COUNCILORS THANKING DE PA FROM GREEN KENEMA
Everyday brings its own story and new sets of characters on the political stage in Sierra Leone. From the Green corner in the poor east of the country came FIVE not so wise councilors. Not bearing gifts but making an unbelievable contribution to our knowledge of how far some people in this country can go to achieve certain things.
The councilors are back in Kenema after their trip to the highest office in Mama Salone looking somewhat dazed at the reaction from their own movement and ordinary Sierra Leoneans who are simply fed up with lay-bellehism.
So what is really happening in the place? And what are those councilors now really up to? We can't really conclusively answer these question but let's make a try.
1. These councilors are only victims of the overzealousness in Robin the son of Fallay who is very keen to show his new masters in the Red Movement that he is a very popular guy in eastern Sierra Leone. That's all. And he is definitely just another De Pa allay running around looking for recognition and some cash.
2. The councilors were hoping to leave De Pa's office feeling heavy in their pockets. People have described De Pa as very generous. They say he makes his visitors happy. We've been told recently that he's withdrawn a bit so it's not like those councilors were amused at all.
3. Robin the son of Fallay has told the people of Sierra Leone that the councilors came from the east to thank De Pa for development projects in Kenema. REALLY? DEVELOPMENT in KENEMA? We urge these guys to tell us what this visit was really about. In their own words.
4. Clearly, this thing about coming to town to thank De Pa was not approved by the Green Movement. So strange that party discipline has gone to the dogs. Well, it didn't start with the not so wise councilors from the east. Just look at the other layers of political authority in the Green Movement and see whether they are loyal to their movement.
5. Has Robin the son of Fallay gained anything from this? Well from the eyes of his new masters, yes. From any rational people like us, Fallay is continuing to swing like those politicians who are in politics to make money, not out of conviction about a certain ideology or brand of politics. The Red Movement is not his last party. Watch this space.
GREEN MOVEMENT SPOKESMAN SOUNDS A LITTLE TOO ANGRY
What are the qualities of a good spokesman in Sierra Leone? These days many of our people who jet in overnight from the diaspora are almost always appointed as Public Relations people in ministries, departments and agencies. It would appear as if this Red Movement government likes certain accents and a deliberate attempt to produce certain accents from underneath our cassava leaves. No problem.
But what if you are the spokesman of an opposition party in this country - well a party that is known for internal squabbles and sometimes open combat? Maybe keeping a COOL HEAD should be the most important criterion. But the spokesman for the Green Movement appears to have lost that. Or is it that the guy came to the job thinking this was the way to go? Because sometimes we find ourselves listening to him in the mornings, we thought we should note a few things.
1. This guys has to stop thinking about his experience in the Armed Forces and pretend as if this was his first job in a large multi-national corporation and he was on contract. And that one of the most important clauses in that contract was to increase his customer base through his PR activities.
2. This emotional arrogance we hear on radio and see on TV is beginning to get on our nerves. The people of Sierra Leone want PR people who can convince us that the great questions of this day were in good hands. Not attack - defend PR. Does he admire J.J BLOOD of old and his operation fire for fire?
3. By the way, is this guy's office properly equipped to meet the challenges of this job? Or is his office in his mobile phone or what? Is he also trained for it? He speaks reasonably good English but this country want something a bit more than that in a PR person.
4. Let the Green Movement PR man make his appearances less about himself and more about the issues, the people and his party.
5. Isn't this guy tired already? The guy has a slightly unwanted commodity to sell and he spends a large part of his time turning people off by sounding angry all the time. The Green Movement definitely miss the great Musa Tamba Sam.
MORE AND MORE ROAD ACCIDENTS: WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Apart from holding many workshops about this and that, filling up newspaper pages with Logus Koroma cutting this and that tape, what is the SLRSA doing about safety on our roads? Road accidents are killing many Sierra Leoneans and for some of them, there are concrete things we can do. We thought that the SA in the title of Sarah Bendu's organisation was brought in to FOCUS THEIR MANDATE ON SAFETY. It would appear as if things are simply getting worse on our roads.
We are certainly not experts in this area but we know that three major factors contribute to all the accidents and deaths on our roads. We are talking about the unworthiness of so many vehicles, reckless over-speeding and the clear absence of road traffic patrols.
1. Some vehicles are not fit to be on the roads, yet they either pass the SLRSA test every year or continuously operate outside the law. That's a fact. And it's happening in Freetown in particular.
2. Some of the drivers don't have the necessary papers. Some are not trained.
3. We hardly see police traffic patrols on the main roads out of Freetown. All we see sometimes are two or three police officers standing by the roadside, flagging down commercial vehicles only for the usual things.
4. We don't believe that any serious investigations are done what such accidents occur. Yes sometimes people are charged to court but we are talking about the kind of investigation that brings out answers to help us prevent more accidents. In Sierra Leone we blame everything on God.
5. If after spending a lot of money and reversing our own deadlines on left-hand drive vehicles five times, we still have those vehicles on the roads, why should we expect anything like what we are asking for from Logus Koroma and his people? Ride on guys.
PWD PADEMBA ROAD JUNCTION - AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE
If the Freetown City Council and indeed the central government believe that the disgrace that is Pademba road - Campbell street junction will go off the pages of Politico soon, they are badly mistaken.
The trouble is, we walk pass the place daily on our way to work and as good citizens of this country we just can't allow that place to deteriorate any further. In fact, how come we appear to be the only ones so concerned about that disgrace? It simply demonstrates how much the long-suffering people of this country are willing to take from the hands of totally incompetent Municipal and National leaders.
Here's what exists at that place, in case you are reading this from your nice corner in a country where leaders say they care about the health and sense of decency of their people. Pademba road, PWD Junction to Campbell street is a total mess - there is raw sewerage flowing continuously from the old PWD building damaged by fire in NPRC days (it's now a squatter camp), right down to the "Samba Gutter" close to Mends Street.
Near what is left of the same PWD wall is a police security point. The officers spend the whole day inhaling the pungent smell. Next to them and the whole area is an intoxicating mixture of cookery sellers and their customers, abandoned rotten cars and so-called petty traders.
We've been writing about this for more than a year now with zero positive results. We really can't help but continue to rub the faces of the authorities in that mess.
The elected Freetown City Council is the worse institution ever to have enjoyed the people's mandate. The council is ALL APC and since entering their offices, they simply went to sleep. We only hear about them when they have one of their crazy projects in some corner and when they get their allowances. The FCC has failed and the Mayor and Councilors must ALL RESIGN and go home now.
(C) Politico 26/04/16
