visuallychallenged people as seen in their wishes and aspirations for the reviewedconstitution.

○ The Free Health Care policy must be extended to persons withdisability without any iota of discrimination.

○ An affirmative action compelling the government to reserve 5% forpersons with disability must be guaranteed in the constitution.

○ The law that forbids the winning party from appointing losingcandidates to Ministerial positions must be expunged from theextant Constitution.

○ Free and compulsory education for all persons with disability mustbe guaranteed by the Constitution.

○ The 30% quota must be made constitutional

○ Housing facilities, monthly incentives, accessible transportation,access to independent voting, a presidential adviser at State Housemust all be guaranteed in the Constitution.

A former civil servant who lost his sight makingcontribution

CRC Members present Braille Constitution to theSLAB

Participants at the consultative meeting


He however said that they were neverthelesshappy to always see the different sub-committeesinviting them to their meetings and that theywould continue to sound that opinion to them.The Temne Tribal Head touched on the issue ofcouncilors and village heads selling land in theWestern Area which he said was very wrong. Hesaid people wishing to buy land should be goingthrough their tribal heads in order to avoid theattendant confusion that follows suchtransactions.

The deputy Mandingo Tribal Head, Alhaji Chief AliBadara Tarawally spoke on justice. He gave anexample of a certain property case that was incourt for more than three years but that when itreached the Soso Tribal Head, it was dealt with ina matter of twenty-four hours. He said if most ofthe minor cases in court were referred to the tribalheads the courts would not be overloaded andoverburdened with cases that take donkey yearsto end. He hoped that CRC will take that issue veryseriously.

The Loko Tribal Head, Alhaji Kandeh Sesayinformed the gathering that the tribal headsaccording to their letter, were supposed to beadvisers to the president. So he appealed to theResearch Sub-Committee to create the enablingenvironment for them to be meeting with theHead of State to discuss issues of nationalimportance.

CRITICAL ISSUES DISCUSSED

The following issues came up very strongly in thediscussions:

● The position of the tribal heads should be inthe constitution so that they too would berecognized in the Western Area.

● They should be given a symbol of authorityand identity like Paramount Chiefs forexample who carry staff and medals.

● They want to have the power to beadjudicating cases.

● They want to be represented in council.● The roles of the village heads and councilors

should be clearly defined and distinguishedfrom that of the tribal heads to avoid conflictof interests.

● Tribal heads should be the principal advisersto the President on matters relating to theirtribes.

Finally, Chief F.M Kamara, the Soso deputy tribalhead, appealed that they want to be invitedagain to important state functions such as stateopenings as it used to be in the past. But Chair-man Yansaneh, in his response, said that theissue does not fall under the committee’s man-date. Rather it is the Local Government Ministrythat is supposed to make sure that they liaisewith Parliament and the Protocol division.

he Council of Tribal Heads in theWestern Area has appealed forconstitutional recognition in therevised Constitution of SierraLeone.

Council of Tribal Heads appeals for constitutional recognition

TAt a consultative meeting with the Research Sub-committee of the Constitutional Review Committee(CRC) on Monday February 23, 2015 at the Ministryof Local Government and Rural Development,Youyi Building in Freetown, the Mende Tribal Headwho doubles as the Secretary General of theCouncil, Chief Mathew Gibao Young introduced therespective Tribal Heads, whilst Amb OsmanYansaneh, the Research Sub-committee Chair didthe introduction of the Research Sub-Committeemembers and the Administrative Assistants.

The Kono Tribal Head thanked Amb. Yansaneh,stating that for him to have been appointed inabsentia to head the sub-committee was nomistake, considering his wide range of experiencein previous constitutional review processes and inother senior government positions. He said thatthey were very much concerned about the fact thattribal heads were not included in the CR process. Hesaid they have raised this question with some othersub-committees but they were told that there wasa paramount chief representation in the CRC, but tothem, that was not enough reason since the twoinstitutions operate separately and independently.The chief further stressed that there position wascovered by an Act of Parliament since colonialtimes and it was that act that gave the tribal headsthe responsibility to be ambassadors for thedistricts for all the tribes in Sierra Leone.

Tribal Heads during the consultations


he Legislative Sub-committee of Parliament showedrenewed interest in the process not least because they werespecifically consulted by the Legislative Sub-committee ofthe Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) on WednesdayFebruary 25, 2015 at the House of Parliament.T

In his welcome address, the chairman of the Legislative sub-committee inParliament, Hon Agibola Manley-Spaine stated that the functions of theCommittee involve the passing of laws for good governance in Sierra Leone.

Justice M. E Tolla-Thompson is the Chairman of the Legislative Sub-committee of CRC, he informed the meeting that their main role was tosolicit the views and aspirations of Parliamentarians to the review ofprovisions in the 1991 Constitution that relate to the legislature. Althoughhe was quick to discuss the idea that all the views expressed would berecorded in the reviewed constitution. The Legislative Chair furthered thatthey were engaging Parliament because their contribution to the process isparamount.

In his presentation, the Chief Technical Adviser to the CRC, Sanaullah Balochremarked that the legislative section of the Constitution of Sierra Leone ActNo 6 of 1991 has the widest sections; therefore it needed careful attentionand study. He spoke about the recommendations developed by a group oferudite lawyers whilst simultaneously recommending the multi-purposeflash disk that has been produced.

The Economic Adviser of UNDP, Dr. Moses Sichei did a presentationillustrating the financial independence of parliament in the constitution. Hehighlighted the need to strike a balance between the executive and thelegislature and to clearly define the system of government.

He noted that the legislature and executive are tightly packed together andthere should be a solution for that. Parliament should have some privacyand independence to execute their work. According to Dr Moses, he saidthat Sierra Leone has moved one step ahead where in ministers are notmembers of the parliament.

Dr Sichei disclosed that lack of resources affects the balance of power.Parliamentarians should make sure their budget is well considered. He alsosaid that section 74(4) determines the salaries and conditions of service ofMPs. He mentioned that the practiced fund in the UK is an agreement thatthe budget will not be changed by the executive.

Like Uganda, the Kenyan parliamentarians depended administratively andfinancially on the executive. He also mentioned that the establishment of aParliamentary Budget Office (PBO) was critical for the development ofdemocratic government in Sierra Leone.

In conclusion, he stressed that they should make comprehensive reformstowards ensuring the independence of parliament; the need to revisesection 74(4) of the constitution of Sierra Leone; and that they would beexpecting parliament to adhere to the highest level of accountability of

Legislative Sub-committee engages Parliament

Parliamentarians during the consultation

UNDP Economic Adviser, Dr. Moses Sichei presenting

Parliamentarians during the consultation

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and colleagues


He said his belief was that the sub-committee has a huge task in ensuring that the areas whereit would appear that there was an over concentration of authority in the Executive which doesnot provide a space in facilitating good governance. He maintained that, “when power is overconcentrated in one branch, there is the tendency that discretional decisions that vest in thehands of the Chief Executive may, depending on the character of the person lend themselvesto abuse”. As a precautionary measure, he said, it was therefore necessary to look into thechecks and balances so that the situation could be minimized. Secondly, they as a party haverecommended for a definitive date to be set aside for the end of a term of office of the presidentas well as for the formal handing over of power by the incumbents to their successor and to alsoensure smooth transition period. He also mentioned the conflicting powers between theLegislature and the Executive which he says the constitution is not too clear on especially withregards the nominations made by the President. He stressed the need to ensure an equitablebalance among the three main organs so that no one branch exercises more discretionarypowers than others.

The C.D.P Secretary General also stated that they as a political part are very much apprehensiveof the fact that so many issues are being recommended for inclusion into the reviewedconstitution and expressed fear that the constitution might not accommodate all of theseissues in the final analysis. He again said that they are opposed to the Peter Tuckerrecommendation of having a bicameral legislation. He maintained that it could sometimes bedangerous and in fact difficult to run under a unitary system of government. He furthercautioned members to be mindful of the political culture of Sierra Leone as the country copysome of these democratic principles from the West, for posterity so that the future generationwould be able to manage them well.

On the issue of excessive powers of the executive, the Secretary General of the S.L.P.Pcommented that the only way to curtail some of those powers was by making parliament muchmore powerful wherein the cabinet would be responsible not to the President but theparliament. He also urged the Research Sub-Committee to do more research on that particulararea as to how the Executive powers could be curtailed if need be, and to also do a comparativestudy of the three systems of election—the list system, the district block system and theconstituency system. He said the Research Sub-Committee should look at how parliamentfunctioned in 1996, 2002, and 2012 in comparison to the present parliament and that couldbetter inform everyone as to which one could best take care of Sierra Leone’s situation.Members of APPA agreed that they would present their position paper to CRC in one monthtime.

Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) consulted themto gauge their views on critical issues regarding the CRprocess.

The All Political Parties’ Association (APPA), comprisingthe 10 registered parties in Sierra Leone confided in theResearch Committee about issues that would inevitablyimprove democratic good governance if entrenched inthe revised Constitution. In his introduction, thechairman, Ambassador Osman Yansaneh, of theResearch Sub-Committee welcomed APPA membersand explained the purpose of the sub-committee’sengagement with them.

The Secretary General of the Citizens Democratic Party(CDP) who doubles as a member of the legislative Sub-Committee, Gibril Thullah highlighted a critical issuewhich according to him, demands greater attention: the‘integrity clause ‘for members of parliament which is alsofound in the Kenyan Constitution. He said as a politicalparty, they were strongly in favour of providing for thatparticular clause in the constitution. “The recall power ofelectorates is also a view our party subscribes to.”

The chairman of the S.L.P.P and member of the ExecutiveSub-Committee also thanked and commended theResearch Sub-Committee on their work so far and spokeextensively on the powers of Executive.

Research Sub-committee dialogues with All Political Parties’ Association(APPA)

ll the movers and shakers of SierraLeone’s political affairs were inattendance. They knew that they had astake in the constitutional revision of thenation so they couldn’t keep silent whenthe Research Sub-committee of the

AAll Political Parties’ Association members during the consultation

Address: Miatta Conference Centre, Brookfields, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Telephone: +232 25 333322Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.constitutionalreview.gov.sl

Partners

Sanaullah Baloch Mohamed Faray Kargbo Maimunatu MassaquoiChief Technical Advisor Information & Outreach Web Specialist/Computer SupportUNDP, Sierra Leone CRC CRC

Together We CanHelp Fight Ebola

Documents

ISSUE 1 VOLUME 1 YEAR 2015 Sierra Leone Constitutional ......In a Press Release dated February 4th 2015; the Government endorsed the extension owing ... FREETOWN 4TH FEBRUARY, 2015