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Democracy and Governance in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone has taken important steps toward recovery from its brutal
11-year civil war, which officially ended in January 2002. In the last two years, peaceful and democratic
elections for president, parliament and paramount chief were held; some level of government authority is
now re-established in all districts of the country; and the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration
(DDR) program came to its conclusion in December 2003. While the formal DDR-sponsored reintegration
program for ex-combatants is now finished, completing the more broadly defined reintegration process
will take more time. That process requires people from all sides in the conflict in war-torn Sierra Leone -
whether they were combatants, displaced, or otherwise victimized - to constructively engage in rebuilding
their lives and communities. It also means that basic infrastructure and services necessary for normal life
must become available. This is difficult to achieve in a country that ranks as the world’s poorest country
on the UN Human Development Index. Life expectancy is only 38.9 years, adult literacy is just 36%, per
capita GDP is $490, and maternal mortality rates are the highest in the world. This appalling poverty is
exacerbated by the damage inflicted on the country’s infrastructure during the civil war, particularly in the
North and East. The crumbling remnants of schools, roads, and hospitals give little clue to what existed
in pre-war Sierra Leone. In addition, lingering social, political and psychological scars have been left on a
population that lived for years in a state of conflict, experienced massive displacement and social
upheaval, and lost faith in a corrupt and grossly mismanaged public service.
Despite the poverty and damage seen today in Sierra Leone, the country’s macro-economic performance
gives some grounds for optimism. Real GDP growth continues to hover at an annual rate of more than
6%. Legal diamond exports increased from $41 million in 2002 to over $60 million in 2003. In addition,
Sierra Leone was able to benefit from debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative
(HIPC), and has qualified for duty- and tariff-free status on certain export commodities to the United
States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). However, in the past year, inflation
increased from -3.1% in 2002 to +6.6% in 2003, mainly as a result of shifting macro-economic priorities at
the behest of the Bretton Woods Institutions, but also because of the end of war-time profiteering
The United States has several important interests at stake in Sierra Leone. The United States is
providing approximately $135 million in 2003 to help support the world's largest U.N. Peacekeeping
Force. It is in the U.S. interest to reinforce the gains achieved over the past three years to avert the need
for future investment of this magnitude. In addition, the United States has a humanitarian interest in
preventing a recurrence of the lawlessness and brutal violence that produced thousands of deaths,
injuries, assorted war crimes, and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
(Excerpted from the 2005 Congressional Budget Justification for Sierra Leone)
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