By Crispina Cummings
A three-man delegation from the Africa All Party Parliamentary Group has raised concerns over Chinese gifts to Sierra Leone and how they affect its budding democracy, human rights and freedom of the press. In a statement the group said, among other things, that they were investigating “how central democracy and human political rights are to development, how effective western approaches to promote democracy and human rights are and how Chinese and other investment in Africa affect democracy.” Specifically, the leader of the delegation, James Duddridge, a Tory MP and chair of the APPG, asked the Sierra Leone authorities how the gifts of the administrative building came about and whether it was through bi-lateral relations or a request from the government. Deputy leader of the House, Ibrahim Bundu, MP, responded that “the gift came through our interaction with the Chinese. The government asked for the administrative building from the Chinese who have given gifts to the executive, the judiciary and now the legislature, which is also constrained”. Duddridge said that “it was a bit bizarre for the Chinese, without a parliament and democracy, to be giving gifts towards democracy,” adding that he was also in Lesotho, two weeks ago, where the Chinese were undertaking a huge project for parliament. Meanwhile, parliamentarians called for more interventions from DfID’S to help parliament, and not just its Public Accounts Committee oversight. They said they needed a modern library, human resource department and researchers to help and capacitate new MPs read and understand topics around different types of bills. © Politico 03/10/13
