In his prophetic lament Jerusalem, William Blake mourned the encroachment of the “dark Satanic Mills” upon England’s green and pleasant land, a metaphor for the ravages of industrialisation. Today, Sierra Leone confronts a different, though equally pivotal moment. It is not one of excessive mechanisation, but of stagnation, entrenched in a legacy of extractive economies, fragile institutions and unrealised digital promise. As the country seeks a path towards renewal, it must reject outdated industrial paradigms and instead pursue a constitutionally grounded transformation that restores economic dignity to the home and the community.
- Post-Industrial Disillusionment in the Sierra Leonean Setting
Sierra Leone never underwent industrialisation on the scale of nineteenth-century Britain or post-war America. Nonetheless, it has endured comparable social disruption, largely as a consequence of its reliance on extractive industries. In these sectors, wealth is siphoned outward while the environmental and societal burden falls inward, borne by the very communities most in need of development. From the iron ore deposits of Marampa to the diamond fields of Kono, these regions symbolise not prosperity, but neglect and desolation.
Sierra Leone’s limited foray into industrialisation during the post-independence era epitomised by failed parastatals and poorly managed state enterprises further entrenched a rentier state logic rather than fostering inclusive economic growth. The collapse of institutions such as the Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board (SLPMB) and the National Diamond Mining Company (NDMC) illustrated the dangers of centralised, unaccountable control over productive assets.
Article 7 of the 1991 Constitution requires the State to secure the “maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen.” That imperative is compromised by an economic model rooted in commodities, which frequently fractures families, depletes rural life and perpetuates cycles of displacement and instability.
Just as Aidan Grogan’s reflections in the American context mourn the decline of the manufacturing era, Sierra Leone must critically evaluate its own dependence on resource based enclaves. Moreover, Grogan warns of the illusion embedded in calls for reindustrialisation in the United States, a caution equally relevant here. Sierra Leone must not repackage industrial failure through schemes such as Special Economic Zones or extractive concessions cloaked in development rhetoric. Without a digitally literate citizenry and a firm commitment to decentralised governance, as prescribed in Section 18(1) of the Constitution, such approaches merely reinforce systemic inequality and elite capture.
A more sustainable future lies in a service oriented, digitally enabled economy, one that repositions the household and the community as central to national productivity.
- The Constitution, the Family and Labour Policy
The Constitution explicitly acknowledges the family as the bedrock of society. Section 8(1)(a) affirms the State’s duty to promote social justice and economic development, while Section 8(1)(b)(i) requires policies that uphold and strengthen the family unit.
Presently, economic necessity drives many rural Sierra Leoneans, particularly men, into migratory or seasonal labour, often leaving women to shoulder domestic responsibilities with minimal support or autonomy. This undermines Section 8(1)(a)(iii), which underscores parental responsibility for child upbringing as a vital social function.
In this context, the transition to a knowledge based economy is not simply an economic imperative; it is a constitutional one. It offers a means to honour familial obligations and reinforce community ties, reminiscent of pre-industrial models in which economic activity and family life coexisted symbiotically.
As Grogan suggests, the notion of returning home is not an exercise in nostalgia, but a strategic reorientation. With appropriate technological adaptation, the domestic sphere can once again become a nucleus of meaningful work.
- Education, Digital Labour and Global Commitments
Sierra Leone is a signatory to various international instruments, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Each of these mandates the creation of fair labour markets and inclusive educational systems.
Despite these obligations, youth unemployment remains dangerously high. Section 9(1) of the Constitution mandates the State to ensure equal access to education, yet the current system remains overly theoretical and insufficiently aligned with digital competencies or vocational relevance.
The current curriculum remains rooted in colonial era priorities, privileging rote learning and bureaucratic aspirations over innovation and entrepreneurship. As such, it fails to equip learners with the critical and technical skills demanded by a digital economy. A shift towards competency based education grounded in ICT, financial literacy, and ethical leadership must accompany infrastructure investments.
Although only a fraction of the population currently enjoys reliable internet access, the situation is improving through government and donor initiatives aimed at expanding digital infrastructure. These investments are beginning to lay the groundwork for remote and flexible employment, particularly beneficial to women and youth, thus creating viable alternatives to forced migration and urban overcrowding.
Telework promotes decentralised growth, strengthens national unity and offers citizens the opportunity to thrive within their communities. It represents not merely economic innovation, but a return to constitutional principles affirming personal freedom and regional equity, as articulated in Sections 5(2)(a) and 7.
Sierra Leone’s digital transformation must also align with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which emphasise digital integration, youth employment and intra African knowledge economies. By connecting local hubs to continental networks, Sierra Leone can become both a participant in and a contributor to the pan-African future.
- Gender, Labour and the Reconstitution of Domestic Economies
The socio economic consequences of gendered labour patterns are deeply rooted. Historically, women in Sierra Leone have contributed substantially through farming, trade and caregiving, yet they remain marginalised in formal employment and leadership positions.
Section 27 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination, and CEDAW requires full gender inclusion in public and economic life. Nevertheless, the legacy of colonial and post colonial labour systems has relegated many women to the peripheries of formal economic activity, either in precarious informal roles or unpaid domestic labour.
A digitised, decentralised economy provides an opportunity to correct this imbalance. It enables women to engage in both productive labour and familial care on equal and dignified terms. This is not a regression into Victorian domesticity, but a restructuring of autonomy, where home and work coexist in mutual reinforcement.
- Decentralisation, Community Economies and Civic Renewal
The principle of decentralisation, enshrined in Section 34 of the Constitution and reinforced through the Local Government Act, reflects a national commitment to bringing governance closer to the people. However, the concentration of economic opportunity in Freetown continues to fragment rural societies and undermine communal resilience.
Digital labour models offer an alternative. They enable residents of Bo, Kenema, Kabala, Port Loko and Kailahun to engage with broader markets without leaving their communities. This revitalises traditional social networks, reduces strain on urban infrastructure and promotes more balanced national development.
For decentralised work to take root, the national government must devolve not just administrative powers, but fiscal tools to local councils. Investment in rural digital hubs equipped with solar energy, broadband access and co-working infrastructure can anchor the digital economy within chiefdom and district centres. This would operationalise Section 34 of the Constitution and reduce dependence on overburdened urban centres.
As Alexis de Tocqueville observed, strong local associations underpin a healthy democracy. By embedding economic activity within communities, Sierra Leone can cultivate a renewed civic ethos, less reliant on state patronage and more invested in collective responsibility.
- Beyond Populism: Towards an Ethical Post-Rentier Leadership
Populist appeals in Sierra Leone often call for the recovery of state owned industries or the nationalisation of natural resources. While emotionally resonant, these proposals risk entrenching the very economic pathologies they purport to address. What the country truly requires is the emergence of a principled leadership class, technologically adept, constitutionally literate and ethically grounded.
Section 5(2)(b) enshrines the value of human dignity and the rule of law. These must become the lodestar of a new political culture. The next generation of leaders must be committed to constitutional ethics, not personal enrichment. This entails investing in education, enabling remote work and prioritising policies that support family cohesion and youth employment. These are not optional aspirations, but legal and moral imperatives, clearly stipulated in Section 7.
Furthermore, Section 30 of the Constitution calls for the protection of economic rights, including the right to work, to fair wages, and to protection from exploitation. These rights, though often underenforced, must shape national development planning and budgetary decisions. The post rentier elite must treat them not as aspirational ideals but binding legal obligations.
The Home as the Engine of National Renewal
Over two centuries since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, and more than two decades into Sierra Leone’s democratic journey, the nation must reimagine the home, not the mine nor the capital, as the centre of economic and social regeneration. A coherent national strategy should integrate remote work, curriculum reform, gender equity and strict constitutional adherence into a unified model of development.
The home is not merely a shelter but a site of moral formation, intergenerational knowledge transfer and productive potential. By situating economic life within the household and community, Sierra Leone affirms the foundational role of families in shaping civic responsibility, economic resilience and national unity. In doing so, it honours both constitutional mandates and cultural tradition.
Rather than longing for the mills of the colonial past or imitating the excesses of Silicon Valley, Sierra Leone must construct a digital economy rooted in domestic and community life, a return not to sentimental ideals, but to constitutional truth.
Let the extractive pits give way to solar powered computers in village households. Let young people be trained in coding, design and financial management, not merely as employees, but as active citizens.
For it is within the home that the virtues required for national stewardship are cultivated. And it is within the Constitution that the blueprint for a just and prosperous society is found, a society where dignity, purpose and liberty are accessible to all.
Policy Priorities
Expand rural broadband and solar powered digital infrastructure
Integrate ICT and financial literacy into secondary school curricula
Fund chiefdom based digital co-working spaces through local councils
Reform labour laws to protect remote and informal digital workers
Enforce gender equity provisions in digital labour recruitment
Link constitutional obligations to budget performance benchmarks
References
The Constitution of Sierra Leone (1991), Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 18, 27, 30, 34
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Aidan Grogan, The Nostalgia for Dark Satanic Mills, American Purpose, 2024
African Union Agenda 2063
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
