By Hassan I. Conteh

Africa smallest country, Seychelles: its people live a better live than Sierra Leoneans and many people in other countries in the world.

Sierra Leone still sits on the bottom of Human Development Index (HDI) in the world as the country is one of the poorest.

It lacks most of the basic social services that its people could enjoy.

Clean running water, health, food, clothing and transport and telecommunication services and electricity supply have remained Sierra Leoneans’ growing challenges.

And the country keeps failing back year-round on United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s HDI’s forecasts.

While a little and not-well known country, Seychelles, by many people, tops Sierra Leone in terms of human development, Sierra Leoneans don’t live a better life like the people of Seychelles.

Seychelles is able to provide most of the basic human needs for its people.

The East Coast of Africa island country has advanced way back in the early 90s when Sierra Leone was at war, 1992-2022 civil unrest.

Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa. It is also the least populated sovereign African country.

The island nation continues to be ranked top on the HDI while Sierra Leone sits on a broken chair down as a poorest nation on the Human Development Index.

For example, in one of UNDP’s HDI’s ranking of countries around the world, about eight years ago, while Seychelles was ranked on the second HDI’s category as among High Human Development nations in the world, Sierra Leone sat on the last HDI’s category as among Low Human Development nations in the world behind Eritrea and Burkina Faso, Burundi, Guinea Conakry, with only ahead of Chad, Central Africa Republic, Congo (Democratic Republic of the) and Niger.

The 2014 Human Development Report placed Seychelles on the same high human development category of countries among some bigger nations like China, Uruguay, Tukey, Brazil, etc, in the world.

The Africa island country, Seychelles, sits as the 71 country on the 2014 UNDP’s Human Development Index while leaving behind China, Ukraine, Jamaica, and Algeria and others.

China was rated 91 behind Seychelles on 2014 world’s human development index.

Sierra Leone was ranked 183 out of 187 countries studied, on world’s human development index of 2014.

The West Africa country, Sierra Leone, was colonized before Seychelles, the east coast of Africa country on the Indian Ocean, by Great Britain.

While Sierra Leone had her independence from Great Britain on April 27, 1961, Seychelles had hers from Great Britain on June 29, 1976.

But the Indian Ocean island country has advanced far above the West coast of Atlantic country, Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone is yet unable to fix up her perennial crisis of power supply.

Currently, as of September 8, 2023, an Al Jazeera news reports says “Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown has been hit by power cuts supply over unpaid debt.”

Reports say Sierra Leone’s government owes a Turkish Karpowership a sum of at least $46 million and which has made the global power supply company to cut down its services to the capital Freetown.

Sierra Leone is still having unresolved problems of power supply since time immemorial.

And Sierra Leoneans’ living standard could not be compared to citizens of Seychelles who live a better life.

Sierra Leone is currently facing serious problem on her economy as hyper-inflation continues to hit-hard on goods and services, making them ever expensive while the domestic currency lowers in value behind the US dollar.