Sierra Leone: Deals, Lies And Debts

Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio

By Alpha Amadu Jalloh

Since gaining independence in 1961, Sierra Leone has endured a painful cycle of promises without delivery. Our leaders, from Siaka Stevens to Julius Maada Bio, have excelled at signing grand agreements, launching flashy projects, and securing massive loans, only to leave the people with broken dreams, rising poverty, and a mountain of debt.

 

The current administration under President Maada Bio is no exception. His government has elevated the art of deception to new heights, trumpeting billions of dollars in agreements that have yet to translate into real change for ordinary citizens.

 

President Bio’s government has secured major funding from the World Bank, including USD 80 million for the Macro Stability and Resilience Development Policy Operation approved in December 2024. This was meant to support fiscal reforms, boost private-sector finance, and promote energy sector and climate resilience. Yet the nation continues to suffer from weak revenue mobilization, bloated government payrolls, and catastrophic energy failures.

 

The USD 60 million Quality Essential Health Services and Systems Support Project was announced as a transformative intervention for maternal, child, and adolescent health, promising to benefit over two million people. In reality, clinics still lack essential drugs, medical staff remain underpaid, and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world.

 

The West Africa Food System Resilience Program, as part of a regional effort, was meant to build food system resilience, enhance agricultural productivity, and stabilize markets. Yet the average Sierra Leonean continues to struggle to afford a bag of rice, as imports flood the market while local production collapses.

 

In October 2024, the IMF approved a USD 248.5 million Extended Credit Facility to stabilize the economy and reduce inflation. The first disbursement of USD 46.6 million arrived with much fanfare. Today the Leone continues to depreciate, inflation remains in double digits, and living standards worsen by the day.

 

Sierra Leone now owes the IMF an outstanding USD 427 million, with repayments draining resources that could have funded schools, hospitals, or roads. The Maada Bio government praises these loans as proof of confidence from international partners. In truth, they are shackles that mortgage the future of generations yet unborn. Funds are squandered through corruption, mismanagement, and vanity projects.

 

From the African Development Bank, Sierra Leone has received USD 19.95 million for job creation in smart agriculture and waste management. This was to support 700 micro-businesses, train thousands, and create nearly 10,000 jobs. Yet youth unemployment remains rampant, with despair pushing many to drugs or deadly migration routes.

 

USD 3.6 million was provided to strengthen public financial institutions. But what is the benefit of stronger institutions on paper when they are led by corrupt and incompetent officials?

 

A hydropower and water portfolio of nearly USD 200 million, including contributions from the EU, UK FCDO, Kuwait Fund, and OFID, was meant to address critical needs. The Bumbuna Hydro Dam cost over USD 327 million but produces barely a fraction of its promised capacity, leaving large parts of the country in darkness.

 

Bumbuna II, with an estimated cost of USD 750 million, is supposed to solve these problems. If Bumbuna I is anything to go by, it will likely become another monument to mismanagement and deceit.

 

China provided USD 28.8 million for the Orugu Dam to supply water to Freetown. Today residents in the east of Freetown still queue for hours at public taps, often paying exorbitant fees to private water vendors.

 

Similarly, the Solar Park Freetown, financed with USD 9 million from the Abu Dhabi Fund, has done little to make a dent in the nation’s chronic electricity shortages. Baoma Solar Power Station, meant to add 25 MW of clean energy at a cost of USD 35 million, remains one of the few bright spots. But even here, the impact is limited due to poor grid infrastructure and governance failures.

 

Let us not forget the Lungi Bridge, a project the Bio government proclaimed would revolutionize transport and boost trade. Feasibility studies consumed millions of dollars, but not a single brick has been laid. The bridge remains a fantasy, as does the dream of a modern Freetown International Airport terminal that truly meets international standards.

 

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone’s debt has skyrocketed to unsustainable levels. The billions borrowed in the name of development have not built a resilient nation. They have instead funded bloated contracts, enriched politicians and their cronies, and left the ordinary Sierra Leonean trapped in poverty.

 

Let us not pretend that Maada Bio’s government invented this culture of betrayal. It is the logical continuation of decades of bad governance.

 

Siaka Stevens institutionalized corruption and crippled national institutions. Joseph Momoh presided over national decay. The NPRC junta, including a younger Maada Bio, sold off national assets and squandered opportunities. Ahmed Tejan Kabba, despite restoring peace, failed to address deep-seated corruption. Ernest Bai Koroma wrapped his regime in the illusion of progress, commissioning roads that washed away with the first rains and leaving a bloated public debt.

 

Each administration signed agreements that served as public relations stunts rather than blueprints for progress. Each borrowed in the people’s name but spent for their own gain.

 

The tragedy is that we, the people, have allowed this to continue. We have been too easily blinded by ethnic loyalties, too quickly pacified by empty slogans, and too slow to demand true accountability.

 

Enough is enough. It is time to reject leaders who trade our sovereignty for personal enrichment. It is time to audit every agreement, track every dollar, and demand that projects serve the people rather than the politicians.

 

We must break this cycle or we will forever be a nation rich in resources but poor in everything that matters. Sierra Leone deserves better. Let this be the moment we rise as one people, not divided by tribe or region, but united in the quest for honest leadership and meaningful development.