Nenya.net

One year on

Well, I’ve been here a year and have certainly slacked off in terms of updating my blog regularly. In some ways, this is because there’s lots going on but as yet no certainties yet and in some ways, it’s because it feels as tho’ there’s not actually much going on at all.

I had meant this to be fairly reflective, in a fair sort of way, but it looks as tho’ it’s going to be a grumble about the fact that so many things just don’t work here, or are inefficient/ineffective. Anyway, there’s a new broom at the top, who is currently nominating the new ministers for his government and (according to rumour and hearsay- the main method by which most Sierra Leoneans get their news) seems to be doing a good job so far in beginning to sort things out and refresh the face of politics- not penalising/ persecuting the previous government, but encouraging ministers and high ranking civil servants to stay on in order to ensure a smooth and effective handover.

- The roads are madness, I think this fairly common to most developing countries- you take your life in your hands by stepping out your front door. But at least you know when you’re going to be hit as the most essential part of a car (taxis especially) is generally kept in good working order- the horn. The condition of the roads has deteriorated somewhat since I arrived- this is generally put down to the degradations of the rainy season, but isn’t helped by the use of rocks and earth to patch up the roads, rather than something more permanent. This isn’t helped by the fact that during ‘rush hour’, various roads are closed at certain times during the morning in order to allow presidential motorcades to pass through (the offices/living quarters for the President etc have not yet been updated/refurnished so they continue to live just outside of town).

- Electricity- the problem of power, or rather the lack of it. NPA- the National Power Authority, has many problems, which I have noted here before, not least a decrepit system for transmitting electricity from the power station to offices/homes, the delays on the hydroelectric plant, the lack of effective management, the (apparent) constant pilfering of supplies, the fact that electricity costs so much to produce but the per unit tariffs do not cover the costs of production of a unit of electricity. Beyond this, the machines are old, often breakdown and getting spare parts is difficult. When NPA has been available, it manages to surge up to 350V and so blows most electrical equipment that is left plugged in. Under the new President, NPA is apparently going to be under control of the new VP and getting a good electricity system up and working is one of the main things the President is pushing for at the moment.

- Water- well, many houses have their own bowsers, since this is probably the most effective way to store enough water. Unfortunately, there are various stories of water being stolen out of the bowsers and sold on. The death of an official who complained that the another government dept/agency was selling water that had already been bought by another client is an example of this. The city of Freetown has grown tremendously compared to the infrastructure that was built for it- a recent visitor exclaimed at the small size of the main water pipe bringing water into the city for use in the town. Something along the lines of “that’s it- for the whole city!!!!”

- Politics- well, we’ve had elections, but unfortunately this has meant the entire civil service (except for the Ministry of Health), has frozen up for far too long (in my opinion) around the elections, which certainly won’t help us win any prizes for efficiency and effectiveness. Having worked in a developed country over an election, at a time when work never actually stopped- there was always so much to be done, even without a minister, I was surprised when the then ‘upcoming’ elections caused everything to stop and grind to a halt. However, there are positive signs for the future. The incoming government is looking at which departments and agencies ca be combined/ need to be created in order to make bureaucracy better.

These (as well as the lack of opportunities for employment and the high price of rice) are probably the main areas that anyone in Sierra Leone would point out as needing reform. In fact, many people I’ve questioned will just speak about the first two as needing reform- “once we have good roads and power, we will develop quickly as a nation” is the common theme. Corruption/inefficiencies and the like are seen as unending trials that will never quite be done away with and must therefore be worked around. The fact that most public employees do not receive a liveable wage probably doesn’t help the situation at all.

But that’s enough on the negative, SL is an amazing country, with a huge amount of potential for the future- there are people who have a vision and a desire to see the country move forward. People are worried about being exploited (by anyone, whether Westerner, other Africans, or the elites within the country), but they are generally willing to work hard and do what they can for their country.

I spent the Saturday of my 1 year anniversary in the same way that I spent my first Saturday in SL- down at Bureh town beach (tho’ I still can spell the name), which remains beautiful and delightful: green hills as a backdrop to golden sands and blue sea, in some ways I’m glad that tourists haven’t discovered this yet- it makes it much more remote and relaxing, but I guess I can sacrifice a small amount of peace and quiet for the development of this country ;-)

It’s easy to slip into a routine here- as I’m sure some of my blog entries show, but when you stop and look around, there’s great beauty to be seen here and enjoyed- even if one of the bumpiest routes to the beach is plagued by mini road blocks as some of the children/youth seek to get money from passing cars (apparently they’re fixing the roads, but rarely actually seem to be doing any work- except moving earth from one hole to another, so the road never improves, but they always try to ‘look busy’). It’s a country with great potential, but lacking a way to tap into that potential. However, it can be done, but it might just take more time than is currently hoped by people, politicians, the international community and me.

Labels: beach, boure, electricity, power, roads, water

posted by Nenya @ 5:21 pm