THE GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER ON THE COI IS COMING
So the much –talked about government white paper on the three Commissions of Inquiry is due for release tomorrow. There’s been a lot of speculation about what the government intends to do with the recommendations of the COI and how adverse the COI recommendations are on officials of the former administration of King Messi. The day of reckoning is very close for those people who cheated their own grandchildren and destroyed their future, just to enjoy the good things of life.
We will spend many hours reading that white paper for many years to come in the same way we’ve been reading the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report. We must make the following points before the report comes out tomorrow as promised by the government.
1. We hope people who served this country and were subject to the COI will learn some lessons now. They will continue to do some grandstanding on the streets and on social media but deep down they know they clearly messed up when they were given the opportunity to serve.
2. Principal campaigned heavily on the need to fight corruption and the COI was his first action to assure a nation, completely fed up with corruption that this was indeed a New Direction. He cannot now pull back from following his own white paper to the letter. It will be a monumental betrayal of the nation if for some political reason, he decides to stop half way down the road.
3. Those now occupying public offices should note that when the tables turn – we don’t know when, they may be required to answer questions about their stewardship. We know that some have this in mind but there are those who are doing things that remind us of Tolongbo days. We will be here reporting when that time comes around.
4. The government should make sure the last village in Sierra Leone gets the COI report in their own language. It must be done.
5. Those of us who took no part in the chopping should go about our business. Those indicted will go to the Supreme Court to clear their names. We have no dog in that fight. When the fight is over we will check our bank balance to see how much of our stolen wealth Principal was able to recover
LUMLEY – BEACH ROAD IS BECOMING DANGEROUS
We have just finished watching a video on social media of a woman rallying the nation to join the fight against RAPE while reporting the rape of a girl along Lumley Beach road. We don’t usually treat certain videos on social media with any seriousness but we find no reason to discredit her report. The circumstances around the incident are such that one is left with no choice but to believe what she reported and wait to get the other side, if the matter even comes up in court.
We are told that an OKADA RIDER picked up an innocent girl on that road, raped her, dumped her in some corner and fled. For now we will hang the issue here and urge the police to quickly arrest the RAPIST and bring him to court immediately.
Once again we urge the police to restore law and order to the whole stretch of road from Lumley roundabout to Aberdeen. We are hearing terrible things about that place and we will never allow that corner of our city to become a haven of lawlessness.
We serve notice that we are now on this case. We intend to see it through the courts.
HOW WILL DEPORTEES COPE ON RETURN?
The news that over a thousand of our compatriots living in the United States are to be deported has shocked us all. We are not sure they could all be of Sierra Leonean nationality. Crooked people at our Immigration department have over the years sold our passport to other nationals within the African continent and beyond. Some of these people would have committed crimes that painted a very bad picture of the Sierra Leonean. That our Foreign Ministry is taking the lead in carrying out thorough screening of those people already in the custody of US Immigration officials to know if they truly belong to this country, must be applauded. There are some Sierra Leoneans who went on seminars or other functions and failed to honour their commitment to return home; some of these could have found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time, blowing open the lid on their cover. Their decision to stay had apparently negated adversely on other prospective candidates in offices and other institutions identified for similar travel to the US; they ended being denied entry to the States.
Among this group also we may have hard working Sierra Leoneans legally resident there but who made some rash decisions or actions that have affected their residency status. With a Trump America, things could never have been easier for most immigrants in that country. Government and other Agencies must be ready to receive our compatriots who will definitely require a lot of counseling and assistance to readjust to life here once again.
THE TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUES ARE BACK
Well the top football leagues in Europe have started the new season under the dark cloud of COVID-19. The clubs are playing in empty stadiums and here, sport cinemas are closed with fans having to watch games in their homes, but the intense public interest has not dissipated. Arguably the most watched club football competition in the world, the premier league, has got off to an intriguing start with some surprising results already. Manchester United fans were given a rude shock as their team stumbled to a humiliating home defeat to Crystal Palace. Not quite the start the Red Devils would have liked to experience this season, this might be a foreboding of what is to come if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t bring in reinforcements during this transfer window. With that first lackluster showing, United fans would have to hold on for a while the optimism they had so much nurtured for the new season. It is just game one for them and they might just improve as the season progresses.
Defending champions Liverpool almost buckled in their opener against newcomers Leeds, but showed the grit that they still have by beating Chelsea. The Blues were down to 10 men close to the end which made it even more difficult for them, as Liverpool dominated large spells of the game at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have gone on an eye-catching recruitment of some of the best emerging talents in the likes of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner and have splashed huge sums of money to secure their services. But the match against Liverpool gave an impression that Lampard’s youngsters would have to take some time to prove justification for their price tags. Arsenal are rediscovering their swag slowly once more under Mikel Arteta, having ended the last campaign on a high. Quite convincing in their opening match this new season, they were however lucky to have snatched all three points in the dying minutes of the match. Manchester City will still be Liverpool’s biggest challenger again for the title.
The Spanish La Liga, Bundesliga and French League one, all with huge Global following are back. Lovers of the game here are hoping that this virus will ease and the cinemas will be open again.
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