KEY POINTS IN THE ASM PROGRAM

The African Socialist Movement (ASM) is an outgrowth of the Africanist Movement formed in 2001 formed to advance a worker-peasants struggle for African unity and socialism. The African Socialist Movement, established primarily to lead the struggle for socialist democracy and self-determination in Sierra Leone, continues the struggle initiated by the Africanist Movement in 2001.

The ultimate vision of the African Socialist Movement (ASM) is to fight for the liberation and unification of Africa and African people under an all-African socialist state. Key to its understanding is the fact that the struggle against the imperialist and neo-colonialist forces in Sierra Leone falls within the global struggle for African unity and socialism.

To advance its revolutionary national democratic program and to accomplish this monumental task, the African Socialist Movement (ASM) – representing the most advanced elements of the working class and peasant movement in Sierra Leone – has evolved a new strategic relationship and alliance with all the progressives and pro-democratic forces in the country. The principal motive for such an arrangement is anchored on the need to build and advance a national movement with a strategy guided by revolutionary leaders in a bid to enhance a national democratic transition involving all workers and peasants in Sierra Leone as part of the struggle for African unity and socialism.

  1. People’s Control of the Economy
    The African Socialist Movement (ASM) recognizes the fact that the economy of Sierra Leone is largely controlled by multinational corporations. That the extractive sector of the economy, which includes the mines, energy and marine resources are largely in the hands of private corporations from Europe and North America. The African Socialist Movement (ASM) therefore calls for a people’s control of the resources. We believe that people’s control of the strategic components of the economy of Sierra Leone particularly the extractive sector is so critical to the budget of the country. Therefore the lucrative and strategic areas of the economy must be in the hands of the people and utilized to transform their conditions of existence.
  2. Right to Social and Economic Development
    The African Socialist Movement (ASM) also notes that more than ninety-eight percent of Sierra Leone’s geographical landscape is not electrified. And that more than ninety percent of the population has no access to safe and clean drinking water. Also, that this appalling situation has immensely undermined economic growth, human and infrastructural development. The African Socialist Movement (ASM) wants an immediate campaign to electrify the whole of Sierra Leone and to guarantee that the people have access to clean and safe-drinking water countrywide. We believe that the conquest of political power from the APC and SLPP will surely make it possible to invest money from the millions of dollars that are produced from the mines of Sierra Leone to build infrastructure for the people. That today, the country’s iron ore, diamonds, gold, bauxite and huge petroleum resources are being looted at the expense of the country. And that the revenue from these areas can be utilized meaningfully to transform the country and its economy.
  3. The Right to Free Healthcare
    The African Socialist Movement (ASM) recognizes the fact that the health issues associated with the lack of clean water are immeasurable and are clearly connected with the high mortality rates affecting workers, peasants and the poor of all ages and genders. We want clinics and healthcare must be made available for everyone especially workers and rural and agricultural communities. Alongside this, that increased salaries and better conditions of service must be developed for healthcare workers. That effort must be made to convince healthcare workers who have left Sierra Leone for Europe and North America to return home and contribute to the development of the health sector.
  4. Housing and Infrastructural Development
    The African Socialist Movement (ASM) wants initiatives to solve the housing crisis and we identify the need for economically-viable roads, construction of railways to ease public transportation and movement, advance telecommunications facilities and other meaningful social services to improve the quality of life of the population.
  5. Support for Agricultural Production
    The African Socialist Movement (ASM) wants allocation of resources to support domestic production through the development of a strategic economic plan that will help local producers to produce for a domestic market and protection from unfair competition from multinational corporate entities. A program that recognizes the need for living wages for all workers, improved conditions of service, freedom of the press, the right to free speech, and the ability to exercise the right to assembly and political association.
  6. The Right of Return for Africans
    The African Socialist Movement recognizes that all African people dispersed throughout the world comprise a single African nation dispersed around the world by slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism. And we therefore affirm their right of return to their motherland.