It is not often that we hear a political sermon delivered from a Church pulpit. This is a unique opportunity for which I want to thank the Reverend Father for granting us permission to gather in this magnificent and holy building to observe a prayer and intercession service in commemoration of the 58th anniversary of the founding of the SLPP.

SLPP-UK’s Chairman Harold Saffa

We are also grateful to have representatives of other Sierra Leonean political organisations with us here.

Ladies and gentlemen, 58 years is a remarkable period in the life of any individual, let alone a political organization. It is even more remarkable given the history of post-colonial Africa that a political party could have emerged through such a turbulent period and continues to exist. Other parties in Africa that emerged during the struggle against colonialism have since vanished without trance in the sand storms of African politics.

Against such a background at the very least, we should be thankful to God for our very existence as a party.

Life however has no meaning if one is only content with being alive; it is in the final analysis the quality of life that we live which really matters.

We look back on 58 years with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we take pride in the higher motives that guided the founding fathers of our party. On the other hand, we need a critical assessment of how far we have deviated from those noble principles and the effect on the party.

The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) was formed in 1951 through the merger of three semi-political organizations. There were the Protectorate Educational and Progressive Union (PEPU), the Sierra Leone Organisation Society (SOS), and the colony based People’s Party (led by Lamina Sankoh). The Leadership of the newly formed SLPP comprised of all the ethnic groupings in the country, and adopted a palm Tree as the symbol of the party, with green and white as party colours, and as if to underscore the oneness of the party, chose the motto: ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE.

In deference to his age and in recognition of his services to the nation, the leadership of the new party chose Sir Milton Margai to lead them. It is therefore fitting that as we gather in this holy building we remember and pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of not only Sir Milton, but for the souls of all those whose sacrifices have enabled the party to survive today. May their souls rest in peace – Amen.

I want to believe that the SLPP has a purpose in the politics of Sierra Leone, or else it should not have been in existence today. Those who founded this party believed it to be the glue that would hold the nation together. They believed that Sierra Leoneans are essentially the same people, that as a small nation we share the same destiny. Those ideals hold true in yester years as they do today. Ladies and gentlemen, twice at critical moments in our nation’s history has the SLPP been placed in the unenviable role of directing our national destiny. It pioneered the fight for freedom that made the people of Sierra Leone independent in 1961 from British colonial rule.

The SLPP would again negotiate an end to the violence and destruction that afflicted our nation in the 1990s. In both instances, the party would put in place the building blocs for the socio-infrastructural development of the Country.

Despite these contributions to the cause of our nation however, the party has never managed to control the levers of power for very long, indeed it has twice been rejected by Sierra Leoneans in democratic elections, both in 1967, and in 2007. One is therefore tempted again to pose the question: what is it about the SLPP that it seems apparently incapable or unable to hold on to power? Is the party’s speciality only in times of crisis management and not adept at managing power?

Whilst we celebrate this anniversary, this should also be a period for proper reflection on what the next 58 years will be for us. If we have any desire or ambition not to be placed on the sidelines of our nation’s affairs indefinitely, then we must accept that the politics of the independence era is over in Sierra Leone, that there needs to be a re-ordering of new priorities to take into account the demographic and psychological outlook of our country.

If we are to return to power, we must understand that the voter whose support we covet may not be interested in what the SLPP did in 1961 or in 2001. For such a voter what matters is what package has the SLPP got for them now. In an electronic age, we must craft a new language that can appeal to those whose support we will need to take power again. When in government we must not keep our development plans "in the pipeline" for ever, and when we have done something in the interest of the country we should never be ashamed to say it as loud as we can! We should communicate our ideas and plans for the country in a simple and concise language, and where possible to avoid excessive intellectual jargon. The reason for this simple, a huge swathe of our population have been intellectually disadvantaged through decades of maladministration, and unfortunately, the only way of reaching out to these have to be through the language they feel comfortable with.

We must disabuse our selves of the illusion that we are the party of the establishment; we must understand that power has to be fought for, and not given on silver Plata. At the heart of the need for the re-ordering of such new priorities, we must recognize and accept the fact that at the core of the causes of each loss of power on our part, the external factors have merely acted as catalysts, and that at the heart of our problems has actually been the internal strains within the party. These internal strains led to the disaster in 1967, it emerged in 2005 and led to our defeat in 2007. We should have an open dialogue about our differences and resolve them in an amicable way. We need to recognise the sacrifices and services of our supporters. We must not walk away when one of us is in trouble especially if such actions have been in the cause of our party. We need to recognise and appreciate talents and nurture these irrespective of where the individual hails from. In short, people need to have a stake in the party before they can support us.

It is my fervent belief that the party has realised some of the past mistakes and there is a contour of a new SLPP emerging. The proof of this is perhaps based on the calibre and stature of the new National Executive Committee (NEC) that came into office following the last national convention. The new national leadership has a broad national reach very much in the spirit of the ideals of the founding fathers. But even more than that, it comprises of men and women who realise the value of the media, and very adept at exposing a government not averse to hitting below the political belt at the least possible opportunity. Their sure-footed response to the attack on our party office in March is nothing short of admirable, especially with the way they mobilised international opinion in placing the APC government under the microscope.

The SLPP has begun to realise that power has to be earned. We must begin to discuss and develop policy areas across the board on all matters of governance. We should constantly tell our people what the government are doing that is wrong and what our alternatives should be. The SLPP should also be ready to distinguish between issues that are above partisan politics, and where necessary to co-operate with the government in certain areas in the national interest.

Ladies and gentlemen, the party is a sum total of all of its various components, and that includes us as the UK and Ireland Branch. If we as a branch were to provide any birthday gift to the party, it must be for us to resolve our differences and work together as a branch. Let us reach out to one another and talk with, rather than at each other. The unity of this branch is perhaps the best birthday present for our party. ONE COUNTRY! ONE PEOPLE! Thanks for your attention.