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General Information:

Independence: April 27, 1961 (From Britain)

Geography
Location
Sierra Leone is situated along the cost of West Africa, and is bounded on the west and the by the Atlantic ocean, on the north and east by the Republic of Guinea, and on the east and by the Republic of Liberia. These three countries together form the Mano River Union.

Area
73,326 km2 / 29,925 mi2

Climate
Sierra Leone lies in the tropical rainforest zone, close to the equator. Temperatures are high most of the time, succeeded by plenty of rainfall. Consequently Sierra Leone has two main seasons:

The dry season starts at October and ends in April. Temperatures are high at this time, though it becomes cooler during the harmattan (a Hausa word meaning “desert wind”) from December and February when a dusty wind blows from the Sahara Desert. Its effect is most severe in the northern regional town Kabala.

The rainy season becomes heavy and more frequent between July and September with the coastal region getting more rains than inland because of the western winds. The beginning and ending of the season is characterized by thunders and lighting. Sierra Leone receives some of the highest rainfall in West Africa, and the coastal Freetown Peninsula is particularly mountainous and wet.

Natural Resources
Sierra Leone possesses tremendous reserves of diamonds, which have in reality proved more a burden than a blessing during the war, as well as abundant gold reserves, rutile, and bauxite. Sierra Leone’s once widespread rainforests have been almost completely depleted, and only about 2% of the rainforest remains.

Administrative Regions
Sierra Leone is divided into four administrative zones: The Western Area consists of the capital city Freetown and its environs; the Northern Region contains 5 districts; the Southern Region contains 4 districts; and the Eastern Region contains 3 districts. These districts, 12 in all, are now administered by Local Councils since the passage of the Local Government Acts of 2004 and the consequent local government elections. These districts are in turn divided into Chiefdoms, which are administered by traditional leaders called Paramount Chiefs, who are elected through a system of electoral colleges. To be eligible for elections, candidates must come from a ruling house (a sort of royal family concept). Paramount Chiefs rule for life, but can be removed by government. Paramount Chiefs appoint Section Chiefs, who are responsible for their sections. Sections are the units directly below the Chiefdom. The final unit is the village or town. These are administered by Headmen or Town Chiefs appointed or selected by the Paramount Chief. There are 149 Paramount Chiefs in Sierra Leone. The northern and certain districts in the East do not allow female Paramount Chiefs. The administrative structure of the Western Area is completely different. (See section on Local Governance.) For the purpose of local government development and elections, wards were created. These are actually within the Chiefdom boundaries.

Geographic Zones

The Freetown Peninsula
The peninsula contains a mountain range throughout the Western Area, which rises abruptly from the sea. The mountains include:

Leicester Peak – 595 metres
Mount Sugar Loaf – 760 metres
Mount Horton – 737 metres
Picket Hill – 888 metres

In the 15th Century, the Portuguese sailor Pedro da Centra, impressed by the mountains which looked like a crouching lion, named the country “Sierra Lyoa” (meaning Lion Mountain).

The Coastal Plains
The coastal plains extend for above 10 to 40 km inland where they eventually merge into the interior low-lands.

The Interior Low-lands
These extend for many more miles into the interior, generally flat with few hills.

The Interior Plateau
Much of this region lies over 300 meters above sea level. Sierra Leone’s highest mountain, Bintumani, is found in this region.

River System
Sierra Leone has seven main rivers. Their sources are in the highlands and many flow from the northwest to the southwest eventually emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

People

Population
Sierra Leone has an estimated population of 4.8 million. However the country has not been able to have a census for over ten years. As recent as 2001, the population stood at 4.5 million persons. The occupation classification of the population may stand as follows;

• 
  Agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing, - 72.5%
• Wholesale, retail trade, restaurant/hostels - 9.6%
• Community, social/personal/services – 6.1%
• Manufacturing – 4.8%
• Transport, storage/communities – 2.7%
• Mining and quarrying – 2.1%
• Construction – 1.8%
• Electricity, gas, water – 0.2%
• Finance insurance, other business – 0.2%

Ethnic Groups and Languages
While English is the official language, the lingua franca spoken virtually everywhere in the country is Krio, a creolized English introduced to the country in its earliest days when freed slaves were resettled here by the British. The two largest ethnic groups are the Mendes, concentrated in the south, and the Temnes, concentrated in the north. Other ethnicities/languages include the Limba, Loko, Fula, Mandingo, Susu, Kuranko, Yalunka, Kissi, Sherbro, Kono, Krim and Vai.

Political, Economic and Social Climate

In Sierra Leone, the declaration of the peace in January 2002 was immediately followed by both the presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2002, which were won by the incumbent government and declared free and fair by international election observers and the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

Sierra Leone held its first multi-party democratic elections in almost 3 decades in February 1996. Despite several flaws in the elections it provided legitimacy for the newly elected government to enter into negotiations with RUF, sought the assistance of the United Nations and seek assistance and support from the International community. This led to the biggest peace keeping force of 17500 at its heights to support to consolidate the peace, stabilize the political process and oversees the post war recovery period.

The May 2002 Presidential and Parliamentary elections were followed in May 2004 by the first local government elections after almost three decades of centralized political systems. Sierra Leoneans are still grappling with how these councils will operate as against entrenched traditional social structures and a centralized bureaucratic civil service. Sierra Leoneans widely view their political class in respective of parties with cynicism, recognizing their propensity to share among themselves the country’s mineral wealth and the considerable amount of international aid money that has poured in over the years.

This is by no means a recent phenomenon. Government mismanagement has plagued the country virtually since independence, particularly under the “kleptocracy” of President Siaka Stevens, who ruled for over twenty years after instituting a one party system of government in 1978.. His absolute neglect of the people led communities to turn toward their traditional social structures and religious organizations for a sense of social cohesion.

These institutions and structures were both discriminatory against women and were authoritarian in nature. Sierra Leone thus developed a political culture of corruption in which most people, particularly government officials, abide by Stevens’ maxim that “wherever you tie the cow, he will eat.” Corruption and mismanagement continued after Stevens’ handover to his vice-president Joseph Momoh, and the subsequent military coups and insurrection of the RUF threw the virtually non-functioning state into chaos.

Then and now, salaries for government positions remain pitifully low, thus contributing to the propensity for officials to earn money through corrupt practices. In the post-war period, this has hindered the rebuilding of state institutions, as necessary funds have often been diverted for personal benefit. Despite the massive influx of international aid, few Sierra Leoneans benefit, and the country’s infrastructure, destroyed during the war and through decades of mismanagement, remains in tatters.

On the other hand, the recent restoration of peace and democracy does offer the best hope that Sierra Leone has had in decades. As part of the Transitional Justice mechanism both a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and a Special Court were set up in Sierra Leone. The Special Court was set up as part of the process of accountability for war crime committed in Sierra Leone. It was set up by an agreement between the United Nations and the Sierra Leone Government to try those who bear the greatest responsibility. Amongst the people so far indicted are the Head of the Civil Defence Forces Chief Hinga Norman, who was a Minister in the Government, Lt Col Johnny Paul Koroma, Leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council that overthrew the Government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 1997 and President Charles Taylor of Liberia. The leader of the RUF Foday Sankoh was also indicted, but died in custody. The inability to extradite Charles Taylor from Nigeria and the disappearance of Lt Col Johnny Paul Koroma continues to frustrate hopes at achieving meaningful justice. The Truth & Reconciliation Commission has also been active, and just recently published its report detailing some of the most egregious offences and their perpetrators during the war.

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