SBB DUMBUYA IS THE NEW SPEAKER: WE KNEW THAT A MONTH AGO
So what next for our dear former Speaker of Parliament, Justice Abel Stronge? He hung in there and saw all the plotters plot his removal from office. We wanted to say POLITICAL DEMISE but hmmm, Dis na Salone, never say die. Some have been brutally removed from one place and recycled as old wine in new bottles. In any case we shall one day get the full story behind the forced resignation of Stronge. We don't know when that day will come. We venture to say though that it will be sooner rather than later.
Stronge came to parliament with a good reputation - a forthright man, a hardworking and patriotic man. Throughout his six years in the House, we heard nothing untoward about the man until news came through that a bill was being tabled to open the way for Stronge to be thrown out.
As things stand, the Red Movement has broken no laws. But they have a lot of questions to answer about this particular unwarranted move that they forced through against widespread public outcry. Renewing his determination to press on with much more intensity in office, De Pa recently said "we shall allow no one to stand on the way" (sic). As ordinary citizens we ask, was Stronge standing in the way?
This is another statement to the effect that nobody is safe in these last days of De Pa's administration.
The new man, SBB Dumbuya is not very friendly to journalists. We know that. What we locally call SNAKE DANCE has commenced. In this dance you enjoy yourself as much as possible but never forget to be constantly looking at you feet as you do the AZONTO-like swing or the BUBU DANCE, in case the other guy in the dance forgets this was about merry-making. Welcome Speaker Dumbuya, Good bye Abel Stronge. Just one question for your sir, Justice Stronge, are you still available for national service or recycling? Logus should be able to show you how. Heheheh
THE BRITISH COUNCIL IN SALONE, NOT VERY BRITISH ANYMORE?
What's really going on at the British Council which should represent the cultural pre-eminence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain? The place seems to have lost its British-ness. We went to the place the other day for one of these boring however important climate change conferences and found the place very much unlike what we knew the British Council to be - in other words it wasn't British.
Here's why: We saw big cobwebs hanging low in the main hall like some abandoned dance hall. At the back of the building, we saw some of those Freetown troubles Masada is trying to deal with. We were shocked because this was the British Council of all places. Our curiosity took us into the toilets and there again, Youyi Building-like conditions greeted us. Please can somebody tell us what is happening? We know Freetown's utilities are challenged, to put it mildly, but they have always been and the British Council always stood spick-and-span.
We know that cultural activities have been scaled down recently but as long as the place carries the name, "The British Council", it must look like so. That's the point.
SALCAB BOSS BRAGS ON RADIO ABOUT AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP: WE TAYA SEF
We were introduced to another character on radio the other morning as Managing Director of the troubled Sierra Leone Cables (SALCAB). He started out impressively as a man who was on top of his job until he was challenged during the interactive part of his radio appearance. He went off the rails like Mike Tyson under Evander Holyfield, and began talking down on the poor people of Sierra Leone.
We are used to being treated like this by public officials who are paid from our taxes, but Sheriff was something else on breakfast radio. In fact, at Politico, we have been handed some papers on this institution, but as our operational rules here dictate, we are waiting for the chips to fall in place properly before we publish. The nation will then be able to see inside SALCAB and his appointment. We shall raise questions around the organsation's finances, recruitment priorities and patterns, and their total output.
Here was our employee telling us he had the option of going back to Obama land because he is a citizen there too and is a highly educated man and bla, bla, bla. Lots of people were completely turned off by this braggart who does not seem to have the word modesty in his vocabulary. We will not accept being talked down on like this. Sheriff is employed by the state and we keep the state running with our taxes. We haven't been to Obama land but we know our rights as citizens of this country. We now know that the only reason he is here is because we have given him a job for which there are many other qualified Sierra Leoneans who live in Sierra Leone and hold no other citizenship. But we know how and why Sheriff got the job. We will soon spill the beans.
Long Live the long-suffering people of Sierra Leone!
"PIKIN GRAVE" IN THE ROAD FOR MORE THAN A YEAR NOW, WHO CARES?
Another catastrophe is in the making along Old Railway Line, less than 100 metres from the headquarters of the ruling Red Movement. There is now a very big hole in the road just opposite Janju Street. People have been complaining for as long as we can remember but the government could not care less. And the big guys drive along that road fairly frequently. WELL ENTI DEN GET JEEP EN NOR TO DEN MONEY BUY AM OR DAE REPAIR AM.
Similar complaints were voiced by people living in the general area of King Jimmy long before the bridge collapsed. But then as now, the people were ignored. In fact they were branded Green Movement supporters looking for every opportunity to criticise De Pa's Red Movement. Even as we speak King Jimmy is a wreck, the families of those who lost their lives are suffering in silence and both De Pa and Bababode have moved on with the TV camera.
Now there's another King Jimmy developing on the lower part of Old Railway Line, Brookfields but all of us are pretending as if things are cool. When Emerson talks about PIKIN GRAVES on the roads, there is one on that road. We shall wake up one morning to news of another collapse. Who will De Pa sack to appease the public. Fall guy Munda Rogers is now properly adjusted to life outside the now leaderless SLRA and being the whipping boy of tabloid journalists and ruthless ruling party operatives.
In the same breath we want to call attention to Pike Street Bridge. How come the politicians are burying their heads in the sand? Now there are no rains. Politicians and the Vuvuzelas are waiting for the rains to start, then they have an excuse. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
YOUYI BUILDING STREET RE-CONSTRUCTED AT LAST. LONG LIVE DE PA
At last somebody in government has realised how truly disgraceful it was for Youyi Building Street - yes we are calling it that because it has no name - to have been treated like the Kailahun road. The road leading to the most important government building after State House has now been paved at last, and we are very happy about that. Considering the state or all our roads, Youyi Building Street is like a drop in the Atlantic Ocean but at least we have something to be proud of.
But we still have one problem even after the dismantling of the scrap yard that was close by, which we campaign for. Why has Masada decided to put a dump site on Youyi Building Street? It's totally unnecessary and soon all the work done to the street will come to nothing and we will be back to where we started. That area should have a breath of fresh air.
And just before we end this week, what's the situation with those Benghazi Boys and their Callie Weed inside the grounds of Youyi Building? Throw them out now, people. Throw them out!
(C) Politico 23/01/14
