FREQUENT FIRE OUTBREAKS AND THE STATE OF OUR FIRE FORCE
Even before absorbing the NDMA figure of SEVEN fires over the last few days, the good people of this country saw pictures of another fire to the west of the city. Naturally, the people are tempted to ask the inevitable question: what’s going on? At this time of year when dry winds from the Sahara begin to blow across this part of our continent we usually experience some fire outbreaks. This year however and from the look of things we could be in for a really hard time with fires in built-up Freetown.
We have always been promised one investigation after another every time there is a fire outbreak but we NEVER get to see those reports. We can’t accuse people of not conducting those investigations, maybe they do. What we can say with all certainty is that we never see their reports and it’s a long time since we heard about any prosecution for arson. Do they want us to believe that all fires are acts of God?
The Freetown Fire Force has been working hard to deal with fires across this country without all the fanfare attached to the work of other agencies that are part of our so-called EMERGENCY SERVICES. We only think about the Fire Force when flames engulf our neighborhood and perhaps in most cases when our homes are threatened by a neighborhood fire. That’s not good enough. We are not sure the Fire Force has all the money they require to do a half decent job in our major cities. They have highly trained personnel but they are very badly equipped to tackle fires in this country.
We are not totally sure about this but we hear that unauthorized electrical connections and poor quality cables and connectors are largely responsible for more than half of the fires. The first menace is being addressed by EDSA and the police. The other aspect is a job for our Standards Bureau. We must stop fake or sub-standard electrical cables and plugs from reaching our markets. Otherwise we should go after those supplying the equipment to meet the cost of the damage they cause. It can be done.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER HEADS FOR THE WAR FRONT
Maybe the Nobel Committee should now consider withdrawing the Peace Prize they gave to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed in 2019 before he actually joins his soldiers in the Front Edge Battle Area of the war against his own people from the Tigray region. The Tigrayans are fighting back after Abiy Ahmed attacked them early this year accusing them of acts of rebellion. As we write this the rebels are pushing on Addis Ababa, the seat of the African Union.
This is a real shame on Africa once again. Abiy Ahmed was the young Prime Minister who started out so well that hardly anybody complained when the peace prize was awarded to him. Mediation efforts are now failing and from the look of things Ethiopians are gearing up for a fight to the finish. We can’t really afford this in Africa but we are in the thick of things now inside the home of our UNION secretariat.
Powerful countries and international organizations have asked their citizens to leave Ethiopia signaling a belief that the Tigrayans might actually enter Addis Ababa and face government forces and other militia now being mobilized to fight to the death. The Tigrayans are not the most loved people in that part of Ethiopia. They ruled that country for nearly THREE DECADES. They marginalized other regional groupings and committed atrocities.
Those trying to make peace should not give up. It’s difficult but such efforts must continue. Let’s add these few words:
1. How come Abiy Ahmed, our NOBEL PEACE PRIZE winner miscalculated so badly? He attacked the Tigray region and tried to subdue them. As a man of peace, was there no other way to handle that situation?
2. He calls himself a man of peace and the NOBEL COMMITTEE agrees but why is he, even at this last hour rejecting peace efforts, preparing instead to fight on the frontlines personally?
3. On the side of the Tigrayans, why are they lying about a blockade of their region and using that as an excuse to continue the war. If the blockade was so biting, where are they getting their sophisticated weapons from to fight their own brothers and sisters? How are they supplying their fighters with food and essential drugs?
4. Arms and ammunition are now pouring into Ethiopia from the normal sources abroad. African children are suffering while arms dealers laugh all the way to the bank. PLEASE WE DON’T WANT ANOTHER CONCERT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR WAR VICTIMS.
LET’S HAVE SOME ORDER USING THE LIFTS AT THE FREETOWN CITY COUNCIL
There is no doubt that the Freetown City Council building in central Freetown is perhaps the most modern building throughout Sierra Leone. It’s so nice to see and all Sierra Leoneans are very proud to have it.
When we visited the place the other day for some official matter we were impressed. However we owe it to the good people of Sierra Leone and this city where we pay taxes to call attention to what we observed trying to use the lifts. Those who have visited Youyi Building -the main seat of government at Brookfields can attest to how organized the system of accessing the lifts is. Without being told, people queue up patiently and wait for their turn. It’s that simple. Once in a while, ministers and senior civil servants enjoy priority positions and that’s understandable. The operators are polite but they sometimes expect tips from people.
At the FCC, there are no queues, at least for the period we observed things there was none. It was a low grade battle of the fittest to enter. Despite arriving before many other people, we were brushed aside twice. We protested but the operators understood our concerns but they were as hopeless as a customer in a barber’s chair.
We also observed that signs posted to warn people against rubbing their fingers on the wall were completely ignored. We don’t know if a police officer should be employed to ensure people queue up and enter the lifts in an orderly manner and that nobody touches the wall. All we know is that it can be done.
THE RETURN OF GAMES AND SPORTS ACTIVITIES ORGANIZED BY SCHOOLS
There’s been mixed reaction to the decision by MBSSE to allow school sporting activities to resume. Many Sierra Leoneans see the value in such activities for recreation and to pave the way for this country to spot new talent to boost our chances in games and sports competitions around the world.
We agree with both sides on that. We also agree with both sides on the point that because our young people today see such activities as opportunities for violence and other forms of criminal activity on our streets, the ministry was right to suspend those activities. It is for this reason that some have reached a point where they wouldn’t mind the ministry closing things down for good in the same way mask devils that normally parade Freetown during holidays were banned for the same reason.
We were at Campbell Street just before the ban came into force and we saw how secondary school children were harassing people and attempting to steal from hawkers in broad daylight. In one location people had to pick up sticks to defend their properties against the children. How is this behavior, miles away from the stadium connected to winning or losing a football match?
Let the games resume but will be observing closely. People cannot continue to lose their properties or sustain injuries defending them against the criminal tendencies of school children who MBSSE now says must assemble at the stadium for athletics come what may.
Copyright © Politico Online 26/11/21
