Foreign Aid Governance and Management in Sierra Leone: Towards A Comprehensive Approach

The novel coronavirus pandemic has unsettled the political, economic and social structures of the world. Yet, in the context of global economies in recession, opportunities also abound for many countries, including in Africa, to pursue new directions in governance and management. For instance, the pandemic may be closing gaps between the so-called developed and the developing worlds, thereby giving African countries some geopolitical and economic leverage, both in terms of international alliances and managing fiscal challenges. This project, using the case of Sierra Leonne, focuses on how African countries can chart new paths is their management and governance of foreign aid. The project investigates how aid-funded projects are implemented in Africa using the yardstick of the World Bank’s International Good Governance Standard and, in the process, answers the question of how African countries can alternatively and efficiently administer and manage foreign aid-funded projects? This question is important because Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most aided regions. Aid as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the region has averaged around 5% for much of the past two decades. Aid has reached nearly 10% at times and still equals nearly 6% of the region’s GDP. Yet, the growth records of nearly all African countries have thus far been unsatisfactory compared with the amount of aid funds received. The case of high aid flows into African economies, on one hand, and evidence of abysmal growth outcomes, on the other, have led to questions about the usefulness of foreign aid. At a time when Africa’s traditional donor countries are biting the dust, due to the pandemic, these questions become even more crucial. The project calls for a rethink of Africa’s economic management practices to meet the needs of present times.