STOP THROWING RUBBISH IN THE STREETS OF FLOOD-PRONE
FREETOWN
When torrential rains lashed Freetown recently many awful things happened – some homes were washed away and properties destroyed, power lines were cut and as we write this a good many ordinary Sierra Leoneans are trying to rebuild while looking over their shoulders to see what the rest of the rainy season holds for this country. We believe climate change is beginning to take a toll on Sierra Leone and there is a long struggle ahead.
Even in the early stages of operation, the National Disaster Management Agency is showing signs that it is ready to lead this struggle against all what adverse weather will throw at us. They need all the support from the government and international bodies that can help.
However, one of the most disgusting things we saw on that day was a widely shared social media video of a man pouring a huge amount of domestic rubbish on a flooded street. It was really disgusting. As part of what the Roads Authority calls FLOOD MITIGATION plans, we recently saw their contractors, supervised by soldiers clearing the drainage system in Freetown to make it easy for the heavy rains of this time of the year to flow freely. Surely, all the Sierra Leoneans who watched that video were appalled at how some of our people behave. It’s not as if the guy was caught in the rain, he actually brought the rubbish out of wherever and spent a good few minutes doing the awful deed.
We think the authorities should arrest him. We can’t continue to waste our taxes paying for people to clear the drainage to prevent floods while others knowingly take us back. We’ve done our own bit to make this a point to note, let the authorities now do their own bit. He is not the only one to have done that on that day but we have to start somewhere and with somebody
TOLONGBO MP ATTACKS POTENTIAL DIASPORA CANDIDATES
A Tolongbo MP from constituency 070 is working furiously to walk back damaging comments he made about Sierra Leonean politicians in the diaspora who may be thinking about coming home in the next few months to contest for parliamentary seats. The guy was addressing dozens of his party supporters with particular reference to the issues around the Public Elections Bill currently before parliament which is apparently proposing that Sierra Leoneans with DUAL NATIONALITY be allowed to run for parliament.
This was a contentious issue in 2018. Some of those people who had found their way into the House in 2007 and 2012 were quickly denied party symbols and made to look like shipwrecked people who managed to swim to dry land in a foreign country. Already, it’s looking difficult with our relatives in the diaspora because this parliament is not the least prepared to open up the space to them.
So why did the Tolongbo MP launch this attack? He is now all over social media extolling the virtues of his diaspora colleagues, feigning contrition and asking for mercy, even if not in as many words. Here are a few thoughts on this issue from our side:
1. We don’t know this for sure but we suspect that another Tolongbo guy from the diaspora is in the frame for that seat and the current MP is looking vulnerable so desperation is setting in. As we say this is still within the bounds of speculation.
2. The meeting itself looked like something hurriedly arranged to confer legitimacy on the position the MP in question was going to take in parliament on the Public Election Bill. Why did he have to do that? We don’t have a record of MPs from all sides of the house listening to constituents before going for a debate. Why did he convene this meeting?
3. The MP wanted to use the shock and awe tactic when he suggested that if disaporans were elected to parliament they would bring strange culture to Sierra Leone, including children marrying their mothers. Clearly, that was a very long shot, in fact by a country mile. He knows that was a big lie so he is walking those comments back. We however think this stab wound is too deep and many diasporans would NEVER forgive this guy.
4. After this attack this guy has called attention to his constituency and he is looking increasingly vulnerable even within the Tolongbo movement.
5. From now on we will pay keen attention to his speeches both in parliament and out on the campaign trail. We want to prevent him and people like him in our politics from causing mayhem with these kinds of speeches.
INVESTIGATE BLACKOUT IN THE WELL OF PARLIAMENT NOW
In the middle of a much hyped debate in parliament, the lights suddenly went out in the well of the House. Meanwhile in all other parts of that sprawling complex the lights were very much on. So what really happened? As usual with Sierra Leone politics the main opposition parties are accusing each other of sabotage. We are not interested in the gory details of their accusations and counter accusations. Instead we are now setting out what we think happened and what lines of inquiry should be followed.
We will be ignored as usual but that will not prevent us from saying what we think.
1. The outage was just the normal run of things and we shouldn’t try to hold people accountable for anything. The same thing happens in our homes daily. It’s no big deal.
2. It could also be that somebody in the House was totally fed up with the way the debate was proceeding because their concerns weren’t being addressed. They thought the whole debate didn’t live up to the hype and it was time to send the MPs home.
3. Maybe the guy, with a good technical brain, was scared that the debate would have gone on and on till midnight and they were not ready for such a long day. We are not sure whether when the MPs retire for lunch in their canteen they would even consider the parliamentary staff.
4. It was a criminal activity that could have resulted in a fire in that building like it happened in South Africa. That’s why the affair should be speedily investigated. Sweeping this under the carpet can only encourage people to continuously embarrass themselves and this Land that We Love.
HOW MANY AFRICANS HAVE DIED FIGHTING IN UKRAINE
We read a report recently that more than FORTY Africans have been killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the war with Russia. The report came from the Russian side and in a war dominated by propaganda; we have to be careful consuming this. Maybe the Russians were surprised to see our people getting involved in this way or it’s just a way of them telling us to warn our children not to get involved.
All the nationalities mentioned among the casualties are all from West Africa so far. This is a region of our continent that was thrown into violence in the early 90s and since then there has been no rest. It started with civil wars in Liberia and this land that we love. Now we have open armed criminal activity in big brother Nigeria – killing of people in houses of worship, kidnapping for ransom and insurgency and so on. In neighboring Cameroon a bloody separatist rebellion has taken hold. Islamist rebellion in the Sahel has crept into Mali and Burkina Faso. The place is just unstable.
In such a situation all kinds of freelance fighters are ready to be recruited to fight anywhere. So we are not surprised at all that some may have been killed fighting in the Russia – Ukraine war. Can the Russians tell us if they have some of our brothers and sisters fighting on their side? We doubt that very much but there’s no harm asking for our records.
This is a war that we believe MUST end NOW. The world economy is being destroyed and the people are suffering because the shortage in the supply of food and fuel caused by this war has made life difficult for Africans in particular. The whole world should negotiate an end to this war today.
As for people who have lost their lives there all we can ask for at this stage is for their bodies to be returned to their various countries so we bury them like we do in Africa.
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