Sierra Leone roads minister sacked

The Minister of Works, Housing and Infrastructure, Alimamy Petito Koroma and the Director of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority Munda Rogers have been sacked. According to a press release from State House, the decision followed weeks of "several meetings" to review the country's infrastructural projects which left "the President with the conclusion that the Ministry of Works, Housing and Infrastructure, and the Sierra Leone Roads Authority have not proved themselves equal to the task of managing the implementation of the road projects". The dismissals follow what many say is the worst state of the country’s roads in recent times. There are hardly any streets in the capital, Freetown without potholes. Petito has also made no secrets about his intentions to succeed President Ernest Bai Koroma as leader of the All People’s Congress party ahead of the next presidential election in 2017. Munda Rogers is regarded as the longest surviving member of the government with links to the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party. While he has been criticised for the poor state of the roads, he has fired back saying devolution of the chunk of the authority’s functions to the Road Maintenance Fund (RMF) is to blame. The RMF, who deny any blame, control the purse. (C) Politico Online 19/10/13