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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000011 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EFIN PREL SL
SUBJECT:  SIERRA LEONE GARNERS PRAISE, REAPS $800 MILLION, 
AND APPROACHES DEBT RELIEF AT LONDON CONSULTATIVE GROUP 
MEETING 
 
 
FREETOWN 00000011  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  The Consultative Group (CG) meeting on 
Sierra Leone on November 29-30 in London generated 
unexpected praise from the international community for the 
country's recovery after the end of the brutal decade-long 
civil war in early 2002.  UK Secretary of State for 
International Development Hilary Benn set the tone by 
applauding Sierra Leone's "significant progress" in 
restoring and reforming government and stimulating economic 
growth, but also by highlighting the need to sustain anti- 
corruption initiatives.  The IMF commented favorably on 
Sierra Leone's GDP growth rate at over 7% since 2002, and 
projected similar growth for the next 3 years.  President 
Kabbah affirmed, "we take the fight against corruption very 
seriously."  The donors responded with pledges of $800 
million for the 2005-07 period of the Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Paper (PRSP), according to the World Bank, which UN 
Deputy SRSG Victor Angelo characterized as a "significant 
vote of confidence" despite potential pitfalls.  The 
leadership and Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) are 
delighted with the outcome, which should lead to the 
completion point for Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) 
debt relief by mid-2006, despite falling $150 million short 
of the PRSP pledging goal.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The CG meeting to consider Sierra Leone's PRSP took 
place in London on November 29-30, 2005, after having been 
postponed from the originally scheduled June dates in Paris. 
The CG, co-hosted by the UNDP, World Bank, and the UK's 
Department for International Development (DfID), was co- 
chaired by Mats Karlsson of the World Bank and Sierra 
Leone's Vice President Solomon Berewa, while President Ahmad 
Tejan Kabbah spoke at the opening session.  The CG attracted 
30 donors, including the U.S., Algeria, China, Denmark, 
Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, 
Switzerland, United Kingdom, African Development Bank, 
European Commission, Food and Agriculture Organization, 
International Committee of the Red Cross, International 
Finance Corporation, International Fund for Agricultural 
Development, International Monetary Fund, Kuwait Fund for 
Arab Economic Development, Saudi Fund for Development, 
UNAIDS, UNDP, UNEP, UNHCR, UNICEF, World Food Program, World 
Health Organization, and World Bank.  The United States was 
represented by the Ambassador to Sierra Leone and the USAID 
Sierra Leone Country Program Coordinator.  Sierra Leonean 
observers at the CG included members of parliament and civil 
society organizations advocating gender issues, Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission recommendations, and expatriate 
Sierra Leone-American concerns. 
 
¶3. (U) The tone for the CG was set in welcoming remarks by 
the host, Britain's Secretary of State for International 
Development Hilary Benn, who noted that "The Government of 
Sierra Leone has traveled an impressive distance since 2002 
but there is still a considerable way to go."  Paricularly 
significant, Benn said, has been "Sierra Leone's performance 
under the IMF supported economic reform program (which) has 
been impressive with targets being met over the course of 
six successful reviews."  Sierra Leone, he said, is now "at 
a critical turning point and we cannot risk going backwards 
and letting the progress made to date unravel."  While 
praising the GoSL for "good progress . in addressing 
corruption issues," Benn exhorted Sierra Leone to intensify 
its anti-corruption efforts.  Benn also cited extreme 
poverty and youth unemployment as key determinants for 
Sierra Leone's future.  "The poor need to see and feel the 
dividends from jobs and growth," he said, "otherwise we risk 
undermining peace and stability as people lose hope again 
and start to doubt the integrity of the poverty strategy." 
 
¶4. (U) The UN delegation leader, Deputy SRSG Victor Angelo, 
likewise described Sierra Leone as "a beacon of hope in West 
Africa."  IMF representative Delphin Rwegasira praised the 
GoSL for "significant progress" in its post-conflict 
transition, predicting a 6-7% annual GDP growth rate over 
the next three years.  He observed that after Sierra Leone 
completes one year of PRSP implementation in the first half 
of 2006, the most important HIPC trigger point for debt 
relief will have been reached.  He cautioned, however, that 
debt relief will be inadequate for the large resource gap 
 
FREETOWN 00000011  002 OF 003 
 
 
(approximately $950 million before pledges) needed for PRSP 
implementation, and called for intensified GoSL revenue 
collection.  He noted that revenues are up, pointing out 
that the 2005 deficit will be less than in 2004. 
 
¶5. (U) To underscore the importance of the CG to Sierra 
Leone, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah delivered an opening 
address that surveyed the accomplishments since 2002, the 
considerable challenges ahead, and the plans for PRSP 
implementation.  He stated that he personally regards 
corruption "as a serious national security threat" because 
"we can never realize our vision of developing a stable and 
prosperous country without curbing corruption."   Among the 
accomplishments cited by Kabbah are the use of foreign 
judges and prosecutors to pursue corruption, a new 
investment code and other initiatives to attract foreign 
investment, decentralization through local councils to bring 
government closer to the grassroots, and progress towards 
food security.  Kabbah, while expressing gratitude for past 
assistance, appealed to "international partners to support 
this nascent success story" and in particular "to encourage 
the emergence of a private sector" and "in creating an 
enabling environment for foreign investment." 
 
¶6. (U) At the urging of the World Bank and the UN two new 
funding mechanisms were offered for PRSP support: a World 
Bank-managed PRSP Trust Fund, and Multi-Donor Budget 
Support.  Neither attracted the anticipated support. 
Although Benn announced an immediate British contribution of 
3 million UK pounds to initiate the Trust Fund, only one 
other donor made a contribution to this mechanism.  Four 
donors (UK, European Commission, World Bank, African 
Development Bank) committed to Multi-Donor Budget Support, 
but this was simply an alternate mechanism for the direct 
budget support that they already provide. 
 
¶7.  (U) Amidst considerable praise for Sierra Leone's 
progress, donors largely committed to continuing their 
existing assistance through their preferred modalities. 
Most democratic donors stated that they could not commit to 
new funding prior to appropriations from their legislatures. 
Speaking for the United States, the Ambassador said, "Due to 
the funding process, timing, and the budgetary cycle, the 
U.S. Government has no new money to pledge to the 
implementation of the PRSP, but our current ongoing program 
remains robust and responsive to the key needs identified by 
the people and the Government of Sierra Leone as described 
in the PRSP." 
 
¶8. (U) Among the notable commitments, the African 
Development Bank announced the opening of its Freetown 
office in 2006.  The UK stated that it is giving 100 million 
pounds annually to Sierra Leone, its highest per capita aid 
recipient in Africa.  Britain reiterated an earlier pledge 
to give at least 40 million pounds annually through 2012 
exclusive of security assistance.  Japan announced 
resumption of its bilateral program, which began with the 
opening of a JICA office in Freetown in 2005, at $16 
million.  Ireland, which also opened in Freetown in 2005, 
confirmed its annual program of 5 million euros.  Neither 
Japan nor Ireland could confirm future commitments in 
advance of appropriations.  Germany announced 22 million 
euros for PRSP support.  The Kuwaiti Fund invited proposals 
for PRSP support.  Sweden stated that its aid to Sierra 
Leone would continue through multi-lateral institutions such 
as UNDP.  Denmark also would not have bilateral aid, but 
noted its contributions to regional medical assistance that 
benefit Sierra Leone and to the war crimes Special Court for 
Sierra Leone.  Italy emphasized its debt cancellation to 
Sierra Leone and announced approximately 19 million euros 
for electric power production and medical assistance.  The 
European Commission said that it was providing 345 million 
euros in its 2002-2007 budget cycle, which was approved well 
ahead of the PRSP but is supportive in many aspects.  The UN 
said that its development budgets for Sierra Leone would be 
$68 million in 2006 and an estimated $40 million in 2007. 
Switzerland emphasized its contributions to the Special 
Court and existing assistance through multilateral channels 
such as UNDP, IDA, and WFP. 
 
FREETOWN 00000011  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) At the meeting's conclusion, CG Co-Chair Mats 
Karlsson, the World Bank Director for Sierra Leone resident 
in Accra, announced that at least $800 million had been 
pledged by donors for the 2005-2007 period to support the 
PRSP without providing any details on how the figure had 
been calculated.  Karlsson also announced that future 
Consultative Group Meetings on Sierra Leone would be held 
annually in Sierra Leone.  In his final remarks, Karlsson 
stated, " we have made substantial progress here and 
demonstrated a real commitment to turning a fragile success 
into a robust one."  In a similar vein, fellow CG Co-Chair 
Victor Angelo of the UN declared, "The many countries and 
multilateral organizations represented at this meeting have 
recognized the tremendous progress achieved by the 
Government and people of Sierra Leone in the short period 
since the end of the civil war and given a significant vote 
of confidence to the Government's Poverty Reduction 
Strategy." 
 
¶10. (U) Sierra Leone's leaders were pleased by both the 
positive tone of the CG and the total reportedly pledged. 
In a communiqu, the GoSL noted that the $800 million pledge 
could increase when donors finalize their aid budgets and 
that HIPC debt relief will produce another dividend toward 
closing the PRSP resource gap. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment:  The Consultative Group Meeting for 
Sierra Leone mainly served as a morale boost for the 
Government of Sierra Leone which is often criticized for 
mismanagement and political mendacity while trying to 
overcome the daunting challenges of extreme poverty, food 
insecurity, high unemployment, corruption, inadequate human 
services, and idle youth.  For a leadership that feels 
unfairly maligned, the praise and funding from the 
international community at the CG was a welcome atmospheric 
change for President Kabbah and Vice President Berewa. 
Significant new commitments did not materialize and the new 
funding mechanisms were initially a bust.  Nevertheless, it 
was in the interest of the UK and World Bank for the CG to 
succeed after having conspired to postpone the meeting from 
June to November on the grounds that a delay would lead to 
more donors and donations, which does not appear to have 
been the case. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment Continued:  More assistance will be needed 
if the PRSP goals are to be accomplished.  Meanwhile, the 
PRSP resource gap will require the GoSL to make some hard 
prioritization decisions.  Nevertheless, having received 
universal praise and a World Bank endorsement for the PRSP, 
Sierra Leone's political leaders are basking in the glow of 
the Consultative Group Meeting.   Eventually, as Sierra 
Leone's political season heats up ahead of 2007 elections, 
opposition parties are likely to question the math of the 
PRSP budget and donor commitments towards closing the gap. 
End Comment. 
 
HULL