The
Movement for Social Progress (MSP) is a newly established peoples’ movement
open to all Sierra Leoneans which seeks to promote social, political and
economic justice and ensure that the country’s natural resources benefit the
majority of the population.
“A release from
Movement for Social Change has stated its position with regard the
Constitutional Review Committee.
In the press release (MSC) stated: “We welcome the long overdue review of
the 1991 Constitution and we wish to contribute to this debate by putting
forward this position paper as part of the national debate on the report of the
Constitutional Review Committee set up to come up with a new draft
constitution.”
1 – We are of
the opinion that the review of the Sierra Leone constitution suffers lack of
effective and serious national engagement.
The Ebola
epidemic and poor resources have hindered the work of the CRC. We believe that
there has not been enough public participation in the constitutional review
process.
2- The lack of
serious opposition in the country has also hindered the process for serious
mass popular participation, a clear proof that the opposition parties are not
interested in any serious constitutional and political change in Sierra Leone.
It is rather
telling that members were appointed by the president; political parties etc
without popular participation.
For us this is
also a clear indication that the interests of the political elites and not that
of ordinary people will be the primary focus.
3- The
constitutional review process is limited in its scope and significantly
undermines possibility of a constitution that is transformational and stands
the test of time.
The draft report
of the CRC and proposed changes, only seeks to make minimal changes by adding a
few chapters and building on the recommendation of the Peter Tucker report.
There has been
only minimal popular participation, raising doubts that the proposed new
constitution will not substantially contribute towards further democratizing and
empowerment of.
4 – The powers
of the president remain largely untouched. The CRC report proposes that the
appointment of Judges should not be done by the President anymore but a
Judicial Commission.
We therefore
propose to the CRC that the powers of president should be cut drastically and
all major appointments be done by election – Appointment of Head of the Sierra
Leone Police, head of the Armed forces, Head of the National Electoral
Commission, Head of the Civil Service, Chief Justice and Head of NRA be an
elected one.
At least three
candidates should be proposed to a joint session of all elected officials
including the Sierra Leone Parliament, all city and district councils for an
election.
The President
and any member of parliament can nominate candidates who meet the requirements
for the positions in question.
5- We believe
that the institution of chieftaincy need serious overhaul and progressively
democratized.
We oppose the
proposed House of Paramount Chiefs. Paramount Chieftaincy is a period in our
historical development which must now be replaced with more modern and
effective local governance structures.
We might recall
that at least 60% of the current Paramount Chiefdoms and ruling houses were
creations of British colonialism.
For now though, elections
for Paramount Chieftaincy should be open to all residents in a particular area,
and any citizen of Sierra Leone can vie to become a PC.
The role of PC
should remain a largely customary one with no political powers.
We also call for
the abolishment of tribal or village heads and tribal chiefs in the country
including the cities.
6 – The local
and city councils are not decentralized enough. We believe that the new
constitution should further reconstitute large councils especially Freetown
into a Metropolitan Assembly – Greater Freetown Assembly, incorporating Western
Rural districts.
Separate and
smaller local councils should be created in Freetown for example Waterloo Town
Council, Lumley Aberdeen Council, and Wellington – Calaba Town Councils etc.
The role of the
sub-local councils will be to provide services like sanitation and supervise
primary schools to be deliberated further by citizens.
7 – Labour and
rights of workers are not adequately catered for in the 1991 Constitution to
guarantee workers’ rights and the need for the protection of workers and
democratization of trade unions.
8 – Right of
Recall – To further strengthen our democracy and accountability of elected
officials, we call for the adoption Right of Recall.
This means that
citizens at any time during the period of term of office of an elected
official, he or she can be recalled by citizens. Details on the processes can
be opened up for further national debate.
9 -We believe
that current national institutions are not independent and strong. The
judiciary and the police for example are still under the control of the
executive especially the president.
We note how
other countries like South Africa and Brazil have progressed in terms of the
independence of national institutions and seek as a country to aspire to
similar levels.
In light of
this, we support the inclusion of independent resource allocation and
management of their policies of recruitment through the Judicial Commission and
further deliberations by citizens on how these institutions can be strengthened
further.
10- We believe
that the proposal to merely change the name of the Political Party Registration
Commission to Political Parties Registration and Regulation Commission (PPRRC)
is inadequate. We see no need to separate the role of Political Party
Registration and National Electoral Commission.
This Commission
should now become the National Electoral and Political Parties Registration
Commission.
Furthermore, the
National Commission for Human Right and the National Commission for Democracy
should be merged to become the National Commission for Human Rights and
Democracy.
11 – Land
policy. The new chapter on land should enshrine equal access to land and fair
distribution of land to those who need land either as farmers or for domestic
or commercial purposes.
The policy
should prevent the unprecedented attempt by few people especially politicians
and their families from acquiring very large tracts of land at the expense of
the rest of the citizenry.
No one person
should be allowed to own more than an acre of land and every citizen should be
allocated land if they need it. Rural farmers should be protected under the law.
The current dual
land tenure system should be abolished and every citizen should have the rights
to own land and reside wherever they wish in Sierra Leone.
To call a citizen “stranger” in other parts of the country a
mockery of our collective sense of nationhood and unity.
We are Africans
and Sierra Leoneans period!
12 – Citizenship
should be by birth and anyone from another African country who resides in
Sierra Leone for more than 5 years should have voting rights and options for
full citizenship after 10 years.
Others who are
not of African descent should be allocated full citizenship if any one of their
parents is born in Sierra Leone.
13- Chancellor
of the University or any university in Sierra Leone to be elected by the
university itself by the University Senate, University Court and the Student
Representative Council. The proposed candidates should meet set criteria and
the President should cease to become Chancellor of our universities.
14 – Propose a
Constitutional Court comprising all members of retired judges and academics in
the legal field.
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