TWITTER 28 NOVEMBER
IF YOU LIVE IN A GLASS HOUSE, DON'T THROW STONES
Look what we have here people: a lawyer looks set to be in the dock soon facing a possible public order charge. We are putting the details together as required by our House Style before publication but it's already in the public domain that a lawyer confronted a magistrate within the precincts of the court in a manner unbecoming of a lawyer and the CID is now involved.
When the Bar Association recently attacked the Sierra Leone media as being unprofessional and engaging in verbal fisticuffs, we warned them not to pretend as if their profession was in heaven where everything is in order because angels were in charge. Our friends should know that there are no angels on earth. We are all human and that says a lot about how we conduct ourselves planet earth.
Our friends made two very serious mistakes: They did not name and shame the section of the media that is most guilty of such glaring professional misconduct and their press release created the impression the whole Sierra Leone media was a total mess. People reading that press release in New Zealand will be left with the impression that media people in Sierra Leone are up to no good. And coming from the Bar Association, they are bound to treat it as something very serious.
We know the details are still coming through but what if we now used this one incident to describe all lawyers as lawless people. That will be completely wrong. All journalists know that like other pressure groups, there are internal problems that need urgent attention but for our allies to attack us in such savage manner in front of the whole world was the unkindest cut of all.
IF YOU LIVE IN A GLASS HOUSE, DON'T THROW STONES.
SALPOST MANAGER THINKS SOME OF HIS WORKERS HATE HIM
It was great to finally hear from the new manager of the Sierra Leone Postal Services, SALPOST. This is one national institution that really needs help. Since the days of the late Kanji Daramy, SALPOST has been riddled with inefficiency and corruption. Inquiry after inquiry brought us that same result - poor management, corruption and a catastrophic collapse in confidence in the ability of the postal service to deliver a single mail even within the city. The post office savings bank went down under our noses leaving many families in utter disgrace.
The manager has many bright idea, from what we heard on radio. But he should stop this business of playing the victim - giving the impression some of his own staff were out to kill him when his office went up in flames. We think he should allow the police and the fire service to investigate the issue and make the result public for all to see. He should be the last person to go on radio and start speculating about who might have torched his office. We imagine that there is a section in that office now who think the manager had them in mind when he made that comment and they are now going to fight back.
We believe that with the right investment and personnel, the post office will flourish and serve that nation. In fact even now, their EMS service is fantastic compared with other courier services who charged disgracefully high fees.
We wish the manager well but if he attempts a divide and rule policy at SALPOST, he will fail disastrously and we will have no mercy.
THE MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY PUT DOWN IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD
This is a classic case of the rich getting richer and the poor poorer. The Red Movement which has many MPs has been given more MPs on a silver platter while the Green Movement which has far less has had a few taken from them and passed on to the Red Movement in a courtroom.
Last week we raised the issue of TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION in two constituencies in Kenema and Kailahun. We were concerned because after a year, there was still no verdict in a petition case brought by two defeated SLPP candidates against their own party. As if on cue, we now have a verdict and it's in favour of the Red Movement. The National Electoral Commission has now being ordered to cancel all votes cast in favour of the SLPP, effectively handing the two constituencies over the people massively rejected at the polls.
The SLPP candidates, even though disqualified on the eve of the elections received massive votes. The man in Kailahun got 11, 000 votes to the APC candidate's 2, 000. In Kenema district, the disqualified SLPP man scored 9, 000 while his nearest challenger got about 4, 000. Why did NEC count and record votes that had disqualified?
We will never quarrel with the decision of the judge. We are not allowed to do that. But we must sound a note of caution: This country is being relentlessly towards a one party state in all but name and having lived in a one-party system, we know very well where this nation landed when it became clear in Momoh days that political exclusion was the order of the day. We have spoken to by phone to people in both constituencies. They are gutted.
"RAISE YOUR GAME" BUT SIERRA LEONE CANNOT WIN ANY MATCH
The SLFA "president" was once quoted as telling football stakeholders who dispute her mandate to "RAISE THEIR GAME". She apparently nicked that line off a Guinness advertising running on DSTV. That's not very imaginative, is it? Anyway we can now use the same lines and tell her and her squad at Kingtom to "raise their game" because we are well and truly fed up with being disgraced every time we send a football team abroad - male or female abroad for even third-rate competitions.
We should necessarily hold Johansen responsible for the final performance on the field because we think our players, internationals and home-based are not up to the task. Our problem with the FA leadership we have is that in the first place their mandate is controversial and they know that. But they are refusing to honestly engage those who were cheated. This situation has put off many people who love the game from getting involved at any level anymore.
The other point is this: the winner takes all actions in the secretariat has robbed the place of the real brains to drive Sierra Leone Football. For the rest of us, we need the SLFA to face the truth. Our teams, across all divisions are completely out of their depth among the best in Africa. This situation cannot be changed by plenty talk on radio and snide comments against supposed opponents on facebook.
Let's scrap all our teams, pull out of all competitions, set up a proper local league, hire a suitable international coach during the period of rebuilding, train at least three trainable local coaches and return to the international game in the fourth year with a largely home-based team. The Ghanaians did it and have never looked back. Why not Sierra Leone. We are tired of being disgraced.
(C) Politico 28/11/13
