Dawn of a New Era

Dawn of a New Era

By Sallieu Kamara

Efforts aimed at addressing the myriad of problems plaguing the Sierra Leonean civil society reached a crescendo, when over one hundred civil society activists from broad-based and diverse interest groups across the country gathered at the Presidential Lounge of the National Stadium in the nation’s capital, Freetown, on 2-4 September 2004, to reflect and chart the way forward. The meeting, graced by several high profiled personalities in the diplomatic, private and public sectors, was perceived by many people as the beginning of a new era for civil society in Sierra Leone.

The three-day national consultative forum was organized by the National Forum for Human Rights (NFHR), Trade Union Confederation of Sierra Leone (TUC-SL) and the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD). The main focus, among others, was to create a forum whereby civil society and other key stakeholders with different backgrounds and interests could adequately and effectively input into the validation process for inclusion in the final Sierra Leone Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (SLPRSP). It also created an opportunity for civil society to mirror itself within the context of prevailing circumstances in the country with the view to positioning itself to meet the emerging challenges of post-war Sierra Leone.

One of the issues that came out clearly throughout the discussions was that even though the Sierra Leonean civil society had been impressive during the crisis period, it has failed woefully in peace time to perform its traditional role of demanding accountability and transparency from political leaders and public officials for their actions or inactions. This conspicuous failure was due mainly to the fact that the civil society has been weakened, disorganized, fragmented, over-politicized and left with no clear-cut direction or focus on the altar of its leadership’s relentless quest for political appointments and material gains.

Participants were therefore challenged to use the opportunity created by the Forum to develop civil society alternative structures and processes that would effectively engage the citizenry in discussing national issues that would lead to the overall development of the country. In the same vein, the leaderships of these structures and processes were required to present an alternative that was not only transparent and accountable, but also skewed towards the poor.

The meeting concluded with the setting up of interim regional structures for all of the four regions in the country, and a national coordinating unit. These structures were charged with the responsibility, among others, of further coordinating and organizing grassroots-based civil society organizations in their respective regions. Another national meeting was slated for January next year.

Another key outcome of the consultative forum was the setting up of a task team from among the participants to review and carry out an in-dept analysis of the draft PRSP with the view to presenting civil society’s observations, concerns and recommendations to the Poverty Alleviation Strategy Coordinating Office (PASCO). The team retreated to the serene environment of Yavouhey House at Leicester Peak, where it deliberated for three days, working day and night. Its general observations and recommendations in the form of a report were presented to PASCO and other key stakeholders in the lead up to the scheduled September 14 Sierra Leone Development Partners Committee Meeting (DEPAC) in Freetown.

Some thoughts on Civil Society

The phenomenon of civil society is an aged-old-one. A peculiar feature or attribute of it as a phenomenon is the problem of defining what it is all about, when does it qualify to be true to its name, what defines its activities, what are the limitations to initiatives it could undertake and what and which processes it should refrain from? A quick reflection on these questions will readily highlight the complexity of this phenomenon – known as civil society.

A quick attempt at a definition will invariably highlight the following issues: Civil, being vast and extension and often covering a host of entities within a nation state, while society, could present varying definitions relating to community as an organized entity in which people interact. A question worth asking at this point is what is civil society? Based on its very nature, any attempt at presenting a totally holistic definition could be presumptuous. A rather tailored definition could present it for our purposes as;

. A body of persons formed into a group, withdrawn from direct operation in the traditional arms of government and the forces. As a group, it continuously strives to occupy the assumed space in the management of the affairs of the state between the common citizens (ruled) and those with political and military authority (executive and administrative) – the rulers.

The formation of civil society organization has for a long time been part of the processes of managing a sate and the affairs of the citizens in a quest to ensure that the people have access to the public good in all its various facets and manifestations (security and welfare) with a view of living dignified lives in their communities. The background to its formation could be either spontaneous or precipitated by a need to respond to emerging needs and circumstances and a desire to respond where the available means of managing the situation proves to be either inadequate or unresponsive.

The world over civil society phenomenon is gradually being focused as providing a key non-state actor role, in ensuring that the nation state is held together and performs the traditional role of catering for the needs and welfare of the people of the state. It could also be stated that in most Third World countries where governments have failed in providing for the public good, civil society has become increasingly the sector to redress the imbalance-providing watchdog roles and actually involving in and fostering development…..

the ideal place of civil society in nation-building

It has already been insinuated that civil society organizations are increasingly considered in contemporary times as critical elements in advancing the world’s development agenda. This recognition could be realized at both national and international levels. What are some of the prerequisites of features to be exhibited to propel civil society organizations into action?

There has to be a clear, focused and unambiguous agenda to promote against all odds.
Political neutrality – individual partisan affiliations should not cloud the agenda of the organizations, nor compromise it.
Strive towards self-reliance as a key step towards maintaining and enhancing neutrality and reducing trappings that could lead to compromises.
Assist in identifying and associating with popular national development agenda and ensuring meaningful and positive contributions.
Weigh entry points and timings for embanking on ADVOCACY, LOBBYING and CRUSADING for an agenda worth supporting to avoid negative backlashes.
Actions that require early and immediate action should not be delayed on the platform of interests that are not national if the respect for and dignity of the operations of civil society should endure.

Excerpts of the keynote address Mr. Emmanuel Gaima presented to the Civil Society National Consultative Forum organized by the Civil Society Alternative Process in Freetown on 2-4 September 2004. Mr. Gaima is Director of the Decentralization Secretariat.