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A manifesto is a publication issued by a political party before a General Election.
It contains the set of policies that a particular party stands for and would wish to implement if elected to govern.
Before an election, each party will produce an official manifesto which will form the basis of its campaign.
Manifestos serve a very important function, because they are the main way of telling voters why they should give their vote a particular political party.
Voters in many countries vote for a particular political party on the manifestos presented to them during campaign.
However, in most countries, voters reject governing parties based on their non-delivery of what were in their manifestos.
On that note, I would like to look at the 2018 SLPP manifesto which the SLPP presented to the people of Sierra Leone in 2018.
I will focus on what the SLPP manifesto promised on the exchange rate management in the country.
*Exchange Rate Management*
The New Direction exchange rate management strategic objective is to maintain low, stable, and competitive exchange rate through increasing exports and reducing imports of consumer goods.
The specific policies are:
Improve on the current account balance through: (a) review of existing policy framework for rural banking and financing to support cash crop production and marketing;
(b) improve supportive marketing infrastructure and facilities.
and (c) promote agro-processing to add value to farm products for exports and maintain low import levels, particularly on consumer goods.
And finally, to sustain competitive interest rate with the aim of attracting foreign capital.
Maintain single digit inflation to improve on the purchasing power of the currency.
In view of the what the SLPP led government presented to Sierra Leoneans in 2018 on exchange rate management, considering the skyrocketing dollar price prevalent in the country and its resulting economic hardship eating everyone in the country, one will realise that the SLPP has failed on this promise.
In addition,by the current economic situation in the country, it is clearly clear that SLPP economic policies to effectuate the changes they dreamed in their 2018 manifesto were futile.
My question is, why did the SLPP economic policies not able to change the current high inflation rate in Sierra Leone?
Granted that Covid 19, Ukraine-Russia war have negatively impacted global economies of which Sierra Leone is part therein.
However, Ministers of Finance of the affected countries’ or their Economists have not just sat on their comfortable seats blaming the above mentioned problems, rather most of them came up with alternative economic policies to ameliorate or circumvent the problems.
Those Finance Ministers or Bank Governors whose policies did not work effectively were kicked out and replaced by more competent ones.
But in Sierra Leone, apparently the economic policies adopted by those who are charged with the responsibility of fixing the country’s economic problems and also achieved what are in the 2018 SLPP manifesto in relation to exchange management have failed to come up with a solution that would bring the desired results.
Yet, HE Bio keeps pampering and babysitting them as if the SLPP has been depleted of educated economists who would turn around the current economic situation in the country.
My other questions are , since the government economists could not fix the current economic woes for almost five years now, how can you convince Sierra Leoneans voters that you will be able to improve on the bad economic situation after the 24th of June,2023?
Why should Sierra Leoneans believe that an SLPP-led government after June 2023 will be capable to make a turn in the economy?
I ask these questions because the Ukraine-Russia war does not seem to be ending soon since you guys are now banking on this war as an excuse for the failures of your economic policies introduced under the New Direction 2018 Manifesto.
It is on this note I say, you who are blaming Ukraine Russian war for the poor performance of our country’s economy, or the economic hardship should know that the war is not going to end soon.
I rest my case.
