Poverty Reduction Strategy in Collapsed States: The Case of Sierra Leone

Abstract

This article assesses the seven-year application of the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in post-conflict Sierra Leone. While recognising its modest achievements, the article argues that the PRSP has had limited impact in Sierra Leone for three main reasons: 1) it has been increasingly argued that it is a tool for peacebuilding while the participatory poverty assessment that informed the priority setting leaned heavily towards poverty and were weak on conflict and peace analysis; 2) participation – the core theory of change for PRSPs – was not problematised within the Sierra Leone context; and 3) PRSP implementation was based on false assumptions about the required capacity for its implementation. These findings have direct implications for Sierra Leone's new PRSP, the ‘Agenda for Change’, as well as the role of PRSPs in other post-conflict contexts. The article calls on PRSP architects to make capacity development and participation part of the central objectives to ensure sustainable peacebuilding and pro-poor development in Sierra Leone.