By Mabinty M. Kamara
The city of Bo, the headquarter of the southern region, widely known for having some of the best educational institutions, a constant atmosphere of joie de vivre and gari production experienced significant cash flow in the final week of 2021 when it hosted the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party for three consecutive days for their party convention at the Bo mini stadium.
Slow and steady sales for business people who had booked the mini stadium, the convention venue to sell mostly food and drinks. It was a kind of Christmas holiday festival. In just a day the traders who managed to erect their stalls in time were smiling all the way to the bank. They wouldn’t admit that on record for obvious reasons but it was very clear to see cash flowing in.
The brightly lit city was graced by the presence of the entire government of Sierra Leone and their party supporters, and well-wishers, and by extension their social and economic clout also moved southwards. Ahead of the convention, President Bio had commissioned one of the power stations of the Transco CLSG interconnection lines of the West Africa Power Pool Project to provide uninterrupted power supply in the sister towns of Kenema and Bo, undoubtedly the political stronghold of the SLPP.
The stadium where the convention to determine the new leadership of the party was held became a real spectacle as it was packed with people from all parts of the country from all social backgrounds including journalists and observers who had gone to witness the much hyped convention. Some had traveled days ahead of the convention and that was bound to seriously impact the economy of the Southern headquarters town in terms of food, accommodation, entertainment and other basic needs.
On my way to the heartland of the gari industry, I saw foams and mattresses loaded on vehicles but I didn’t take seriously how tough getting accommodation was going to be until I arrived in the new city of power. I gathered that even the most despised low quality guest houses were fully booked more than a week before the first delegates arrived for the convention. Many, including myself, had to find shelter in private homes and the few student hostels available. I was reliably informed that the many club houses also played a great role in hosting some of the guests as many enjoyed till day break, only leaving the clubs in the morning for the stadium. Such was the situation in the southern city.
But was the crowd necessary?
This is an open question because the convention was restricted to the one thousand and sixty seven delegates from across the country, few observers and the media. However, such a gathering being an opportunity for the young party boys and girls to meet with their political godfathers who are mostly ministers, heads of commissions, parastatals and diplomatic missions abroad, was a perfect opportunity for the young party militants to put their case for employment across while helping to canvass votes for aspiring candidates.
At some point of the convention which didn’t start till after 3pm on the first day, we heard reports from the security personnel that some delegates who had already entered the bowl of the stadium were sending their delegate passes over the fence so that other people could access the stadium despite a security structure that generally performed well overall.
The entrance to the stadium was flooded with onlookers including thugs and vehicles that were not granted access by the security personnel but some managed to beat the system by clandestine means. This was how the place became crowded to the extent that the food provided by the organizers of the convention could not serve the thousands of guests hosted. The stadium turned into a hunger zone with people turning to the booths for food and drinks that were mostly sold at exorbitant prices.
The impact
As stated in the basic law of demand and supply, as demand grew in Bo town, prices of goods and services were adjusted upwards. At the stadium, a plate of African dish usually sold at Le 15,000 was now sold at Le 25,000 while a bottle of water at some booths went for Le 10,000 and Le12, 000 depending on the time of the day. A cup of pepper in the market went from Le3000 to Le6000. That notwithstanding, even to get one was difficult according to sources. At around 2pm on the last day of the convention, I had to patiently wait for a fresh dish to be prepared before I could buy one from one of the booths at the stadium.
Margaret Ndoingeh one of the booth owners at the stadium, said the turnout of customers during those period was overwhelming but that the prices of goods such as the goat meat and other commodities had all gone up due to the demand. “We normally buy the leg of a goat at Le40, 000 but it has now gone up to Le 80,000 and Le 120,000 for a big leg because they know the town is hosting big personalities but we buy it because at the end of the day, we are making more profits because of the customer base”. She said she was ‘extremely grateful to God almighty’ that the organizers of the convention changed the initial venue to the stadium. “When we registered to sell here for the festival, sales was slow because people were not coming in as expected but in the last two days, we have covered up. We heard they are also going to compensate the organizers because they are losing out on the gate takings they normally collected”.
The security setting
The stadium was the safest place to be in Bo during those three days at least. Security was watertight and the personnel were very professional in the discharge of their functions. The alertness and performance of the Inspector General of Police, Michael Ambrose Sovula and his men was second to none I have witnessed in my time in journalism. They swiftly put security under control when things were about to get out of hand towards the end of the last set of voting for the four big positions including the chairmanship. The intervention of the President to calm the situation down was also crucial in maintaining the peace of the convention.
Meanwhile, things were a bit different in town because immediately the convention came to an end those supporting of candidates who lost the elections, especially the chairmanship position became agitated.
Two loud unidentified sounds were heard around the Kowama community which houses the home of one of the main contenders of the chairmanship position Jimmy Batilo Songa. Some claimed the police fired warning shots while others said it was teargas being discharged to disperse the irate supporters of Songa who lost to Prince Alex Harding. Apart from that brief affair, Bo town was calm and peaceful when we left on Friday 31st of December 2021.
President Julius Maada in his keynote address admonished all party members and supporters to remain peaceful and accept the result since the election was done under the watchful eyes of everybody including the candidates. “In the SLPP, everybody is a winner. Our goal is to defeat the APC come 2023. So let’s accept the outcome of the results and move on,” he said.
Observers from the National Election Watch and PPRC observers commended the conduct of the elections, noting that a lot of reforms were put in place from the lessons learnt in their lower level elections organized by the party.
The Chief Electoral Commissioner of IEMOC Dr. David Moinina Sengeh was also confident that the process was free and fair.
We look forward to attending the delegate conference of the All Peoples Congress Party this New Year which is bound to be in one of the Northern cities of Sierra Leone. Never mind, it could be hosted anywhere in Sierra Leone besides, aren’t we all Sierra Leoneans? Which gives us the right to every part of the country. 2022 is indeed a critical year for Salone for which I’m wishing all Political Parties well as they prepare for the local council elections, and the general elections in 2023.
Happy New Year!
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