TWO LOCAL BANKS ON THE BRINK: SHOULD WE BAIL THEM OUT?
Every day brings out one announcement or the other about Rokel Commercial Bank and the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank. Behind the scenes the big guys know the two institutions have messed up, losing big cash in the process. The immediate difficulty is that customer confidence is rock bottom and sacking board members who took their eyes off the ball at crucial times in their oversight duties, replacing them with fresh brooms is woefully inadequate a measure to deal with the consequences of that humpty-dumpty kind of fall.
We are monitoring very closely for the first signs of our people's deposits being in danger. Somebody somewhere, paid by our government ought to have noticed long ago that alarm bells were ringing inside both banks – loud enough for people as far away as Krubola or Koindu to hear.
We have heard rumours here and there that the government is planning to sell the people's shares in both institutions. They should have done that long ago. Now let's please suggest a few people who should be given first choice by that very confused institution – the so-called National Privatisation Commission during the sale of those vital shares.
1. Frank Timis: Here is a guy who is very good with failing companies. He has just "RESCUED" the iron ore miner, London Mining. Forget about the fact that his own company just next door appears to be in some coma.
2. Power Rangers Solutions: This international recruiting agency is loved by many young Sierra Leoneans who have all landed in the good country of Canada, thanks to Power Rangers. By the way, is their safe still with force for good? Salone nar country!
3. Wealth Builders Network: Well we don't know where the CEO is right now. It's either he is still on a visit at that bogus correctional centre or has left the place unannounced. He is very good at creating instant millionaires. So let the government proceed with the divestiture. Long live Wealth Builders Network. This is our contribution!
LAND PROTEST GONE TOO FAR IN SAHN MALEN
How a long-running protest over land rights in a southern corner of Sierra Leone culminated in some locals attacking company vehicles and firing live rounds at some international staff is something the police must speedily investigate. And let the chips fall where they may.
We understand aspects of the people's agitation against the awesome power of a multinational company but to fire live ammunition at workers looking for something to eat is totally unacceptable.
Pujehun district has been having good headlines recently about the progress they are making against the deadly Ebola virus and just when that was sinking into the conscience of the world came news of two internationals having been shot on the farm as they returned to base from putting out a fire.
So why were the Socfin workers shot? The case is being investigated by the police but let's see what we have been able to figure out so far. Hahahahahahah!
1. Those who started the fire obviously didn't want people putting it out. They wanted a clean destruction so any stubborn person who came around the place to thwart that must be shot.
2. The fire was a mysterious occurrence. The company must buy a lot of cows – and perhaps some goats too – and organise a huge sacrifice with lots of food and booze to appease the gods and pray for peace in Sahn Malen.
3. Actually, the people who were shot were very unlucky because the locals were only trying to hunt down a monkey for their evening meal. Nothing wrong with that. Pujehun is now completely free of Ebola so they probably think they can return to monkey-eating.
4. Those who fired the shots meant to send a stern warning to Socfin that they must be a bit more generous to the local people. After all Ebola don make all man adup! Kikiki.
5. It's absolute criminality. Those who attacked Socfin must be arrested and prosecuted.
SLRSA: NO REVERSE. RIGHT HAND DRIVE VEHICLES – BANNED
This is an opportunity for the SLRSA to prove that it's serious about all its road safety programmes. If they fail with this ban on right-hand drive vehicles, then nobody will treat them as serious people anymore. We've been hearing spirited discussions calling for this ban to be reversed because, they say, we are fighting Ebola and that those vehicles already in country should be allowed to operate and die out. No way!
The point is, this ban has been pushed back twice before and a nation that is serious about law enforcement should not behave in this way.
1. Right-hand drive vehicles are not playing any specific role in this fight against Ebola. The idea that because of Ebola we should allow people to violate the law is absurd. It's a recipe for chaos.
2. What's the real point of waiting for Ebola to go away before effecting the ban? How far are we from that? It's only death postponed. Let's keep the ban in place.
3. The vehicles are simply not good to have on our narrow, winding roads. They cause a lot of accidents, especially when they are operated as commercial vehicles with reckless taxi drivers and Okada riders all over the place.
4. Come to think of it, if SLRSA is defeated and this ban is delayed even for a week, the time will come when registering a vehicle will be negotiated on radio phone-in programmes and SLRSA will become a complete joke.
MINISTER OF EDUCATION SIR, WHERE ARE THE "MODALITIES"?
We are still waiting for Bra Minks to come up with the "modalities" for the reopening of schools. In his New Year's speech, De Pa told the world that he had "instructed" his education minister, Bra Minks, to chart the way for the reopening of schools. Between then and now, Liberia and Guinea, both hit by Ebola, have announced a date for children to start learning again with schools and colleges back in business. By the way neither country has been declared free of Ebola by the floundering WHO.
Already, we are getting worrying figures about the number of girls now pregnant simply because they've been out of the school system – a massive gap is opening up in our education system and we can only blame ourselves for not taking the necessary risks in the interest of this country's development.
By now, we believe Bra Minks should shave concluded consultations with groups such as the Conference of Principals, Universities and others, in line with his colleague in the ministry of health and the Ebola response people to work out "modalities" as "instructed" by De Pa.
Since De Pa announced he had given that "instruction", things have gone quiet. But of course, with a guy like Bra Minks, everything is just quiet. The only time we hear him is when the issue of so-called ghost teachers comes up. He fought them for six years with results we still haven't properly assessed. Where are the results, Bra Minks?
Sierra Leone cannot continue feeling sorry for itself while Liberia and Guinea are running along. Bra Minks, carry out De Pa's "instruction" now.
© Politico 21/01/15
