SO WHAT DID THE WORLD BANK REALLY TRY TO ACHIEVE?
We are still trying to convince ourselves that the GREAT World Bank was NOT trying to force the government of this land that we love to either cancel or suspend for several weeks more the 2021 Mid-term census when only a few hours to the start of the exercise, they announced that they were withdrawing both money and technical support from Statistics Sierra Leone.
We don’t think the picture of a few young people carrying placards at the World Bank office in Freetown in a brief protest against the withdrawal looked good at all but they may have been moved to act that way because of the message they received from the World Bank regarding the census. What goal was the World Bank trying to score?
It’s no secret that the political opposition has been fighting all over the place to block the census because they believe the government would take political actions with the result that might affect them adversely. For them it's about their political survival. They have consistently attacked funding organizations like the World Bank to get them to withdraw. When the World Bank eventually withdrew a few hours before enumerators were due to go to the field they threw a huge RED MEAT to the opposition. We saw them at work on social media and in small street demonstrations in a few places. They had a kind of WE TOLD YOU SO attitude.
So we ask: what was the World Bank really trying to achieve with these words:
Therefore while our technical team remains available to provide continued preparatory support, regretfully we will be unable to provide further technical assistance nor disburse and further funds…following the announced inception of data collection on 10th December, 2021.
What kind of ‘preparatory support’ would the World Bank continue to provide to a process they have defunded? And what’s the difference between ‘technical assistance’ and ‘continued preparatory support’? We beg the World Bank to bear with us as we ask for some details.
There are other aspects of the letter that we would like to talk to the World Bank about subsequently but as far as we can see in the lines quoted above, the dispute is ostensibly about the date announced by Principal. We may be wrong but surely, consultations were made before principal went on air to announce the date of this census that had already been postponed twice before.
We understand the World Bank wanted a date in January because of the festive season. We don’t know why Christmas celebrations should pose any challenge to a census. Isn’t that the normal time in the year for that kind of activity in Sierra Leone?
The government says the pullout is ‘untimely and unexpected’. That may be true but the only option we have in countries like Sierra Leone is to do all it takes to stand on our own. The World Bank committed TWELVE MILLION US DOLLARS to the process and had paid just over six million US dollars before staging this drama. They have now decided to withhold the balance. So the whole noise is about TWELVE MILLION US DOLLARS? Why should this country ask anybody for that kind of money to do a census? Let’s fight corruption and take care of ourselves. Otherwise, we should learn to stop disagreeing with those we depend on for vitall services in this land that we love.
ZAINAB IS DEAD: WE WANT ANSWERS FROM NGOR DEMBY
By the time Ngor Demby reads this the body of the SCISSORS WOMAN would be in a grave somewhere in Sierra Leone. We call her the scissors woman because for SEVEN years she had a pair of scissors lodged in her abdomen. It was left there by one of our doctors after a surgery in Kambia. Since we started calling the attention of the world to this case, Ngor Demby has refused to directly address the issue. At the recent Ministry of Information media program with ministers in Bo, he was asked specifically about that issue but he danced around the matter and waffled his way to other things.
Yes, surgery was carried out and the scissors removed by some visiting doctors. One month later, Zainab is dead. Throughout her suffering, Zainab lost his marriage; she was abandoned and mocked while she suffered in silence. How can any nation allow this to happen to any citizen? Ngor Demby knows how his counterparts in the country he comes from would deal with an issue like this but he wants us to stop talking about it - allow this matter to die. We are sorry to disappoint you sir.
Family members have told us they would ask for DIVINE INTERVENTION for Zainab to get justice. They might as well do that. We will now intensify our calls for somebody in the Ministry of Health or the SLMDA to order an investigation into this issue and bring some people to book. Let’s consider this: this case and that of the paparazzi junior doctor at Connaught hospital for which an inquiry was ordered, which is more serious?
CLSG DOCUMENT SIGNED SWITCH ON THE LIGHT NOW
We are being told that Principal will soon appear in Kenema and while there he will visit the newly-constructed electricity power house and shout LET THERE BE LIGHT and there will be light. Electricity will flow from Ivory Coast through CLSG facilities to the benefit of mainly Kenema, Bo, Kono and many small communities along those power lines. It will be an absolute game changer. We cannot begin to imagine how Bo and Kenema in particular would change from the moment the light is switched on.
For many years both districts suffered rolling blackouts over long periods in the day, driving up business overheads and forcing some out of business.
In the recent past we have been given dates on which the lights were supposed to have been switched but one date after the other came and went. We have very good reason to believe that the next date will stand because of the document signed in Abidjan over the last few days. In fact it took the personal intervention of Ivorian leader, Alhassan Ouattara to get the document signed. Principal dispatched Kotor Juldeh to that country with a personal letter to Ouattara.
Now we are waiting for the date. As for the singing and dancing in those ruling party strongholds there’s not much we can say. We want to start talking about the cost of that supply but we will hold that for now until the lights are on. We suspect however that COST will be the next issue to discuss. We Move!
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