NEW SLPP CONSTITUTION TAKES EFFECT: WHAT NOW FOR BULLET?
Profound changes have come into effect as enshrined in the constitution of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party, the SLPP. We saw a press statement explaining the painstaking process that brought the new constitution into being. All over social media, partisans have been congratulating Principal and Kotor Juldeh for being leader and deputy leader respectively.
We are now studying the implications of what has just happened in the overall context of how that advances our democratic dispensation particularly because this is the ruling party. Inevitably, we have to see how this affects the position of THE BULLET who has been running the party.
The Bullet had almost total control over the selection of candidates for parliament and local councils during the last elections and he set up a controversial selection process that many complained about. Some potential candidates said the system was rigged against them. Two independent candidates now in parliament are people who disagreed with being de-selected under the system created by The Bullet and proved their political worth by challenging and defeating those selected under THE BULLET operation. If this was a parliamentary system the loss of those two seats should be more than enough to take State House away from Principal.
Some people we spoke to at the time made serious allegations against THE BULLET that we cannot repeat here for obvious reasons but all of that may have culminated into the Green Movement deciding so soon after the elections to go in this present direction. When we complete our analysis of the present position by reading the documents and interviewing political observers we will help our readers understand the new game in town.
Immediately, we will have our eyes on a meeting announced a few days ago at which Principal and Kotor Juldeh are scheduled to address party leaders at all levels. We are being told that meeting has been suspended. When it does go ahead we will see in practical terms what the new reality is for THE BULLET. Has he been cut down by FRIENDLY FIRE?
ARE POLICE SELLING CONFISCATED MOTORBIKES?
Who will in their wildest of dreams imagine the Police doing what they were accused of by the National Bike Riders Union chairlady Nelly Smith? At a round table engagement the woman made some damning allegations against the traffic department of the FORCE FOR GOOD. Not mincing her words, the lady accused some police officers of selling bikes impounded from mostly young men running bike taxis to eke out a living.
The lady’s got guts some people thought, but when someone is pushed to the wall you have to expect a fight back. From what we found out, bikers arrested for alleged traffic offences are detained temporarily, then charged to court, and sentenced to jail terms in some cases. Their bikes are never recovered, with strong allegations that they are sold by rogue officers. There are two officers on mounted bikes who have gained notoriety for chasing commercial bikes all over the city, sometimes even grabbing bikes in motion, thereby endangering the lives of passengers and riders alike. You go to police stations all over the city and you will see bikes crammed like you were in some garage.
Well madam Nelly Smith has given us a clue as to what happens to many people at the end of the day. What we had expected after those scathing claims by the lady was for the Director of the Police Transport department to have invited CDIID officers to launch a full scale investigation that would have included bike owners and riders. Some cops are giving the establishment a bad image and it would be good for some thorough ‘cleansing’ of the traffic department.
We are not saying all cops are like that. Definitely not. But there are those who are just too desperate to make fast bucks and will do the unbelievable to achieve that. When disciplinary measures are instituted against some officer they will use the usual catch phrase witch hunt but never mindful of the consequences of being caught committing crimes that cops should never do. The good guys in the FORCE FOR GOOD still have time to react.
165 WATER COMPANIES OPERATING BUT ONLY 15 REGISTERED?
It beggars belief to know that of the recorded 165 water companies in the country; only 15 are registered with the Electricity and Water Commission! Most of the water companies are operated by local Sierra Leoneans which is good for the local content policy but such a revelation has brought again into the open the question of the brazen defiance of laid down rules by our entrepreneurs. These are the people who complain of not getting loans from our local banks. A simple thing as registering their businesses with a legitimate regulatory body set up by government they wouldn’t do.
An official from the Commission was even in doubt about the quality of the water some of these companies sell to the public. We’ve always had very strong reservations about the hygiene standards in the processing of some of the products we consume from these water companies. They are all over the place and some operate in dark and isolated places. Health experts say typhoid is generally caused by drinking of contaminated water; and that is why we will doubt the filtration process of some these companies. Some of their names are comical or meaningless, and their plants are nothing but sweatshops period!
The plastic packaged water is even handled poorly in many cases in the final production line; the sachets would be strewn on dirty floors and then placed into bundles, ready for the market. Most times consumers hardly wipe the sachets, perfect recipe for typhoid and other intestinal infections. We believe Standards Bureau should have a big say in this. Maybe they should conduct unannounced raids to uncover the litany of unhygienic processing of water by many of these companies we are talking about. Now it looks as if in every street corner there is a full megaphone blast from vehicles as they noisily market their products, very annoying.
IG SOVULA AND THE RETURN OF OLD POLICE RANKS
So from the look of things a significant section of the police is happy with the proposal by IG Sovula to reorganize the ranks in the SLP to the way it was before Keith Biddle landed here from the UK under that Commonwealth Project to create what we now call FORCE FOR GOOD. It would appear as if when Sovula recently addressed OSD officers he absolutely touched some very important issues to the satisfaction of his people.
From what we know, he still needs approval from the Police Council and Parliament to be home and dry. We wish him and his people all the best. However, as ordinary citizens of this good country, we have to make a few comments about the whole idea of returning to the old ranks and improving promotions and compensation.
We own the police and we want the best for them at all times so anything done to make them happy with their job is in our very best interest.
1. Let’s be very careful in recruiting certain people into the police force. We have seen some people in the OSD in particular who we believe should be shown the door for the bad behavior that we know them for. We are not convinced they’ve changed at all.
2. IG Sovula, please do something about the living quarters of your people. All of that should be part of the comprehensive welfare package we expect you to put before parliament.
3. We want IG Sovula to encourage his people to continue to seek higher education and training. We want a professional police force serving the nation. Don’t sack people because they proceed to college.
4. IG Sovula, quickly kick out those that fall foul of the law and shame them publicly. Our patience is running out over persistent reports of bad behavior among some of your people.
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