Decentralization in Sierra Leone - Research for Development

Decentralization in Sierra Leone6. Conclusions6.1 Regional Variations in Local GovernanceA factor that came out clearly in the research was that the four survey districts each havedistinctive social and economic configurations and power relationships that affect localcouncils’ interaction with their publics. These regional characteristics are now summarized.Bo. As Sierra Leone’s second city and former headquarters of the colonial provincialadministration, Bo has always been close to the state. Bo District has a long history ofcommercial agriculture (mainly coffee, cacao and palm oil) and grassroots investment inmodern education. This last factor came out strongly in the FGDs held in the district.Participants often focussed on the mechanics of council contracting and resourcedisbursement and subjected all service providers to critical scrutiny. Bo is the heartland of theSLPP and it is the SLPPs current status as the opposition party at the national level thatunderlies SLPP-led local councils’ determination to deliver services at maximum efficiencyand forge independent relationships with international donors. This is an example of thegovernance outcomes decentralization was designed to foster.Bombali, by way of contrast, remains one Sierra Leone’s poorest districts. In the colonialperiod, it was a major source of rural migration to Freetown and diamondiferous areas ofsouthern and eastern Sierra Leone. Makeni, the district and provincial headquarters, is locatedin the far south of the district on the main highway linking Freetown to Kono. Away fromMakeni and the main roads, Bombali is a district of isolated agrarian communities whichhave very limited access to services and remain heavily reliant on chiefs for day to daygovernance. It is only in Makeni that we begin to encounter critical assessments of chiefs’governance and demand for more modern forms of governance. But it is noteworthy thatcouncils scored highly throughout Bombali as actual deliverers of services despite lowscores, compared to chiefs and other political agencies, on measures of satisfaction and trust.Clearly, Bombali respondents seem to be expecting more from local councils than they cancurrently deliver, while their assessments of chiefs’ governance answer to other criteria.Interestingly, the Bombali District councillors met by the research team tended to be moresocially embedded in their wards than their counterparts in other districts (remote rural areasare not attractive to would-be patrons) and thus more inclined to champion local developmentneeds. In Bombali District, local councils’ relationship with their public seems to bedeveloping along different lines from Bo. While Bombali is an APC stronghold, thisemerging relationship has little to do with party politics.Kono District has been a centre of artisanal and industrial diamond mining for more than halfa century. Chiefs became powerful brokers in the mining economy, authorizing the localsettlement of both rich and poor migrants and serving as middlemen between mininginvestors and landowners. Indeed, the mining economy did not engender class-based politicsas much as a politics of recognition for indigenous Kono rights and entitlements. Even today,Kono District represents a political constituency that the major political parties feel the needto court rather than rely upon for support. The district suffered badly during the civil war andthe rapid decline of artisanal mining has created new development challenges. Land,including mined-out sites, is now much in demand for farming and chiefs’ political brokerageis as prominent as ever. While some FGD participants in Kono expressed reverence for theinstitution of chieftaincy, others tended to view chiefs as powerful actors whose interests haveto be accommodated if development efforts in the district are going to be successful.WARD differs again from the other survey districts. There have never been governmentrecognizedchiefs in the Western Area, only elected headmen at the village level andFanthorpe Consultancy Ltd Page 40