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TWITTER, the Gossip (20/05/14)

SOJA MINISTER THREATENS JOURNALIST: FREE SPEECH WHERE ART THOU?

It's reaching breaking point now with Pallo, The Anointed One. In other words our patience is running out with his habit of going off tangent to do things unbecoming of somebody in his position. Since the day this guy was made a minister, he's been running around like a Roman Conqueror.

He insists on wearing military combat fatigues when he is no longer a soldier. He maintains a military convoy at the expense of the state when his colleague ministers go all over the country with just one police bodyguard. Many people have complained but like we say it's as if he is above the law. This is unacceptable!

Pallo The Anointed One lived in England for many years and we are sure he knows that even the British Prime Minister's security does not include so many visibly armed soldiers in combat driving at break neck speed. We do not want to directly blame him for a recent accident in which two of his guards were killed but we can't help noting that incident at this stage. We hope the public is fully informed about the outcome of that investigation and let the chips fall where they may so it does not turn out like the killing in Guinea of the bodyguard of Khan Khan Khan which ended BOFF CASE!

In the midst of all this, Pallo The Anointed One has threatened to teach our colleague a serious lesson. Our colleague's crime is simply because he did his job by sniffing around some bank accounts operated by the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. Let's inform The Anointed One that he has made a very serious threat and we are treating it seriously too. If the state fails in its primary duty to protect an ordinary citizen like our colleague, then we shall hold Pallo The Anointed One Personally responsible, should anything go wrong with Edward Marah. This is not a joke.

If The Anointed One enjoys the benefits of democracy - like being appointed to high office by a democratically-elected president with all the goodies that come with that, he should be ready for free speech and the absolute right of the media to hold ministers like him accountable to the people of Sierra Leone. That's what democracies are made of.

NEW MINISTERIAL VEHICLES: TIN DAE BE O

This is much about questioning the purchase of new vehicles for ministers while the old ones are in excellent order, as it is about what happens to the old ones. And how much did these new ones cost? Who was awarded the contract to supply them and were procurement rules followed? We ask because we have heard strange stories about the contracts and the whereabouts of the old vehicles.

But one other thing that has shocked us is the decision by a certain Deputy Minister to abandon his own official vehicle and is parading in the newly supplied luxury vehicle of the minister. Ok...ehhhh he can decide to wish to succeed his former boss but this is not the time. Dis na MILLEH.

If a minister can be this petty and HAUN HAUN over a vehicle, you can imagine the rest. These fellows should pay more attention to work than luxury. But ahhhh ya! But God dae!

MASSIVE OVERDRAFT, A NEW WAR WITH POPE JOHN PAUL: SLFA ON THE EDGE

Officials of the SLFA are putting on a brave face so as not to give away their frustration with what is happening to the body in the last week or so but for people like us who are being informed from the inside, we know that the SLFA is facing an existential threat in the shape of Pope John Paul. And it's not a funny matter.

It's now no secret that SLFA officials were kicked off the plane to Swaziland last week and the entire coaching staff of the U-20 squad have been fired by Pope John Paul. The SLFA is rattled but they couldn't even form a quorum for a meeting to decide how to fight back against the awesome power of the Pope.

We made this point a long time ago: Pope John Paul will behave like a beast. He will keep coming for food until there is no more food to eat and he jumps on his partner on the other side. Madam and her team have given so much ground to the Pope that there is hardly anything left with which to appease him. Now he has extended his influence right inside the FIFA-acknowledged territory of the SLFA. Let's not be surprised to wake up one morning to the news that the Pope has dismissed the SLFA and appointed his own committee - that's where he started - and inevitably, FIFA has banned Sierra Leone from all competition for political interference.

There are important lessons to learn from the state of affairs in the SLFA. Just to capture power, Madam actively encouraged political interference in SLFA matters, against the cries of his colleagues in football and the wider public who knew it was wrong and dangerous to do that.

The Madam underestimated the consequences of such a strategy. Here's the consequence Ma'am. The Madam has alienated all her powerful allies who would have been very strong to face the awesome power of the pope. Now she stands alone and will lose if not already. As for the pope, we believe that any damaging outcome of his over-reach would be put at the door step of De Pa.

By the way, we are investigating how the SLFA came to seek for over-draft of Le 200 million from the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank. You can't hide people. Read Politico twice a week and catch the details.

NATIONAL STADIUM A MICROCOSM OF SALONE FOOTBALL.

You may have read about how Leone Stars were stranded in Nigeria en route to Swaziland as the sport minister bickered with the FA leadership which he "rigged" to have in place. We saw it all coming and did warn you about it during all that LEOCEMENTING of the election. Well bad as that may be, and the poor state of affairs at the National Stadium, there's more to the football playing edifice than you already know - namely poor toilets, disconnected electricity, etc.

The recent trade fair left a lot of bad taste in the mouths of many who patronised it. Stalls and booths were carted away just hours after the trade fair had ended. How can the stadium management not provide security for the facility. We know youths are without jobs despite all d BOKU TOK about jobs, jobs and more jobs. But someone should, at the very least, have secured the booths and stalls. Or maybe they should have invited those police officers who arrested the poor artist for painting AFTER GBAGBO NA U. Strange country. Strange FA. Strange sport minister.

THAT BO POLICE CHECKPOINT. CHECKING WHAT REALLY?

We are very concerned that policing in Sierra Leone is becoming as political as it has been reckless. From shooting innocent civilians with impunity, to arresting people suspected of doing what does not suit De Pa or creating a semblance of security threat in areas opposed to De Pa.

We have long wondered why there are checkpoints just as you enter Bo and Kenema - opposition SLPP heartland. These are towns far away from the country's external borders yet police presence has been there for years. Let us say it is for the security of Bo and Kenema, why is there no checkpoint entering Makeni - home town of De Pa - or even Kabala and Kambia town which are border districts? Police UNA LEF KONI. DIS KAYN TIN NOR FINE. What is good for the goose...

HEADING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUSINESS, HOW IS THAT? 

You have to credit De Pa for opening up our motherland to business. Although there are murky businesses around with some senior government officials using undue influence to do private sector business, you have to agree that investment is massive in the country.

To make this work institutions have been set up. One of them is SLIEPA. What baffles us however is how come we have as SLIEPA Board Chairman the same person who is head of the private sector Chamber of Commerce with her own business to look after.

We sense hypocrisy and conflict of interest here. It is best for fair play that person be taken off SLIEPA. No hard feelings please.

FIGHTING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT: MAKENI - STYLE

Congratulations to the young people in the Seat of Power, otherwise known as Makeni. While many Sierra Leoneans are crying about young people being jobless, those in Makeni have found a way of solving that problem. Here's how they did it:

a. Some formed themselves into a taskforce to collect daily tax from bike riders. Most of the taskforce members are former riders sacked by their bosses for all sorts of reasons, criminality not excluded.

b. The other group of young people look for the remaining roads that have not been paved and tarred to mount checkpoints to collect monies for  the "maintenance" of these bad roads made worse by rains.

Please don't ask Udat Sen Dem or talk about accountability. Hahahahahahaha! Welcome to the New Salone, where anything goes, so long it is not done by the opposition.

(C) Politico 20/05/14

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