By Stephen. T. Fomba
During a recent conversation with a good friend, he emphasized the importance for Sierra Leoneans to understand the difference between State, Government, and the ruling political party, stressing that they are different. We did not discuss his position beyond that, but I stayed up in bed hours after my bedtime pondering on what he had said.
“The guy is right,” I said to myself. But how many Sierra Leoneans know the difference and how to keep them separate in our politics, governance, and everyday transactions? I do not know the answer to that question. But I believe that Sierra Leoneans need to understand the differences of the three entities to help us put Salon Fos. The State is defined in the national Constitution to be the Republic of Sierra Leone with a sovereignty that belongs to the people. In other words, the State is the People of Sierra Leone.
According to the same Constitution, Government is the elected Sierra Leoneans in whom the People entrust power, authority and legitimacy to govern. And those hired by government to help carry out its mandate have the primary purpose of ensuring security, peace, and welfare for all Sierra Leoneans.
The ruling party is the political party of a democratically elected president, as established by the Constitution. A ruling party thus is neither the State nor is it inclusive of all Sierra Leoneans, as it is a members-only organization. Although understanding the State, Government, and ruling party is integral to putting Salon Fos, it is not sufficient. Knowing what Salon Fos means would benefit all Sierra Leoneans and empower us to achieve this goal.
Before and during the 2018 Sierra Leone national elections, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella – the then presidential candidate for the National Grand Coalition (NGC) – who is now the party’s leader in Parliament, defined his political aspirations to have been motivated by his strong conviction and belief that we the people must put Salon Fos in all we do as a nation, to safeguard our democracy and peace and champion sustainable development initiatives. Soon after Dr. Yumkella and NGC made the call for Salon Fos, other political parties and interest groups adopted the patriotic appeal and organized their movements on the same theme.
The call for Salon Fos has been influencing the Sierra Leone politics since the inception of NGC, so much so that President Julius Maada Bio has made the same calls and pledged his commitment to doing the same, Paopa (come what may).
But what exactly is Salon Fos? It requires the commitment of the very People to whom the sovereignty of the State belongs – the citizens. The duties of the citizens of Sierra Leone are clearly defined in Section 13 of the Constitution, which means responsibilities of the citizenry are constitutionally required. To put Salon Fos means every Sierra Leonean must abide by and respect all laws, institutions, authorities, and the National Flag and Anthem. They must also be patriotic—love and support your country at all times; Maintain loyalty to the State over your tribe, ethnicity, political party etc.; Protect public property and resources; Avoid corrupt practices; Be of service to the country as needed; Represent Sierra Leone in good faith and protect its image; Respect and tolerate the differences of others; and Raise families with good moral values and patriotic minds; Participate in and defend democratic practices and processes. This simply means that citizens should seek to be of good character, love and support Sierra Leone, and commit to doing what is right.
Political parties can put Salon Fos by first aligning their constitutions with the Sierra Leone Constitution, to ensure commitment to the very fundamental rights and good practices enshrined in the law of the State. Interest in and loyalty of the political organization over nation needs to change to the opposite. The politics of colour should be replaced with ideology/philosophy and politics of nation building. Political parties need to move away from awarding political symbols on the basis of familiarity and party loyalty and get to doing so on the basis of decency of an aspirant’s moral character, ability to deliver, and loyalty to our nation.
Political parties must put Salon Fos by refraining from the practice of ethno-regional politics to build a sustainable democracy and national cohesion. Political parties can also put Salon Fos by constructively criticizing the government when in opposition; supporting government development agendas when they benefit the country and oppose objectively when they do not. When in governance, ruling political parties must endeavour beyond political lines to solicit and include the contributions of all cooperative opposition groups.
Parliamentarians & councillors can put Salon Fos by achieving their mandates with inclusivity of and tolerance for constituents who do not support them or are known to be members or sympathizers of different political parties. Councils should ensure the proper management of development funds and refrain from penalizing residents of their wards and districts who disagree with them. Councils should work cooperatively and effectively with the national government, irrespective of the ruling party. Members of Parliament must keep in mind that their powers are vested in them by their constituents, thus Parliament belongs to the People. Parliamentarians must thus legislate in the interest of the country and not for the benefit of their political parties or themselves. Political parties therefore should not punish their Members of Parliament who are committed to doing the right thing irrespective of the position taken by their political party. This is why there is the felt need for the amendment of Section 77/k of the country’s constitution which mandates MPs to sit and vote with the party under which they were elected to the House.
Parliament must also provide consistent oversight for government ministries, departments and agencies, regardless of the ruling party and its dominance in the House. MPs must also ensure that the rights of all political groups in Parliament are respected and protected, and all voices are included in all legislative dialogues. Our Judiciary can put Salon Fos by ensuring the independence of all judges at all times. They should refrain from political participation at all levels. We need a judiciary that requires the nation and its affairs to be constitutional at all times and stand firm against political interference and corruption. They must hence ensure justice for all Sierra Leoneans regardless of social class, gender, ethnicity, tribe, region, religion, or political affiliation, so as to protect the rights of the people and the peace of the State.
Section 40 of the Sierra Leone Constitution says the President is the Head of State, which means s/he is the leader of and for all Sierra Leoneans, not just members of the ruling party. The same section continues that the President is the Fountain of Justice and symbol of national unity. So, the President must include all Sierra Leoneans in the governance process to put Salon Fos. The President must uphold and defend the Rule of Law at all times and circumstances.
Our President should value and embrace our diversity and appoint a cabinet that reflects Sierra Leone. It would be Salon Fos to have a President who chooses technocrats over unskilled politicians for the development of Sierra Leone; a leader who does not play politics with nation-building and refrains from unlawful dismissal of civil servants because of political affiliation or tribe. Because the effective and efficient management of public resources is pivotal to the survival of the State, it is important for the Sierra Leone civil service to be of professionals who are hired and promoted on the basis of merit and who uphold the practice of equal employment opportunities as guaranteed by democracy. We need public management systems where politics is absent and the interest of Sierra Leone is at the helm of public administration. This arm of government can achieve Salon Fos by making sure civil servants take pride and interest in serving every Sierra Leonean equally regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender, age, or political affiliation.
Civil servants should not openly participate in politics so as to avoid creating a negative public perception of the government. Public sector offices should not allow any type of politically motivated groups or factions in the workplace. We should prohibit the vilification of civil servants because of known associations, name, tribe, region of origin, educational level, etc. In short, civil servants should focus on managing our resources and protecting our democratic institutions and not be politicians. We must do away with, as a nation, the marginalization of (members of) the political opposition when they attempt to provide check and balance on the government, including when they protest against government action and inaction. Putting Salon Fos means mandating and safeguarding the tolerance of opposition viewpoints no matter how challenging and nuanced they may be to the government.
Also, opposition members and their employers in the private and non-profit sectors should never be intimidated when such citizens exercise their rights to political participation. To put Salon Fos also means to develop every Sierra Leonean to be self-reliant by creating opportunities for quality education, modern healthcare, affordable housing, and jobs for citizens and residents.
We the people would be successful in putting Salon Fos when we create opportunities for Sierra Leoneans to achieve their potentials and live healthy, self-sufficient lives with freedoms and protection of life and property as guaranteed by our national Constitution.
The private and non-profit sectors also have an important role to play in achieving Salon Fos. Businesses and nonprofits should seek to promote the interest of Sierra Leone, not that of political parties or politicians. Businesses should not exploit the people by increasing prices of life-dependent goods and services that would place burden on people, simply for the maximization of profit.
Businesses must not bribe politicians to disprove of other businesses to avoid competition and maintain monopoly. Nonprofits and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) should refrain from changing their position on issues or areas of focus to appease government or political organizations and politicians, but instead should consistently seek to provide relief to the underprivileged and advocate for socioeconomic and political justice for all people. Also in this is the Fourth Estate – the media.
The media can put Salon Fos when it works within its mandate as outlined in Section 11 of the Sierra Leone Constitution. To accomplish its constitutional mandate and put Salon Fos, the mass media must maintain independence in carrying out its responsibilities in the State, especially from political groups, politicians and the government. Salon Fos is when the media, nonprofits and CSOs seek the interest of the everyday Sierra Leonean over the appeasement of political groups and politicians. May we live up to it!
© 2019 Politico Online
