Sierra Leone 

Introduction

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a unitary state in western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea and Liberia. It has a land area of 71,740 sq km and an estimated population of 6 million. 

A new system of local government was introduced following the local elections in May 2004. There is one city and five town councils in the urban areas, and 13 district councils in the predominantly rural areas. 

Summary

Sierra Leone, ranked last at 175 on the UNDP Human Development Index,32 continues to rely heavily on multilateral and bilateral donor aid. A condition of continuing aid is that Sierra Leone commits to working towards greater social and political inclusion, good governance and decentralisation, and sustainable growth. Performance benchmarks have been established for matters such as anti-corruption measures, privatisation and public administration, and security, both internally and along Sierra Leone’s borders. 

Elections for the newly empowered local councils were conducted in 2004. Paramount chieftaincy elections took place in late 2002 and early 2003 and the role of the traditional chieftaincy system has been formally recognised both nationally and locally. Transfer of responsibilities from central government to local councils is underway with a phased approach that will take some years to complete. 

Sierra Leone has embarked on building a sustainable peace, the restoration of a damaged infrastructure and economy, and a commitment to enhanced democratic governance at national and local levels. 

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