Cocorioko Newspaper Report
Friday October 7, 2005
Sierra Leone needs to do more in terms of generating its own domestic revenues so that dependency on foreign aid could end. As a matter of fact, Sierra Leone could manage her natural resources well for economy prosperity but corruption is the country’s worst enemy . This diagnosis of the Sierra Leonean dilemma was made by the Director of British Department For International Development ( DFID ), Mr. Hogg, at the opening ceremony of of a strategic planning meeting of Orphans And Vulnerable Children In Africa ( OVC )
PRESIDENT KABBAH : WHY SO MUCH CORRUPTION ?
The DFID Director said further that graft has continued to undermine the proper management of the Sierra Leone , AFP reported yesterday. Mr. Hogg stated that Sierra Leone was not under-aided but he emphasized that apart from war, corruption has caused poor management of the economy.
The remarks of the DFID Director struck a familiar chord in the minds of many Sierra Leoneans. It is no secret to citizens of the impoverished nation that corruption by her public officials and leaders had been the prime cause of the economic collapse in the country that was making life intolerable for her people.
As President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah approaches the end of the final term of his rule, Sierra Leoneans have continued to blame him for what some of them regard as his lukewarm attitude to the fight to end corruption in the country.Sierra Leoneans complain frequently that the ministers of Kabbah’s government were living flamboyant lives that were inconsistent with their salaries and that many of them have built mansions at home and abroad but so far, little has been done by government to launch probes into the charges of corruption by government functionaries.
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