Kaifala Marah (born in Koidu Town,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

) is a

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, accountant, Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone (2016-2017), and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

(2013-2016). On March 7, 2017, Dr. Marah resigned as governor in order to seek the nomination of the All People's Congress (APC) for the Presidential election of 2018. He served as State House chief of staff and senior economic advisor to Sierra Leone's president

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent more than 24 ...

from 2010 until his appointment as finance minister in 2013. Marah holds a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in international relations from

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Public Policy from State University of New York; and a

doctorate degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

political finance Political finance covers all funds that are raised and spent for political purposes. Such purposes include all political contests for voting by citizens, especially the election campaigns for various public offices that are run by parties and cand ...

from the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

. Marah served as a deputy

Town Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

at the

Koidu Koidu Town (or Sefadu) is the capital and largest city of the diamond-rich Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Koidu Town is 124,6based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Koidu Town is the fifth larg ...

-New Sembehun

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. He later served as a Budget Analyst at the New York State Senate. Marah was the public expenditure management adviser at the commonwealth secretariat in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, before he was appointed as chief of staff to president Ernest Bai Koroma. Marah was born and raised in Koidu Town,

Kono District Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu, Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, J ...

in Eastern Sierra Leone. His family is originally from

Koinadugu District Koinadugu District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the largest District in Sierra Leone in geographical area, and one of the least most densely populated. Its capital and largest city is Kabala, which is also one of ...

in Northern Sierra Leone. Marah is a muslim and a member of the Kuranko ethnic group.

Early life and education

Kaifala Marah was born and raised in Koidu Town,

in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone to Kuranko parents from

in the North of Sierra Leone. Marah attended

Ansarul Islamic Boys Secondary School Ansarul Islamic Boys Secondary School also known as"A School," is a government sponsored public High school, secondary school located in Tankoro Chiefdom, Koidu-Sefadu, Koidutown, Kono District, Sierra Leone. The school was founded on Islamic Pr ...

in Koidu Town. Marah holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from

in Sierra Leone; a

in Public Policy from State University of New York; and a

(

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

) from the

Career

Marah had served as a deputy

at the Koidu-New Sembehun

. He later served as a Budget Analyst at the New York State Senate. Marah was the public expenditure management adviser at the commonwealth secretariat in

, before he was appointed as chief of staff to president Ernest Bai Koroma.

Political career

Marah was appointed by Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma to serve as his chief of staff and senior economic advisor from 2010 up until December 2012, when president Koroma moved him to become

Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Ministry of Finance is a ministerial department of the Government of Sierra Leone, and is in charge of managing the revenue and finances of the Sierra Leone government. The ministry implements the Sierra Leone government economic poli ...

SLPP’s commission of inquiry

In 2018, immediately after taking office, President

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

’s administration announced a Commissions of Inquiry (COI) approved to look into the performance of former All People’s Congress (APC) Government officials and that the scope of the inquiry will cover the period November, 2007 to April, 2018. Over 300 persons who served in senior positions in the former Koroma administration including Kaifala Marah were indicted. Honourable Justice John Rosolu Bankole Thompson who headed Commission Number 2 of the three Commissions of Inquiry blasted the Bio regime for misusing the COI in a manner that was "not reasonable or permissible" and also "not cognizable" under the COI legal framework that President Bio had sent for approval to Parliament.

APC party leadership campaign

In 2020 it was announced that the All People's Congress (APC) would hold their convention to elect a new leader that will challenge president Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP who is facing re-election for a second five-year term in 2023. Marah, a former Minister of Finance and a former Chief Minister (Chief of Staff to the President) announced his candidacy for the leadership of the All People's Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 Sierra Leone presidential and parliamentary elections. He is one of seven candidates for the APC leadership. Marah is a clear underdog to the previous APC leader Samura Kamara who became leader in 2018 by selection by then outgoing president and APC party chairman Ernest Koroma, instead of election- a move that was unpopular with the majority of APC supporters APC ultimately lost the elections to the SLPP 0

References

External links

*http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/30175 {{DEFAULTSORT:Marah, Kaifala Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Sierra Leonean Muslims Sierra Leonean economists People from Koidu Finance ministers of Sierra Leone Governors of the Bank of Sierra Leone Government ministers of Sierra Leone Foreign Ministers of Sierra Leone