A PARTY CONVENTION THAT MANY NOW REGRET
The bitter divisions in the Sierra Leone People's Party have been further re-opened by the outcome of last weekend's party convention held in its stronghold of Bo. Here's the danger we face: an opposition party that has lost its way in parliament owing to bad leadership provided by Bernadette Lahia, a party that fights its own members and throws some in jail, an opposition party that enjoys self-destruction is the one we are hoping will hold De Pa's enormously powerful government to account. The truth is the SLPP needs more than cosmetic surgery to get itself on track first before thinking about doing what the people elected them to do in 2012.
What we have now at SLPP headquarters is deliberate power grab by Osuofia and his supporters. And they've been very crude about it - they've used violence, intimidation and foul language to scare off challengers. They are leading the SLPP to a dead end and there are some within the movement who share our view. Their idea that the party must become a movement in which everybody is expected to obey Osuofia and allow him to get away with everything is beginning to look like a concentration camp.
The civil war ignited by this convention will take a long time to end. Now, look forward to 2015 when the mandate of this Osuofia executive ends. Another convention in which the flag-bearer for the 2018 election will be elected is the most crucial. The planning and struggles are now shifting to that crucial convention and Osuofia must never fool himself that the whole party will be this loyal in two year's time. He has almost half the certified delegates in the Electoral College firmly against him. His tendency to take his party for granted will backfire in 2015. He must now do what any sensible person who comes through a raucous convention like this will surely do. But we don't believe he will do any such thing. It does not seem to be in his nature.
The ambassador must think seriously about how his collaboration with Oponjo Underground hurt his campaign and in fact scuppered his chance of winning. Oponjo has big credibility problem with the ordinary people in the party’s strongholds. We don't understand what is happening but some have told us the ambassador was their man, until Oponjo Underground appeared in the horizon. Oponjo's announcement of his burning desire to be Prezo in 2018 completely messed up the ambassador.
RICHARD KONTEH AND HIS WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sierra Leone may not have been noticed by boy! Boy Ritchie, formerly of the West Africa Civil Society Forum and the Ministry of Trade, has been handing out medals to government agencies in the last few weeks as if he was having his own World Athletics Championships in Freetown. When we took a second look at the report that was done on his time at WACSOF, it was easy to understand how he awarded these two organisations any medals at all.
SLRTA – Sarah Bendu was on radio celebrating a BRONZE medal. We can only now imagine what she would have done, had Boy Ritchie awarded her a gold medal.
Here is a Road Transport company that has been here since Joseph was in Egypt and managed to set up an epileptic toll-free line only yesterday, getting a medal.
SLRTA's traffic wardens are more corrupt today than the police and it happened on Sarah Bendu's watch.
SLRTA's vehicle licensing procedure is in a mess and they have refused to pass money approved by law to the Road Fund Board. Have they not contributed to creating the mining pits we have now on 98% of Freetown's roads? The SLRTA should never get us started on issues like this, please.
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA - Boy Ritchie gave them gold. Now, we hope you will understand when we describe this whole award thing as a big joke. Boy Ritchie thinks people like us are fools. Is he really telling us the EPA is a serious organisation? Under heavy political remote control inspired by jealousy, the EPA stops the poor Catholic Church members from building a church on land provided by Fourah Bay College. They gave bogus reasons and threatened court action. The whole Catholic community knows who is behind all this but the EPA is trying to blur the vision of those who are seeking answers. For how much longer can this continue?
The same EPA, with its eyes wide open, has basically superintended all the dangerous constructions taking place around the SLBC transmitting site at Leicester Peak where more than a dozen other radio stations and communication companies have their facilities. And they know what that means but as long as they are not planning to build a Catholic church, the EPA smiles on.
Every time we lift our eyes up to the hills above Freetown, we feel like closing down the EPA. The whole forest cover is being removed every step of the way. We will not even go further. The EPA man went on radio the other day to celebrate gold like Bolt of Jamaica but he exposed the organisation for what it truly is. It has become a tool in the hands of faceless politicians in the persecution of the Catholic Church for reasons we already know. The EPA is just overwhelmed with the task it must perform.
By the way we will soon visit their shiny new office at Old Railway Line to see how environmentally friendly it is. First, we want to know who owns that house and the other huge one under construction close by. Interesting! We know the answer already but it will be good for them to speak out.
MIS-FIRING ARSENE WENGER PLANS URGENT SIGNINGS
The English Premier League season is underway again and already the long-suffering fans of Arsenal football club have realised that their manager, Arsene Wenger will lead them to the 8th trophy-less season without breaking a sweat. He is three points behind his main rivals already. Even the Emirates cup, he couldn't win this year. What is the matter with ECONOMIST Arsene Wenger.
Wenger helps other teams identify players to add to their squads every season but he's just unable to buy his own players and he takes delight in selling his best players after training them well. It's a long line and we don't want to bore you. Last year he sold Robin Van Persie to his greatest rivals, Manchester United. The player scored 20 goals and Manchester United won the premiership.
After Wenger was booed off the pitch last weekend following that disgraceful defeat to lowly Aston Villa at home, he gave us an interview and revealed his intention to urgently sign some quick-impact players to bolster his squad. These are the players he intends signing for a collective fee of seventy-five million pounds.
Philippe Senderos – Wenger admits he made a big mistake by selling the Swiss who now plays for Fulham. He believes Senderos can successfully take over from that tall German fellow who is perhaps the worst defender behind Sol Campbell to wear the Arsenal shirt. Senderos will now settle very well in the Premier League with Didier Drogba now in Turkey.
Lomana Lua Lua - This guy scores goals and Wenger is sure he will put a lot of pressure on Olivier Giroud who is performing well below expectation since joining the club. Lua Lua also has that D.R Congo somersault pattern he does to celebrate his goals. At least that would light up the boring Emirates Stadium.
Yakubu Ayebgeni - The Nigerian has gone missing from top flight European football since his disastrous performance in the CAN in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, but Wenger has been admiring the guy from his days at Portsmouth and Everton. Wenger says Yakubu is strong and although he could miss a goal from three yards out, he could still mesmerise defences, especially that of Manchester United with Old Rio Ferdinand as central defender.
Our understanding is that the board has already approved this proposal but they are fed up with Wenger's indecision and have quietly told him they will not accept a trophy-less season this year. They have also ordered him to send home his best friend Abou Diaby who plays three games a year, completing only two and getting himself sent off in the third. Good luck Arsene. We can't estimate how much trust the Arsenal faithful still have in you.
© Politico 20/08/13
