Discussions% of% discourse,% power% and% truth% are% central% to% the% nexus% of% culture% and% development% as% academics% critique% the% continuing% dominance% of% ‘Western’% ways% of% understanding% the% world% over% alternative% values% or% knowledges.% This% inequality% has% been%presented% as%a% neoCcolonial%relationship,%whereby%powerful% nations%reCestablish% their%own%hegemony%in% the% way%they%represent%the% rest%of%the% world.% Escobar%(1995),% for% example,% argues% that% development% provides% an% ideal% tool% for% the% industrialised% North%to%maintain%its%political%and%economic%in?luence%over%the%South.% Mitchell%(1989)% and%Breckenridge%(1989)%both%show%how%exhibitions%have%long% worked%to%consolidate% colonial%power%by%presenting%colonial%subjects%as%inherently%knowable%and%quanti?iable.% Peers%and%Brown% (2003),% and%others%(Srinivasan% et%al.%2009a;%Srinivasan% et%al.% 2009b;% Edwards%2006;%Phillips%2000;%Clifford% 1997),%have%argued% that%this%continues%today%as% Western% museums%present%narratives%about% nonCWestern%cultures.% In% a% recent% article,% Boast% (2011)% argues% that% the% idea% of% a% ‘postcolonial’% museology% is% a% misnomer% as% museums%continue% to%‘collect’%and%‘exhibit’% different%peoples’% pasts%and%traditions.%As%I% have% discussed,% however,% both% development% and% heritage% are% increasingly% being% rethought%with%regard%to%local%alternative%constructions%of%these%contested%terms.
On% 27th% April% 2011% Sierra% Leone% marked% 50% years% of% independence% from% British% colonial% rule.% If% we% are% to% take% the% nexus% of% culture% and% development% seriously,% one% might%argue%that%Sierra%Leone%is%still%engaged%in%neoCcolonial%relationships%with%both%its% former%coloniser%and%its%other%national%and%multinational%development%partners.%In%this% chapter% I% explore% three% case% studies% which% present% different% negotiations% of% both% a% colonial% past%and% a% present% which% cannot%be% set% apart% from% foreign% intervention.% The% ?irst%and%the%last%directly%concern%the%anniversary,%whilst%the%other%explores%a%particular% narrative% of% the% origin% of% British% intervention% in% Sierra% Leone.% Together%they%present%
complexity% in% what% is% considered% locally% valuable.% In% each% example,% this% ‘local’% is% informed% by%both% colonialism%and%intervention,%bringing% complexity%to%the% idea% of% the% ‘local’%as%it%emerges%at%the%nexus%of%culture%and%development%in%Sierra%Leone.
In-dependence?
An%article%was%printed%in%the%Freetown%based%Awareness$Times%newspaper%twelve%days% before%Sierra%Leone%celebrated%its%50th%anniversary%of% independence%in%2011.%The%title% asks%‘Celebrating%50%Years%of%What?’%and%begins: % Sierra%Leone%is%gearing%for%its%50th%independence%anniversary%celebrations%from% % the% British% colonial% masters.% It% is% a% fact% that% we% should% be% celebrating% such% % independence%if% truly%we%were%independent,%but%even%as%I%write% this%article,% we% % are%still%under%%colonialism,%politically%and%economically.%Why?%It%is%very%simple.% % The%British%through%the%United%Nations%installed%our%current%leader%and%they%are% % in%full%control%of%our%economy.%They%dictate%the%pace%the%economy%should%grow,% % what%economic%policies%should%be%implemented%and%who%should%be%appointed%to% % certain%positions%of%trust.%(Thomas%2011) Echoing%some%of%the%critique%explored%in%Chapter%1,%the%journalist,%Austin%Thomas,%goes% on%to%comment%that%Sierra%Leonean%politics%are%built%on%a%model%that%‘actually%works%for% the%West’.%The%fact%that%the%West%continues%to%send%aid%is%called%upon%as%evidence%for%this% claim,% made% worse% by% the% observation% that% politicians% ‘sign% these% agreements% with% absolute% disregard% for%the% long% term% effects%of% development’% (ibid).% A% key%concern%for% Thomas%throughout%the%article% is%the%negotiation% of%independence,%when% Sierra%Leone% remains% dependent% on% Western,% and% in% particular% British,% aid% and% intervention.% In% a% similar%way%to%Escobar’s%(1995)%discussion%of% ‘the% making% and% unmaking%of% the% Third% World’,% Thomas% asserts% that%Western%aid% works% to%limit%Sierra% Leone’s% independence.% This%is%twofold% as% it% both% extends% British% colonialism% through% political% in?luence% and% sidelines%local%capacity%to%direct%the%country’s%future%development.Whether%or%not%the% allegations%of% ‘colonialism’% in% this%context%are% founded,% Thomas%is% not%incorrect%in%his%conclusion%that%Sierra% Leone%is%heavily%supported%by%foreign%donor% agencies.%SelfCacclaimed%as%Sierra%Leone’s%‘most%signi?icant%development%partner’%(DFID% Sierra% Leone% 2011:% 2),% the% United% Kingdom’s% Department% for% International% Development% (DFID)% accounted% for% 19%% of% the% country’s% Gross% National% Income% in% 2011.% The%United%Kingdom%was%joined%by%numerous%other%donor%agencies%in%pledging% support% for% the% successful% implementation% of% the% Sierra% Leonean% government’s% 2008% Poverty%Reduction%Strategy%Paper%(PRSP%II).%The%top%national%donors%from%2008%to%2009% include%Germany,%Ireland,%Norway,%Sweden,%USA%and%Japan%(Government%of%Sierra%Leone% 2010:% 88).% The%development%of% the% strategy,% known%in% Sierra% Leone% as% the%Agenda$ for$
Change,%was%itself%a%product%of%consultation%between%central%and%local%government%and%
Sierra% Leone’s% development% partners.% These% included% DFID,% the% United% Nations% Development% Programme% (UNDP),% the% International% Monetary% Fund% (IMF)% and% the% International%Development%Association%(IDA)%(IMF%and%IDA%2009).%This%is%not%unusual.% Poverty% reduction% strategies% are% initiated% to% consolidate% international% development% assistance% as% much% as% construct% a% national% development% strategy% and% thus% emerge% through% a% consultation% process% with%development%partners% (Thornton%and%Cox% 2005).% Much% has% also% been% written% on% the% role% of% international% intervention% in% the% orchestration%of%the%2007%elections%in%Sierra%Leone.%In%particular%this%has%focused%on%the% reCestablishment% of% the% National% Election% Commission% in% 2005% (Jalloh% 2008)% and% the% move% from% proportional% representation% to% a% single% member%constituency% system% as%a% mode%of% decentralisation%(Fanthorpe%2006;%Jackson%2007;%PlanCSL%2008).%Again%DFID’s% involvement% was% central% to% the% elections% supplying% over% 50%% of% the% ?inancial% donor% support% in% the% lead% up% and% transition% period.% This% support% continued% in% the% % % 2012% general%elections.
Two%further%claims%are%made% by%Thomas’% piece%of% journalism% regarding% Sierra%Leone’s% future.% % The% ?irst% is% that%‘we% do% not% have% to% look%outside% of% Sierra% Leone% for% brains,% because% we% have% them% within% that% are% capable% of% turning% the% country% around’.% The% second%compares%Sierra%Leone%to%Rip%Van%Winkle:
% Sierra% Leone% can% be% likened% to% the% pathetic% story% of% Rip% Van% Winkle...In% this% % story,%Rip%Van%Winkle%slept%for%twenty%years.%On%his%way%to%the%mountainCtop%for% % the% commencement%of% the% 20% year%slumber,% Rip% Van% Winkle% saw% a% picture% of% % King% George%III%of%England%on% display.%When%he%came%down%twenty%years%later% % the%sign%had%a%picture%of% George% Washington...While%he%was%peacefully%snoring% % up%in%the%mountains%a%revolution%was%taking%place%that%would%change%the%course% % of%history%and%Rip%knew%nothing%about%it.%He%was%asleep.%(Thomas%2011)
The% ‘revolution’% in% Irvin’s% original% tale% concerns% American% Independence.% Thomas’% metaphor% on% the% other% hand% frames% Sierra% Leone% after% independence% in% 1961,% yet% concerns%a%state%of% continued%dependence.%The% ‘revolution’%that%has%taken%place%whilst% Sierra% Leone% has% been% ‘in% slumber,% deeply% snoring% in% military% adventurism% and% corruption’% (ibid)%occurs%in%the% East.%Here%the% ‘Asian%Tigers%have% been%able% to%use% less% than%two%generations%to%propel%their%economies%from%the%quicksand%of%aid%dependency% to%the%solid% rock%of% economic%independence’%(ibid).% Thomas%admires%the% way%Asia% has% become% the% ‘centre% of% international% commerce’,% and% today% both% ‘gives% aid% to% us% and% sends% experts% to% help% us% grow’.% Asian% aid% and% intervention% is% clearly% preferred% by% Thomas%to%the%‘colonial’%pursuits%of%the% West.% For%the%author,%Asian%‘experts’% provide%a% more%locally%appropriate%model%for%development%due%to%a%shared%history%of%Western%‘aid% dependency’.% Thomas%refers% to%himself% as%a% ‘student%in% China’% which% may% explain% his% focus.% Over% half% of% the% China% Council% Scholarships% were% pledged% to% African% students% wanting% to% study% in% China% at% the% 2006% ChinaCAfrica% Beijing% Summit% (King% 2006:% 9).% TwentyCthree% Sierra% Leonean% students% received% such% scholarships% in% 2010,% pledged% during%President%Hu%Jintao’s%visit%to%the%country%in%September%2010.
Of% course% in% reality% the% aid% relationship% between% Africa% and% Asia,% and% in% particular% China,%is%increasingly%subject%to%wide%academic%debate%(for%a%discussion%see%Large%2008;% further%examples%include% Bräutigam% 1998;% Bräutigam% 2010;% Taylor%2006).% King% notes% how%China’s%discourse%concerning%a%relationship%of%strategic%‘winCwin’%partnership%with% mutual% economic% bene?it,% cultural% exchange% and% cultural% cooperation,% presents% a% different%donorCrecipient%relationship%than%is%traditionally%associated% with% %‘aid’% (King%
2006).% It% is% this% notion% of% % ‘mutual% bene?it’% which% drives% the% current% emphasis% on% scholarship%programmes.%Chinese%narratives%refer%to%this%as%‘cultural%exchange’,%thereby% implying% bene?its% for%China% as%well% as% for%the% African% students% (2006:9).% Rather% than% represent% Africa% as% poverty%stricken% and% the% receiver%of% aid,% King% shows% how% Africa% emerges% within% this% rhetoric% as% a% positive% vibrant% continent% and% an% opportunity% for% business%and%trade%(2006:6).%He%argues%this%presents%a%different%model%of%development% built% on% economic% growth% and% trade% partnerships,% rather% than% measurement% along% global%timeCbound%targets%such% as%the% Millennium%Development%Goals.% Tull%(2006),% on% the% other%hand,% is%concerned% that%the% new%ChinaCAfrica% trade% agreements%differ%little% from% former%AfricanCWestern% relations.% He% argues% that% these% are% also% built% on% highly% asymmetrical%power%structures%which%favour%short%term%gains%for%African%partners%and% long% term% gains%for%China.%Furthermore,% he% expresses%concern%over%the% nature% of%nonC intervention% with% regard% to% the% absence% of% ‘political% strings’% attached% to% Chinese% aid.% This,% he% argues,% consolidates%the% bene?its%of% aid% into%the% hands% of% political% elites%and% endorses%systems%of%political%patronage%(2006:%467).%
Either%way,% Thomas’% grasp% of% the% debate% presents% Chinese% aid% and%intervention%as%an% alternative%to%Western%development%programmes,%which,%he%suggests,%is%better%suited%to% Sierra%Leone.%In%particular,%the%‘Asian%Tigers’%model%is%presented%as%a%route%towards%true% ‘independence’,% severing% ‘colonial’% ties% with% Britain% and,% more% broadly,% the% West.% His% argument%draws%on% the% broader% ‘winCwin’% discourse,% explored% by%King% (2006),% which% sees% China% and% Africa% growing% together,% rather% than% Africa% being% ‘dependent’% on% external%intervention.%Of%course%this%perspective%is%perhaps%rather%naive%considering%the% new%trade%‘dependencies’%which%are%emerging%between%Africa%and%China.
Thomas’% piece% is% highly%polemical,% strongly%associating% the% continued%‘dependence’% of% Sierra%Leone%on%the%West%with%the%failures%of%the%State.%A%narrative%of%decline%since%2007% is%in%keeping%with%the%political%leaning%of%the%Awareness$Times%toward%the%Sierra%Leone% People’s%Party%(SLPP)% over%the%All% People’s%Congress%(APC),%who%won%the% elections%in% 2007.% The% disregard% of% ‘Sierra% Leonean% brains’% is% situated% within% a% broader% political% critique% concerning% Sierra% Leone’s%‘ethnoCpolitics’% (Fridy%and% M’CormackCHale% 2011).%
The% current% APC% President,% Ernest% Bai% Koroma,% is% accused% by%Thomas%of% overlooking% ‘ambitious% and% quali?ied% young% men% and% women’% because% of% their% ‘tribe’% or% ‘region’.% Unlike% SLPP’s%Milton%Margai,% elected%the% ?irst%Prime% Minister%of% Sierra%Leone%in%1961,% Koroma% is%presented% as% disinterested% in% ‘governing% ourselves’,% in% line% with% the% Asian% model% of% mutual% growth% and% cooperation.% Rather% he% is% framed% in% this% controversial% article% as% a% ‘puppet% leader’% who,% like% Rip% Van% Winkle,% has% failed% to% ‘wake% up’% to% a% changing%global%order.%
The% article% in% the% Awareness$ Times% was% unusually% critical% of% the% anniversary% in% comparison% to% wider% reports% of% the% lead% up% to% the% events.% Later% in% this%thesis%I%will% discuss% the% corruption% scandal% which% surrounded% the% PresidentiallyCelected% anniversary% committee% in% February% 2010;% naturally% this% caught% the% attention% of% journalists% and% it% was% widely% reported.% Apart% from% this,% however,% the% anniversary% provided%a%moment%of%re?lection%for%Freetown’s%press%concerning%the%need%to%move%on% from%the% problems%of%the%last%50%years%and%celebrate%a%new%beginning%for%Sierra%Leone.% An%article%in%The$African$Champion,%for%example,%concludes%that%‘50%years%is%not%much%in% the%evolution%of%the%nation.%For%Sierra%Leone%it%is%worth%celebrating%because% baby%steps% taken% now% will% amount% to% solid% footing% generations% to% come’% (Sulimani% Jr,% 2011).% A% longer%piece%in%the%Standard$Times%asks%‘where% did%we% go%wrong?’%(Kamara%2011).%The% author,% Issa% B.% M.% Kamara,% traces% the% decline% of% ‘politics,% economy% and% culture’% since% independence%in%1961.%Remembering%1961,%Kamara%comments: % Our%economy%before%and%after%was%not%that%too%bad%[sic];%in%fact%it%was%relatively% % healthy.%But%slowly%and%progressively%our%economy%started%drowning.%From%that% % point%we%had%ourselves%to%blame.%The%colonialists%did%not%carry%all%of%our%wealth.% % They%left%substantial%wealth%for%us.%(Kamara%2011) This%re?lection%echoes%a%broader%narrative%surrounding%the%50th%anniversary%which%was% far%less%critical% of% colonialism.% Indeed% many%noted%that%things%were% ‘better% under% the% British’.%I%explore%this%further%below.