07/29/2026
President Kabbah's 2000 Tribute to Britain: Why UK Leadership Under Clare Short Made Sierra Leone a Model for the World.
Address by H.E. President Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah at the Donors Conference for Sierra Leone, London, 27 March 2000.
The conference was chaired by Rt. Hon. Clare Short, UK Secretary of State for International Development, who jointly hosted it with Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Mats Karlsson of the World Bank. Kabbah respectfully addresses her throughout as "Madam Chair."
In his address, Kabbah thanks Madam Chair for convening the conference on her personal initiative and for her second visit to Sierra Leone. He praises the UK as "not only a great defender of democracy, but also a role model in the timely translation of promises into commitments," citing her announcement of an additional £5.5 million for the DDR programme. He also extends profound gratitude to ECOWAS nations - Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea and Mali - for their blood and sacrifice through ECOMOG, and to the UN Security Council for expanding UNAMSIL from 6,000 to 11,100 troops to close the security vacuum.
Why we should care in 2026: This is the exact moment Sierra Leone pivoted from a failed state to a success story. Chair Clare Short used her chairmanship to turn talk into concrete action, announcing an additional £17.5 million on the day, bringing total UK aid to over £65 million.
Kabbah presents Sierra Leone as the perfect and only working example of regional African forces, a principled donor, and the UN working hand-in-hand. In 2026, as the world fails to stop wars in Sudan and the Sahel, this 2000 speech is a blueprint for how to rebuild a nation - with strong leadership and real money.
Without that day in London under Chair Clare Short, there would be no peaceful, democratic Sierra Leone today.