"?.67 Z)V.2 C COOC INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE COUNTRY PROFILE SIERRA LEONE OTTAWA December, 1972 ARCHIV Savage no. 14 SIERRA LEONE The Colony of Sierra Leone originated insale and cession, in of 1787, by Chief Nairabana to someEnglish abolitionists of a piece land intended as a home for Africansrescued from slave ships. The hinterland was declared a British Protectoratein 1896. Sierra Leone became independent on 27th Apri1,1961. AREA, CLIMATE AND POPULATION Sierra Leone lies on the west coastof Africa between60 55' of and 100 N. latitude and10° 16' and 13° 8' longitude. Its 210 miles The total area coast line extends from theborder of Guinea to Liberia. the dry season is 27,925 square miles. There are two distinct seasons, from October to May and the rainy seasonfor the rest of the year. The heaviest rainfall is on the coastfrom July to September. The average annual rainfall ranges from 75 inchesto more than 130 inches at Guma At the Valley. The mean temperature is800 F with little variation. beginning of the dry season the countryexperiences the hamattan, a dry sand-laden wind from the Sahara. Population 3,870,000 (1970); rate of growth 2 per cent; density per square mile 90. -2 - MAIN CITIES Freetown, (capital) 132,000 Bo 30,000 Kenema 14,000 Makeni 15,000 Lunsar 12,000 LANGUAGE AND RELIGION English is the official language; Kiro (Creole) a form of pidgin English, is widely spoken. Apart from the 400,000 Creoles, there are 13 ethnic groups, the most important being the Mende in the South and the Tare in the North representing around 60% of the entire population. The majority of the population is animist, Moslems - about 500,000 Protestants - about 700,000 Roman Catholics. GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION The Consitution embodied in the Sierra Leone (Constitution) Order-in-Council 1961 came into force at Independence on 27th April, 1961, when Sierra Leone became a sovereign and independent member of the Commonwealth. Sierra Leone was accordingly admitted to the United Nations organization as the 100th member. Sierra Leone is a member of the Organization of African Unity, the International Monetary Fund, the International Development Association, the World Health Organization, I.L.O., and UNESCO. 3 Under the Constitution (1961) the Queen's representative was the Governor-General appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Government consists of the Prime Minister appointed hy the Governor- General, and Ministers appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister, from among members of the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives consists of the Speaker and no fewer than 60 members elected from the Constituencies established by an Electoral Commission. After the elections held on March 17, 1967, the then Governor-General, Sir Henry Lightfoot-Boston, appointed Mr. Siaka Stevens, Leader of the All People's Congress Party, as Prime Minister on 21 March. On the same day the Government was overthrown by a military coup under the Army Commander, Brigadier David Lausana. On March 23 there was a countercoup led by army and police officers who proclaimed the National Reformation Council under Brigadier Luxon Smith as Chairman and Commissioner of Police, L. W. Leigh as Deputy Chairman, and six others. On the night of April 17 - 18, 1968, the National Reformation Council was overthrown by the Army and police non-c(amissioned officers who announced the formation of the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement. The ACRM appointed an Interim Council but later decided,in concurrence with the elected members of Parliament, that there should be a National Government comprising candidates drawn from both political parties, independent candidates and paramount chiefs. 4 On April 26,1968, ConstitutionalGovernment and civilian rule was restored, with the appointmentof Siaka Stevens as Prime Minister. On April 19, 1971, Sierra Leone becamea Republic under a Constitution which provided a ceremonialPresident. On April 21 the Constitution was amended to providefor an Executive President and Dr. Siaka Stevens wassworn in as President. POLITICAL PARTIES The political parties are: the All People's Congress (APC), the present party in power, the Sierra Leone People'sParty, the Opposition Party, and a sprinkling of independentparties with one or two members or no party members in Parliament at all. CABINET President (with responsibility for Defence) : Dr. Siaka P. Stevens Vice-President, Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior : S.I. Koroma Minister of Finance : C. A. Karmar-Taylor Attorney-General : L. A. M. Brewah Minister of Lands and Mines : S.D. Kawusu-Konteh -5 Minister of Trade and Industry : S. A. Fofana Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources : A. G. Sembu Forna Minister of Works : D. F. Shears Minister of Information and Broadcasting : Alimamy Khazali Minister of Health : J. C. Hadson-Taylor Minister of Education : J. Barthes-Wilson Minister of Transport and Communications : E. J. Kargbo Minister of Social Welfare : S. A. T. Koroma Minister of Development : S. W. Gaudi-Capio Minister of Housing and Country Planning : M. O. Cole Minister of Labour : F.B. Turay Leader of the House : A. B. Janneh POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS Following the resignation of two prominent Cabinet Minsters and their expulsion from the All People's Congress Party, Dr. Siaka Stevens, the Prime Minister at the time, declared a state of Emergency on September 14, 1970,"in the interest of national security and in order to give effective protection to the lives and property of all citizens and people resident in Sierra Leone". In October, 1970, the United Democratic Party was banned and a number of people detained, the majority of whom have since been released. After an abortive coup in March,1971, Dr. Stevens asked for Guinean Army support to safeguard the position of -6 his Government. Parliament then passed an Act declaring Sierra Leone a republic within the Commonwealth and Dr. Stevens was elected the first President of Sierra Leone. The President is head of the Cabinet and the Government, and Mr. S.I. Koroma, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and Minister of the Interior. The present Parliament is to complete its term of office in April, 1973, when parliamentary elections are due to be held. LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Provinces are administered through the Ministry of the Interior and divided into 147 chiefdoms, each under the control of a Paramount Chief, and a Council of Elders who are responsible for the maintenance of law and order and for the administration of justice except for serious crimes. One hundred and forty-three of these chiefdoms are now organized as local Government units, empowered to raise and disburse funds for development of the chiefdom concerned. In each administrative district there is a fully elective Dictrict Council with a president elected by the members from their number. District Councils have now developed into local Government units with funds at their disposal for the development of their districts. -7 EDUCATION There were 914 registered primary schools with a total enrolment of 139,400 pupils in 1968-69. Primary education is as yet neither free nor compulsory. School attendance varies considerably in different parts of the country. For example, the western area has 47 per cent of its primary school-age children in school, while the percentage is as low as 12 per cent elsewhere. There were 72 secondary schools with a total enrolment of 25,000 pupils, and nine of these schools take pupils up to university entrance level. Technical education is provided in two technical institutes, two trade centres and in the technical training schools of the mining companies. There is also a rural institute. Telcher-training is carried out in nine training colleges, two of which are Government-run, five mission-operated and two in the Western Province. Milton Margai Teachers Training College and the Freetown Teachers College are autonomous colleges. The number of teachers in colleges for secondary school teachers and eight others for primary school teachers training for the teacher's certificate was 900 students, (1970). Fourah Bay College and Njala University College make up the University of Sierra Leone, offering a range of first degree and diploma courses They have a total enrolment of 900 students (1971). The newly-formed Institute of Education is now responsible for teacher education, educational research and curriculum developmeot in the country. - 8 - JUSTICE The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. Subordinate courts are held by magistrates in the various districts. Native courts apply native law and customs under criminal and civil jurisdiction. Appeals from the decisions of the magistrates are heard by the Supreme Court. Appeals from the decisions of the Supreme Court are heard by the Sierra Leone Court of Appeal. ARMED FORCES Sierra Leone has a force of 1,560 officers and men. The Police Force in 1970 had an authorized strength of 68 senior officers, 76 junior officers and 1,900 other ranks. In the provinces each chiefdom keeps an additional force known as "chiefdom police". An Auxiliary Force consisting of two officers and 270 other ranks are helping the regular force in maintaining law and order in the diamond protected area in the Eastern Province. HEALTH In the Western area there are 7 Government hospitals (1,000 beds) including a maternity hospital, a children's hospital and an infectious diseases hospital near Freetown. A mental hospital at Kissy has accommodation for 220 patients. In the other provinces there are 13 Government hospitals, 4 mining company and 6 mission hospitals. There -9 is a School of Nursing in Freetown. There are 107 Government dispensaries and health treatment centres. There is also a military hospital (100 beds). The infant mortality rate is 147 per 1,000.