Sierra Leone Elections: Winner must address pressing economic issues

Welcome back to 'The Vault’

This week, we are looking at last weekend’s Sierra Leonean elections and the economic challenges the new president must address. We also present an excerpt from our recent analysis of Buhari’s administration cash transfer policy, a part of our upcoming series of analyses of the policies implemented by the Buhari government in Nigeria over the last eight years.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us, check out our website, and let us know if you need any insight on public policies, regulations, and guidelines in Africa.

Sierra Leone Elections: Winner must address pressing economic issues?

The Sierra Leone general elections—presidential, parliamentary, and local council—took place last Saturday. While there are 13 candidates in the presidential elections, the main contest is between the incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and Samura Kamara who Bio defeated in a closely contested?election five years ago. ?Some key points:

• The elections also include voting for 135 Members of Parliament and 14 Paramount Chief Members of Parliament.
• There are roughly 3.4 million voters, with 52.4 percent under the age of 35 and this election marked the first time the post-war (2002) generation became eligible to cast a ballot.
• The new law requires women to make up 30 percent of the positions in Parliament.
• Candidates must win 55 percent of the vote to be declared winner otherwise, a runoff will take place between the two leading candidates.

So far, reports of the elections highlight a high turnout of voters and a largely peaceful election, despite both parties lobbing accusations of violence and intimidation.

According to one survey, economic management is top of mind for voters, with 47 percent wanting it to be the main priority of the next administration. This is understandable given the current state of the economy. In 2018, incumbent president Bio entered office promising to curb public sector corruption and improve?human capital development through a free and robust education program. He set up the Anti-Corruption Commission to address issues of public sector corruption,?an accomplishment that has been largely successful. The commission?recently announced?the?recovery of SLE2 billion of public funds. On the education front, he has devoted 22 percent of public?spending to education and human capital development to facilitate the implementation of his?education program. However,?the economy has performed poorly under his watch.

• Inflation is the highest in 23 years at 43 percent as of April 2023,?specifically, food inflation is up 50 percent, transport, and housing 141 and 138 percent respectively.
• Currency Depreciation: The Leone continues to lose value to the US dollar. Recent currency re-denomination by the Central Bank to strengthen the Leone has failed to stop the Leone from depreciating over 100 percent to the US dollar since 2020.

These economic issues are a significant threat to the livelihood of many households. In fact, the increased economic hardship triggered public protests?back in August 2022. Whoever wins the election must address these issues—improving living standards, providing jobs, and reducing inflation.

Reviewing Buhari’s Administration Cash Transfer Policy?

Eight years ago, President Muhammadu Buhari established a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme as part of the broad 2016 Social Intervention Scheme, part of a key campaign promise to reduce poverty through robust social intervention. The CCT programme was backed by a $1.3 billion funding commitment from the Nigerian government and a $500 million credit from the World Bank. ?

To implement the programme, the Buhari administration first conducted a poverty mapping exercise to identify eligible beneficiaries for the national social register, i.e., the poorest and most vulnerable households. This was followed by a selection process wherein the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) identified eligible households for the national beneficiaries register. Selected beneficiaries are then enrolled in skill and business training to prepare for their potential exit from the programme.

• Currently, 12 million poor and vulnerable households (49.8 million persons) are listed on the Social Register.
• Beneficiaries are selected from the social register and participate in the CCT programme for three years.
• Beneficiaries receive a monthly payment of 5,000 Naira from the government. The payment is made directly to the main caregiver of the household, typically the mother.
• Households receive an additional 10,000 Naira if they have pregnant women.
• Main Condition: that the children regularly attend school and participate in the government-approved immunization programme, and pregnant women attend periodic check-ups at primary health centres in or close to the community. ?

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs emphasized the success of the CCT programme, stating in a press brief, that since 2015, over 1 million households (7 million persons) have benefited. However, looking at the overall data, the number of Nigerians in poverty has increased, from 40.1 percent in 2015 to 45 percent in 2023. This data suggests poor households are no better off now compared to 2015. In this article, we discuss some issues and challenges for this, including best practices that can be adopted by current and future administrations to redesign CCT programme in Nigeria.

What policy and insight do you seek? ?

Whether you are a government official, civil society organization, or researcher, our repository provides comprehensive access to public policies, regulations, and guidelines across Africa. We provide insights and intelligence on these regional policies and regulations for research, advocacy, policymaking, and investing. ?

Get in touch with us here: <mailto:[email protected]>.

In the News ?

We're also tracking the latest current events in the news, and how they may affect the decisions of policymakers. Below are some of the latest developments.?

Economy | Zambia Seals US$6.3 Billion Debt Restructuring Deal

Zambia struck a deal to restructure its $6.3 billion debt owed to governments, including China, who is the Southern African nation's largest official creditor. The agreement was reached at a summit in Paris last week. The creditors have agreed to reschedule $6.3 billion, including $1.3 billion in arrears, while private sector officials are expected to do the same for the $6.8 billion they are owed.

Democracy| Eleven Candidates To Run In Zimbabwe’s August Presidential Poll

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has announced that eleven candidates will run for the presidency in an election scheduled for August this year. The contest pits two frontrunners against each other: incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ZANU-PF party and Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who is seen as the strongest opposition candidate, and narrowly lost the last election in 2018.

Food Security | Kenya Set to Launch the Largest School Feeding Program in Africa

The initiative, set to start in Nairobi in August, aims to eliminate hunger by providing daily lunches for at least four million primary school children in the country. In addition to tackling food insecurity, the initiative aims to create employment opportunities for 3,500 people and a market for dozens of farmers. This is a collaboration between Nairobi County and Food4Education, which already supplies meals to 150,000 primary schoolchildren in Nairobi, the country's capital.

Earlier in the year, the government announced that it had allocated $36 million to increase the reach of the current national feeding program to four million children from 1.6 million. It committed to allocating more as counties contribute to the program.

?

Want more? Check some of our recently published insights, which provide you with deeper analysis and context at the intersection of public policy and current events.

How Has Kenyan President William Ruto Fared Six Months into His Tenure?

Elected on the promise of a "Bottom-Up Economic Transformation," President Ruto has taken several early actions in line with his pledges of economic transformation. He recently promised a KES50 billion annual commitment to the Hustlers Fund initiative —a financial inclusion fund to provide affordable credit to businesses, aimed at boosting economic growth and employment. He has also kept his promise on the housing and settlement plan by launching several affordable housing projects across the country. Read more…

INEC’s Failures Define the Nigerian General Elections

The All Progressives Congress’ Bola Tinubu has been announced as the President-elect and the victor of this process. Given the range of problems, it’s likely that this result will be contested by the other major parties and disputed by a significant share of the public. In fact, the People’s Democratic Party, Labour Party and New Nigeria People’s Party have already called on INEC to cancel the results and hold fresh elections. That’s a demand that will most likely not be met, leaving the convoluted electoral dispute resolution process at the Courts as their only real recourse. Read more…

Visit our website for more insights.

We've recently launched a complete redesign of the Policy Vault website, and we want YOU to tell us what you think:?www.policyvault.africa