Abdul Kandeh Turay: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 December 2025:
Decentralization was once hailed as one of Sierra Leone’s most progressive governance reforms, a deliberate strategy to bring development closer to the people and correct decades of marginalization identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
But today, the promise of decentralization is slowly slipping away.
The very institutions created to deliver services at the grassroots, our Local Councils, have been left stranded without their statutory quarterly allocations for the entire 2025 financial year.
This unprecedented delay in disbursing tied grants to devolved sectors has pushed councils into a state of paralysis. These grants fund essential services in agriculture, public health, education, social welfare, and other sectors. They are not supplementary funds; they are mandatory allocations designed to empower councils to function effectively and respond to community needs.
Yet for twelve months, not a single cent has been disbursed
In agriculture, farming seasons have passed without the usual extension support. In health, outreach programmes and facility monitoring have been suspended. Schools have gone without proper supervision, and community development activities have stalled across all districts.
Many of these interventions are time-bound; when the window closes, communities lose out entirely.
Adding to the crisis is the fact that Local Council staff are grossly underpaid, despite many having the same, or even higher qualifications than their counterparts in other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
For example, an Engineer or a Procurement Officer in a council earns far less than someone in the same role at a national MDA. This is not only demoralizing but also undermines the professionalism and capacity of councils.
How can councils attract and retain talented staff when the remuneration is so low that it does not reflect their skills or responsibilities? How can councils compete with MDAs for qualified personnel when the system undervalues their work?
This disparity demonstrates, very clearly, that Local Councils are considered less important, despite being the closest government tier to the people and carrying enormous responsibilities for service delivery.
The delay raises a deeply troubling question: Is Sierra Leone still committed to decentralization, or is the system being quietly undermined from within?
Some functions that were fully devolved have already been taken back to the centre. Others remain partially devolved in defiance of the Local Government Act. Combined with the failure to release funds for 2025, it appears decentralization is being reduced to a symbolic gesture, maintained only to satisfy international expectations, not to serve the people.
On the ground, councils are being ridiculed for failing to deliver services. Communities assume councils are inactive or uninterested, unaware that the institutions meant to serve them have been starved of the resources required to act.
Public trust is eroding, and councils are being unfairly branded as ineffective. Yet the truth is simple: a council without funds and without properly compensated staff cannot serve the people.
Karene District Council, one of the newest in the country, does not even have an office of its own. We are operating from a rented building, and our rent is long overdue. The landlord is understandably applying pressure. The same challenges exist in Falaba and Port Loko City.
Staff morale is declining, operations are disrupted, and essential services are collapsing.
This is not about one district or one sector. It is a nationwide crisis that undermines the entire governance structure of Sierra Leone.
When councils do not function:
– farmers miss planting seasons
– pregnant women in rural areas lose access to outreach services
– schools go without supervision
– local roads deteriorate
– sanitation and waste management decline
– social welfare cases go unattended
These failures accumulate into a broader development decline, one that will be felt for years if not urgently addressed.
A few months ago, the Minister of Finance publicly assured the nation that all 2025 allocations would soon be released. Today, as we stand in the final month of the year, no action has been taken.
These delays do not only contradict government commitments; they directly undermine the credibility of national decentralization policy.
If the government truly believes in decentralization, not as a slogan, but as a governance strategy, then the following must happen immediately:
- Release all outstanding 2025 subventions without further delay.
- Ensure Local Council staff are fairly remunerated, reflecting their qualifications and responsibilities.
- Clarify the status of devolved functions and recommit to the Local Government Act.
- Engage councils in meaningful dialogue on strengthening local governance.
- Stop reversing devolution and ensure full compliance with TRC recommendations.
Decentralization is not a Slogan, it is a lifeline
No country can progress when the institutions closest to the people are financially starved and undervalued. Local Councils are not the problem. Lack of political will, insufficient funding, and the underpayment of council staff are.
If we starve councils, we starve development; if we undervalue staff, we weaken governance.
It is time for decisive action, not promises, not reassurances, but the release of funds and fair treatment of council staff. The people of Sierra Leone deserve nothing less.
About the author
Abdul Kandeh Turay is the Chairman of Karene District Council, Sierra Leone.
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