By Our Correspondent
Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma last Friday said the role of chiefs in the overall governance of the state is very important.
A government report says he made the statement on the occasion of the official crowning ceremony of four paramount chiefs in northern Sierra Leone held at the Makeni City Council Hall, Bombali District.
Official crowning of Paramount Chiefs (the most senior of traditional rulers) in Sierra Leone, like in most other African countries, is usually done by the head of state or his representative, usually the Minister of Local Government. In the colonial days it w
According to the State House report, president Koroma said traditional leaders " are expected to play a pivotal role" in the ongoing implementation of post Ebola recovery programmes.
"The programmes we are rolling out are significant because if they succeed in chiefdoms, they will succeed in towns, districts and the entire country," he said.
Paramount Chiefs wield enormous power in rural Sierra Leone and are frequently at the centre of most development projects carried out in their chiefdoms. Their support is therefore crucial for the success of any project in their sphere of influence.
President Koroma seems to have recognized this when he reportedly urged paramount chiefs to "utilize the Constitutional Review Process (CRC) as an opportunity to enhance and further consolidate the role of chiefs in the governance of the country.
He however lamented the fact that "the customs and traditions of the respective communities have come under heavy attack over the years," but however advised that core values must be maintained.
Traditional customs and traditions in Sierra Leone have always clashed with Western traditions since the time the country was colonized by the British to the present day. The Paramount Chiefs, as custodians and symbols of traditional customs, are usually the targets of attacks by supporters of Western or modern ways of doing things. The Chiefs, like their counterparts in other African countries, however always remained steadfast in the preservation of their culture which is passed on from one generation to the other. However, because of the predominance of Western styles of governance, the Paramount Chiefs have seen their power gradually eroded as the years go but they are still a significant factor in the social, political and economic aspects of the country’s national development programmes.
President Koroma, according to the State House release, therefore promised government’s commitment to continue to "strengthen the capacity of paramount chiefs" to transform their communities and the lives of their people adding that that the country will see great development and transformation immediately after the Ebola virus disease (EVD) would have been completely defeated.
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea received very generous pledges of assistance from the international community recently in New York to get the three countries back on their feet after the devastation caused by the Ebola virus.
The Sierra Leonean leader noted that because of what he called the "tangible development and the transformative leadership of his government", the ruling All People’s Congress Party will continue to stay in governance, adding that government is keen and focused on the development of the nation.
Koroma added that the "quantum of tangible and ongoing development" that his administration has brought is unmatched since independence, a statement many of his political opponents are likely to agree with in private if not in public.
Local government Minister Diana Konomani formally introduced the four Paramount Chiefs to President Koroma. The president in turn formally recognized and handed over to their staffs of office.
Diana, one of the strong female office holders in the present government, popularly known as "Iron Lady", said government attaches great importance to paramount chieftaincy as "this is the first time in the history of Sierra Leone for paramount chiefs to receive salaries."
The four installed paramount chiefs are PC Kandeh Sorie Kakandeh the 3rd of Tambaka chiefdom in Bombali district, PC Alikali Mellah the 3rd of Maforki chiefdom in Port Loko district, PC Fullahmansa Magbereh the 2nd of Yoni chiefdom in Tonkolili district, and PC Baibaro Maboleh Hashini of Malal Mara chiefdom in Tonkolili district.
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