The State and the Provision of Social Services in Sierra Leone Since Independence, 1961-1991.

One of the most prolific authors in Sierra Leone, C. Magbaily Fyle should be commended for editing the seven case studies in this book that examine the relationship between the state and the provision of social services in Sierra Leone over the past three decades since independence. This subject has often been neglected in scholarly discourse on Sierra Leone. Over the years, the role of the state in providing social services has diminished as the scope and quality of such services also deteriorated. Undoubtedly, this is a key issue for scholars and policymakers as Sierra Leone looks to the twenty-first century.

The book begins with an overview by the editor of political and economic developments in Sierra Leone since independence. Fyle correctly points out that the rapid deterioration of social services in postcolonial Sierra Leone derives largely from the continuing poor …