PAINTED OUTER WALL: WHAT ABOUT INSIDE PADEMBA ROAD JAIL?
What is Sampha Bilo Kamara really up to at the Pademba road jail? We really need this guy to explain. We want answers to many questions. Can the prison service organise a tour of their facilities for a select group of journalists to visit and ask pertinent questions? But will Bilo really allow this? Considering the fact that a body as important as the Human Rights Commission was stopped from visiting the jail, we have our doubts. But there's no harm trying.
We want answers to many questions starting with that cosmetic job now being done on the outer walls of the jail. What is that about?
a. How much money is Bilo putting into the project in the first place?
b. How much of a priority is the painting of the jail yard wall anyway in a decrepit prison system?
c. What's the point of painting the outer wall, when inside the jail is hell on earth for the inmates? Many journalists have been controversially locked up in that jail recently and we have a lot of insight into what goes on in there. It's not meant to be a carnival place but the prisoners have no human dignity. So what's all this talk about the country's good human rights record?
d. We notice that Bilo is using prison warders to paint his wall, is he paying them anything extra? Or is it part of their duties? In the same vein, can Members of Parliament also construct the perimeter wall of parliament at Tower Hill or ministers fix the lift at Youyi Building?
e. Instead of undertaking such a farce just to create an impression on the gullible public and in the process spend millions of Leones, why not buy new uniforms and boots for junior officers, including those who take prisoners to court daily?
Bilo can go ahead and dismiss our questions as always but we will keep coming because we pass by the prison all the time and we are in touch with the long-suffering prison officers.
DE PA, THE LEONE IS SINKING AND THE SEA IS ROUGH, VERY ROUGH
As our readers should know, meeting De Pa is a very difficult thing. Only a few people get to see and talk to him. And we understand why. So please those who can actually talk to De Pa (and please we are not talking about the hundreds of thousands of SALAMUTU people) should let him know that things are getting unbearably serious in this country. Putting food on the table is a very difficult thing these days, public transportation system is disgracefully inadequate, crime is on the increase as the much talked about war on lawlessness has failed.
We are not economists but we know that since the Bank of Sierra Leone introduced their foreign currency policy recently, the Leone has been on free fall. De Pa understands the consequences of that. The sea is very rough. Emerson says some fish can swim from the hot water pond to a cold one, others can't. Those who can't are in the majority. Please tell De Pa to do something.
De Pa must know that there are many people close to him who are not telling him the truth. We have nothing to lose by speaking out. If anything, we are proud about our closeness to the people. Messi Tin Trong!
THE MENACE OF ABANDONED CARS IN FREETOWN
How come the Freetown City Council has allowed hundreds of cars to be abandoned all over Freetown? We have compiled a list of streets where such cars are found. We will publish it in due course because we are sick to death with this neglect. Even the new Hillside By-pass road has many cars abandoned in the drop-off area. Well, we can't talk about Berwick Street or certain parts of Brookfields.
Mayor Bababode drives around the city and sees these cars without doing anything. Standby for the details of what we've found out. Long Live the Mayor! Sorry sir, when are you going to collect your tax?
THE "PURE WATER" BUSINESS AND SANITATION: WHERE IS FCC?
Our late colleague Mohamed Daudis Koroma did all he could while he was in the Ministry of Health to take the criminal elements out of the booming "pure water" trade in Sierra Leone. The whole country knows that crooks have entered the "pure water" business and what we have on the streets today are not what the dealers say they are - pure water. Let's hold that for another day.
We asked about the FCC because the other side of this so-called pure water business is what we are concerned about at this time. Thousands of plastic sachets in which the so-called pure water is sold, are being disposed of on the streets of Freetown daily. All the rubbish clog up the drainage system in the city and we know the consequences.
Those who package and sell water have no responsibility to clear their waste. Isn't that strange?
The other company that produces cheap soft drinks in plastic containers is part of the problem. The City Council cannot allow this to go on like this unchecked.
How come the Environmental Protection Agency has conspicuously decided to stay out of this? They have left us in the hands of these companies that are out to make money without any concern for the environment. Instead they will defend unscrupulous mining companies. Let the Freetown City Council act now.
Other countries in Africa have banned plastic bags but we have allowed companies to dump them all over our streets as if nobody cares. All the drainages in central Freetown in particular and the main streets in the east of the city are clogged up with plastic bottles and sachets. Surely somebody must pay for that. The companies making money from "pure water" and cheap soft drinks must pay to clear their waste.
SALONE PREMIER LEAGUE: WHEN WILL IT BEGIN?
It was with great fanfare that the SLFA recently named members of their Premier League Board - the body set up to run the so-called Premier League. We have serious reservations about one or two people on that board who, after 30 years in football, always manipulate their way into powerful positions in the SLFA. They are the people who have presided over the mess we have at Kingtom today.
We are waiting for the fixtures to be released but we understand there is no money to run a league. We understand that sponsorship proposals from some companies have fallen far short of what is required. Well that happens all the time but the saviour is proving a little reluctant this time. We are talking about Mercury International, an organisation that was roundly insulted by both minister pope John Paul and the Queen for being a betting company. So where is the PLB off to now?
Will Mercury forgive and return to the league? We have no idea how they will react to clandestine approaches now being made to them through third parties, but we believe they have no business doing that. This idea that when it comes to politics, people should lose their humanity just to win, must stop.
If Pope John Paul and the Queen couldn't touch Mercury International with a 50-foot barge pole about six months ago, what has changed now? They said Mercury money was "liquid money" (whatever that means) and a gambling company should have nothing to do with football. Six months later, reality is sinking in.
In fact whether they blackmail Mercury into giving them money or not, many people have decided not to go to that stadium until the forces of justice and fair play take over football management in Sierra Leone.
So if we are members of the board of Mercury International, we will reject any proposal from the Premier League Board because there's no advantage to gain from sponsoring a league with empty stadiums.
By the way, we understand there were verbal fisticuffs at the SLFA Executive Meeting on Tuesday. We are compiling the details.
SLBC SPARES NOT EVEN CHILDREN
In the next few days kids in Sierra Leone will join their colleagues the world over to mark International Children's Day of Broadcasting. But their desire to highlight their plight has been suffocated by the lack of public service that the so-called public service broadcaster (SLBC) is.
Twitter is reliably informed that the kids wanted to highlight the issue of street children, in a TV documentary. Some man at SLBC who thinks he should be Director of Communication or even Presidential Spokesman is reported by some of the frustrated kids as saying the issue will embarrass the government so NO WAY. Clap for yourself, Borbor! Protect political interest and ruin the country's future - the children. Posterity will deal with you and your ilk.
(C) Politico 27/02/14
