THIRD TERM AGENDA CASTS A LONG SHADOW ONCE AGAIN
When the idea of a possible third-term bid was mentioned not too long ago by Logus, there was a universal outcry against any attempt to throw Sierra Leone into confusion with such a move. It grew so intense that State House was compelled to issue a weak and largely non-committal statement to deny what Logus, who led the Red Movement campaign, had told many radio stations.
Up and till now that non-denial denial by De Pa had been enough to take the debate off the headlines despite the fact that Logus was subsequently compensated with a big ministerial job, the most part of which he is doing on the airwaves and in the engine room of the ferry or in the license office at SLRTA (we must at this point inform Logus that we have spent the last two months investigating the license contract issue at SLRTA and we will confront him with the facts soon, before surely going to press).
Back to the main issue, a lot has been happening recently to suggest that we are heading for an open and decisive attempt by De Pa to seek a third term or do a Vladimir Putin - change the constitution by creating the office of a powerful Prime Minister and a largely ceremonial president...Nothing stops him from becoming Prime Minister.
We are prepared to be dismissed as dreaming idiots but the signs are all over the place and we have lived in this country long enough with the Red Movement to understand how they operate. Equally so, De Pa must know that times have changed and things are so bad now in terms of living conditions that many people have nothing more to lose.
Sierra Leone will surely remain a decent democracy where the people, not ONE man, dictate.
LIFE AFTER BERNADETTE LAHAI: SLPP MUST CHANGE OR DIE
It's been a long time in coming. It was in fact the worst-kept secret. Bernadette Lahai's leadership of the SLPP in Parliament is over and it's good riddance anyway. She came to office with a lot of promise because, somehow, the media had cast her as a bright, patriotic and loyal SLPP politician who could be trusted to lead an opposition party in parliament against the almighty Red Movement. But as we now know, even her own MPs believe she's been moonlighting with the Red Movement for too long and helping entrench the de-facto one-party strategy.
The leader of government business was so impressed with her that he once announced inside parliament that the Great Bernie was once approached for a ministerial job which she turned down at the time. Well, once again we hear that her name is definitely on De Pa's list for a post in the executive. We wish her well with that.
However, the Green Movement must be told in no uncertain terms that there are many pretenders to Bernadette's crown who have not only been moonlighting with the Red Movement but have been sleeping with them for many years. Those people must be denied any access to that important job otherwise the whole thing will become very messy and Bernie will be correct to say she was a victim of a cruel plot.
The next point is: many Sierra Leoneans are not convinced the Green Movement is ready for power even if they are tired with De Pa's government. They are willing to listen to any alternative political organisation that emerges in the democratic arena. We believe the next minority leader's personality will go a long way to tell the nation what the opposition are up to. They will die if they elect an MP who is looking for Koko-ebbeh and couldn't care less what the rest of us think.
This is their last chance to tell us they are serious. Nobody is going to sit around here waiting for them to organise themselves.
OLUNIYI BLACKOUT FAILS REGENT, LEICESTER AND MANY OTHERS
Oluniyi is very angry with our colleagues at Awoko. He alleges they accused him of lying to the people of Regent and Leicester when he promised they would get electricity on World AIDS Day 2013. Well Mr. Minister, the fact of the matter is that you told the long-suffering people of these two places they would get light. And you were specific with your date - 1 December 2013.
So if the people went to bed in darkness on the day you promised they would get light, how else do you think they would describe you? And if the newspaper is there to reflect the views of the people, how do you think they should report such catastrophic failure of a promise by a minister of government?
Ok, you gave all these excuses about contractors not delivering on time but why were you so specific with dates? And sir, do you really think anybody believes what you are saying?
Imagine this: Kortright at FBC was in the same situation with Regent and Leicester - their cables were uprooted by CSE. The people of Kortright complained, De Pa paid a visit and within 48 hours light was restored to Kortright. Do you now understand why people fervently believe you have not been very open with them - NOTE OUR EXPRESSION "YOU HAVE NOT BEEN OPEN WITH THEM". We don't want to hurt you sir.
All we can do for the people of Regent and Leicester whose MP, by the Grace of Christiana, spends his time in far away Grafton, is that they should invite De Pa for a walkabout. We assure them Oluniyi's material will land on that mountain the next day.
This minister must know that people are fed up with too many excuses. When did Oluniyi realise the materials will not be here on time to meet his promise? And if we should ask, why can't the NPA buy frequently needed materials and stock them in Freetown so they don't go running up and down every time some problem occurs? No money eh?
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE NEC SPOKESMAN?
We have a lot of respect for the spokesman of the National Electoral Commission, NEC. We believe he's been doing very well under Christiana's dictatorship. But we have a few concerns about his last outing on 98.1 where he was interviewed about a court decision that put two constituencies in the hands of people who failed to get even a quarter of the registered voters in those constituencies. Court order or not, ordinary citizens like us have a right to ask questions. We are Sierra Leoneans.
We are saying this because the NEC spokesman was very dismissive of every question that raised wider questions about how his organisation handled the whole affair for which the people in those constituencies have been sentenced to going without a real representative MP for four years. The ordinary people in those places are weeping but the NEC spokesman dismissed them as "dead" people. He said he wanted to concentrate on those who are "alive" - a direct reference to the few who now have an MP.
The NEC spokesman lost his cool as the interview progressed and told the reporter to drop the issue of the huge votes invalidated by the court order because, he said, as long as a pregnancy had been aborted, it did not matter how old it was. This is the way people speak on the streets of Freetown and we fervently believe that is totally unbecoming of a NEC spokesman. He should withdraw those words.
It is very disrespectful of him to refer to the majority SLPP supporters in those places as aborted foetuses that must be forgotten.
We still respect him but we must let him know that he could have made his point without being so disrespectful of those people who pay his salary.
KAILAHUN CHIEF vs. HIS OWN PEOPLE: WHEN WILL THIS END?
The bye-election that brought Patrick Foyah to parliament has come and gone but some people are very uncomfortable with that outcome, that includes the Paramount Chief of the area. The people of Constituency 001 told us that for some reason they didn't understand that their chief broke ranks with them and actively and very openly campaigned for the Red Movement candidate in that rock-solid opposition area. They say he even took strong action against some people who operate in his Kailahun Court Barray, for refusing to behave like Robin the son of Fallay.
We've been trying to find out why any chief (obviously elected for life) would make such a break with his people and become so partisan for a movement that could be thrown out of office on a five-year cycle.
There are numerous examples of chiefs siding with politicians in Freetown against the interest of their people. We had hoped that people would learn from those examples up and down this country but alas. The institution of chieftaincy is under strain such that even its ardent supporters are beginning to have doubts because of the way some in that office are running the show.
(C) Politico 06/12/13
