Honestly Speaking is a thought-provoking podcast featuring conversations on pressing issues, social dynamics, and professional insights in Sierra Leone, and connecting them to global narratives and trends. Through an accessible, yet informative approach, the show navigates serious discussions with entertaining elements by creating space for real and unfiltered views of contributors.
Why Resource-Rich Countries Stay Poor | Governance, Power & Public Contracts in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is rich in natural resources — yet poverty remains part of the narrative. Why?In this episode of Honestly Speaking, Antonia Howard is joined by Andrew Lavali, a governance and public policy expert, for a deep conversation about how poverty is produced and maintained — not just through corruption, but through power, control, and public contracts.This episode examines the hidden layer of governance: who controls revenue, how large public contracts are structured, and why governments often derive little benefit from major infrastructure and resource projects.The conversation explores:Why governance reforms often look good on paper but fail in practiceHow bad public contracts drain state revenue across AfricaWho benefits when oversight is weakWhy changing governments doesn’t always change outcomesWhat real accountability would look like in resource-rich but cash-poor statesDrawing lessons from Sierra Leone and the wider African continent, this episode challenges familiar narratives about poverty and asks harder questions about economic power, elite influence, and institutional culture.This is a must-watch for anyone interested in: governance in Africa, public finance, political economy, development, accountability, and citizen power.#HonestlySpeaking #GovernanceInAfrica #SierraLeone #AfricanEconomy #PoliticalEconomy #PublicContracts #Accountability #DevelopmentDebate
1 Feb 2026
What Kind of Sierra Leone Do We Want?
In conversation with Zainab Bangura, one time presidential aspirant in Sierra Leone and now Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, we explore values, civic responsibility, and the shared role of leaders, institutions, and citizens in shaping Sierra Leone’s future.
Grounded in love for country, the discussion reflects on where we are as a nation, what has gone wrong beyond politics alone, and why reclaiming values such as truth, integrity, accountability, unity, and courage is essential for national renewal.
The episode also centres women’s dignity and considers how mindset, silence, and everyday choices influence peace, development, and progress.
This is an invitation to honest self-examination, shared responsibility, and hope.
Ultimately, it asks a question that belongs to all of us:
What kind of Sierra Leone do we want to build?
22 Jan 2026
Part 3 - January 18: What Does Remembrance Ask of Us Now?
In Part Three of this special Honestly Speaking series for National Remembrance Day, the focus turns to prevention — and responsibility.
Often repeated, “never again” can sound like a slogan. In this episode, it is treated as a question: what must be done to ensure Sierra Leone never returns to the kind of brutal conflict that defined the civil war?
Through reflections from survivors, historians, media practitioners, civic voices, and ordinary Sierra Leoneans, the episode examines unresolved grievances, the risks of forgetting, and the role of leadership, media, and civic education in sustaining peace.
The conversation underscores a central truth: peace does not maintain itself. It requires honesty, vigilance, and collective responsibility.
This final part brings the series to a close by asking what remembrance truly demands — now, and in the future.
Who has been a guest on Honestly Speaking with Antonia Howard
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Aisha Fofana Ibrahim
Yeniva Sisay
Edleen Elba
Dr Alhaji Njai
Vickie Remoe
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
84,912
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
68
Social presence
0
YouTube
85
Engagement
32
Contact Honestly Speaking with Antonia Howard
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