IMC CHAIRMAN SOMERSAULTS AT MEDIA EVENT
We've been trying to come to terms with the statement made by the chairman of the Independent Media Commission that the WE YONE newspaper was the standard bearer of Sierra Leone journalism not so long ago. Throughout the speech we were left to wonder how our dear chairman came to that conclusion. We will soon make a formal application to the chairman for an interview. There will be questions about WE YONE and a few other issues dealing with the IMC itself. We pray our request is granted.
However, just in case our dear chairman is too busy to speak to us, we now take this opportunity to raise a few issues about WE YONE being the standard bearer of journalism in this country even at that time, the time when the late Sam Metzger was in charge.
1. You see, we come at this from the point of view that our IMC chairman was out of this country for a VERY LONG time. He may have been engaged at family level but we doubt he had enough time off his legal practice in the UK and his diplomatic assignment later to seriously follow up media issues. That's what we feel. So we excuse the obvious faulty conclusion. Let's say the somersault.
2. It could well be that our chairman was using that line to try to connect with most of the guys in the room. Some of them were trained by Uncle Mezo. But is there another way he could have done that?
3. We also note that because the SELECTED VP was the guest speaker, our chairman probably wanted to make him happy. So what better way to do it than to speak in glorious terms about his party's mouthpiece.
4. Maybe our chairman was not properly briefed before he made his speech. He may not have media historians in his office to help out but please guys try and properly check our chairman's speech all the time before he delivers them in such places. There were many journalists hanging on his every word from where we sat.
5. We know that then, as now, WE YONE is all about entrenching RED MOVEMENT's hold of power. How can they then become a standard bearer for political accountability with the RED guys in power?
MORE AND MORE FACILITIES FOR PARLIAMENT: AND THE REST OF US?
Things are looking good for our MPs. They probably will not readily accept this. But we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Frankly, we want all those we send to Tower Hill to be well taken care of. We want that because we believe that will help them deliver the goods on our behalf. So we appreciate that.
Recently, we have read reports of the leadership of the house asking for a hospital for parliament. We understand they have a small health facility already. Like we have said, we want the best for our MPs but while they ask for the good things, can we also humbly request the following?
1. We want a significant rise in the health budget to reflect our aspiration to be a health and wealthy nation. We want to deal with very basic things like fixing the toilets and killing all the rats at our satellite clinics.
2. Can we in the same line put good money into reproductive health programs? We should. We are in fact, fed up with being labeled as one country with the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
3. How about advocating for some of the money spent in other totally unproductive sectors of the economy to be diverted to have a true CORRECTIONAL facility in Sierra Leone? Pademba road jail is a JAIL. Merely changing the name when all the facilities and practices remain the same is a waste of everybody's time. Let's put real money there.
4. We see that serious effort is being made to secure our parliament and the MPs who work there. They are building a wall, the police have set up a checkpoint and they are very active inside the compound itself. They recently threw out Mohamed Kamarainba out of the area when he took his small group of protesters there. So can, our MPs also help the police secure our communities better than what we have now? Some communities are normally in virtual lockdown after 8pm for fear of armed criminals.
5. We hope our MPs would make a conscious effort not to get cosy with the facilities at Tower Hill. It's getting to that time when they will start knocking on our doors and making speeches in our communities. The last time, we heard some of them shouting POWER TO THE PEOPLE. Do they really believe that to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
IS MILE 38 A CHECKPOINT OR A COLLECTION POINT FOR THE FORCES?
Every corruption debate ends with the police being crowned as champions of the game. They have a standard line in response - they tell the world that indeed there are bad apples in the force but that effort re being made to weed them out. We agree but the bad apples, we dare say appear to have grown in number and influence to the extent that the good ones are beginning to look very bad.
Munu must explain to this nation what the deployment at Mile 38 is really about. In fact, even the army chief should say something because his boys are also part of the collection drive at Mile 38. And they are so brazen. We know members of our security forces to be very discreet in collecting bribes, but those at Mile 38 are in a class on their own - they receive it openly, they sometimes negotiate how much bribe is paid, simply disgusting.
We recommend the following to stop this unrelenting harassment of ordinary passengers:
1. Routinely move your people around so they don't get used to a particular area of deployment
2. Give them adequate provisions. Well, for them there is nothing called adequate, so let's say something that gives the authorities a stronger hand in dealing with those taking bribes.
3. Reduce the number of police and soldiers in those places and re-organise Mile 38 in particular. For now, it's too chaotic for anything proper work to be done.
4. Some people who can afford a few pennies simply pass through - no security checks and sometimes no temperature checks. So what's the point of having that collection point.
5. Close the place.
AS IT WAS WITH THE SAFE ABORTION BILL, SO SHALL IT BE WITH...
Our religious leaders have been all over the place in the last month or so campaigning against the so-called Safe Abortion Bill passed by parliament recently. The president has since sent the bill to parliament for "more consultations". That's according to some people. We now face a real showdown between our MPs and our religious leaders.
We appreciate this sudden upsurge of love for the nation by our religious leaders. Many Sierra Leoneans must be forgiven for thinking that their religious had abandoned them to wicked politicians over the last two decades because they had become too cosy with power. They were at all state functions making long speeches in praise of power - banquets, state opening of parliament, official functions at Miatta conference hall and so on. So we welcome this struggle against the Safe Abortion Bill. We may not agree with them but let them speak up.
But there are a few small matters we want to call their attention to in the interest of the good people of Mama Salone:
1. Corruption and the seeming selective prosecutions by the ACC. For example, the 50th anniversary case is sitting in limbo as teachers are tried and jailed for taking small money for report cards.
2. Police brutality - surely there is a small group of police officers who have no business being in the force. They are giving the entire institution a bad name. They must be thrown out. We need our religious leaders to speak out against their presence in our FORCE FOR GOOD.
3. We know about a few cases now of people being thrown in jail for making critical comments about politicians in particular. Intolerance is overtaking democratic behaviour in Sierra Leone. Are we truly in a democracy?
4. Unless some of our religious leaders have spent the last two decades praying on Mount Sanai but in Sierra Leone, we know that people are recruited to many top jobs not for their qualifications but for blood ties and friendship. That can be the topic for a two-hour sermon.
5. There are too many beggars on our streets, life is hard for the majority of the people. Money and power are both in the hands of a few people. Why not address that with real power. We offer the pages of our newspapers for that.
6. Let our religious leaders also take a careful look at those they invite as Distinguished Grand Chief Patrons to church programs. They make BIG DONATIONS but by Jove, they are the ones oppressing the people.
7. We urge some of our religious leaders to stop organising Fake DV Lottery weddings in their places of worship. The US embassy doesn't fall for that anymore. They have captured the trick. What's really happening to this country? Someone has just asked us to read about the Old Testament prophet Amos to see how even in those days, religious leaders stood up against injustice and corruption.
We will be back with our findings.
(C) Politico 21/04/16
