By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Governance, at its most serious, is a moral exercise. It is measured not by rhetoric or intent, but by whether institutions ease the daily burdens of citizens and protect their dignity over time. Sierra Leone’s post independence experience has too often revealed a painful distance between promise and performance, especially for workers whose labour sustains the state yet rarely shapes its priorities. Against this backdrop of long standing institutional fatigue, moments of deliberate, workmanlike leadership matter. The recent interventions at the Ministry of Labour under Mohamed Rahman Swaray do not claim perfection, but they signal direction, seriousness, and a renewed respect for the lived realities of ordinary Sierra Leoneans.
For many years, labour issues were treated as secondary concerns, almost administrative inconveniences rather than matters of national dignity. Wages stagnated while the cost of living rose steadily. Systems remained opaque, discretionary, and vulnerable to abuse. Workers endured exploitation quietly, while the state lost revenue through inefficiency and leakages. The result was a sector that neither protected labour nor strengthened the economy. Minister Swaray has begun to challenge this pattern by aligning policy with reality and reforming systems that had long outlived their usefulness.
The review of the national minimum wage from NLe 800 to NLe 1200 is one of the clearest signals of this shift. It would be disingenuous to pretend that this amount is sufficient to comfortably sustain a family given present economic pressures. Yet it would be equally dishonest to dismiss it as meaningless. For the first time in a long while, the state has acknowledged that the lived experience of workers matters. The increase introduces a measure of dignity into daily survival for both public and private sector employees. More importantly, it establishes a starting point and a policy direction that accepts periodic review rather than permanent denial.
What matters most is not only the figure itself, but the principle behind it. Labour policy is no longer frozen in inertia. The Ministry has demonstrated a willingness to confront inflation and cost pressures incrementally, rather than hide behind fiscal paralysis. Employers are now compelled to engage with a clearer regulatory framework, and workers are reminded that their labour has value within the national economic equation.
Equally transformative is the digitalisation of the work permit application process for foreign nationals. This reform goes beyond convenience or efficiency. It strikes at the heart of governance. By moving applications online, the Ministry has reduced discretion, delays, and opportunities for corruption that previously flourished within manual systems. Crucially, every payment made for a work permit now goes directly into the Consolidated Fund. That single outcome represents a quiet but profound institutional correction.
This is how public institutions should function. Transparent systems. Traceable payments. Reduced human interference. Increased state revenue. In this respect, the Ministry of Labour is doing what many other ministries have failed to do. It is not only regulating activity, but actively generating income for the state. It now operates with a discipline comparable to revenue focused institutions such as the National Revenue Authority and the Sierra Leone Department of Immigration.
This success invites an unavoidable question. Why are so many ministries unable or unwilling to develop revenue generating mechanisms within their mandates. Why do they exist largely to consume budgetary allocations without contributing anything tangible to national coffers. The example set by the Ministry of Labour exposes a wider culture of institutional complacency. Capacity is not the problem. Leadership and seriousness are.
Minister Swaray and his team deserve credit for embracing innovation rather than resisting it. Digitalisation is not merely a technical upgrade. It is a governance statement. It affirms that efficiency matters, accountability matters, and the state can work when systems are designed to limit abuse and prioritise the public interest. Notably, these reforms have been pursued without excessive noise or self promotion. In a political environment where announcements often substitute for outcomes, quiet delivery of results is both rare and instructive.
Recognition must also be extended to Julius Maada Bio for providing the political support necessary for these reforms to take root. Ministers do not operate in isolation. They require executive backing to confront entrenched interests and dismantle inefficient practices. Allowing the Ministry of Labour to function with focus and authority demonstrates that results oriented governance is possible when competence is prioritised over interference.
This is not an exercise in flattery. It is an evidence based assessment. The labour sector today is more structured, more transparent, and more responsive than it was in the recent past. Workers feel acknowledged. Investors encounter clearer processes. The state retains revenue that once disappeared through informal channels. These outcomes have real economic and social consequences.
There is still work to be done. Wage reviews must continue as conditions evolve. Enforcement mechanisms must be strengthened. Labour inspections must remain fair, consistent, and professional. Digital systems must be protected from manipulation and complacency. Progress does not require perfection, but it does require momentum, and that momentum is now visible.
The broader lesson is one of replication. What has been achieved in the Ministry of Labour can be achieved elsewhere. Systems can be modernised. Fees and services can be rationalised. Leakages can be sealed. Workers can be protected without crippling enterprise. None of this requires reinvention. It requires seriousness of purpose and respect for public office.
For too long, Sierra Leoneans have been conditioned to expect very little from public institutions. That low expectation has become habitual. The Ministry of Labour under Minister Mohamed Rahman Swaray challenges that narrative. It demonstrates that public service can still be about service, that reform is possible, and that competence can deliver results.
In recognising this performance, the nation affirms a simple principle. When public office is exercised with clarity, integrity, and purpose, it strengthens the state and improves lives. For now, the Ministry of Labour has set a standard worth emulating.
