Forty-three
years ago today, we took an irreversible step
forward and became an independent sovereign
State. As we celebrate the anniversary of that
momentous occasion, I would like us to reflect
on the true meaning of independence. I believe
it is an appropriate opportunity to ask ourselves
what it means to be an independent nation, what
it means to boast that we are a sovereign independent
State. We have to remind ourselves about the
implications of independence.
In exercising our right to self-determination
and independence we made a commitment to assume,
henceforth, primary responsibility for our destiny.
In short, this is what independence is all about
- to assume primary responsibility for finding
solutions to all our problems, problems such
as poverty, illiteracy, disease, corruption,
mismanagement and, to some extent complacency.
We know that most of these problems were exacerbated
by the rebel war. We also know that it has not
been easy to repair the enormous damage that
was inflicted on our fragile economic and social
system. We also know, and by no means should
we under-estimate the negative impact the war
has had on our morale as a nation.
But, how long can we go on blaming virtually
everything, and every problem on the war, the
war, and the war? How long can we go on recanting
about how far back into history the notorious
rebel movement and their patrons have dragged
this nation? How long can we go on commending
ourselves for our resilience during those long
dark days? How long can many of us keep forgetting
that Sierra Leone is an independent sovereign
State, and that we have primary responsibility
for upholding that independence?
Today, as we remember the achievement of independence,
we must also renew our commitment to assume
primary responsibility for digging ourselves
out of the quagmire that we found ourselves
during the past several years.
Over the past two years we have continued to
build the peace in our country, expanding on
the foundations laid by the highly successful
disarmament and resettlement programmes and
the conduct of the universally acclaimed free
and fair General Elections in 2002. We are admired
and constantly praised, and should justifiably
feel proud of our achievements.
However, we still face major challenges in addressing
pressing issues such as poverty, illiteracy,
illnesses such as malaria and HIV/AIDS and corruption
in the body politic. Poverty in particular,
hinders our chances of achieving many of our
national goals and a respectable life style
for our people.
This brings me to the theme of my address today
- namely food security. We need to achieve food
security because it is a key aspect of poverty
and vulnerability to diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
We all know that hungry people do not build
bridges; creative ideas cannot be produced on
empty stomachs. Hungry people are preoccupied
with the craving for food, to feed their families.
As a result talents and energies that should
be used to contribute to their own development
and the state's are wasted. Attacking poverty
is therefore our current major national battle.
After our significant achievement in rebuilding
state security, and our progress in democratic
governance, it is natural that we declare a
war on hunger as a national priority. I therefore
made a pledge to the people of this country
when I took the oath of office for a second
term, that by the end of my term 'no Sierra
Leonean will go to bed hungry'.
According to the World Food Summit in 1996,
food security is achieved when, and I quote:
"all people, at all times, have physical
and economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food to meet their dietary needs
and food preferences for an active and healthy
life. The four pillars of food security are
availability, stability of supply, access and
utilisation".
A prerequisite for measurable progress towards
food security for all is State security. Although
we must be constantly vigilant, we can say we
now enjoy a considerable degree of State security.
Our security agencies, in conjunction with our
foreign partners, now provide an environment
for freedom of movement and safe access to all
parts of the country.
Another prerequisite for economic development,
and therefore the achievement of food security
is the existence of suitable infrastructure,
particularly rural roads. Our roads rehabilitation
programme is therefore crucial if we are to
ensure easy access to our production areas.
The reconstruction of the Masiaka - Lunsar trunk
road is in progress. I am pleased to report
that the Freetown-Conakry road contract has
been signed and work will commence immediately.
Additionally, a total of 42 million Euros has
been approved by the European Union for the
rehabilitation of the Masiaka-Bo and Songo-Moyamba
Junction roads. Work on these projects should
commence by the middle of this year. Many other
trunk roads have been or are in the process
of being rehabilitated, for example the Kamakwie
and Kailahun roads. Most significant, our feeder
roads programme will build and rehabilitate
over 600 kms of important roads over the next
two years.
In our efforts to improve our infrastructure,
let me announce that we have finalised arrangements
for the completion and commissioning of the
Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project by 2005. Work
has already re-commenced on this project. The
electrification of our cities and towns will
see an explosion of investment, especially in
agriculture, and other productive income-generating
activities, which will boost employment and
increase access to food by all sectors of the
population.
The development of agriculture and its ancillary
services must be central to any programme to
increase food security and reduce poverty, since
the rural population makes up approximately
80% of our population. Furthermore, almost half
of the income of the average Sierra Leonean
is derived from agriculture or related activities.
As a major step in our food security and poverty
alleviation programmes, we have targeted the
incomes of smallholder farmers and small-scale
producers by putting in place effective institutions
for agricultural credit which will make small
loans and credit easily accessible for productive
investments in order to increase farmers' production
base and enhance their incomes. The objective
is to encourage the development of small-scale
farmers, who have always been the backbone of
farming in this country. We see Farmers Associations
and Co-operative Societies as playing a vital
role in the economic and social development
of the rural, and even the urban poor.
Micro financing is an appropriate tool for assisting
the rural and urban poor. For the private sector,
the community banks that are opening around
the country and the National Co-operative Development
Bank are encouraging savings and providing credit
to communities.
In the public sector, the total micro-credit
disbursement for the year 2003/04 was approximately
USD5 million. Government contributed half of
this amount. Much of the donor assistance is
channelled through NGOs and co-operative organisations.
We are pleased that demand for micro-credit
reported by NaCSA, the National Co-operative
Development Bank and the Community Banks clearly
show that our policy is having an impact.
We know that appropriate and cost effective
mechanisation is important for sustainable development
even for small-scale farmers. We have therefore
recently launched a hire purchase scheme in
collaboration with rural banking institutions
that will provide such equipment and other essential
inputs to small as well as medium size farmers.
With the expected increase in production, we
anticipate that farmers will have more surplus
produce for sale and increased incomes for their
labour.
As you all know, we have invested heavily in
the resettlement of our rural population that
was displaced during the war. We have also made
significant investment and budgetary support
to agriculture to the tune of Le42.1 billion
in 2004, up from Le19.2 billion in 2003. We
will be increasing these amounts, significantly,
in 2005 and 2006 to match our commitment to
the development of the sector in the implementation
of our food security policies.
Because of these and other measures taken so
far by Government, food production, according
to a recent survey conducted by the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has increased
substantially since 2002. Rice production has
increased by almost 50 percent, and other food
crops have also achieved major growth rates.
Cash crops have not been left behind, with agricultural
exports increasing from about three hundred
thousand US Dollars in 2001 to over two and
a half million Dollars in 2003.
At this point, I would like to refer to the
recent wave of price escalation of essential
commodities such as rice and palm oil. Our investigations
revealed that this was largely due to the smuggling
of our products and the great increase in demand
as a result of our successful rehabilitation
and resettlement programme, coupled with demand
for our products because of competitive prices,
in the face of the depreciation of the Leone.
Despite the significant increases in domestic
production they have not been sufficient to
meet our domestic demand and keep prices stable.
The major lesson we have learned from the experience
is that we need to redouble our efforts in agricultural
production to satisfy not only our local markets,
but also the ready market in our sub-region
that will absorb our surplus produce and help
create wealth and prosperity for our people.
This, among other things, will increase their
capacity to access food.
In order to lay a solid foundation for our future
programmes we have recently completed an Agricultural
Sector Review with the support of FAO, IFAD,
UNDP and the World Bank. The Review provides
a profile of Sierra Leone's agricultural sector
and its natural and human resource base, its
institutions, and its development strategies
and policy measures, and makes suggestions for
appropriate policies and strategies that would
enhance the development of the sector over the
medium term. It is being used as an input into
our Poverty Alleviation Strategy Paper that
is being prepared under the Chairmanship of
the Honourable Vice President.
We are also ensuring that our agriculturists
are better trained and have good research facilities
for quality extension services to farmers. We
know the importance of good and solid research
and research facilities. It pays dividends.
Recently, the highest accolade in the world
in the field of agriculture was bestowed on
a Sierra Leonean, Dr Monty Jones, the first
African to receive the World Food Prize. This
award is for leading the team of research scientists
that produced the New Rice for Africa (NERICA).
We are justly proud of him and we know we have
similar scientists in this country whom we want
to encourage.
Apart from the measures we have adopted locally,
we have made several fruitful contacts with
prospective international partners that should
enhance our agricultural development capacity
significantly in the near future. We have been
tireless in our diplomatic efforts to establish
links with countries that have established sound
food security programmes and we expect to benefit
from their experience and expertise. In this
regard, we have recently visited Malaysia, China,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Libya among others,
and have established strong links with Japan,
Iran, and Vietnam.
Our diplomatic efforts have resulted in my recent
commissioning of a rice mill in Bo, donated
by the Government of the People's Republic of
China with more to follow in other districts,
shortly. A Commonwealth project on oil palm
cultivation being implemented by the Njala University
College in collaboration with experts from Malaysia
has identified farms in four districts for the
installation of micro mills for palm oil processing.
During my visit to the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh,
I invited the Bangladeshi Government to despatch
experts to assist us in the development of our
inland valley swamps, irrigation and fish farming.
We recently received pledges from Qatar, Sudan
and Malaysia amounting to one and a half million
US Dollars as part of the Organisation of Islamic
Conference (OIC) Trust Fund for technical assistance
to Sierra Leone. We await the contribution of
other members of the OIC to the Fund.
Although direct investment and growth in the
agricultural sector are central to achieving
food security, the sector cannot stand-alone.
It has to be supported by activities in all
the other sectors - the judiciary; government
ministries; health, education, social welfare;
the youth; the legislature and the media. All
have to work together.
All the measures outlined earlier are the responsibilities
of the state. But, there has to be a major contribution
from each and every citizen, if Government's
efforts are to bear fruit. All of us, the people
of this nation have a part to play. The contribution
of civil society is vital and civil society
organisations should be committed partners of
government and not committed antagonists. They
should lead in encouraging total involvement
by the population in the pursuit of food security
as a catalyst for poverty reduction, development
and national prosperity. The media especially
has a critical role in sensitising our people
about Government initiatives and educating the
citizenry on their responsibilities in this
process.
Our youth also have an invaluable role. They
should be stimulated to be aware of their responsibilities,
and to ensure that they carve out a stake for
themselves in Society. There is a huge potential
in the agriculture sector for employment of
our youth. As a first step the Ministry of Youth
& Sports in collaboration with the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the
Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries and
Marine Resources, are in the process of mobilising
120 youth groups interested in agriculture for
a youth agricultural programme. The initiative
will focus on the production of rice, vegetables,
and livestock, and will encourage ancillary
agricultural activities. For those youth who
are not interested in farming, other gainful
and income generating activities will be promoted.
Experience over the last 30 years has shown
that it is impossible to successfully implement
poverty reduction programmes in an over-centralised
system of government. Therefore, my Government
will seek to implement its poverty alleviation
and food security programmes within the context
of decentralisation, in which power and authority
are devolved to people in their localities.
The forthcoming local council elections are
of the utmost significance and are pivotal in
achieving an equitable distribution of resources
throughout the country. Therefore, I urge you
all to use your vote wisely. People should be
served by Councillors elected because of their
affinity with the communities. The people will
then be confident that their representatives
can be held directly accountable if they do
not deliver the services that government has
provided. This is the true meaning of democratic
governance.
I take this opportunity to call on all candidates
and political parties to conduct themselves
in the dignified and self-respectful manner
that Sierra Leone's emerging democratic principles
now demand. The eyes of the World are once more
on us. A peaceful and violent free election
is essential for the continued goodwill of our
foreign partners. I appeal to all participants
not to spoil our good name, which we have so
painstakingly earned. We will not, I emphasize,
not return to the bad old days.
At the Central Government level, we are in the
process of strengthening accountability. We
will place at the top of our ministries, senior
managers who will ensure that government policies
are properly implemented. Among other things,
they will be implementing our food security
and poverty reduction policies in the manner
in which businesses are run in order to achieve
maximum gains. Our senior civil service will
now be called the Senior Executive Service.
The managers who compose this service will be
evaluated on their performance and their ability
to attain agreed targets. Over and above these
criteria, they will be required to perform their
duties without fear or favour and to demonstrate
a high level of integrity. The successes or
failures in the implementation of government
policies will rest with them.
Fellow Citizens, my Independence Day message
to you all is therefore that as a Nation we
should be justifiably proud of our recent achievements.
Despite the continued existence of many problems
of development, we have reason to hold our heads
high. To make significant progress we must all
now combine our efforts to fight poverty and
achieve food security. I sincerely believe that
if we all work together, with the programmes
and plans of my Government, we will not only
fulfil my pledge that no one will go to bed
hungry by 2007, but we will also be able to
continue to make startling progress in the development
of our country.
I now call on all my compatriots to stand up
and engage in the battle for food security and
against poverty!! MAY THE ALMIGHTY GOD AND ALLAH
BLESS US ALL.
