IMF wants to force Sierra Leone Government to cut subsidies and raise Taxes few weeks before the upcoming elections. There is now a conflict of interest so the IMF after the first instalment of the loan withhold the next segment claiming that they are still to be satisfied with budgetary income and expenditures of the government.

The whole thing is a sham. No responsible government will venture to raise commodity prices, cut off subsidies and invite uneasiness and tension a few weeks towards an election especially in a period of transition.

Patrick Smith/Africa Confidential has always come up with negative and tension seeking issues whenever there is an election regardless of the party in Sierra Leone. This is not new, it is as if he always want the opposition to rise up in arms against the incumbent. Even before the NPRC coup, in the early days of inception. His was one of the very few that dealt with/contacted the RUF and made a report.
The letter from the IMF representative (With wrong date- 31 January 2017 which I presume typed in a rush to dispel the inciting effect of Patrick Smith/Africa Confidential /BBC plugin) has been couched in 'diplomatic speak' but it is clear that it has NOTHING to do with corruption, or an intention to use the loan for elections. The IMF clearly says "The...External Credit Facility Program (i.e. the loan in question) is ongoing and government continues to meet its debt service obligations on both current and outstanding loan to the IMF...". This is clear manifestation that the government's position is in order, and there has not been any default.

The "measures that were to be taken... did not yield"! This diplomatic speak is simply exposing 'a conflict of interest' between IMF and the government: they want to force the government at this crucial election time " to cut of subsidies on delicate and important commodities like petrol, rice etc - things that will directly affect the populace and will certainly bring tension so close to election. At the same time raise prices! NO SENSIBLE GOVERNMENT BEING AN INCUMBENT SEEKING ELECTIONS WILL AGREE TO THAT. Even the opposition will have a field day! The IMF did this same thing to the Kabba/SLPP GOVERNMENT, almost one year to the 2007 elections. So, this is not the first time the IMF had done this sort of thing. Sowing seeds of discord between the government and people.

In Siaka Stevens time, they did the same thing - trying to force the APC Siaka Stevens Government to devalue the Leone and raise rice, petrol and local commodity prices. This resulted in the then Minister of finance removed from the Finance ministry after he tried to explain the words "CONDITIONALITY DEMANDS" for his reason to give in to the IMF. Pa Siaka complained bitterly: in sum, "Res price dear now, Den wan le we put price up more wit conditionality demands". He did not allow that bullying to go through and the IMF WITHHELD THE 50 Million SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS (SDR) CREDIT FACILITY (a type of loan). Even when Dr Jusu Sherriff was Finance Minister, they did the same thing. He tried on a few occasions to redeem that 50 M SDR but the IMF STARVED the Siaka STEVENS government passed that on to the MOMOH APC government but as soon as the SOLDIER BOYS - the NPRC, OVERTHREW MOMOH in 1992, THE IMF RELEASED THAT 50 M SDR to them.
This strategy of the IMF is always used to undermine confidence of incumbent Developing countries' governments and their actions INFLUENCE OTHER FUNDING BODIES such as EUROPEAN UNION BODIES: and you wonder why Developing countries,especially African countries,turn to China 🇨🇳 and Korea and Russia 🇷🇺.

The APC/Ernest Koroma government will not be shaken by this intervention. Patrick Smith/Africa Confidential/BBC can go on preaching distasteful things but it's too late: the seeds are sown and the position is clear. The REGIME CHANGE they are seeking or trying to INFLUENCE will not happen: IT IS TOLONGBO / WAN KRACH on 7th March 2018.