ALIE KABBA PRESSING THE FLESH AROUND: BUT WHAT’S REALLY UP?
Let’s see what we have here. Yes, our former campaign manager for the successful Bio 2018 election campaign, foreign affairs minister and ambassador to the UN who wouldn’t be transferred to our embassy in the Arab republic of Egypt is back in Freetown. He went quiet after he was moved from the UN to Egypt. Social media speculation around is that he felt humiliated by being demoted. As far as we know he hasn’t directly addressed that issue but now he is back in Sierra Leone. He has been going around meeting his party grassroots – like announcing his return to his original game. Kabba is no longer an ambassador and as far as we know he hasn’t been re-appointed Campaign Chairman. So what’s our man up to going around the country with the New Direction message? The simple truth is, we don’t know but speculative journalism allows us to put forward the following:
1. After rejecting the job in Egypt, Kabba needs to rebuild his relationship with Principal who may well have interpreted that snub as a kind of challenge to his authority. He waited several months before appointing Sadiq Silla to that job, apparently waiting for Kabba to change his mind.
2. He may be positioning himself for the job of leading the Bio re-election campaign next year. Why not? They say don’t change a winning team.
3. With speculation around the possibility of that suicidal project to remove Kotor Juldeh as running mate to Bio, Kabba may well think it’s a good time to advertise himself as the man trusted by the restive grassroots.
4. With that date in the witness box in that ACC case over the alleged corruption at our permanent mission to the UN drawing ever closer, Kabba needs a lot of political wind in his sail to face those fierce opposition lawyers who are warming up to cross-examine him.
5. Actually, it could well be that he is just a man of the people – the kind of guy who likes pressing the flesh and selling a political ideology. We’ll see.
KING MESSI REPLIES TO THE BIO-KKY MEETING
The whole country and perhaps a huge swathe of the world know that King Messi likes to be in charge. He enjoys moving men and things around, convincing everybody that he is a modern day KING MIDAS who turns things to GOLD with ease. King Messi, despite repeated promises to resign, continues to hold on to the leadership of his party. On voting day in 2018, without any such direct question, he announced he would retire within a few months of handing over the presidency. Four years on King Messi is still in charge through the shrewd manipulation of men and things. He receives diplomats in his capacity as LEADER for LIFE in his expensive mansion.
These days, he makes it his business to reply to speeches made by Principal in his usual presidential style. Pictures have emerged of him meeting with some politicians in his home. The social media comment accompanying that picture is that he was coordinating coalition building as a first step towards removing Principal from office in 2023. Political parties always work towards ousting an incumbent so there’s nothing wrong with such meetings but should King Messi really be doing these things? Why does he find it so hard to retire like late Tejan Kabbah and forget about front line politics?
We have met a few people who have told him to his face that he is hurting himself and his party. He thinks it’s the reverse. We wish him all the best while letting him know that the people in that picture are totally unable to move the political needle in Sierra Leone. If this was his reply to Principal’s meeting with KKY, then he needs real help with his political judgment at this time.
We feel a little sorry for the people who would eventually emerge as leaders of the RED Movement. There would be very little time to reposition the party in their image before facing Principal. The debacle of 2018 can be seen on the horizon once more and King Messi has only himself to blame AGAIN.
SALONE PREMIER LEAGUE WITHOUT SEED MONEY OR TROPHY
We are only a few matches now to the end of this much troubled Salone Premier League but already things are building up between the SLFA and the Premier League clubs. The clubs have still not received a cent as seed money to help run their clubs, nor have they been told what to expect from participating in the league or what the eventual winner would take home. Now, this is what we call DARKNESS.
Why is it that when it comes to football administration in this country, we experience so much uncertainty? More than a dozen Premier League clubs started a league without being told the full package. They have bought players, paid acceptable wages in this country receiving only pittance as seed money in the first round. With the second round drawing to a close questions are all over social media about the unavailability of seed money for the clubs and the money that winners would receive at the end of the tournament. All we’ve heard from the SLFA is that they would LOAN some money to the Premier League Board to run the second half of this league. We won’t even discuss that.
We find ourselves in a strange situation. We call it total darkness. The SLFA should throw some light around the place now on these issues. It’s urgent.
PA DEMBY REHABILITATING FIVE HOSPITALS, BUT…
Any attempt made to improve our health care delivery service like employing nurses and doctors, buying advanced equipment and improving the physical infrastructure is commendable. We have read Pa Demby’s call for local people in the areas where the rehabilitation work is taking place to monitor the process and demonstrate ownership.
It’s good to say that in public and be in the headlines but it’s a different thing to stand by the local people when they clash with some contractors in the course of monitoring the projects. We hope Pa Demby will remember his words when complaints begin to land on his table at Youyi building.
It would appear as if Pa Demby is now in full control of the Ministry of Health so there should be no excuses. :
1. Pa Demby had that public fight with the professional head of his ministry that was a bit of a disgrace because government papers were flying all over social media as both sides ignored official protocol to win the battle for the hearts and minds of the people. Despite his fight back the Chief Medical Officer is gone on leave, NEVER to return
2. Pa Demby reversed all the postings the defeated CMO made. The minister wanted to tell the rest of the people in that ministry that he was the boss.
3. In the last reshuffle of government, his two deputy ministers were shown the door out of the ministry, a further sign that Pa Demby was the real guy in the eyes of Principal.
4. So now he is rehabilitating hospitals but we want to urge him to attend to some basic things particularly at Connaught in Freetown including providing gloves for his staff at the Triage. He should treat that Triage as some kind of emergency even though the people who go there do not necessarily fit that case definition. People stay too long in the place and it’s always a bit too congested.
5. Let’s also train the medical workers there to know how to deal with the ordinary people of Sierra Leone who go there for treatment. We will hold this here for now and visit again in the coming weeks. Sometimes among the many people in that Triage are journalists who just visit to see how things work for the people.
Copyright © Politico Online 07/03/22)
