MINISTERS ARE TAKING DELEGATIONS TO STATE HOUSE
Day by day, several ministers are taking groups of people and organizations under their supervision or oversight to State House to, in their words, congratulate the Principal for his second mandate. On the face of it that’s not a bad idea because Principal has just come through a very tough campaign but please permit us to note the following: We cannot confirm this but we are hearing from people who should know that the presidential appointment committee which did what it did in 2018 has been scrapped and the Principal is in charge of the process in 2023. In other words, even those who recommended people for appointment in 2018 and managed to stay in government for five years, have no idea where they stand right now.
One of our sources told us that CVs are flying all over the place but Principal is keeping things so close to his chest that even the so-called big men in the Green Movement are completely unable to say anything with any degree of certainty. It means therefore that those hoping to get help from the big guys are as hopeless as a customer in a barber’s chair.
Serving ministers are waiting to be slaughtered, reappointed into their current position or transferred to other jobs. This is a period of real uncertainty so that is one reason why those delegations are turning up at State House.
1. Minister of Local government took Tribal heads in the Western Area and Paramount Chiefs to State House
2. The Agriculture Minister appeared with Farmers of Sierra Leone. Principal wants to FEED SALONE during this term so even a minister with very patchy performance wants to hang on
3. Professor Foreign Minister also took some diplomats to State House.
4. Manty Tarawally was there on Tuesday with women’s groups followed by a group of Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora.
We want to urge Principal to end this cycle by appointing or reappointing his ministers. The whole thing is becoming boring.
WHY ARE CIVIL SERVANTS GOING SLOW?
One of those stilted civil service memos recently leaked into the social media. It was sent to Permanent Secretaries urging them to investigate and take action against some Civil Servants who are dragging their feet to return to normal work schedules since things went a little slow as Sierra Leone went into the presidential and general elections in June. We are waiting to get information on what has happened since that memo was issued. In the meantime, our dear Head of Civil Service should know that:
1. Nobody is surprised that his people are on some unofficial go slow action. They are always on some kind of go - slow. It’s just part of the way they operate.
2. Even when they manage to go to the office, most of them are never on time and they are not quite bothered about being late for work. They have dozens of excuses to explain their actions.
3. To move one piece of paper from one desk to the other is like climbing Mount Everest – the process is slow and deliberate.
4. We still have to check if some of the secretaries are still watching Nigerian movies on their computers because it was their favorite way of killing time and collecting salaries for doing sweet nothing.
5. There are those that are masters at complaining about everything. That’s what they do daily to justify their salaries.
Our civil service absolutely needs root and branch reforms. Attending a few workshops and making commitments on papers has not worked.
JUNE 2023 IS OVER. LET’S GO BACK TO WORK FOR SALONE
More than a year ago, Principal told the country that on the 24th of June 2023 he would return to the people of Sierra Leone to seek a fresh mandate. The Sierra Leone constitution has a two-term limit for a president. That means Principal has now entered his final term after beating Orsamu for the second time.
The other results for parliament and local councils have falling in place quite recently and probably before the end of July a new democratic government will be in place. Please don’t bank on our timeline. Things may move fast or even fall a bit beyond July because appointed ministers would have to appear in parliament to go through the approval process.
Anyway, all we want to say is that all the acrimony that characterized the campaign should end now so that we can pick ourselves up again, start the healing process and forge ahead in unity to develop our country. We have no option now.
There's no problem with people spending twelve or more hours a day on social media as long as it’s for productive reasons. This idea of using that space for divisive political rhetoric and obscene language has not achieved the desired result at the polls so why continue along that line?
Principal has set out a very ambitious agenda for his second term. It requires the support of all Sierra Leoneans – people outside the SLPP, including those who’ve played no active part in partisan politics. He says he is ready to work with all Sierra Leoneans. We are waiting for the cabinet to see if he really means what he said at his swearing-in.
CONGRATS BO RANGERS BUT IS THE PRIZE MONEY AVAILABLE?
We want to congratulate Bo Rangers for winning the Sierra Leone Premier League with a few games to go. Such a feat points to their total dominance of Premier League football at this time in good old Sierra Leone. Bo Rangers won the second time in as many years and from the look of things it’s almost impossible for any of the current teams to take this trophy away from the guys from Bo. They are just too well-resourced, organized and purposeful to be beaten. That’s what happens when people think about certain things they want to achieve, plan well and execute strategically.
We know that the Rangers have still not received the prize money of two hundred and fifty thousand New Leones due them from the last league. Now they are waiting to be told what the new prize money is. The SLFA is all over the place trying to explain away such disgrace. We have read social media posts from fans of Bo Rangers asking for their money.
When premier league clubs recently tried to suspend the league because they were running broke with no support from the SLFA, they were quickly prevailed upon to continue playing. The truth is, the SLFA cannot continue to behave like this. Bo Rangers have a powerful financial muscle behind them and they manage their monies well so they can afford to shout from time to time but not rock the boat violently. If SLFA cannot run a league they should tell us or announce from the outset that there would be no prize money. What’s the point of standing in front of cameras to hand over replica cheques to winners and then fail to pass on the real thing?
The SLFA has been in financial dire straits since the days of the Queen but the new guy has had enough time now to change things. Increasingly, it’s beginning to feel as though the Queen was still at Kingtom.
Copyright © Politico (05/07/23)
