BAN KI MOON IS COMING: WE DROP HIM A FEW HINTS
On behalf of the good people of this great country, we extend a hand of welcome to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. We've been told he's coming here to perform the symbolic closing down of the UN Peace-building outfit (UNIPSIL), the successor organisation of the peacekeeping outfit UNAMSIL that helped bring peace to Sierra Leone after a decade of madness. His itinerary, we imagine, is well planned but here are some gentle hints for the South Korean diplomat.
CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS - There are very credible Civil Society groups that became powerful with the active support of Michael Von Schulenburg who was thrown out of this country by De Pa's government. Mr. Ban should feel free to meet and listen to them.
But we ask Mr. Ban to note that there are some groups that are now government apologists and are more Vuvuzela than the Berater who cannot ever bring himself to believe that De Pa's government can do anything wrong.
Recently, the Berater said on radio that his government "accepted the findings of the Transparency International report on bribery in Sierra Leone but had problems with the methodology adopted by the researchers". And for good measure De Pa has just launched the DfID-funded Pay No Bribe project that the ACC is implementing.
The Berater is a strange Spin Doctor eh? He enjoys eating stew but he doesn't like the ingredients and the method by which aunty Rosa cooks. Berater lef, we nor to munku .
Ban Ki Moon must be careful with those Civil Society Groups that have the word "coalition" of this and COALITION of that added to their names. Unless they are able to name their coalition partners and show evidence of them attending meetings and contributing to decisions, the word "coalition" in their name should be considered a marketing strategy. In a crowded civil society area where funds are drying up, men have learned to be innovative. Hahahaha!
SLBC: Ban Ki Moon should visit that crumbling, ineffective, strike-prone so-called national broadcaster, the SLBC, which he helped bring into being with huge UN money and came all the way here to officially launch. But his security detail must make sure the UN boss does not run into another strike. That will be very embarrassing.
He should spend his first hour in the country watching programmes on TV. He will conclude without delay, that there's no sense trying to make a Lazarus of SLBC with UN largesse.
While meeting Ban Ki Moon, we will make a final effort to see the UNIPSIL boss with our own eyes before he withdraws from this country. He has been missing in action since he took over from Schulenburg. We just want to say "Goodbye" before saying "Welcome" to Toyberg Franzen.
Airtel's 104 NEWS SERVICE - OFF TO A VERY SHAKY START
We congratulate Airtel for moving into the news business. That action has confirmed that one can start new things without consolidating one's original turf as long as one is in the business of trying to impress people without caring about the reality - the reality of Airtel that we all know. (Their service was off for several hours on Sunday - no apology to subscribers).
To be fair with Airtel, when they introduced their 104 news service, they warned people who were not interested in receiving information from 104 to tell them so and they wouldn't bother them anymore.
We decided to give it a try and now, we are beginning to regret the day we took that decision. Here's why: the service puts out stale news. For example, Premier League football fixtures are sent hours after all matches for the day; they carry information from the BBC football gossip column without crediting the BBC and have a look at this.
Fri Feb 21 at 15:55:
"Citizens from all over Freetown yesterday stormed in large numbers, the National Reg. Secretariat at Wallace-Johnson Street to secure their National ID Cards."
POLITICO - Look at the way this sentence is constructed and tell us if this is the best Airtel can afford. Besides, there are ALWAYS huge crowds there, not just on that fictitious day.
Mon 24 Feb at 16:13
"President Koroma has marked 2 years into his 2nd and final term as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone."
POLITICO - Why is Airtel in such a hurry to get De Pa out of State House? And they've not even bothered to apologise to State House and the people of Sierra Leone. We have to be careful that we don't wake up one morning to find Sierra Leone in chaos because of gaffes like these. Don't they know when De Pa was sworn in for the second time!! This is incredible!
Fri 28 Feb at 14:41
"Honorable MPs of SL in the ECOWAS parliament has organized a sensitization programme on the ECOWAS activities held in Magburaka town, Tonkolli District."
Sat 1 March 14:55
"The OSIWA has launched 3 reports on Education the Justice Sector and the Rule of Law and Democracy and Political Participation in Sierra Leone."
POLITICO - The last two items are so grammatically challenged that we really doubt how they were cleared for distribution. The truth is, this is a service the IMC should be very interested in. We are not sure how Airtel came into the news business without IMC clearance but it's never too late to call them back and get them to do the right thing. Let Airtel employ a few bright young journalists to run the service which is now becoming an embarrassment.
ARE SIERRA LEONEANS IN UKRAINE SAFE?
The political crisis is deepening in Ukraine and at this moment, it's not clear which way things will go. We know there are more than 200 Sierra Leonean students there. Some are even now preparing to go to that troubled country to study. We want our Minister of Foreign Affairs to tell us how are brothers and sisters are getting on in Ukraine.
In the case of Libya, the minister was missing in action, same for Syria. We can't understand why this foreign minister enjoys being in splendid isolation even when Sierra Leoneans are in difficulty abroad. Some countries are making contingency plans to evacuate their citizens if things deteriorate, what are we doing? Are we going to allow Sierra Leonean students to continue going in harm's way in Ukraine? Every Sierra Leonean, at home or abroad is important and must be protected by the state, or at least hot air blown for them.
If the minister cares to know, we are in touch with some of our people in Ukraine and we can authoritatively tell the missing minister that those Sierra Leoneans need help. You have a shiny new office - very cozy indeed but get up and work, Mr. Minister. This time not on a plane off to somewhere only God knows.
IS MINES MINISTRY RUNNING NATIONAL MINERALS AGENCY?
Let's not hide it: the ministry of mines is not terribly enthusiastic about the establishment of the National Minerals agency. We believe that like the many institutions created to fulfil donor requirements, the NMA has been unable to assert its authority especially with the POWER MAN we have in the ministry of mines. Sometimes we wonder why there is no outcry when such institutions are crushed by politicians in broad daylight. What is wrong with the average Sierra Leonean!?
Just one example for now. The NMA act makes provision for a Director of Geological Surveys which means that the same position that existed in the ministry before the NMA came into being should have been scrapped. The reality is, the state is paying two people carrying the same title, one year after the NMA started operations. This is not funny. As for the tax reduction for that US$ 6 million, we will return to that the next time.
If POWER MAN wants to lead the ministry and NMA at the same time, then let him say that clearly and stop this pretence. Or he could behave like a colonialist and impose direct rule on NMA or even close down NMA. He is the real POWER MAN.
Is this not the guy who is looking forward to becoming president of Sierra Leone? We shall see.
PIGS ROAM FREELY ON GARBAGE HEAPS: BUT WHO CARES?
We've been complaining a lot about stray dogs in this city. The Freetown City Council has conveniently ignored us. We believe they will ignore us again as we now call on them to clear stray pigs from the filthiest places in Freetown. Drive through Kroo Bay and see how pigs feed on human waste in the area around those slum dwellings. When driving along Savage Street coming from Saint John, look over the bridge to your right and see dozens of pigs feeding from the garbage.
What is really happening to Freetown. Here is a city that wants to be counted among decent and civilised African cities but cannot keep pigs from eating raw sewerage in its gutters. Does anybody really care?
We are waiting for the Freetown City Council to speak up. Today a pig is seen eating rubbish in a gutter full of sewerage, the next day, the pig turns up on somebody's dinner table. Let's just give up. No amount of Free Health Drugs can heal this nation. Our food chain is in real trouble.
(C) Politico 04/03/14
