By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
Date: Sunday, 6 April 2025
One of the most dangerous phenomena corroding the fabric of modern Sierra Leone is the propagation and defense of policy narratives that not only defy logic but are intentionally crafted to deceive the public for political and economic gain. These narratives—promoted by a fusion of foreign interests, international financial institutions, and their local allies in Sierra Leone’s political and business circles—have entrenched a culture of self-deception. This elaborate ritual of “lying to ourselves” continues to impoverish our people and obstruct meaningful national development.
Neocolonialism, Virtue Signalling, and Manufactured Truths
As in many post-colonial societies, Sierra Leone has become a staging ground for foreign ideologies disguised as humanitarian progress, but which in reality reinforce dependency and economic subjugation. These ideologies—introduced through international development frameworks, donor-driven NGOs, and externally funded educational curricula—compel local politicians and intellectuals to regurgitate ideas they neither believe in nor understand, simply to maintain access to foreign capital.
As British author and philosopher Theodore Dalrymple once observed, the purpose of modern propaganda is not to persuade or convince, but to humiliate. It forces individuals to repeat lies they know to be false, stripping them of their intellectual autonomy. In Sierra Leone, this is evident in public policies like the blind acceptance of mining concession agreements under the illusion that they will automatically result in development, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Take, for instance, the mining sector. A detailed report by Oxfam International reveals that a significant percentage of revenues from mining concessions end up in the private coffers of politicians and individuals occupying critical positions of trust. Instead of being channeled into infrastructure, education, or healthcare, these funds are misappropriated. Yet, successive governments continue to tout these deals as vital instruments of national growth.
The SUMMA Airport Deception
One of the most glaring examples of mass governmental deception is the Lungi Airport debacle. Upon assuming power, President Julius Maada Bio scrapped the Mamamah Airport project negotiated by his predecessor with the Chinese government, labelling it exploitative. However, rather than pursue a more transparent or economically sound alternative, the administration entered into a more opaque and costly deal with SUMMA Construction, a Turkish-based company.
Originally described as a refurbishment of the existing Lungi International Airport, the project’s costs quietly ballooned into hundreds of millions of dollars. When public scrutiny intensified, the narrative changed—the government now claimed the airport was not refurbished but entirely rebuilt. Disturbingly, the founder of SUMMA reportedly has past criminal convictions in Russia, only relocating the company to Turkey afterward.
Even more unsettling is the fact that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, via the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), officially loaned SUMMA the funds for the project—despite the company not being American and lacking a proven track record of equitable infrastructure development in Africa. This fact is formally documented by the DFC:
Why would the U.S. government fund a foreign company for a controversial project in Sierra Leone? The answer lies in a murky web of geopolitical influence and economic imperialism—one in which Sierra Leone remains a pawn.
A Failing Energy Sector as a Neocolonial Playground
Sierra Leone’s energy sector, which has long been paraded as a national priority, remains chronically dysfunctional. More than five years into the Bio administration, there is still no sustainable or widespread energy solution, despite dozens of expensive international trips undertaken by the President to supposedly woo foreign investors.
Worse still, control of this critical sector has merely shifted hands—from rogue British contractors in previous regimes to American firms today. None of these deals have been subjected to open bidding or transparent procurement procedures. As a result, the energy sector is less a driver of development and more a vehicle for corruption and rent-seeking by politically connected elites and their foreign collaborators.
There is no sincere governmental effort to achieve energy independence or to localise technology transfer. Both the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) have maintained a failed and externally controlled energy framework dating back to the days of former President Ernest Bai Koroma. The result? An energy sector hijacked by neocolonial profiteers whose primary motive is political leverage and maximum return.
The President’s Hostility to Criticism
No government can credibly claim to fight corruption while shielding its appointees from public accountability. President now rumoured infamous remarks making the rounds in certain areas —that he doesn’t want his officials openly criticised—sends a dangerous signal. It implies that his administration has effectively closed the door on citizen engagement.
Corruption thrives in secrecy. Public criticism is not an inconvenience but a vital tool of democratic oversight. A political culture that rejects scrutiny and interprets dissent as betrayal is one that has resigned itself to failure. This anti-accountability posture undermines the very essence of democratic governance and reveals an insecurity at the heart of the administration—an insecurity that prefers blind loyalty over constructive criticism. When a president refuses to listen, he is no longer leading; he is ruling. And that, too, is a form of lying to ourselves.
The International Legal Dimension
The global community is gradually recognising systemic corruption as a human rights violation. Under Article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, acts that cause “great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health”—including through corrupt practices that deny people access to basic necessities—can be prosecuted as crimes against humanity.
Sierra Leone’s ruling elite should take heed: corruption is no longer just a domestic concern. It is now a prosecutable offence in the international legal order.
The Danger of Living in a Lie
Sierra Leone is not a poor country; it is a mismanaged one. We have been lied to—repeatedly. About foreign aid, mining contracts, energy reform, the education system (which the elite do not entrust their children to), healthcare, and even the basic promise of economic relief for the suffering masses.
But perhaps the greatest lie is the one we continue to tell ourselves: that silence and inaction will yield change; that we can achieve transformation without resistance or sacrifice.
Change demands truth. And the truth is that Sierra Leone’s current political economy is a meticulously orchestrated illusion—propped up by fear, foreign interests, and elite betrayal. Until we dismantle this architecture of deception, our country will remain ensnared: rich in resources, poor in reality.
REFERENCE LIST:
Dalrymple, T. (2005). Our Culture, What’s Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses. Ivan R. Dee.
Chesterton, G.K. (1908). Orthodoxy. John Lane Company.
Oxfam International. (2018). From Extractive to Transformative: A New Vision for Africa’s Mining Sector. Available at: https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/extractive-transformative
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). (2021). DFC Project Summary: SUMMA Airport Investment. Available at: https://www.dfc.gov/sites/default/files/media/documents/9000105360.pdf
International Criminal Court (2002). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 7(1)(k). Available at: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf
BBC News Africa. (2018). Sierra Leone Scraps Controversial China Airport Deal. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45761755
World Bank. (2023). Sierra Leone Energy Access Project (P153437). Available at: https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P153437
Global Witness. (2017). The Great Rip-off: How Extractive Companies Divert Billions in Africa. Available at: https://www.globalwitness.org
