Today marks five years since President Julius Maada Bio and his “New Direction” Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government took over office.

On April 4th, 2018, President Julius Maada Bio was sworn in as president after he defeated the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Samura Kamara in the second round of voting. International and local observers declared the election free, fair, and credible.

Having served the country for exactly five years, and as per the constitutional provision, he is eligible to rerun for a second term in office. Thus, 24 June 2023 has been proclaimed as the date for his next quest to rule the people of Sierra Leone.

However, many are wondering if Bio had done enough over the last five years to be reelected as President of Sierra Leone. Supporters of the ruling, SLPP firmly believe that he has delivered as promised, while those in the opposition believe oppositely.

In the SLPP 2018 manifesto, they promised to deliver a better standard of living for all Sierra Leoneans.

Also, during his 2018 elections campaign, President Bio assured Sierra Leoneans that his administration would not be like their predecessors (APC), who he said was spending the country’s resources like “drunken sailors.”

However, experts have identified overwhelming levels of poverty in the country, attributing it to the SLPP government’s corrupt practices, and lack of accountability to the people of Sierra Leone.

“With the unestablished infrastructure for roads and electricity, high transportation costs pose barriers to trade and limit economic growth,” one expert noted.

One political commentator referred to the current economic condition of the country as the worst since the war ended.

“The masses are suffering and poverty written in the frustrated faces of our people,” he stated.

Sierra Leone was recently ranked the second poorest country in the world in cognizance of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. According to Visual Capitalist, Sierra Leone is the second poorest nation in the world with a GDP per capita of $472 as compared to $716 in 2013.

The increase in food prices, high inflation, and raising the cost of fuel prices have added to the miseries of ordinary Sierra Leoneans.

Citizens were also expecting the Bio administration to tackle the problem of job creation. Nonetheless, the unemployment rate is at an all-time high, with over 65 percent of the population unemployed.

Shortly after coming to power in 2018, the SLPP Government launched the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP – 2019-2023), which maps out immediate and long-term development goals and commitment to transform from a fragile state into a stable democracy.

However, the World Bank reports that tense political rivalry especially between the ruling (SLPP) and the main opposition (APC) continues to characterize the complex nature of politics and this sometimes results in violent confrontations.

The setting up of the Commissions of Inquiry to investigate the governance activities of the past administration, the annulment by the High Court of the election of 10 opposition MPs in 2019, and the trial of some senior opposition members for various offenses, added to the political tension.

The suspension of the Auditor General after revealing the corrupt practices of the SLPP government including the President and the First Lady also added to the political tension in the country.

According to World Bank, until the outbreak of Ebola in 2014, Sierra Leone was seeking to attain middle-income status by 2035, but the country still carries its post-conflict attributes of high youth unemployment, corruption, and weak governance.

“The country continues to face the daunting challenge of enhancing transparency in managing its natural resources and creating fiscal space for development. Problems of poor infrastructure and widespread rural and urban impoverishment persist despite remarkable strides and reforms,” World Bank stated.

Last year, President Bio presented his government’s success stories and overall development agenda to the diplomatic community and development partners working in the country, at a formal dinner held at State Lodge.

“We have been working to consolidate and enrich our democracy and we have undertaken a significant and unprecedented number of institutional, governance, and rights reforms to that end. We are the fourth most peaceful country in Africa and we lead regional indices for our fight against corruption, investments in human capital development, expanding gender empowerment and representation, fostering democratic freedoms, and protecting and promoting the rights of persons,” he said.

In 2018, President Bio introduced bold reforms to revolutionize the country’s education sector. The ‘radical inclusion policy’ sought to provide free education for all, including pregnant girls and disabled children. The government claims that more than one million children have signed up for schools in just four years since the policy was launched.

According to Bio, they are trying to change the negative narrative Sierra Leone was known for before they came to power. “We’ve also opened up the political space. We have taken the death penalty out of our books. We had a seditious libel law, which was hanging over the heads of those who practice journalism for years, and it was used to clamp down on divergent views. We have taken all of that out,” he told the Africa Report in December.

Another positive point of the Bio led government is the signing into the Law the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act, which mandates equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, financial inclusion, and a 30% quota of women in government appointments and private institutions with more than 25 employees.

The construction of the magnificent Freetown International Airport, the construction of roads and bridges in the provincial areas, the free allocations of lands to citizens, and the increment in the minimum wage are some of the other development drives of the government.

However, 24 June 2023 will determine whether President Bio has done enough to be elected for a second term or has not done enough to continue in office.