SIERRA LEONE-ECONOMY: Petrol Hike Equals Unpopular Government

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Mar 11 1997 (IPS) - A sudden increase in the price of petroleum products has put a further dent in the Sierra Leonean government’s waning popularity as it adheres to an ongoing economic reform programme.

The government announced the price hike which ranges between 20- 33 percent at the weekend following a meeting with the heads of petrol companies and other members from the private sector.

A gallon of petrol rose from 2500 Leones to over 3000 Leones, the price of diesel rose from 2000 Leones a gallon to more than 2500 Leones and kerosene is now 2000 Leones a gallon up from 1500.

One U.S. Dollar is equivalent to about 890 Leones.

Almost immediately after the increase was announced, cab drivers and transport owners swung into action and upped their fares by 25 percent.

The increases have angered citizens who were unprepared for the new prices. “This is too much. How can they increase the prices of petrol and diesel overnight and then increase transport fares? I think this is ridiculous,” complains Jariatu Sillah, a high school teacher.

“I will resort to hiking on foot to and from town. Where can I get 500 Leones to go to work and back? My meagre salary cannot cover this at all,” says Sorie Kobba, a clerk in the Freetown High Court.

According to an official with the Professional Drivers Association, drivers and passengers have exchanged blows over the new fares. “We have reports of drivers actually trading blows with angry passengers, at least in 10 cases in the city,” says Abu Bakar Sillah, the association’s national president.

In a statement broadcast on state radio at the weekend the government appealed to petrol, diesel and kerosene dealers to “help cushion the effects of the increases and show understanding”.

When President Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah came to power on March 29, 1996, he committed his government to continuing an International Monetary Fund-inspired economic reform programme. The reform plan aims to increase monetary controls, to develop a foreign exchange market and to improve management of the country’s natural resources.

Privatisation and downsizing of the civil service are also components of the plan. An extensive privatisation programme involving 19 enterprises, which include the Sierra Leone Petroleum Refining Co., was started in 1994.

This week’s increase in petrol prices, government officials say, is in line with the government’s continued moves to keep the reforms on track.

“We had to go with the International Monetary Fund’s instructions because of a huge budget deficit of six million U.S. Dollars,” said a senior government official.

“We just can’t say no to the IMF if our Structural Adjustment Programme is to stay on course and donor institutions are to continue to give us their support,” the official added.

The petrol increases are the second since President Kabbah came to office. According to political analysts here, price increases are a potential catalyst for unrest in the country which has been in a state of civil conflict since 1991.

“This (the petrol increase) is a sad mistake on the part of the Kabbah administration. It has completely killed its own support as people’s expectations are far from being realised,” says James Collier, a political analyst at the University of Sierra Leone here.

National reconstruction has been the main cornerstone of Kabbah’s government which signed a peace accord last November with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Despite sporadic outbreaks of fighting in the north and a mid-December thwarted coup attempt, the government has managed to keep most of its election promise of restoring peace.

But as far as the people are concerned, it has fallen short on its promises of a better standard of living. Kabbah’s administration has inherited many of the economic woes of past administrations.

For example, the military government of Captain Valentine Strasser in the 1994/95 budget awarded a salary increase of 20 percent to public sector workers. But economic performance fell short of expectations with the budget deficit increasing to 7.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Workers have yet to receive the 20 percent salary increase and unemployment stands at an all time high of 70 percent.

“I think the only strategy that works for Sierra Leoneans is populism, say what the people want to hear and give them the basics,” Collier says.