There are already signs that some governments are using the crisis to grant themselves more expansive powers than warranted by the health crisis, with insufficient oversight mechanisms, and using their expanded authority to crack down on opposition and tighten their grip on power.
Similarly, in Cambodia, a new draft law on national emergency would give the government unlimited access to martial power while drastically curtailing citizen’s political rights.
Sierra Leone’s government response to the pandemic is likely to be used to determine its efficacy in curbing the crisis.
During the Ebola and mudslide disaster, many saw the response of the erstwhile president as faltering and any repetition of it in this pandemic will be catastrophic for the SLPP government.
Sierra Leone should start looking ahead of the pandemic with fast-moving political effects of the crisis, perhaps even bigger wave of political disruptions that will be caused by the unfolding global economic crisis such as devastating increase in economic inequality, unemployment, debt and poverty as well as pressures on the stability of financial institutions, will put enormous strains on governance systems of all types.
