ATTACKING KEI KAMARA’S HOME ANSWERS NO QUESTION
Those who tried to attack the home of Kei Kamara the other day should be very ashamed of themselves. They have no support among the vast majority of Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad because they certainly didn’t act in our name. We thank the police for moving quickly to stop that criminal mission. It’s a disgraceful thing to even contemplate.
Having said that, we should note that we understand why people are angry and disappointed with the manner in which our team was thrown out of AfCON 2021. Our performance in the final game of the group stage was poor. In the coming weeks we will analyze our AfCON outing carefully as a way of helping those who run our national team plan for the immediate future. We certainly cannot continue with what happened in Cameroon.
There are many questions to ask about what happened on the field of play – the technical decisions made by Keister and his backroom staff. We will not accept any foolish talk about him coming under pressure from anybody to select certain players. Keister has NEVER complained about being put under pressure to select any player. He was in charge of the team and he takes full responsibility for the team. We may not have access to his match reports but we are waiting for him to call the media so that the clear facts are established.
As for Kei Kamara, he enjoys holding people to account, he complains about everything – food, travel arrangements, hotel rooms, his colleagues; he is always calling attention to himself on social media. Why is he then surprised that people are asking questions as to why he couldn’t score a penalty to keep us in AfCON?
We are not saying anything substantial about that for now until we get answers to certain questions. Meanwhile we expect some resignations from the national team. We expect some players and technical staff to fall on their swords. Please don’t allow us to come for you. We are not joking about it at all.
TWENTY NINE KILLED IN LIBERIAN CHURCH STAMPEDE
People in the neighboring country of Liberia are in mourning. President George Manneh Weah declared a period of mourning after TWENTY NINE of his citizens, including ELEVEN children and a pregnant woman were killed at a church event. The story is that a church in an area called New Kru Town in Monrovia was holding an all-night service when at about 9pm street gangs armed with knives stormed the event trying to lay hands on monies collected for the church and personal effects like mobile phones.
These days there are groups of street gangs conducting sporadic raids like this to steal from ordinary people on the streets of Monrovia. So those people left their homes in peace to seek the face of God and within a few hours their bodies were in a morgue awaiting police investigation before they were buried.
We don’t yet have any example of churches being raided in this manner in Freetown or any part of Sierra Leone but we have records of gangs of criminals attacking and stealing from people especially after sporting events. It is this criminal activity that caused Principal to ban mask devil parades across the city.
We call on the good people of Sierra Leone, particularly churches organizing all-night prayer sessions inside church buildings or outdoors to watch out for copycat raids by our own criminals. Maybe churches doing mass all-night prayers sessions should request for police protection.
Meanwhile our hearts go out to the government and people of Liberia. God will expose and disgrace those criminals.
‘TRANSFORM FREETOWN’ NEGLECT ST. JOHN AND DANCE IN PARLIAMENT
Our Mayor was doing some break dance the other day outside parliament to the great satisfaction of partisans she mobilized to accompany her to the great house where she had a date with the Public Accounts Committee. We don’t know why she decided to turn a normal parliamentary inquiry into a political football. Anyway, the reality of that situation actually unfolded in Committee Room number ONE. There obviously exists a wide contrast between a rattled Mayor Kemokai in front of our MPS and the lady that was dancing outside to convince her supporters she was this victim that defeated her opponent.
Here’s the truth: Mayor Kemokai is now the subject of an ASSL audit ordered by parliament. Why hre office wasn’t included in the overall yearly audit is something only Queen Lara can explain.
We are journalists, not clairvoyants but a Mayor who has for years dedicated herself to the elimination of her DEPUTY and CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR should be very concerned about what those auditors would find.
For now let’s return to the Mayor’s TRANSFORM FREETOWN. Those who spend all their time on social media or those abroad are probably believing her messages and convincing themselves that Freetown was now a changed place under Mayor KEMOKAI should talk to people on the ground in Freetown who are supposed to be beneficiaries of this so-called transformation.
We know the task of TRANSFORMING FREETOWN is not an easy one that’s why we continue to wonder why she is trying to tell the world that she has performed a miracle in the last three and half years.
Anyway, we have had to live with this mess in the picture at St. John, a major junction in Freetown. It’s been like this for more than a year. From time to time we see young people hired by the SLRA trying to clean up but we quickly return to this mess. The Mayor drives through this area many times to and from work.
We didn’t want to turn people off because we would have taken pictures of people selling bread next to this mess. The Mayor’s agents are almost certainly collecting market dues from them. Mayor KEMOKAI can sign TRANSFORM FREETOWN as much as she wants but there are many parts of Freetown facing the same challenges we have highlighted here. Meanwhile we are still analyzing the Mayor’s recent outing on Voice of America.
Moba KABINEH WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE URBAN RESILIENCE PROJECT
Good morning Moba Kabineh of our Transport Ministry
We are left with no alternative now but to express how scandalized we are that after attending at least four news conferences at which you or your officials announced the commencement of the World Bank and GOSL supported so-called Urban Resilience Project, we still can’t get a clear picture of the job actually being done.
In fact we are beginning to forget what the whole project is about. All we now know is that you promised that public transportation will improve dramatically, pedestrian bridges will be constructed at some busy junctions in some parts of the city to facilitate the movement of people and what else? What is really holding this project up?
Naturally as journalists we should run to your ministry to ask the necessary questions but we have done that before and we are tired of telling our readers the same thing daily. We want to see action on the ground right now.
Here’s why we are calling your attention to what is clearly you job sir:
1. Ordinary people are suffering, commuting to and from work. From the look of things your ministry is completely Missing in Action. The people are left in the hands of a group of wicked and greedy commercial transport operators not seen anywhere in West Africa. The good people of Sierra Leone cannot continue like this.
2. We understand there is already a Project Implementation Unit in your ministry with consultants writing this and that paper and collecting cool cash at the end of the month. We can’t see the result of their work so what is really happening? This is beginning to look like King Messi’s Mamama Airport project and their office at Tengbeh town. After collecting fat salaries, the project collapsed. Will the so-called Urban Resilience thing also collapse?
3. We call on the New Direction to cut the spin and get this project going right now. In journalism we ask people to show and not tell. Telling us about the project is not bad but we want to see it on the ground.
4. In fact, who is in charge of the implementation? We ask because John Tambi of that infrastructure something is always around it. Some clarity needed here.
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