By Edward Marah
Former Co-chair of the Tripartite committee Dr. Kaifala Marah, has said in Freetown that the ongoing electoral reforms should be treated with every level of seriousness and shouldn’t be done in secret.
Dr. Marah noted that 80 Tripartite recommendations, some of which should be handled by now, a sighting example of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) consultation policy, could have been done three months after the submission of the report, which undoubtedly the government and ECSL has not treated it seriously.
He said that the government outreach is a mismatch stressing that there are many recommendations in the report that the public should have been taken along to enable them to understand the type of electoral system that the election would take, pointing out that a decision has to be made between the proportional representation or the constituency elections system but unfortunately either the public none the media is aware of it and there is a divide between the opposition APC and the government on the type of electoral system that should be adopted going further for the benefits of the country.
He pointed out that, on the other hand, APC wants the constituency base elections, while the SLPP, on the other, wants a continuation of the Proportional representation system, which he said has to be resolved and can not be resolved in secrecy and that the government must avoid improper approval.
The former Co-chair of the Tripartite committee emphasized and underscored that the government must come out clean and that the government should adopt a holistic community awareness-raising approach such that the citizens would be taken along with the reform process., Dr Marah noted.
“There are many electrons issues in the report that should be made known to the public by now but the government and ECSL are handling it with secrecy which is not good for the country,” while expressing concerns that the government is not taking the process seriously pointing out that the role of the public is critical in the electoral reform.
He also called on the government to involve the media and civil society organizations, and they should be proactive to make informed decisions.
He advised the government and both leaderships in parliament that governance issues in post-conflict must be treated with care.
Dr Kaifala Marah is a Sierra Leonean politician, accountant, and economist.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Fourah Bay College, a master’s degree in public policy from the State University of New York, and a doctorate in political finance from the University of Hull
Dr. Marah has held various significant positions, including First Chief of Staff, Minister of Finance, Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
He has also worked as a public expenditure management adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as a budget analyst at the New York State Senate and former chair of G-7
Dr. Marah has been actively involved in Sierra Leone’s political landscape, including running for the presidential nomination of the All-People’s Congress (APC) in 2018
Dr. Marah is known for his efforts in economic reform and public policy, aiming to improve Sierra Leone’s financial management and governance.