By Alimamy Lahai Kamara
“We are on the road, perhaps the Highway, driving at a speed appreciable, negotiating curves and minding bumps. I am not astonished at the progress made so far, but I admire commitment exhibited, cooperation demonstrated, partnerships forged, and the shared vision to implementing recommendations in the Tripartite Report and the Unity Agreement”, Coordinator of the Tripartite Secretariat told the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay.
Ngolo Katta was briefing the Attorney General at his Guma Building office on Thursday, updating him on activities the Tripartite Steering Committee Secretariat (TSCS) has coordinated their implementation. The Independent Management and Functional Review on Electoral Commission Sierra Leone (ECSL) had been completed and would be launched in April 2025; Political Party Registration Commission (PPRC), Independent Police Partnership Board (IPPB) and the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) were undergoing their own reviews. It would be expected to take three months.
Katta said the Public Service Reform Unit was undertaking the reviews and had shared its staff into groups to manage the process. At an entrance meeting at SLBC Monday March 17, 2025, PSRU made an elaborate presentation on the processes the review would take, dilating on the methodologies, the focus on operational inadequacies and administrative deficiencies, and the unattractiveness of the working environment. The Cooperation continues to rely on outdated equipment like transmitters whose manufacturers had ceased operation years ago. Life-saving patches to those transmitters had caused unsolvable injuries to their internal systems reflected in weak TV and radio signal and limited reach.
The two gentlemen discussed the Unity Agreement particularly Resolution ‘4’. The Attorney General said 10 cases, which where been tried in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, had been dropped in the spirit of the Agreement. One of the three accused persons tried in Freetown had been acquitted and discharged, whilst the two others had been convicted awaiting sentencing. The Attorney-General’s Office would explore best options to address their own case in order to satisfy Resolution ‘4’.
He said there were 17 provisions in the tripartite recommendations aligned with the provisions of the constitutional review whitepaper, but were not entrenched clauses. A cabinet paper would be presented to Cabinet this week for approval of their reviews. Plans were underway for constituting a Legal Team working with an international legal expert in tandem with the Tripartite Secretariat to engage on conducting technical discussions on the legislative proposals to be developed, holding consultations with relevant stakeholders across the country in respect of the changes to be made, and drafting the various provisions to feed into the legislations. International IDEA had consented to supporting the international legal expert and the Legal Team to move the process forward.
Other legislations like the IMC Act, Cyber Security Act, SLBC Act and the Police Act reviews would be led by their supervising ministries coordinated by the TSCS. The Law Reform Commission might be concluding the Police Act. On recommendation 78 of the Tripartite Report, the Attorney General had proposed a concept note to be developed to guide the conduct of a national dialogue on the electoral systems (proportional representation or first-past-the-post) to be adopted for the 2028 elections.
On Thursday March 28, 2025, the TSCS Coordinator briefed a technical committee of the development partners at the offices of the European Delegation, at Leicester Peak, Hill Station. Mr. Katta told them that 10 cases, which where been tried in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, had been dropped in the spirit of the Agreement. Two accused persons tried in Freetown had been convicted awaiting sentencing, while another one was acquitted and discharged.
The partners – who included the EU, Iceland Embassy, Ireland Embassy, International IDEA, US Embassy, DAI and UNDP – appeared impressed with progress made in respect of the implementations of the recommendations. They requested a copy of the cabinet paper granting approval for the conduct of the review on PPRC and the Elections Acts. They further enquired about action being taken regarding the recommendation talking about creation of a parliamentary oversight committee on elections.
Mr. Katta had scheduled a meeting with the leadership of Parliament to discuss resolution 20 of the Tripartite Report which talked about creating a dedicated oversight committee in Parliament as a standing committee on electoral matters to review electoral cycle, enquire into electoral preparedness, and guide legislative reform.
On March 11, 2025, Mr. Katta received the Moral Guarantors for the Unity Agreement at his office on Wesley Street in Freetown. He received Hawa Samai, Chairperson for the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion (ICPNC), who led the delegation. He briefed the delegation on progress made on the Unity Agreement with reference to resolution 4. The international moral guarantors: African Union, the Commonwealth, ECOWAS, and the EU would be briefed accordingly.
On March 18, 2025, Chairman for NACCED was at the tripartite secretariat to forge a partnership that would walk towards collaborating and implementing joint civic education activities focusing on recommendations in the tripartite report. Joseph Munda Bindi said his entity would plan and align its activities with the TSCS to obtain coherent messaging carrying a content that resonates with the public.
The TSCS has scheduled a number of activities in the coming weeks. Meetings will be held with All Peoples Congress (APC), All Political Party Association (APPA), Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and some CSO leaders. This will further open conversation on implementation of the tripartite recommendations and solicit partnership to strengthen public education activities.