Corruption and repression in the realm of "the Pa "
The spotlight of publicity turned briefly on Sierra Leone earlier this month, when the Organization of African Unity met in the tiny (pop. 4 million) West African state and installed its President, Siaka Stevens, as the O.A.U.'s chairman for the coming year. But when the big bash was over, Sierra Leone was left with more problems than ever: an authoritarian government, a languishing economy, all-pervasive corruption and $200 million in bills from the summit conference. As TIME Nairobi Bureau Chief Jack E. White discovered during a visit to Sierra Leone, the country's plight is disturbingly similar to that of neighboring Liberia, where Stevens' friend and predecessor as O.A.U. chairman, President William Tolbert, was killed in April during a coup staged by noncommissioned officers. White's report:
"Sierra Leone under Stevens is like Liberia under Tolbert: a time bomb waiting to explode." That grim forecast comes from a Western diplomat who has had long experience in both countries. Indeed, even a casual visitor is likely to spot similarities between the two West African republics. Both countries became havens for former slaves in the 19th century. In Sierra Leone, the "creole" descendants of these settlers still dominate the country's business and educational elite—as did scions of the freed slaves in Liberia until the recent coup. Sierra Leone gained its independence from Britain in 1961; seven years later, Stevens took power after a revolt led by low-ranking soldiers. That power grab bore a certain resemblance to the army-led coup in Liberia, headed by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, that ousted the long-entrenched Tolbert regime.
In March serious rioting broke out in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, when the government announced a hike in gasoline prices from $2.50 to $3 per gal. The rioting was reminiscent of the savage protests that erupted in Morovia last year after Tolbert increased the price of rice. Stevens, a burly former union leader whose folksy style has earned him the nickname "the Pa," concedes that "we could get into trouble," when his government announces another boost in fuel prices, possibly this week.