15/08/2026
Development or Disposal....?
SLPP Must Explain the Fate of Its Public Lands and Airfields.
Sierra Leoneans deserve to ask a simple but important question...?What exactly do we mean by development if public lands, government reservations and strategic airfield spaces are being lost, encroached upon or converted to other private uses?
This question is particularly important in Bo District and other District, where the condition and future of the Bo Airfield have become a matter of public concern.
Government records show that the history of the Bo Airfield is complicated. A parliamentary report noted that the government's original lease of the Bo Airfield dated back to 1953 and expired in 2003 without renewal. The government later said it had paid outstanding lease obligations and purchased the land from the landowning families, thereby making the reservation and airfield government property.
Sierra leone bo district airfield presently map +2 Bo Airport (IATA: KBS, ICAO: GFBO) is located at latitude 7.9444° N and longitude -11.7610° W at an elevation of 328 feet (100 meters) in the city of Bo, Southern Province, Sierra Leone. It features a single regional airstrip serving the local district.Airfield OverviewName: Bo Airport Location Code: KBS (IATA), GFBO (ICAO)Coordinates: 7° 56′ 39″ N, 11° 45′ 39″ WElevation: 328 ft (100 m)Function: Regional and diplomatic air transport for Bo District.
If that is the case, the people of Sierra Leone have every right to ask: Why is a strategic public asset not being protected and developed for the public good?
In July 2024, Parliament heard a sobering assessment of the country's airfields. Government representatives acknowledged that Bo Airfield was effectively gone because of encroachment, while other airfields were also facing serious challenges. The government spoke of identifying additional land to serve Bo and Kenema.
This should concern every Sierra Leonean.
An airfield is not merely an empty piece of land. It can be part of a country's transport infrastructure, emergency-response system, tourism network and economic-development strategy. Once strategic public land is permanently lost to uncontrolled construction or private interests, recovering it can be enormously expensive.
The same concern applies to government reservations and other public lands across the country.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has previously warned about problems in the administration and management of land in Bo, describing corruption in land governance as an abuse of entrusted power for private gain. The Commission has also noted that encroachment on government-reserved land in the provinces has been a longstanding problem.
Therefore, Public land belongs to the state and, ultimately, to the people.
If government acquires land using public resources, citizens should know how much was paid, to whom it was paid, what the land is intended for, and what safeguards exist to prevent it from being transferred into private hands.
And if government decides that a former airfield or reservation is no longer required for its original purpose, that decision should be subjected to a transparent public process. Citizens should be told why the land is no longer needed, who authorized the change, how its value was determined, whether it was sold or leased, and where the proceeds went.
That is what accountability looks like.
Development Must Be Measured by What Citizens Receive
Sierra Leone's young people need jobs, skills, businesses, sports facilities, technical education and meaningful economic opportunities. Communities need roads, electricity, water, health facilities and functioning public institutions.
The government cannot expect citizens to view the disposal or transformation of strategic public assets as development simply because money is generated from them.
Development is not merely the ability to sell or allocate an asset. Development is the ability to turn national assets into lasting opportunities for the population.
At a time when many families are struggling economically and communities are increasingly worried about drug abuse among young people, the government should be protecting every asset that can contribute to the country's future.
Public land can support schools, hospitals, markets, industrial zones, recreational facilities, transport infrastructure, agricultural projects and other productive investments.
But once such land disappears into questionable transactions or uncontrolled private development, future generations may have to pay heavily to replace what previous generations lost.
The Government Owes the Public Answers
The people are therefore entitled to ask the government several straightforward questions:
1. What is the current legal status of the Bo Airfield?
2. How much public money was spent acquiring the land and settling claims by landowning families?
3. Has any portion of the Bo Airfield or government reservation subsequently been sold, leased or allocated to private individuals or companies?
4. If so, who authorized those transactions and under what law?
5. How much revenue has the government received from any such transactions?
6. Where has that money been deposited and how has it been spent?
7. What is the government's concrete plan for aviation infrastructure in Bo?
8. What mechanisms are being used to protect government reservations from further encroachment?
These are not unreasonable political questions. They are questions of public accountability.
The government itself has acknowledged the importance of proper state-land management. Its 2024 performance plans included sustainable urban development supported by careful allocation of state land and improved land-use planning.
That commitment should therefore be tested against what is happening on the ground.
Sierra Leone's Land Must Not Become a Political Commodity
Every government eventually leaves office. Political parties come and go. Ministers change. Presidents change.
But the land of Sierra Leone remains.
Government officials are temporary custodians of national assets; they are not the permanent owners of those assets.
That principle should guide every decision concerning airfields, government reservations, forests, public buildings and other strategic national property.
If the government has genuinely transformed former airfield land into productive public infrastructure, let it show the people the results.
If land has been sold or leased, let the government publish the transactions and explain the public benefit.
If private individuals have encroached on government land, let the authorities enforce the law fairly—regardless of political affiliation or social status.
And if corruption has occurred, the responsible institutions should investigate it.
The People's Demand Is Simple
Sierra Leoneans are not against development.
We want development.
We want investment. We want modern cities. We want industries. We want jobs for our young people. We want better roads, airports, hospitals and schools. We want a country where young people can build a future without resorting to drugs or leaving home in desperation.
But development must not become a justification for disposing of national assets without transparency.
The government should therefore provide a comprehensive public account of the status of the Bo Airfield and other government reservations across Sierra Leone.
The people deserve to know what belongs to them, what has been transferred, what has been sold or leased, for how much, to whom, under whose authority, and for what public benefit.
Sierra Leone's land is not the property of one political party. It belongs to the nation.
The SLPP government—and every government that follows it—must remember that its responsibility is not simply to administer the country's assets, but to protect them, develop them and hand them over to future generations in better condition than they were received.
That is the development Sierra Leoneans should demand.
