WAS IT A BREACH OF AGREEMENT OR AGGRESSIVE POLICING?
Once again we are confronting another round of accusations and counter accusations between the SLP and the Red Movement. Serious disturbances at a place called MILE 38 resulted in SLP personnel discharging tear gas at supporters of Orsamu who was driving to Freetown following his return to Freetown from the US. The official communication from the police is that they had an agreement with Orsamu's people that his convoy would consist of TEN VEHICLES only. According to the SLP more vehicles joined the convoy as they entered the main road leading to Freetown and when they were stopped at MILE 38 checkpoint some of the party militants confronted the police and at that point they had to be dispersed. That is the line from the police.
The Red Movement is all over social media telling the world the whole affair was an assassination attempt on their leader. We have not been provided with any evidence in that direction and it's a good thing that nothing happened to Orsamu directly. We don’t have a history of political party leaders being killed in this country but we can understand why the MILE 38 incident became a real Red Meat for the Red Movement. Already diplomatic missions in this country are beginning to make statements as they normally do. Here’s what we want to say as Sierra Leoneans.
1. Why was it so difficult to keep to the agreement the SLP said they had with the Red Movement? Why was it so difficult to subject those vehicles to the normal police checks we all go through at that checkpoint? We believe that in politics and in general life, we should always help the police to keep us and our properties safe.
2. Let’s assume that other party activists joined the convoy without the permission of Orsamu and that those activists were the ones we saw on social media having big arguments with the police. This was the time for Orsamu to step up and take control of the situation and for the police to strain every sinew to avoid having to explain again and again how they came to use tear gas at MILE 38.
3. Next time we don’t want to hear about a GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT. We want to see things on paper, signed by all parties. For the police to assume that people would always abide by their so-called gentlemen's agreement in all circumstances is naïve. Come on Mr IGP!
4. There’s now a tendency for people to run to social media to talk about things even when they know the case is against them. We are not referring to this case in particular. People believe they score political points on social media. We can’t stop them believing that but the evidence around the world, certainly in West Africa has shown that elections are won at the ballot box and that social media wars count for very little. We want a peaceful Sierra Leone after June 24. We are not the only country going through this process.
BILLIONS OF LEONES PUMPED INTO TONKOLILI: WE ARE WATCHING
We were very impressed with the amount of money a Chinese mining company pumped into three chiefdoms in Tonkolili the other day – 20 billion Leones is a lot of money. It can change the lives of people living in those communities in many ways. We still have to check whether the physical cash has hit the bank accounts of the chiefdoms that stand to benefit. Our concern now is that after all the big speeches the people living in those chiefdoms should now have their say in how to spend the money. It’s very necessary for the chiefdom authorities to bring their people along in a transparent way.
We suspect that soon mischief makers from and in that part of the country would make their way to social media to accuse the local authorities of stealing the money and spending it on their families and there would be chaos in the communities before the records are set straight. This should not be lost on the local authorities in the three beneficiary chiefdoms.
The challenges are many in those places – they include safe drinking water, poor school and hospital infrastructure, transportation and so on. We call on the chiefs to use the money in the interest of their people. Community Development Agreements (CDA) are done in the name of the people so it makes sense to take care of their concerns.
Part of the CDA is about protecting the personnel and assets of the company. From time to time company staff would encounter difficulties with the community people so the local authorities would be expected to settle problems and protect company assets. The age-old practice of inciting the people against the company and causing unrest to get money is wrong and should be severely punished by the state otherwise we should forget about asking for Foreign Direct Investment.
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON THE SLFA GENERAL SECRETARY
SLFA President Thomas Daddy Brima has signaled that he intends to fully implement the recommendations of the PLB disciplinary Committee findings, especially as it relates to his General Secretary Chris Kamara. The committee slapped the wrist of the General Secretary and fined him 5000 New Leones and banned him from playing his role as an Executive of FC Johansen for FOUR matches. The General Secretary was not directly accused of attacking and wounding a match official but he was in the area where the incident occurred and fans of his club were accused of attacking the match official. For a man of his standing, it’s a real shame to be evenly remotely associated with football violence. In one of our recent editions we ask for him to step down and try to clear his name by means of an appeal or be sacked.
The General Secretary has spent the last week or so attacking the committee, calling their work a JOKE and suggesting he would use other SLFA bodies to kill the work of the PLB Disciplinary Committee. This is the same man who has enforced rulings against clubs and their officials since the Premier League was launched. Now he wants to put himself above the law. We will not accept that.
TDB asked another official of the secretariat to write a letter to the PLB stating his commitment to uphold their rulings including that having to do with Chris Kamara. Half a loaf is better than none but we believe TDB ought not to have asked a junior officer to write that particular letter. He should have done it himself. The emphasis on him having issued the directive is still remote. Is he afraid of talking directly to Chris or what?
Anyway, we are looking forward to further action:
1. If Chris Kamara appeals and is cleared by the appropriate committee, we will return to our normal position and deal with other issues
2. Should he try to discredit the work of the PLB, we will be ready to be his guest
3. Should he appeal and lose, TDB will be left with no option but to sack the man. FIFA is very tough on people who bring football into disrepute. The General Secretary of our SLFA should NEVER be associated with that.
4. We grumble a lot in this country about the stunted growth our football is experiencing. We don’t need to look any further than the quality of football administration at the highest level. We will pursue this to the end.
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