Al-Sankoh Says
mer Deputy Sports Minister in the former government of Ex-President Bio, Ishmail Al-Sankoh Conteh, in an exclusive interview with this medium, said that the country needs an Economist to fix the Economy, which is now in a state of Coma. Al-Sankoh noted that the deplorable state of the economy is as a result of the failed economic policies implemented by the Bio government since it took up office, and that the President and team have not paid attention to the plight of the people.
Al-Sankoh furthered that President Bio claimed that he inherited a battered economy, but was able at the very start of his tenure to embark on many international trips, and when the coffer was emptied, he resorted to the imposition of new tax regimes that have rendered many businesses redundant, causing many to close business and relocate to other countries, where there is serious action to encourage investments. He observed that several actions at auctioning the dollar to prop the Leone had been counter-productive, creating scarcity of the dollar and eventual depreciation of the country’s currency to the state that it now is in. To further kill the currency, the government introduced a new currency, a huge chunk of which disappeared immediately it was introduced in the market. Today, two different currencies are in operation in the country. He furthered that having realized that all his actions to revive the economy were huge mistakes, the Bank Governor abandoned ship and was replaced by his Deputy, who had been there all along. He questioned what difference will the deputy make, where his boss had failed.
Explaining further that the government of President Bio has lost ideas to fix the economy, and if re-elected, will plunge the country into deeper economic woe, Al-Sankoh recalled the recent Finance Act enacted by Parliament, which was sent to the President for his assent. He furthered that the said Act removes all tax exemptions on rice, imposes tax on agricultural machinery and tax on tariffs of mobile companies. Adding that these taxes are all what the government intends to use to salvage the economy, another counter-productive measure, and a testament that they have lost ideas. He explained that as a former cabinet minister, he knows that all Bills sent to Parliament are debated and agreed on, at Cabinet level before they are sent to Parliament. Thus, the fact that the Finance Act 2023 was tabled by the Finance Minister and later enacted by Parliament, is a clear indication that the said Bill was agreed on in Cabinet, which indicates how insensitive the government is to the plight of the people.
Al-Sankoh noted that if the government was serious about reviving the economy, that Bill should not have been sent to Parliament, as the negative effect it is going to have on trade will adversely affect the economy, and could see more businesses closing or the prices of commodities skyrocket far beyond reasonability. He maintained that the manifesto promise of the Bio regime to embark on agriculture is going to be another failure, especiqally taking into consideration that the tax on agricultural machinery is going to be introduced. How is the Bio government going to improve agriculture with such a tax regime? Against this backdrop, Al-Sankoh stressed that the country needs a seasoned Economist to revive the economy and reduce the hardship on the people. He stressed that Dr. Samura Kamara is a battle-tested Economist with proven record of achievements in the sector in several governments, and an impressive performance on the international scene, adding that under his leadership, the country’s economy will be transformed, as he has the technical knowledge to handle the economy.
