Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Sierra Leone faced the challenge of state harassment in 2019, Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) revealed in a report.
The nine-page report, titled, Sierra Leone Civil Society Organisation Sustainability Index (CSOSI) report 2019, focused on the sustainability of CSOs, legal environment, organisational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, and service provision and more.
According to the report, which was support by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Family Health International 360 (FHI360), the rights of CSOs were violated in Pujehun District.
It cited the face-off between the Malen Land Owners Association (MALOA) and Scofin Agricultural Company (SAC) in the district.
The report noted the defamation case of the head of Green Scenery, a locally registered and internationally recognised CSO, which accused SAC of contributing to the destruction of land and livelihoods in Malen.
Also, the report highlighted the attack on CGG by SLPP supporters in 2019, showing that the government ministers and the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party criticised CSO leaders in both traditional and social media for challenging government actions.
The report presented the situation of the head of Native Consortium and Research Centre arrested and detained for organising a peaceful protest against the removal of fuel subsidies.
‘CSOs financial viability regressed slightly as donor funding was rechannelled from CSOs to government activities’, it noted.
However, one of the researchers that conducted the study, Amasara Jalloh, said advocacy activity was a big success in 2019 despite challenges in finance and donor sponsorship.
After funders increased their funding to CSOs in 2018, an election year, donors shifted to funding government initiatives directly in 2019, driven in part by the new government’s development plan, according to the report.
‘For instance, EU funding dropped from $208.6 million in 2018 to $65.4 million in 2019 and US foreign assistance decreased from $58.14 million to $52.9 million’, Jalloh noted.
The report noted that a lot more needed to be done concerning the legal environment and financial viability, adding that the government generally views CSOs as a sort of opposition and does not appreciate their efforts to expose wrongdoings and check excesses.
Source: Campaign for Good Governance
Photo source: Campaign for Good Governance
