{"id":59792,"date":"2013-08-11T10:23:41","date_gmt":"2013-08-11T10:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=59792"},"modified":"2013-08-11T10:23:41","modified_gmt":"2013-08-11T10:23:41","slug":"constitutional-review-dont-throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bath-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=59792","title":{"rendered":"Constitutional Review: don\u2019t throw the baby out with the bath water"},"content":{"rendered":"

As\u00a0Sierra\u00a0Leone grapples with the review of the 1991 constitution,\u00a0it is pertinent that we seize the opportunity to bring our laws up to meet with the challenges and realities of the 21st century. While we do that, however, we must make sure that the new document does not jettison age-attested customs and traditions that make us the unique, cultured, proud and historical people that we are.\u00a0 (Photo: Zainab Tunkara Clarkson, author)<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Constitutional Review\u00a0Committee has been\u00a0set up\u00a0and\u00a0the process\u00a0that some have\u00a0described as \u2018making\u00a0the 1991Constitution\u00a0fit for purpose\u2019 has already started. The Ombudsman,\u00a0Justice Cowan,\u00a0who is also a former Speaker of Parliament, was appointed to Chair the\u00a0eighty-member Committee\u00a0and\u00a0it was\u00a0launched with much fan fare\u00a0on July 31 by no less a person than President\u00a0Koroma\u00a0himself.<\/p>\n

Those Sierra Leoneans who were born in the 1960s or earlier are used to the idea of changing the\u00a0entire constitution whatever\u00a0the\u00a0occasion (Independence,\u00a0The\u00a0Republic, One Party\u00a0etc)\u00a0but for\u00a0the majority\u00a0of us Act No. 6 of 1991, with all its flaws, has been\u00a0the only \u2018Supreme Law\u2019 we have known.\u00a0I therefore thank (and congratulate) the Government for giving my generation a limited but very rare opportunity to contribute to the Constitution.<\/p>\n

Generally,\u00a0in \u2018stable\u2019\u00a0democracies, once a constitution is enacted there can hardly be a\u00a0chance to make wholesale changes to\u00a0the extent that\u00a0we are attempting now.\u00a0After the Committee completes its task and the amended document is passed in the\u00a0mandatory\u00a0referendum we\u00a0are back at the\u00a0mercy of the powers that be at the Law Courts Building,\u00a0with\u00a0their sense of superiority\u00a0which is\u00a0as false as the awkward wig on their heads,\u00a0to tell us\u00a0what we MEANT to say….<\/p>\n

I have been astonished\u00a0by some of the recommendations I have heard so far.\u00a0They\u00a0range\u00a0from localizing the\u00a0\u201cSwiss Model\u201d\u00a0which is being promoted by Dr.\u00a0Omodele\u00a0Jones and his Inclusive National Conversation (TINC-SL), to abolishing the Constitution\u00a0 which will\u00a0make\u00a0us\u00a0a\u00a0\u2018Constitutionless\u2019\u00a0state (as\u00a0I have been led to believe exists\u00a0in the UK) or\u00a0as some stranger\u00a0suggested\u00a0in a taxi\u00a0\u2018why not just adopt the Holy Quran and\u00a0apply\u00a0Sharia\u00a0Law\u00a0\u2013 after all we are a Muslim State and it will save us the cost of the entire process of reviewing this one\u2019.\u00a0All with good intentions I suppose.<\/p>\n

At this point I will suggest that,\u00a0in our zealousness to get to \u2018The Promise Land\u2019, let us\u00a0consider the good\u00a0advice\u00a0that says \u201cdo not throw out\u00a0the baby with the\u00a0bath\u00a0water\u201d. \u00a0I am no constitutional expert\u00a0and cannot argue the merit or demerit of whatever\u00a0models\u00a0others\u00a0would recommend for us.\u00a0Besides, it is simply their right to do so.\u00a0However, in my view,\u00a0our problems emanate\u00a0not\u00a0from\u00a0the model\u00a0of government or constitutional\u00a0framework\u00a0de jure.\u00a0Things have not always been this bad yet the current Constitution is not quite dissimilar to, say,\u00a0the 1961 Constitution save for the fact\u00a0that the former is for a Republic\u00a0(with an Executive President)\u00a0and its authors\u00a0had incorporated\u00a0into it\u00a0some of the\u00a0undesirable vestiges of\u00a0its precursor\u00a0\u2013 the\u00a0One Party State.<\/p>\n

If you replace Governor-General\/Prime Minister with President in the 1961 Constitution and then hide the title of the two documents, I will bet you that\u00a0most people\u00a0would not be able to point out the 1991 Constitution.\u00a0Also, if our economic and social indicators are a reflection of how well the legal framework works for us, as some would have us believe, then the\u00a0Constitution of the 1960s served unreasonably\u00a0well.\u00a0So I do not think we\u00a0need a new experiment; we tried that\u00a0twice\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a01970s\u00a0– it failed both times,\u00a0with disastrous consequences in the case of the latter.\u00a0As those who are keenly interested in the issue would tell you the One Party has worked for others\u00a0(Botswana and Singapore are both effectively one party States) but not us.<\/p>\n

What guarantee do we have\u00a0now\u00a0that any other\u00a0Constitutional Model, be it\u00a0Swiss, Saudi, or South\u00a0African will be more successful? Ours, as it is,\u00a0may not be entirely suitable to meet our current and future needs but, in my humble opinion, what we need\u00a0now\u00a0in the constitution is\u00a0broadly:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To ensure internal\u00a0consistency;<\/li>\n
  2. To reduce the\u00a0room for discretion and abuse\u00a0by clearly defining roles,\u00a0relationships, authority, privileges and standards;<\/li>\n
  3. To make\u00a0constitutional some of the recent legislative and institutional changes\u00a0(e.g.\u00a0the\u00a0Anti-corruption\u00a0Act 2008,\u00a0Local Government Act 2004,\u00a0and various\u00a0economic\u00a0and financial management\u00a0legislations\/institutions)\u00a0that were\u00a0effected\u00a0as a necessary\u00a0response to our\u00a0immediate post-war\u00a0situation and short to medium-term\u00a0developmental aspirations;<\/li>\n
  4. To create\u00a0additional\u00a0institutions, or provide for such, for the future base on the challenges\u00a0anticipated\u00a0ahead;<\/li>\n
  5. To broaden\u00a0the space for participation\u00a0in governance and\u00a0the economy;<\/li>\n
  6. To set a\u00a0minimum\u00a0standard for the delivery of public services especially at the sub-national level;<\/li>\n
  7. And to promote\u00a0a sense of unity, equality,\u00a0and fairness\u00a0in all aspects of life\u00a0among Sierra Leoneans of all backgrounds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Without further\u00a0ado\u00a0let me make the following\u00a0specific suggestions\u00a0(some of\u00a0them, for example\u00a0part of 3,\u00a05,\u00a06\u00a0and 10, should be familiar to a lot of Sierra Leoneans).<\/p>\n

    (1)\u00a0 I will like the\u00a0Constitution to define Sierra Leone\u2019s geographic and administrative boundaries,\u00a0in addition to defining\u00a0its international boundaries\u00a0as in the First Schedule,\u00a0in the context of decentralization,\u00a0to mean\u00a0the13\u00a0Districts\u00a0and 6 Municipalities\/cities. Preferably, I will like us to have 14 Districts\u00a0Councils\u00a0if we can agree to divide\u00a0Koinadugu into two administrative districts to give it the priority its\u00a0huge size and difficult terrain deserves.<\/p>\n

    (2)\u00a0 Let it be stated in the Constitution that\u00a0Freetown\u00a0is\u00a0the country\u2019s ONLY Capital City\u00a0–\u00a0to avoid the\u00a0Cold War-like\u00a0rivalry between North (Makeni) and South (Bo Municipality)\u00a0for the status of second Capital.<\/p>\n

    (3)\u00a0 Have two Chambers in\u00a0Parliament; an Upper\u00a0Chamber and\u00a0a\u00a0Lower Chamber. Let\u00a0two-thirds\u00a0of the members of the Upper\u00a0Chamber\u00a0be elected and the\u00a0remaining\u00a0one-third\u00a0selected through a Quota\u00a0System\u00a0for qualified persons from\u00a0smaller tribes like\u00a0Kroos\u00a0and\u00a0Vais, for women so as to meet a desirable gender quota, the physically challenged, retired\u00a0senior\u00a0civil servants,\u00a0and retired military and police officers\u00a0with exemplary service records.\u00a0The Lower Chamber\u00a0should\u00a0have more members than the Upper\u00a0but\u00a0less than that in the current Parliament\u00a0and they must all be elected. We can\u00a0adopt the present Parliament as the Lower Chamber\u00a0by making the following changes:<\/p>\n

    (i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Move the 12 Paramount\u00a0Chief\u00a0Members\u00a0to the Upper Chamber;<\/p>\n

    (ii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take away the seats from the 6 Municipalities\u00a0Bo, Bonthe, Freetown,\u00a0Kenema,\u00a0Koidu, and\u00a0Makeni\u00a0\u2013 e.g. the 16\u00a0MPs from Freetown;<\/p>\n

    (iii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Following from (ii) above,\u00a0convert the Municipal Councils\u00a0into purely Legislative Bodies, with representatives\u00a0elected from each Ward in the Municipality,\u00a0for their\u00a0respective Municipalities.\u00a0For that purpose, Freetown, for example, would\u00a0have a Municipal Legislature with members elected from its49\u00a0Wards.<\/p>\n

    Currently, the Councils do not have\u00a0full legislative powers. To enact Bye Laws they have to\u00a0go through the Minister of Local Government and\u00a0Parliament\u00a0(as in\u00a0section 170(7) (a)\u00a0of the Constitution and section 92(2), (3), and\u00a0(4) of the LGA 2004. That arrangement is inefficient.\u00a0To give them total\u00a0legislative powers we would\u00a0have\u00a0to amend\u00a0section 170 of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

    There are significant disparities between the Urban and Rural councils.\u00a0With the exception of\u00a0Bonthe Town-York\u00a0Island\u00a0Municipality\u00a0which has a population of fewer than 12,000 people the six municipalities have the largest population\u00a0clusters. A conservative estimate of their population\u00a0put it at about\u00a01.5 million people (about 25% of the national).For instance, the population living in the area covered from Allentown to\u00a0Portee\u00a0(formerly East III)\u00a0is about 70% of that of the entire Port\u00a0Loko\u00a0District. The average\u00a0population\u00a0growth rate\u00a0of the municipalities\u2019 is also\u00a0higher than\u00a0the national\u00a0average. Their challenges in service delivery and regulations\u00a0are\u00a0therefore\u00a0quite different from those of the rest of the country, sometimes\u00a0requiring legislative instruments\u00a0that should be drafted\u00a0to their\u00a0specific\u00a0needs.<\/p>\n

    (iv)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Following from (iii)\u00a0above\u00a0give the\u00a0six\u00a0Mayors Executive Powers;\u00a0assisted by the Chief Administrator of the Municipality\u00a0(section 20(1) of\u00a0the\u00a0LGA has already given councils executive powers);<\/p>\n

    (v)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Also\u00a0Following from (iii) above, any law passed by the Municipal Legislature must be subject\u00a0to interpretation by the High\u00a0Court and may be repealed by the Upper Chamber\u00a0if it is deemed, liable to interpretation to the effect that it is,\u00a0against any provision of the Constitution or\u00a0contrary to\u00a0the\u00a0other Legislations\u00a0of Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

    (4)<\/p>\n

    Section 47\u00a0of the Local\u00a0Government\u00a0Act\u00a02004, which sets a minimum\u00a0standard of\u00a0delivery of devolved services, should be adopted\u00a0into the\u00a0entrenched Chapter III\u00a0of the\u00a0Constitution. \u00a0Chapter\u00a0III of the Constitution protects the Fundamental Rights\u00a0and Freedoms\u00a0of the individual\u00a0whereas\u00a0Section\u00a047(1)\u00a0of the LGA states thus:<\/p>\n

    \u201cUntil and including the financial year ending in 2008, Parliament shall appropriate to local councils as a tied grant for each devolved service, at least that amount necessary to continue the operation and maintenance of that service at the standard to which it was provided in the year prior to its devolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It was assumed that, based on the timelines set out in The Local Government (Assumption of Functions) Regulations 2004,\u00a0by\u00a0the end of\u00a02008 all the functions outlined in the Third Schedule of the LGA would have been devolved both by law and in practice.\u00a0Of relevance here\u00a0is the\u00a0latter part of section 47(1).Section 47(2)\u00a0of the LGA however\u00a0looks beyond 2008 as it\u00a0states\u00a0that:<\/p>\n

    \u201cFor the period thereafter, [meaning after 2008] Parliament shall appropriate to local councils the amount that enables the councils to provide those devolved services at an appropriate standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It will be stating the obvious for me to say here that that baseline (2003\u00a0which is the year before the councils were created\u00a0to\u00a0the stipulated\u00a02008\u00a0FY) no longer suffices.\u00a0In my view, however,\u00a0in addition\u00a0to the practical demands of the\u00a0national polity\u00a0in present day Sierra Leone,\u00a0section47 of the LGA, even if arbitrary and impractical in its choice of baseline standard, \u00a0\u00a0makes it obligatory\u00a0on\u00a0the Government to spread public investment across the country.<\/p>\n

    The insertion of \u2018appropriate standard\u2019 at the end of section 47(2)\u00a0spoils the\u00a0broth. Removing the specificity, even though no longer\u00a0adequate\u00a0for the purpose\u00a0it was meant\u00a0to serve,\u00a0in section 47(1)\u00a0for years post-2008 introduces a wide room for discretion on the part of the Central Government.<\/p>\n

    I would suggest\u00a0that, to co-opt it into the Constitution, Section\u00a047\u00a0of the LGA\u00a0is\u00a0rewritten to something\u00a0to\u00a0this effect:<\/p>\n

    Every year\u00a0the Government must ensure that, except for the occurrence of\u00a0an emergency situation such as a natural disaster,\u00a0each of the 13\u00a0District Councils and 6 Municipalities\u00a0must\u00a0have access to public services, at least, to the level of coverage and quality of service it received in the fiscal year before the Government received its current five year mandate\u00a0and parliament shall appropriate\u00a0to the respective councils the amount needed to do so.<\/p>\n

    The reason for this recommendation is that since 2010 the predominantly World Bank funded Decentralized Service Delivery Programme (DSDP I and II) have been the largest\u00a0single\u00a0source of funding to Councils for devolved functions. One day the programme will fold up and it is looking likely that\u00a0when that day come\u00a0the Councils will still be dependent on transfers from the Central Government to sustain public service delivery\u00a0at a reasonable standard\u00a0at the sub-national level\u00a0hence we need to depoliticize the issue by making it a Constitutional matter.<\/p>\n

    5. The right to access public information must be\u00a0seen as a Human Right and must be\u00a0protected\u00a0as a Fundamental Right\u00a0and with a subsection that provides for the creation of\u00a0an Agency whose sole function will be\u00a0to facilitate the individual\u2019s access to\u00a0such\u00a0information.<\/p>\n

    (6) Every citizen must have the right to a Freehold on land anywhere in Sierra Leone and that right should be protected in the Constitution.<\/p>\n

    (7) The Anti-Corruption\u00a0Commission, the National Assets Commission, and the\u00a0Local Government Service Commission\u00a0must\u00a0all\u00a0be made Constitutional Bodies, as is the case\u00a0currently\u00a0for the National\u00a0Electoral Commission, Public\u00a0Service\u00a0Commission,\u00a0Judicial and Legal\u00a0Service\u00a0Commission, and Political\u00a0Party Registration\u00a0Commission. Also, the funding and independence of the ACC in particular should be given the same level of protection accorded to the Audit Service\u00a0(e.g. 119 (6) and<\/p>\n

    (8)Also, sections 152(1), 153(1) and 154(1)\u00a0of the Constitution should be amended to give the ACC the powers to suspend\u00a0(the operative term is \u2018remove\u2019)\u00a0from office\u00a0public officials it is investigating without\u00a0having to go\u00a0through the PSC or\u00a0the President. Currently, the power\u00a0to discipline or suspend\u00a0certain\u00a0public officers is reposed by the Constitution on\u00a0the PSC\u00a0and, for those not covered in\u00a0sec.\u00a0152(1) or\u00a0delegated to the PSC, State House.<\/p>\n

    (9) Do not take away the President\u2019s\u00a0executive powers to appoint Cabinet\u00a0as the UDM leader Mohamed\u00a0Bangura\u00a0is suggesting\u00a0but reduce the room for discretion\u00a0and\u00a0its abuse. We can do that by\u00a0setting a minimum qualification\u00a0to become a minister\u00a0order than the\u00a0broad reference to the qualification to be an MP. We may say to be a minister, for example,\u00a0one must have\u00a0served in the public service\u00a0up to\u00a0the level of\u00a0Permanent\u00a0Secretary (vote controller),\u00a0or Chief Administrator in a Municipal Council,\u00a0or retired from the RSLAF at the rank of Major\/Colonel\u00a0with an honorable record of service\u00a0or managed a parastatal\/private company that employs \u2018X\u2019number of persons and\u00a0with\u00a0an annual turnover of\u00a0\u2018Y%\u2019 of the most recent\u00a0budgetary allocation to the ministry he is being appointed to head etc.\u00a0This will ease the pressure on the President to appoint people to cabinet positions just\u00a0because they\u00a0may have\u00a0backed her\u00a0party, financially or otherwise, during elections\u00a0or that\u00a0they are family friends or\u00a0her life-long friends\u00a0even though they may not have the necessary professional and managerial competence that the job requires.<\/p>\n

    Further, to identify the most glaring case of conflict of interest,\u00a0it would be helpful if the Constitution is\u00a0clearer on exactly what it\u00a0means\u00a0by \u2018indirectly\u2019 in section 56(3).Also, the powers of the President under Section 61\u00a0can be easily abused and there is evidence to that effect,\u00a0a very recent occurrence too, at high financial cost and adverse consequences for our national unity so its application\u00a0must be guided by the addition of\u00a0a provision for\u00a0appointment\u00a0to such an office to\u00a0be,\u00a0at least,\u00a0approved by Parliament\u00a0even if the creation of the office itself need no such approval.<\/p>\n

    (10) The 55% threshold\u00a0required\u00a0in the Presidential election should be replaced with the\u00a0more widely used\u00a050%+1 votes, with the condition that the winner should have obtained at least 10% of the votes in each of the four regions.<\/p>\n

    (11) Overhaul Part VI (Finance). Section 110 \u2013 119 (which covers \u2018Finance\u2019) is\u00a0currently\u00a0entrenched, that is none of these sections\u00a0can\u00a0be changed\u00a0unless\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0referendum. \u00a0The\u00a0changes should provide for\u00a0(this is not\u00a0an\u00a0exhaustive list):<\/p>\n

    (i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the provision for the creation of a National Sovereign Wealth\u00a0(NSW)\u00a0Fund, in addition to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, wherein all revenues\u00a0payable to the Central Government\u00a0from natural resources\u00a0should be deposited. The board of the Agency that manages this new Fund should\u00a0include\u00a0the Minority Leader in the Lower House, the Governor of BSL, and the Minister of Finance as members.\u00a0Subsidiary legislation should be enacted, in addition to executive powers, to protect the\u00a0operations of this Fund from\u00a0adverse\u00a0exposure either\u00a0through bad\u00a0media coverage,\u00a0reckless risk-taken by the managers of the fund or any other means;<\/p>\n

    (ii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 establish strict rules\u00a0governing the withdrawal of funds\u00a0or borrowing from the NSW Fund\u00a0by Government\u00a0or Municipalities\/Councils\u00a0\u2013 e.g. the Government\u00a0or a Council\u00a0may borrow from the Fund but must pay back the amount borrowed\u00a0with interestbefore the end of its current mandate\u00a0as a safeguard against fiscal irresponsibility and moral hazard;<\/p>\n

    (iii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iii)in support of (4) above prescribe the basic elements to be considered\u00a0for budgetary allocations to the respective councils\u00a0(e.g.\u00a0sec.\u00a046(3), and 50(1)-(3) of the LGA can be easily abused)\u00a0and the\u00a0timing of intergovernmental transfers\u00a0in respect of devolved functions \u2013 undisbursed funds should be regarded as debt owed to the councils\u00a0(the central government may issue bonds in lieu of disbursement)\u00a0and should be treated as\u00a0part of the public debt\u00a0(sec. 117);<\/p>\n

    (iv)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (iv) who shall take the budget\u00a0to parliament\u00a0(currently, inset 112(1)\u00a0it says\u00a0the Minister of Finance shall\u00a0\u201ccause to be prepared and laid\u00a0before Parliament\u201d\u00a0rather\u00a0than simply\u00a0say something like\u00a0the Minister or\u00a0her Deputy \u2018shall present the budget to\u00a0Parliament\u2019<\/p>\n

    (v)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 give the ministry of finance\u00a0incontestable\u00a0control\u00a0over fiscal policy\u00a0\u2013 effective policy control \u00a0over\u00a0the National\u00a0Revenue\u00a0Authority\u00a0(beyond merely setting revenue targets\u00a0for the NRA\u00a0and\u00a0having the Authority report\u00a0to the Ministry periodically how much is collected)\u00a0and on all\u00a0taxation\u00a0issues,\u00a0as much as it has over\u00a0the Treasury Department and public\u00a0expenditure.<\/p>\n

    Governance revolves around money and the Minister of Finance as \u2018custodian\u2019 of the budget\u00a0and chief adviser to the President of fiscal matters\u00a0must exclusively\u00a0bear responsibility for all fiscal decisions\u00a0(including loans and debts) by the Cabinet. So section 60(2) should also be amended by adding \u2018d.\u2019 which should give the Minister of Finance sufficient\u00a0authority and responsibility over fiscal\u00a0issues in cabinet\u00a0as\u00a0much as\u00a0\u2018c\u2019\u00a0did for the Minister of Justice\u00a0over legal matters.<\/p>\n

    Like any other developing nation, the main focus of our constitution has got to be to accelerate our socio-economic development. As we seek to industrialize, expand out productive capacity and bring our laws in line with what prevails in the developed world, we must not lose sight of the fact that making Sierra Leone an industrialized and developed OECD nation in content and spirit and a nation at ease with itself, is the ultimate goal
    \n<\/b><\/p>\n

    By Zainab Tunkara Clarkson-United Kingdom<\/i><\/p>\n

    About the author:<\/i><\/b> <\/b>Zainab is the CEO of Community Health Initiative Empowerment Foundation- CHIEF and a Founding partner of VOSL. She has a BA degree in Business and Marketing and a postgraduate MSc in International Development Management. Zainab has worked extensively in private, public and voluntary sector areas across UK in Senior Management position (non-profit sector). Zainab currently serves as a Chairlady and Trustee on the Board of the Greenwich Inclusion Project, as well as AFRUCA \u2013 Africans Unite against Child Abuse (UK) she is also a Board Member of Teach For Sierra Leone and Greenwich Black and Minority Ethnic Forum.\u00a0 Furthermore Zainab is <\/i>the Director of Marketing and Gender\/ Children Editor\u00a0for Voices from the Diasporan Radio Show.<\/p>\n

    Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
    \n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As\u00a0Sierra\u00a0Leone grapples with the review of the 1991 constitution,\u00a0it is pertinent that we seize the opportunity to bring our laws up to meet with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":59793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[671],"tags":[16689,16779],"class_list":["post-59792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-1991-constitution","tag-constitution-review-committee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}