MINISTERIAL SACKINGS AND THE NEW SLPP
There’s hardly anybody who’s been watching the political scene since 2018 with any seriousness who didn’t see this coming. We are talking about the new posture of Principal as he begins his second term. Those who thought this business as usual absolutely get the message now. The signs didn’t begin to become noticeable until that announcement was made by ECSL boss Mohamed Kenewui Konneh.
1. We didn’t hear anything about that 2018-style appointment committee headed by the sacked Chief Minister.
2. Principal appeared relaxed and spent time receiving many groups at the State House who went there to congratulate him on his election victory.
3. Access to him by even his close advisers became restricted. Our contacts told us some of them began showing signs of frustration – they had long faces and complained a lot.
4. Visits to the presidential lodge by those advisers and some ministers became frequent
5. Hired social media bloggers began churning out their normal poorly written materials singing the praises of ministers seeking the attention of the big.
6. Meanwhile, our information from those who knew was that Principal was now ready to appoint his OWN cabinet. A new SLPP is emerging. In 2018 and possibly up to the June elections, he found himself working with people appointed, sometimes corruptly by those who were supposed to help him get the best people.
When the big advisers were sent home with just a single kick, we reported here that there were no cows too sacred to grace our dinner tables. We saw that coming.
By the time the cabinet appointments are completed, the real stories informing those decisions would emerge and we stand ready to tell those stories. The political consequences of Principal’s action from inside the ruling party would be the next episode. We are here to do the FIRST DRAFT of History. Long live journalism
FOOTBALL HOOLIGANISM DESTROYING THE LOCAL GAME
We would normally blame the Sierra Leone Football Association for everything that goes wrong in the game, from bad referring to violence on the field of play. Maybe they are ultimately responsible but we need to put certain things on the table now for the world to see. We have to prepare, and this is not something we are wishing for but one day a match official is going to be killed purely for the decisions they make on the field of play.
There is a video on social media now showing a match official under attack from Mighty Blackpool of all clubs. The single police officer was unable to protect the referee and they both had to run into a nearby building with the mob outside waiting to pounce. We understand Blackpool officials are cooperating well to catch the main guy who masterminded the attack. We commend them for that. Other teams have always obstructed any such investigation.
We urge the SLFA to note the following. We believe what we are about to say is not strange but we are putting it on record so that we are able to say in future that WE TOLD YOU SO.
1. Club officials and OWNERS in particular are the key people instigating ALL the violence. The behavior of their fans is dictated by what those OWNERS and officials do on the sidelines during matches and on social media.
2. CLUB OWNERS more than frequently jump into the field of play to attack referees over on field decisions. They have always explained those actions by pointing fingers at referees. Imagine their European counterparts doing the same. The idea that because they are spending money to run their teams in a game full of passion they should be excused is what we don’t want to even consider because the game has rules and investors MUST operate within those rules. Otherwise they can withdraw their money and become ordinary spectators. Besides why are club owners in Sierra Leone ALWAYS on the technical bench interfering with play?
3. The president of the SLFA should stop looking for votes and deal with hooliganism at all levels of the game but especially that coming from club officials and OWNERS. We need extremely bright examples and the SLFA has missed many such opportunities to send the correct signals. Deal with the big guys and the supporters would fall in line.
LET’S GROW WHAT WE EAT IN SIERRA LEONE
No matter how much we grumble about the cost of a bag of rice, it will keep going up. The people of this country have to make a decision to grow what they eat or continue to depend on other countries where people spend their time working to feed themselves and to make money from agriculture. They don’t spend all their time talking about politics on the streets, in offices, football stadiums or even cemeteries.
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.
Why should we complain about the cost of rice produced in Cambodia and shipped halfway around the world to Sierra Leone? The farmers out there work really hard so they should enjoy the benefit of their labor.
We have recently seen social media photos of individual farmers or groups of farmers, including military personnel showing off their harvest. That’s the way to go. Cambodia is not a rich country. Most of the farmers in India, China and Pakistan are ordinary folks just like our own farmers. Why should they feed us?
Our politicians would gladly buy bags and bags of imported rice to distribute to supporters who spend several hours a day at so-called ATAYA BASES instead of asking them to go to the bush and grow food.
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