POLICE WAITING ROOM NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION PLEASE
We appeal to the biggest man in the Sierra Leone Force for Good to stop his people at the reception of Force for Good HQ from asking visitors to wait for their appointments in that so-called waiting room they have down stairs. That place is not fit for purpose and it gives a very bad impression of the Force for Good to somebody who doesn't know that a lot of good has happened to that organisation since the end of the war. Those of us who know the police are doing some good are very disappointed to see such a waiting room.
We had the unfortunate experience of being asked to wait in there last week during the course of investigating a story. We were definitely not impressed. We must do the following to that place very quickly.
1. Let's remove that very old carpet on the floor. We don't even know which colour that is anymore. Just dump that thing at Bormeh.
2. The chairs too must go. We sat in there for about 20 minutes and during that period we were so scared that bed bugs could attack us any moment. We didn't see or feel any but please excuse us for thinking a colony of bed bugs was not too far away.
3. The air-conditioner is a definite wreck. Let's replace it quickly. The room was very stuffy during our visit. We don't think that should happen at the waiting room of our Force for Good.
We are not sure the biggest man in the place is aware of the situation down there. If his staff are too scared to tell him for obvious reasons, we have now done it on behalf of our people and Munu Boys.
This is a project Munu Boys can handle very quickly - they have money for that. In fact, we are ready to supply the names of four contractors who can pre-finance the project until Munu boys collect money from Sierra Leone police peacekeepers in Sudan.
Just to let Munu boys know, we will be visiting the place in two weeks. We have a duty to tell our people what happens after this friendly comment. Good idea, right?
GOOD WORK NP AND TOTAL, NO WORK DONE AT SAFECON
Who really owns SAFECON petrol stations in this country? We ask because we believe that many Sierra Leoneans don't like the condition of those service stations at all. We've been quietly observing the massive improvements dealers like NP and Total are making to their service stations throughout the country. It would seem like nobody in SAFECON is taking notice. SAFECON must start work now.
Look at the work the other people are doing in Freetown alone, with particular reference to NP Campbell Street and tell us how that compares with SAFECON stations like the one at the top of Dundas Street by Pademba Road, SAFECON Dwazark Junction and the one at the bottom of Adelaide Street. Come on friends, you must spend some of your huge profits to match the other two oil marketers.
Even some of the machines you use to pump petrol leave people with the impression they don't get what they pay for. We have no evidence to support that and we're sorry if you feel we are a bit heavy but look at those old machines. Sometimes your attendants in absolutely faded uniforms have to crank the machines up to serve people. We had that experience recently at SAFECON Dwazark Junction.
So how long would it take you to get the job done please? We are prepared to give you up to Christmas 2015, but you can shorten the time and prove to us that you are as strong as NP and Total. You are all in the same business to rip off the masses, you know.
419ERS ON THE RAMPAGE: AIRTEL SUBSCRIBERS UNDER ATTACK
Many people would have noticed lately that 419ers have intensified their activities by working mobile phones the whole day. This criminality is reaching alarming proportions and we can't understand why mobile phone companies wasted so much money on advertising and actual registering of SIM cards when they knew the whole exercise would be useless and unsustainable.
In the last week or so, some pleasant-sounding ladies, behaving like any call center staff, have been calling people telling them lies about winning promotions and all that. In one particular instance, a lady, calling on 079 146 684, claimed to be a staff of Airtel and told somebody we know that she was the proud winner of a return air ticket to London. All our lottery winner was supposed to do was give the details of about 20 people she called frequently. The 'winner' was also supposed to give details like the name, occupation, place of work and other intimate details about their friends. That's really crazy.
We blame the mobile phone companies and their regulator, NATCOM, for not making sure all SIM cards are properly registered so that prank or criminal callers can be easily identified and punished. Even criminals who drop their mobile phones at crime scenes as happened recently will be fished out and jailed.
We are fed up with criminals calling us in the middle of important meetings offering to include us in lubricating oil or chlorine deals for billions of leones.
Registering SIM cards would not eliminate this problem totally, but it should help us set very bright examples. As the economic squeeze tightens in Sierra Leone, all sorts of criminal activities are gaining momentum. This must stop.
In fact, all SIM cards must be registered a second time. Let's do that.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WFP FOOD SUPPLY PROJECT ENDS
So after a shaky start, occasioned by wild and exaggerated rumours about the WFP supplying expired food, the organisation appears to have made a mark among the rural poor in particular. One man told us recently that he sometimes thinks ahead to the day the WFP stops those supplies. He said it would be an absolute disaster for the rural poor when the supplies of rice, beans and other items come to an end.
Well, we agree with this man and hundreds of thousands of others like him, but that's the way such bodies operate. We've been thinking around this issue and we've come up with a few ideas as to how to keep that lifeline open.
1. The government can simply move in and take over from WFP. Look, it's the responsibility of the government to make sure its people's welfare is secured. I hope some guys in government have not been lying to the people that those supplies are from De Pa.
2. The people should return to finding food for themselves as they used to do before Ebola attacked.
3. The agriculture minister likes talking about Sierra Leone having enough food, why not distribute the food to the poor with Charles Mambu forming another coalition to monitor food supplies.
4. De Pa is known by many as a generous man – never mind how he gets the largesse he dishes out – so perhaps we can encourage him to visit communities blighted by poverty very often between now and 2017 when he leaves office. The people would also smile frequently.
5. If all of this fails, we can plead with Ban Ki Moon to extend the life of his UN project here and launch an appeal for more funds. Isn't that what the UN vultures flocking over another dead meat in Africa really want? Let's give it to them until we run our country properly and deny them any excuse to come here pretending to have all the answers.
© Politico 12/02/15
