UK’S LABOUR PARTY SUFFERS HEAVY DEFEAT: WHAT LESSONS SIERRA LEONE
Many Sierra Leoneans were glued to their TV and radio sets last Thursday monitoring the outcome of the snap general election in the UK. For many it wasn’t a long wait because as soon as the exit polls were released just after 10pm, it became clear that the night was a really long one for Labour and that Bojo was on his way back to Downing Street with more than a working majority in the House of Commons and indeed with a clear mandate now to “GET BREXIT DONE.” In other words, to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. In politics things are never as clear-cut as they appear so we’ll see how he goes about doing this.
For Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, he is stepping down from the leadership. He hasn’t said when but already some of his own people are urging him to go now. The men in grey might well turn up at his doorstep before Christmas. The Labour party will soon find itself in some leadership struggle. How long that may last is anybody’s guess for now.
So why are we so interested in something happening almost seven hours away in a highly industrialized country despite all our problems? Well, Sierra Leone has strong bilateral ties with the UK, we benefit a lot from British foreign aid money and there are tens of thousands of our people living and working there and supporting families back home. Here are a few lessons we should learn from what has just happened in that election.
1. We have no idea what the UK will look like post-Brexit. How will the whole thing affect our brothers and sisters there in terms of their living conditions in general? We just have to keep our eyes and ears open.
2. The new government will adopt an Australian-style points-based immigration system. We don’t know what that means in practice but we hope it doesn’t result in massive visa restrictions or planeloads of our deported people landing at Lungi airport.
3. We should also watch how much money Britain will put into international development. That is very important for us.
4. We have lost a powerful voice inside the EU. Which country will henceforth champion Sierra Leonean matters in Brussels? We know the UK has a lot of influence even from outside but it is always good to have people with seats at the table.
5. Some of our people voted for Brexit and have now voted for Bojo and his team to get it done thinking only those people from the poorer parts of Europe will feel the pinch. We hope our brothers and sisters get what they wished for.
PRINCIPAL SAYS INFORMATION ATTACHES WILL FLY AWAY SOON
So Principal met journalists from across the country last Friday for the annual Christmas cocktail as speculation mounted about the imminent departure of a handful of journalists into the diplomatic service at our foreign embassies. In fact the whole cocktail experience this year came down to just that issue for many of those who turned out for the event.
It’s always a privilege to hang out with a big man and get that photo opportunity or a quick handshake. That should get going into the Christmas season all those who attended. Well done.
As far as we are concerned Principal should call our new diplomats to the Big House this week and hand them their sendoff package. Many people are sick to death with continuous speculation in newspapers and social media about the names on that list. Let’s end all that. Let’s also end all the blame game about ministers or other political hacks recommending and removing names from the list. In fact Principal told the gathering he had approved the list, it only means that all those recommendations that may have been brought to his table were properly scrutinized by him and his decision as to who travels abroad between now and January 2020 was final.
While we wait for that announcement we can only imagine what’s playing on the minds of those colleagues of ours who were told by some people more than a year ago to expect a call from the big house. We can only guess:
1. Their mobile phones will never be turned off or put on silent mode. In fact, they will keep their eyes and ears open even when they are asleep. They will be TEXPECTANT (expecting a text) or SAPPECTANT (expecting a WhatsApp message). Hahaha!
2. Contrary to their normal practice they will swiftly return all missed calls or respond to all messages. Yes, just in case it was that important one from the Big House in which people are normally told that Principal is planning to change their lives.
3. Even those who have been assured at the highest level that they would definitely get the job would still be calling people and sending text messages to Principal every evening inquiring about his health and that of his family. Nothing really about the health of the first family, it’s about this attaché thing.
4. Sometimes the constant text messages and anxieties about the whole thing can be annoying. But we perfectly understand why our colleagues behave in this way. We’ve heard stories about how people’s names were removed from some appointment lists few minutes before announcement. Take no chances, guys!
5. So now we know January is the month in which our colleagues will be deployed abroad. We are starting a ferocious fundraising drive aimed at throwing a massive party for them at the same hotel where Principal confirmed his approval of their appointments. Please donate generously. Watch out for the bank account details soon.
BAN CHRISTMAS BOXES IN ALL GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
Despite our call for those many extortion boxes people dress up at Christmas to be banned immediately from all government Ministries, Departments and Agencies we have seen some in many places in the last two weeks or so. In case this is your first time of spending Christmas in Sierra Leone, these are boxes that are normally wrapped up in nice papers and placed on the desks of mainly private security agents and secretaries to public officials with the hope that every visitor to their place of work would drop some change as Christmas gift. These boxes also appear at supermarket checkouts and petrol stations.
We want the government to ban all such boxes from our Ministries, Departments and Agencies because we believe it’s a very bad idea to be engaged in such naked begging inside government offices. It’s natural that at Christmas many people decide to be very generous to put people in the mood and bring them smiles even if it is just for one day. But those boxes are unacceptable.
We expect the secretaries in those offices to serve without expecting any rewards outside their salary. People can still give money or other gifts if they feel like, without being required or encouraged to put money in a box to which the attention of every visitor is drawn as they depart. This culture of asking people for money at every turn must stop.
The last time we checked we had received many envelops from church organizations for all kinds of events in those churches. Some of those envelops are from people who are planning to wed.
As far we know when people are invited to weddings, they willingly offer gifts at the event itself. But the idea of asking them to contribute money to the planning of the event is a really long shot.
So no Christmas boxes in government departments this year please. Immediately remove those that are there already. By next year the private sector would catch up and by 2021 Christmas Boxes would be gone from Sierra Leone for good. Amen!
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