{"id":33102,"date":"2026-04-27T13:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=33102"},"modified":"2026-04-27T13:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:19:19","slug":"sierra-leone-has-come-a-long-way-but-challenges-remain","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/sierra-leone-has-come-a-long-way-but-challenges-remain\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sierra Leone has come a long way, but challenges remain\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sierra Leone has made real progress since independence, but the journey is far from over, says former Pan-African Parliament Vice President Bernadette Lahai.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe may not be where we want to be, but the fact that we are a sovereign nation is something to celebrate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Lahai reflected on how far the country has come since 1961, when it gained independence from Britain under its first Prime Minister, Milton Margai.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She highlighted unity as one of Sierra Leone\u2019s strongest qualities, pointing to the country\u2019s long-standing culture of religious and ethnic tolerance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But she was also candid about the challenges that remain. Years after an 11-year civil war ended in 2002, and following crises like Ebola, the country is still rebuilding, with its economy feeling the strain of both local and global pressures.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even so, Lahai says there is reason for hope, but only if the country continues to work together.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must move forward with a shared vision and responsibility for our country,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":33103,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-33102","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Sierra Leone has made real progress since independence","published_date":"2026-04-27 13:04:11","news_description":"Sierra Leone has made real progress since independence","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/33102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/33102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33104,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/33102\/revisions\/33104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=33102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}