ACC’S FINDINGS AFTER LIMKOKWING INVESTIGATION: NO SURPRISES
Now we have reached a stage in the Limkokwing saga from which we believe something concrete can be done to end the misery of those our brothers and sisters who were definitely huge pawns in the game that Bra Minks and Malaysian buddies were playing at Hill Station.
Bra Minks is dead now but he was alive when Biobele and friends reportedly named him as the guy who for ten years at least, ran the MOST CORRUPT MINISTRY in this country.
Frankly there was nothing left for the ACC to investigate. The Ministry of Finance had basically put all the necessary information in the public domain. The only thing some people didn’t know is that the Limkokwing project in Sierra Leone was the idea of a guy who was thrown out of his own project by Bra Minks. The owners of the Limkokwing brand also ditched the guy and went with the political flow. Now Bra Minks and his political party are gone and Limkokwing is looking for friends.
The ACC has outlined a number of recommendations for the authorities to act on. We have always called for the authorities to end the suffering of our children. We make the following suggestions.
1. We can simply do Special Admission for the current students into other institutions offering their courses in this country. All of them will get grants –in –aid just like those in government colleges. Academic credits will be transferred and the various universities will offer the degrees.
2. We say Special Admission because of what we know about the entry requirements that landed many of the students in that college. We will close our eyes to this batch and bring this situation to an end.
3. There are students who have completed their courses without paying fees and they cannot now graduate. We call on Principal to pay the fees of this class at least and free them up.
4. Let’s calculate the monetary value of all the services the college ought to have provided to the government under the Memorandum of Understanding and ask them to pay that into our treasury. Let them also pay their rent for our property starting January 2020.
5. Never again should any minister do such deal. Imagine two young Sierra Leoneans living in the same compound from average families taking the same WASSCE. One of them gets a distinction and proceeds to a state college with her parents paying from their savings from petty trading. The other girl gets, say three credits but goes to Limkokwing and the government pays THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS a year to educate her. What kind of country was Bra Mink really creating? Why should anybody defend this with a so-called MoU not seen by parliament?
FORCE FOR GOOD AND THE FIGHT AGAINST FAKE US DOLLAR
There are people in this country who can do anything, including committing a criminal offence, to lay their hands on the mighty US dollar. Let’s be honest, there’s nobody in this world who wouldn’t want to have millions of US dollars in their bank accounts, but the extent to which some people go to get money is simply unbelievable. They are operating in small but powerful groups based in the criminal underworld of Sierra Leone and they are well connected in the society we can see with our own eyes in the real world.
Now Force for Good is warning us that once again fake US dollar bills have been pumped into our market and the consequences could be dire for the country’s economy. Pictures of the fake bills have appeared on social media and even in some newspapers. So those who deal in US dollar bills now have sufficient warning to protect themselves against the criminals. We join many Sierra Leoneans to congratulate Force for Good for speaking up although they have not given the kind of details we require to understand what’s going on and how to respond as ordinary people.
1. Has IG Sovula now smashed the criminal gang producing and distributing the fake dollar bills? It’s very important for the nation to know.
2. Are we dealing with just one group or is the thing bigger than we dare to imagine?
3. How much money does IG Sovula estimate the criminals may have pumped into the mainstream already?
4. Aren’t they also doing the local currency? We have found fake local currency all over the place. Please let us know.
5. Are those exhibits well secured? There was an incident many years ago when currency bills meant for the incinerator at the Central Bank found their way into the market. That’s the reason why we ask.
ARMED ROBBERS ON THE PROWL BUT WHERE ARE THE POLICE
We have to congratulate Force for Good for what they are doing to stop dangerous criminal elements in this land that we love. At the same time we should make it known to them, if they don’t know already that in many communities in our big cities, many of the good people of Sierra Leone are having sleepless nights as they prepare to defend their homes against armed robbers who are now very bold. They are attacking people in any part of the cities. In some instances they have gone on to kill people.
We know it’s a difficult thing tracking the criminals down and eventually putting them behind bars, but IG Sovula has no choice but to take the criminals on and defeat them. A small sample survey from any part of our main cities will show that the fear of crime is up especially since the start of the rainy season. It’s a very serious matter. We have received quite a few reports of armed robberies recently. We have also reported on small time criminals stealing car batteries and valuable properties like laptop computers from the cars of people who dare to park along Campbell Street, especially the section between Mende Church and Pademba road. We suggest the following measures to deal with this menace.
1. IG Sovula please clear all rogue elements from the Force for Good. Please don’t tell us rogues don’t exist in your institution. There are many rogues who we believe turn a blind eye to the criminals and collect their share of the deal later.
2. Building up on our first point, we want somebody to tell us why the police failed to raid that criminal hideout on John Lane, where a lady found her car battery among other stolen properties shortly after a man stole it from her car along that same section of Campbell Street.
3. We have just set up a court for sexual abuse crimes; why not designate judges specifically for armed robbery and robbery with aggravation? That court should sit daily and when people are convicted, they are immediately transferred to Bonthe Prison. Great idea!
4. IG Sovula, please give clearance and even support communities to set up neighborhood watch groups to help defend their communities.
SIERRA LEONE FOOTBALL LEAGUE IN LIMBO AS THE QUEEN CLINGS ON
A FOUR-YEAR stolen mandate has now entered the SEVENTH YEAR and The Queen is clinging on like the late president of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema. We make bold to say that from the way things are going, The Queen looks set to be in charge in that little KINGDOM for SEVEN more years. We have zero reason to believe that she intends to respect the members and the rules by which she took the reins of power unopposed. We have waited for some magnanimity towards her opponents since she took office but all we’ve seen are suspensions, bans and all manner of FIFA rubbish about this and that.
The point now is this: because The Queen wants to constantly use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to stay in power unchallenged, she has produced no roadmap leading to the re-start of the football league for the government to consider. All around Africa and the rest of the world, including some of the worst hit countries, football is being played under the new normal. Why is the case of Sierra Leone so different?
It is also a fact that by the time the league returns our players will be so rusty that matches will be extremely mediocre. Players who were strong, powerful and ready for the European leagues are now only fit enough to play at KT Field. Frankly the easiest thing to do in Sierra Leone these days is to convince anybody that The Queen is not good for Sierra Leone football.
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