The 2012 presidential candidate for the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Julius Maada Bio, on the campaign trail in the SLPP heartland of Bo in the Southern Province in September with his supporters, crossed swords with stalwarts of the party in power, the All People’s Congress (APC). The new SLPP presidential candidate was injured in the process. In retaliation, the APC’s local headquarters was razed to the ground.

There were heated arguments over who was responsible for the violence. But the Independent Investigation Panel, headed by Awoko newspaper publisher Kelvin Lewis, found that the APC, SLPP and the police were partly to blame for the confrontation. While the APC and SLPP were culpable, the police were just incompetent – abjectly failing to nip the violence in bud. The media, too, were equally responsible because of their irresponsible use of language and lack of ethical probity, the Panellists found.

The Index evaluates 53 African countries (prior to the South Sudan’s secession from Sudan) on four counts: Safety and Rule of Law; Participation and Human Rights; Sustainable Economic Activity; and Human Development. The ratings are scored out of a total of 100 points.

According to the findings, a great deal of the continent saw economic improvement in the past year; though that was matched by nearly as many countries seeing a stagnation and decline in Safety and Rule of Law.

‘If economic progress is not translated into better quality of life and respect for citizens’ rights, we will witness more Tahrir Squares in Africa’ said Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese philanthropist, businessman and head of the foundation.

This year’s top rated country was defending title holder Mauritius (with a total of 82 points), followed by Cape Verde (79), Botswana (76), Seychelles (73) and South Africa (71) respectively.

The lowest ranked country was Somalia, scoring only 8; a figure which comes as little surprise given it has been consistently lowest since the Index was launched in 2006. The country’s lack of a central government and protracted civil conflict has worsened in recent times, and the devastating famine brought on by the worst drought in over 60 years has done nothing to ease the challenges the country faces. Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo followed with second and third lowest ratings.

‘A clear link can be observed between a balanced, equitable and inclusive approach to all categories of governance and national progress. These findings strongly challenge the narrative that supposes governments should pick and choose which areas to focus on at the expense of others as a natural and unavoidable trade-off of leadership.’  Ibrahim said.

The index reports that over the last five years two countries have much improved in terms of governance; Liberia and Sierra Leone. Both countries emerged from civil wars during the earlier part of the decade, with charted improvements particularly apparent from their scores in Safety and Rule of Law and Sustainable Economic Opportunity.

Trends from the data can be difficult to justify. Although the findings do indicate island nations tend to fare better than their counterparts on the mainland (Cape Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles all occupy top five positions), Madagascar has charted a significant decline since 2006 largely driven by statistically significant decreases in score for Safety and Rule of Law and Participation and Human Rights.

Prior to 2009, the Index was limited to the 48 Sub-Saharan African countries, ignoring Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

The foundation also awards a yearly Prize for Achievement in African Leadership of $5 million (£3.2m) paid over 10 years and $200,000 annually for life thereafter to democratically elected former African Heads of State who have delivered security, health, education, rights, rule of law and economic development to their constituents and who have democratically transferred power to their successors in the last three years.

The Prize is believed to be the world’s largest, exceeding the $1.3m Nobel Peace Prize.

Ibrahim said of the panel’s decision, ’It is wonderful to see an African leader who has served his country from the time of colonial rule through to multi-party democracy, all the time retaining the interests of his people as his guiding principle. The fact that Cape Verde with few natural resources can become a middle income country is an example not just to the continent but to the world. President Pires embodies the type of leadership the prize is designed to recognise.’

While the value of the Index’s ambition is praiseworthy, some scholars have questioned the effectiveness of the Index and particularly the ability for civil society to engage with its results. Telling certain countries they are failing on governance is not universally constructive; and for the two years in which the panel chose not to award a prize for achievement is likely to have provoked anger from some camps.

BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding has questioned whether a better incentive scheme could be found. Awarding ‘an annual bribe – a bribe for not accepting bribes’, he argues, undermines the cause by rewarding ‘the sort of behaviour that should surely be taken for granted’.

Despite the country affirming their commitment to Human Rights and Maternal care, the advocacy group have called for ‘necessary steps to abolish the death penalty in national legislation and to commute existing death sentences to terms of imprisonment’ said Brima Sheriff, director of Amnesty Sierra Leone.

The Human Rights Council is to adopt the Universal Periodic Review outcome on the country.

Thirteen states raised the issue of the death penalty during the review, calling for a moratorium on executions, abolition of the death penalty, and ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The group also want the country to reinforce transparency and accountability by monitoring and investigating shortcomings in the national health systems, and to respond robustly to allegations of corruption and systematic malpractice.

The organisation has also urged authorities to establish complaint mechanisms within the health systems and inform patients about their right to redress.

The country must also commit to conducting a periodic assessment of progress using ‘UN process indicators’ to monitor the availability, utilization and quality of emergency obstetric care.

Amnesty published a recent document stressing the ongoing challenges faced by pregnant women and girls in Sierra Leone. They report that drugs and other essential medical supplies are often unavailable at health facilities, or they are charged for free care.

Their research has also brought to light serious deficiencies in accountability across critical areas of the health system.

The move to improve healthcare in connection with birth delivery and address maternal mortality, healthcare policies and family planning was also welcomed.

The Free Health Care Initiative, which was launched in April last year, should provide pregnant women and lactating mothers with free treatment at government-run health facilities. However, the Amnesty report, ‘At a Crossroads: Sierra Leone’s Free Health Care Policy,’ suggests that women are being asked to pay for drugs, when they cannot afford to do so.

Amnesty’s Africa program director, Erwin van der Borght, said that ‘the health care system remains dysfunctional in many respects.’ He said that although since the Initiative was introduced, women are accessing antenatal care and delivering their babies in health facilities, ‘many women continue to pay for essential drugs’ and ‘women and girls living in poverty continue to have limited access to essential care in pregnancy and childbirth’.

The report shows that the Sierra Leonean government has introduced some initiatives to address these issues, including increasing women’s access to health services and improving the pay and training of health workers. However, van der Borght says that ‘effective monitoring and accountability systems’ are needed for the reforms to be a success. There are currently no effective complaint mechanisms for women, and the monitoring systems are currently focused on looking at individual facilities, rather than looking at the barriers for women accessing services. More effective monitoring and accountability would serve as the basis for promoting change which will allow women to give birth more safely, and enjoy their right to maternal health.

‘The government has taken some important steps to address these challenges. However, deficiencies in the monitoring and accountability system allow poor practice and mismanagement to go unchallenged, and have provided some people with opportunities to exploit the system and plunder valuable medicines,’ said Erwin van der Borght.

Amnesty International say that they have had a positive response from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation regarding this report. However, in order to ensure that health care interventions are accessible to women and girls, and that there are remedies to any violations of women’s human rights, they are calling for the government to strengthen and establish systems of monitoring and accountability.

It is known that only God and fools do not change and therefore there is no need to labour this issue. The fact is that people who do not change their attitude are like stagnant water. They breed reptiles of the mind.

The setting up of a Secretariat by the ruling APC government for the sole purpose of coercing or coaxing the people to change their attitudes was the first inkling that the Koroma regime was either creating jobs for the boys, or did not have its priorities right in the face of monumental problems still extant as the country was then, in 2007, just five years away from a devastating war.

Cynics of the scheme have been proven right as the personnel of the Secretariat demonstrated a negative change of attitude that landed them with somewhat hefty fines but sparing them jail after being indicted on 17-count theft and misappropriation charges. Incidentally, one of them was a former small time DJ in the United States and spokesman for the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) junta and penultimate staunch supporter of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).

Hardly a week passes by without some bizarre happening in the public domain or private sector that will not be in consonance with any positive change of attitudes.

The current scam is that 6 % of the drugs for the Free Health Care Scheme cannot be accounted for according to UNICEF, which has been supplying the drugs.

Forty-three containers of drugs were stranded lamentably at the Freetown ports for over two months while maternity and under-five cases are increasing all over the country. UNICEF vowed not to release the containers until there is full accountability.

These aberrations went on under the nose of two major civil society organizations, namely, the Health for All Coalition headed by Charles Mambu and Health Alert, headed by Victor Koroma.

Mr. Mambu, who has been carried over from the SLPP regime, has proved to be a sly character who is now suspected to be a clandestine supporter of the APC and so would not carry out his functions with the vibrancy it deserve.

Under the watch of his coalition, which boasts of more than 1,500 monitors all over the country, the stranded drugs disappeared at the ports without trace. His specious excuse was that the quay is out of the mandate of his coalition but people have been wondering whether his coalition and Health Alert are really effectively monitoring the scheme.

The health hazard in this scenario is that when these drugs have expired, as they are likely to, especially in hot and humid conditions, they would find their way to pharmacies to be part of the billions of Leones worth of drugs that are destroyed on a quarterly basis.

One unchangeable attitude is that of the motor drivers and their Drivers’ Union in a system where over 95 % of public transportation is carried out by the private sector.

And the crunch is borne mainly by the Freetown and Western Rural Area commuters who are constrained to fork out two or three times the fares stipulated by government.

This is simply because the drivers cheat on destinations while the police in collusion do not give a two-penny damn. This malaise appears to be incurable and it has been the syndrome through successive governments.

Examples are better than precepts but the examples of the leaders of the incumbent government are not anything to write home about.

From the horse’s mouth as it was President Ernest Bai Koroma who said at the Miatta Conference Center in 2008: ‘Fellow Sierra Leoneans, I am pleased to inform you that I met a solid foundation upon which my administration will work assiduously to continue to rebuild our country.’

The self-same Ernest Bai Koroma later said at the Kenema Playing Field in June 2011: ‘My APC government met a big hole in the state coffers. There was not a single cent when I took over.’

Thus, it is that the untruths and dishonest policies of the APC have not changed, as the foregoing coming from the leader himself as example of lip service speaks for itself.

Infallible records show that in fact Le 524, 991 million of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) reserves were left in the Central Bank by the SLPP government in 2006 at the end of the financial year.

As at now, figures from the same Bank indicate that the reverses have been completely siphoned out from the Bank’s coffers by the APC government.

Over six months ago, what appeared to be a faithful promise was made by the Minister of Information and Communications, I.B. Kargbo that former employees of the defunct Sierra Leone Daily Mail would have their backlog salaries and entitlements paid within two weeks.

The hapless employees were told to open bank accounts into which their benefits would be paid.

Some were constrained to lend money to open those accounts.

Over two months on nothing has happened. It remains a pipe-dream while the ex-employees continue to die out.

Thieving on a grand scale has not changed even by an iota since the hoisting of Attitude Change to the status of a state scheme.

If anything, the scheme which has now resulted in being a mere cliché has resulted to the worsening of negative attitudes.

The APC was heralded into office as it were by the alleged theft of cables meant for the Bumbuna Hydro Electric Dam Project by the brother of the Head of State, about which nothing else has been heard ever since.

More recently, there have been credible media reports about cable thefts. Thieves broke into the residence of workers of the $31 million fibre optic project according to the Minister of Information and Communications, thwarting development in the process.

Rioting and fighting during university and college elections continue changelessly.

At Njala University recently, students went on a rampage during which they smashed window screens of vehicles on sight and inflicted bodily harm as well, heedless of the consequences.

This was in spite of cultism which had been denounced by the university authorities and the police since the APC government setup their redundant Attitudinal and Behavioral Change (ABC) Secretariat.

Ibrahim Foday, a young reporter of the Exclusive Newspaper in Freetown was on Sunday 12th June, 2011 stabbed to death by some youths residing at Kossoh Town, some 15 miles east of Freetown, after a scuffle in a land dispute. That was an instance of attitude change by violence.

Take this! Forty thousand civil servants across the country refused to submit their asset declaration forms to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as of the deadline of 31st May, 2011.

(Incidentally the first deadline was 31st March, 2011 but had to be extended for want of compliance.) Investigations revealed that only ten thousand civil servants out of fifty thousand submitted their asset declaration forms to the ACC.

According to the ACC’s Head of Professional Standards and Assets Declaration Unit, the Act stipulates that every year civil servants receiving salary from the consolidated revenue fund must declare their assets or update them annually to ensure transparency and accountability.

While it is true that a fish starts to get rotten from its head, it is equally true that example is better than precepts, which is why the negative examples of the Head of State will obviously result in a follow-my-leader situation.

When, oh when will the attitude of the leadership of this country towards discrimination against citizens from other regions or tribes by appointments and sackings change?

Unfortunately, this negative attitude has filtered down to the lower echelons of our society with grave consequences. This attitude further widens the divide between ethnic groups and smaller units of society.

Lack of adequate law enforcement has been another bane in this matter of getting attitudes right.

The attitude of ‘sticking to it’ even in policies that are patently wrong and unworkable should change if the government is not to regard itself as infallible.

The ABC Secretariat failed from the word Go.

It did not notch up any tangible success while it lasted and should be scrapped forthwith.

The whole concept of attitude change, as in all development focused countries, should be left to various strata of society as it was in the beginning.

Arguably, the foisted Attitudinal Change scheme has succeeded, unfortunately negatively. Shall we try character change this time round?

By our Freetown correspondent

In our August issue we report on the Somali drought and ask: has the Western perception of the African continent changed since the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s? As images of starving children are being broadcast over the world, the Western media is making it seem like Africa cannot handle the crisis. Yet it can, as the most progressive region in the world full of rich resources and with a powerful African Union. With better governance and more effective assistance industries, the region would be capable of finding African solutions for African problems, and the external aid the NGOs are appealing for would not be needed at least not complete dependence on it. Measures should be taken by economically growing nations as well as the African Union to enable this to happen.

We also tell the story of Sierra Leone’s former Head of State, Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser, who despite leading the country and showing his loyalty for four years, was pushed aside and left in poverty after the military coup in ‘96. The Government in Sierra Leone has been talking about reconciliation. We ask how the country can achieve this, when people who were once such important personalities and drivers of progress are forgotten about and left to fend for themselves. Continuing the Sierra Leone story, we also reviewed the book ‘From SAS to Blood Diamond Wars’ by Hamish Ross and Fred Marafono MBE, which details the exploits of the latter author, a Fijian ex SAS soldier who became involved in the Sierra Leone civil war. His role in the conflict was initially as part of the South African private military company (PMC) Executive Outcomes. We discuss how the book paints a more balanced view of PMC’s than was evident ten years ago, as governments are now accepting the positive roles such private companies can play in conflicts.

The Global Law Intelligence Unit of Allen & Overy assessed the legal issues surrounding the development of the new-born Republic of South Sudan. The key question is around the status of Sudan’s debt claims and existing contracts entered into with the Republic of Sudan in respect of the resources of the South. There is pressure on the north to let the Republic of South Sudan walk free of debt as the new state is very fragile and is facing numerous obstacles on the way to becoming a functioning nation, however there is also a strong will to resolve these issues.

Our focus is also on Nigeria, looking at the problem of the recurring violence in the northern states due to the Boko Haram fighters, a Nigerian Islamic terrorist group who seek the imposition of Sharia law. Efforts so far to quash the violence have been unsuccessful. There are signs of the group’s increasing sophistication, with regard to its capacity to manufacture improvised explosive devices, and evidence of sponsors both within and outside the country. There appears to be no respite to the attacks, and experts continue to identify new factors to the chaos, which threatens to erode national cohesion and stability.

Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser was the world’s youngest head of state when, at just 25, he and his military colleagues usurped power in Sierra Leone in 1992. Yet, since he lost power his country has treated him like a nobody, giving him no support emotionally, financially or physically and leaving him facing a life of poverty.

The government in Sierra Leone often talks at length about how it wants to focus on reconciliation between the different parties, bringing people closer together. How can this happen when people who were once such important personalities and drivers of progress are pushed to one side and forgotten about?

Strasser joined the military at 18 and served his country in Liberia and against the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone. Some argue that at just 25 he was too naïve and didn’t possess the skills or knowledge to deal with the mechanism of government.

Despite his unfaltering loyalty to his country, Strasser has had a far from easy life. After spending several tough years living and travelling abroad, he moved from a position of complete power to a fallen man who faced unfortunate and stressful events over which he had no control. He has even faced rejection from his erstwhile military colleagues.

Who could have imagined that after four years serving his people this change in fortune would leave a previous head of state alone and facing poverty? Some say that it is obvious that the present government should step up to the mark and provide Strasser with the necessary help and support accorded former heads of state.

Just a small amount of financial support, medical care, and recognition of his contribution to progress would at least show some respect to one that served the country in the past; it would also go a long way in the country’s healing and reconciliation process.

Nevertheless, Strasser sees the positive side of life and acknowledges that the youth are the future. Although he no longer has a lot to offer financially, he is still willing to give his time to help people in his community better themselves. When New Africa Analysis spoke to Strasser it was very clear that he has firm views on what needs to happen for the country to make progress.

It is clear that his change of circumstances have deeply affected him as an individual, both materialistically and physically. Although you will still find him profoundly interested in Sierra Leonean politics, as well as in what is happening elsewhere around the world, you can still see the emotional scars that have been left behind after the harsh way he was rejected by his colleagues and successive governments that have failed to accord him the status of former head of state.

When Strasser lost power he was metaphorically thrown to the wolves and stripped of all the trappings of power. He was left to fend for himself and find whatever work he could, without the luxury of vast reserves or properties to support him. Despite the harsh treatment meted out to him, he remains positive about what he can do for his country. He believes that with his help, his community will flourish and, despite limited resources, continue to grow and move forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Hamish Ross’ excellent book, ‘From SAS to Blood Diamond Wars’, reveals the exploits of Kauata ‘Fred’ Marafono, the Fijian ex SAS soldier who became involved in the 11 year rebel war in Sierra Leone. After a distinguished career in the elite British regiment, for which he was awarded the MBE, Fred, as he is widely known, was recruited by Simon Mann to join the South African private military company, Executive Outcomes, and in 1994 was sent to Sierra Leone as part of a contract with the Sierra Leone Government to fight the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels.

At that time the rebels, notorious for hacking off the arms and legs of their victims, were within forty kilometres of the capital, Freetown. All appeals for help from the Sierra Leone government to fellow African governments and to the international community had been turned down and the situation was critical. With less than 200 men, EO turned the war around. The government was able to re-assert its control over most of the country, including the rich diamond mining areas, as EO forced the rebels back towards the border with Liberia.

Notwithstanding the assertions that EO were mercenaries or ‘dogs of war’, to the people of Sierra Leone they were heroes, and when the incoming civilian government of President Tejan Kabbah terminated the contract with EO under pressure from the international community and on the insistence from the RUF as part of the Abidjan Peace Agreement, the people were fearful. They were right to be. Foday Sankoh, the infamous leader of the RUF, proved to be untrustworthy, and in alliance with the rebel Sierra Leone army, recommenced hostilities.

After the withdrawal of EO, Fred Marafono remained in Sierra Leone and helped the Defence Minister, Chief Sam Hinga Norman, to train the Civil Defence Forces, (CDF) – the traditional local militias, which represented the only indigenous forces loyal to President Kabbah, who sat in exile in neighbouring Conakry following his removal in the May 1997 coup. This time African governments did respond and through the regional African force, Ecomog, led by Nigeria, and assisted by the CDF, the rebels were again repulsed and the legitimate democratic government was restored. Fred had been recruited to form part of the ‘air wing’ of the government forces against the rebels. This comprised just one helicopter gunship flown by another ex EO South African pilot, Johann ‘Juba’ Joubert, with Fred manning the GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) through the open door of the Mi24. The exploits of Fred and Juba, and ‘Bokkie’, the nickname for the helicopter (named after the South African Springbok) became legendary in the fight against the rebels..

However, there was to be a further twist in the tale. The RUF rebels, backed by Charles Taylor in Liberia, reneged against the ill-conceived peace agreement, the Lome Peace Accord. This time the United Nations decided to take over from Ecomog but the UN force, the largest peacekeeping force in the world at that time, initially proved inadequate against the rebels and it took the deployment of British forces to stiffen its resolve. The elite British SAS were deployed and again Fred was on hand to assist the members of his former regiment.

In the SAS one talks of ‘crossing the river’ for someone. Throughout his time in Sierra Leone, Fred Marafono established a close bond with Sam Hinga Norman. He was someone Fred crossed the river for and Hamish Ross’ book is as much about Sam Norman as it is about Fred Marafano. Norman was another African in the Nelson Mandela mould who fought for the cause of justice, peace and democracy, and then found himself locked up for it. Hamish Ross’ book reveals much of the real truth of the man, very little of which emerged in his shameful trial as a war criminal by the Sierra Leone Special Court. While some observers cite Charles Taylor’s indictment as a positive example of international justice, Sam Norman’s arrest and untimely and peculiar death in detention remains a huge blot on the Sierra Leone story.

Hamish Ross’ book also helps to present a more balanced view of the activities of companies like Executive Outcomes. Ten years on, the labels mercenaries or private military companies no longer have the same negative connotation. Governments around the world are coming to terms with accepting the positive roles that PMCs can and do play in conflicts. A British Foreign Office official has been quoted as saying that ‘Private military security companies play a vital and necessary role in hostile environments.’ Attention is now focussed upon controlling such companies rather than trying to ban them. Last year the Swiss Government hosted the signing of the ‘International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers’. The aim of the code is to set out measurable and enforceable standards by which such companies operate. Some governments have yet to catch up with this change of attitude. The South African government, for example, enacted its Foreign Military Assistance Act specifically to prescribe the activities of Executive Outcomes. It needs revising. Although the Act has never been tested in Court, in the words of one practitioner, ‘it makes even selling shoelaces to the Angolan army illegal!’

PMCs have now been actively involved in all the latest conflicts such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. In Afghanistan alone last year they were paid contracts worth £29 million. This is clearly a lucrative business, but still more economic than deploying regular armies. When EO was operating in Sierra Leone, it was costing approximately $20 million per year. When the UN deployed its force to do in effect the same thing, it cost one billion dollars!

Peter Penfold

‘From SAS to Blood Diamond Wars’, Hamish Ross and Fred Marafano, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2011.

The grandees of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) have plumped for Julius Maada Bio as the party’s candidate for the crucial presidential election scheduled for the last quarter of 2012. It was a choice that was not expected when the SLPP convention began at the end of July. But after last-minute behind-the-scenes horse-trading, 238 of the 600 or so delegates at the convention voted for Bio.

There are those who might not like this, but horse-trading is part and parcel of the cut and thrust of politics and the democratic process. Bio himself acknowledged this when he said in his acceptance speech: ‘…we celebrate the outcome of our collective endeavour here tonight as a win-win for internal party democracy; not as a personal victory for any individual. The true winner tonight is the SLPP, the only truly democratic and national political party Sierra Leone has ever known.’

Now it is up to Bio to show the party faithful that he can lead them to victory in 2012. This, of course, will not be an easy task. He has a past that could stand him in good stead or work against him. Bio was one of the Young Turks that overthrew the All People’s Congress (APC) government in 1992 – and, for sure, APC stalwarts, whose party is currently in power, will do all they can to halt Bio’s march to the presidency.

Indeed, last year there was talk of investigating executions carried out during the period Sierra Leone was under the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), of which Bio was a member. The matter was shelved, but there is suspicion that it would now be revived in an attempt to forestall Bio’s presidential ambitions.

This, naturally, has not been lost on SLPP supporters. They argue that Bio was merely in charge of the information department when the executions took place and that he was not privy to the decision by senior members of the NPRC. In any case, the argument goes, the NPRC was recognised internationally as the de jure government in Sierra Leone and as such it could have acted within the law.

Bio, obviously, must be well prepared to deal with any such investigation. The SLPP hierarchy will make sure of that. The party has taken a conscious decision to pick Bio as its presidential candidate because, even though he had antagonised some members of the SLPP, they know that his credentials could make him a formidable force against the APC.

He is relatively young and as such has the backing of many disaffected Sierra Leonean youths. But the problem with this is that he could have his work cut out in trying to rein in these young people who tend to get too restive during the hustle and bustle of the political campaign. Violence is always just beneath the surface when the paths of supporters of the SLPP and APC cross.

However, these are early days. The campaign is going to be a long, hard slug and it would sorely test the democratic process in Sierra Leone. But, in the final analysis, the leaders of both the APC and SLPP owe it to Sierra Leoneans to ensure that the country does not degenerate into chaos.

According to a company announcement today, SISG would invest the said amount in return for a 25% shareholding in AML’s flagship Tonkolili project and would also purchase iron ore under an off-take arrangement, guaranteeing long-term orders for production in Tonkolili.

Commenting on the announcement, Frank Timis, Executive Chairman of AML said: ‘We are pleased to welcome SISG, one of the world’s largest steel producers, as a strategic investor in the Tonkolili project. This partnership confirms the potential for Sierra Leone to become one of the world’s major iron ore producing nations thereby creating lasting benefits for its people.’

AML is still embroiled in controversy over its rights to develop the Tonkolili iron ore project, north of the West African resource rich nation. Stakeholders are concerned, amongst other things, over the extent of the lease handed out to AML and will seek variations in the agreement shortly in the interest of the country. Tonkolili has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant resource deposit of 12.8 billion tonnes. The project, which currently has a 60 plus year mine-life, is being developed in three phases.

According to AML, in real terms the Chinese investor, currently the world’s ninth largest steel group, would purchase two million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of Phase I production, an incremental 8Mtpa after Phase II is commissioned and 10 Mtpa during Phase III, with discounts in each phase ranging from zero to 15%.

Mr Zou Zhongchen, Chairman of SISG said: ‘SISG is delighted to confirm this long term partnership with AML and to endorse a relationship with Sierra Leone which provides our steel mills with a sustainable long term supply of iron ore.’

AML guarantees that the project subsidiaries will sell 10 million tons of iron ore, and reach an annual production rate of 12 million tons, during 2012.