THE DEATH OF EIGHT YOUNG PLAYERS IS UNACCEPTABLE
This nation is in mourning. The northern town of Makeni has just suffered a big blow. As we went to press NINE young footballers from the northern region mainly, are reported to have died in a road crash as they returned home from a football match in another part of the region. More than a dozen others are fighting for their lives in hospital.
We know that investigations are on-going to understand what happened. We have so far heard that their minivan was involved in a head on collision with a truck during that night journey. We urge the police and other security units on the ground now to brief the nation as soon as possible on how our brothers came to lose their young lives in such a tragic manner. In fact we cannot understand why the police in Freetown have not opened an incident room in to constantly brief the media about this incident and its aftermath. Is that not the way other police forces operate? We have highly trained officers who know what to do, why are they holding back? This is an extremely serious matter.
We have told SLRSA and the police that while accidents are normal, we do not believe that they have done all they can to drastically reduce the number of lives we lose on the roads every year. They should never tell us there is nothing more they can do. We are asking for the details of this investigation because it will help us raise some of those same questions we have been asking for a long time about traffic management, including the quality of vehicles and drivers on our roads.
Driving at night on our roads outside Freetown is perhaps the most dangerous thing to do. It’s almost as if those roads become a kind of free for all after 7pm. We have observed a lot of things but we want the police and SLRSA to step forward now and explain what happened on the Makeni highway. The two organizations owe that to the good people of Sierra Leone. What happened a few days ago is totally unacceptable.
THE SINO-PHARM COVID -19 VACCINE IS HERE SO WHAT NEXT?
The Chinese embassy in Freetown has handed over thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Principal, bringing us in line with other nations that have also received doses of one or two of the handful of vaccines now being distributed around the world to fight this pandemic that has changed lives forever and destroyed economies.
With the official politically-correct ceremony over, we want Dr. Austin Demby to tell the good people what the next steps are. Already, some Sierra Leoneans are on social media reproducing all those theories anti-vaccine campaigners are busy spreading. For some reason some people believe they should have an opinion on everything under the sun, including the efficacy or otherwise of vaccines. This is the world we live in today. And the availability of social media opens up the space for those people to try to win others over to their fold using crude propaganda or scare tactics.
All we want now from Austin Demby is for him to do the following:
1. Take a few doses of what we have, conduct whatever test you want and then tell the nation whether this SINOPHARM is safe or not.
2. Should you confirm its safety, get the big people in this country to take their jabs on TV for the people to see. Actually we believe that’s an unnecessarily elaborate step to take but we live in a world where distrust for authority and official versions of events is at an all-time high. So let’s do it for all to see.
3. Please involve religious leaders in this because they hold sway over millions of people in this country.
4. We understand the Chinese gave us only TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND doses. Surely we need millions. Who are the immediate beneficiaries as far as this consignment is concerned? As far as you know Dr. Demby, have we ordered more for the good people of this country or we are waiting for more handouts?
5. Our figures have fallen sharply but this is by no means the end of things. The fight goes on. We are quite sure you will keep this in mind.
FROM DESTROYING TRANSFORMERS TO STEALING METERS
It is very clear that a lot of work has been going on to overhaul the nation’s power supply infrastructure. Energy minister Moba Kanja is all over the place switching on transformers, delivering electricity poles and cables, signing contracts for the electrification of communities that have not seen that kind of light for FOUR DECADES and all that. Surely, he is the most busy energy minister in the last TWENTY years. We congratulate him for that.
However, it would appear as if there is an equally determined group of people who want to maintain the status-quo of epileptic power supply and cries of BLACKOUT throughout the country. Those people are stealing power lines, damaging transformers – just doing crazy and unbelievable things to disrupt our lives. As if all of that is not enough, now they are stealing meters from our homes and selling them in dark corners. Again, acquiring meters is no longer a one year project. It’s as easy as going into approved shops and paying for one. Just like buying a loaf of bread from any shop. So why are thieves raiding homes to steal meters?
The fact that those who steal meters are able to put them in use is a real incentive for such stealing to continue. We were told by those dealing in meters that they are able to disable them the minute they are reported stolen. How come we are getting reports of stolen meters every day?
We believe this is on the laps of our hardworking minister and his few genuine staff in that place called EDSA. If the dealers are not able to disable stolen meters, then we are in for real trouble. What’s the point of stealing a meter if it will put out of use the next day? In fact, who are those people who are so bold and skilled in dealing with electricity that are going all over Freetown stealing meters? Who are they? Are they current or former EDSA staff in league with the current ones or the dealers? Who are they?
The police are doing very well these days with people who steal mobile phones using technology, why can’t EDSA, work with meter agents arrest and prosecute people using steal meters? Surely, the thieves eventually conduct power into their homes using those meters and they constantly recharge them. What is difficult about trapping them in that process?
We urge Moba Kanja to go into EDSA and clean the place. The leadership was swept clean the other day, now go for the criminal foot soldiers. We are with you in that.
HILLSIDE BY-PASS ROAD IS ALREADY AN EYESORE
We’ve been assured by people who should know that the Hillside By-pass road should be complete by the end of this year. The pace of the last mile area is such that we have reason to believe it will be no surprise if that vital link to the east of this city is open for business before Christmas 2021. As ordinary citizens, we want the best for this country so we wish those doing the road all the best. However, we want to call the attention of the authorities to the fact that the lower end of the road, leading to Dwarzark Junction is looking very poor. This very nice dual carriage way is beginning to look like a glorified Wilberforce Street. Worst still those people building stalls under the hill have no concerns about a possible mudslide. It’s extremely dangerous and the government MUST CLEAR THAT PLACE IMMEDIATELY. The FCC is only thinking about collecting taxes and playing politics. We are alerting them now to that danger. We will not allow them to tell the nation they had no idea people had taken upon themselves to endanger their own lives in that way.
We are also calling attention to all the rotten vehicles abandoned in the parking area on both sides of that road. That space is provided so that drivers can drop off passengers or park their vehicles to attend to a quick business and leave. For more than a month now we’ve been counting all the rotten vehicles parked from the area just after Winners Chapel to Model School area. In fact people are now building ugly roadside structures to sell this and that. We have seen feeble attempts by the Sierra Leone Roads Authority to stop some of these constructions but we believe a big state institutions like that is being completely ignored by lawless people.
While all of this is happening the Mayor of the Sun is on social media telling the world of the MIRACLES she is performing in Freetown.
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