END OF A POLITICAL ERA – GOODBYE CHARLES MARGAI
In the end mercurial Charles Margai was totally unable to produce his 2007 effect on Tolongbo’s fortunes in the elections last week, going by the figures rolling out of the south of the country in particular. This was the region where Margai damaged the SLPP in 2007, taking a handful of seats and opening the way for Tolongbo to make big gains and go on to win the election. When he lined up again with them just before the last election, he was hoping to repeat his heroics of 2007. He failed.
His party the PMDC had fallen into some kind of decay to the extent that very few people thought he would be on the ballot again this time. We woke up one morning and Margai was being unveiled by Tolongbo as their new acquisition. Tolongbo had suffered a string of defections across the country, including in their own strongholds, so Margai presented an opportunity for Tolongbo to hit back. They certainly did.
We don’t want to talk about the figures that came back for the PMDC for now but the message we get is that Margai’s frontline politics is finished. In fact, PMDC should fold up because he is not likely to allow anybody to lead that outfit while still alive.
We urge him to make it up with his family members who rejected his Tolongbo move. It’s important to keep the family together now that the elections are over.
AND SOMANO KAPEN
This guy was also in the room the day Ngor Margai was unveiled as a key member in the RED Alliance. For some strange reason Somano had to be re-unveiled and presented to the same people just like they did in 2018. Why was it necessary to do that? He was already a member of the team. Anyway, sometimes it’s good to start a quarrel in an empty room.
Somano Kapen can now return to Mambolo and enjoy the peace that comes with living in rural areas. From party chairman of the SLPP as they marched towards State House to being suddenly unveiled as Tolongbo on the eve of his party’s victory in 2018, Somano’s political miscalculation is going straight into the Guinness book of records.
ALPHA KHAN AND VICTOR FOH
These two guys went the other way in dramatic style. They played a big part in the campaign but while Victor is looking good in terms of the returns from his side, Kan Kan Kan has a bit of explaining to do. Unlike many people in the GREEN camp, from our little corner, we didn’t expect him to move the needle much in RED rock-solid Portloko. It was good to have him around the campaign as a powerful speaker and to create a national picture but it’s beginning to look like nightfall for the political career of Kan kan kan.
Good Luck guys.
JUNE 2023 IS OVER. LET’S GO BACK TO WORK FOR SALONE
More than a year ago, Principal told the country that on the 24th of June 2023 he would return to the people of Sierra Leone to seek a fresh mandate. The Sierra Leone constitution has a two-term limit for a president. That means Principal has now entered his final term after beating Orsamu for the second time.
The other results for parliament and local councils will fall in place in the coming days and probably before the end of July a new democratic government will be in place. Please don’t bank on our timeline. Things may move fast or even fall a bit beyond July because appointed ministers would have to appear in parliament to go through the approval process.
Anyway, all we want to say is that all the acrimony that characterized the campaign should end now so that we can pick ourselves up again, start the healing process and forge ahead in unity to develop our country. We have no option now.
There's no problem with people spending twelve or more hours a day on social media as long as it’s for productive reasons. This idea of using that space for divisive political rhetoric and obscene language has not achieved the desired result at the polls so why continue along that line?
Principal has set out a very ambitious agenda for his second term. It requires the support of all Sierra Leoneans – people outside the SLPP, including those who’ve played no active part in partisan politics. He says he is ready to work with all Sierra Leoneans. We are waiting for the cabinet to see if he really means what he said at his swearing-in.
DISENFRANCHISEMENT IN WAFA WHILE SLFA LOOKS THE OTHER WAY
We are now well and truly in a period characterized by wickedness in football administration in Sierra Leone. In this period, those in the administration of the local game are prioritizing mediocrity over competence as long as it serves their main purpose of entrenching them in office. And from the look of things, the SLFA is looking the other way. The leaders are thinking about getting votes from those denying other people their rights today when that crucial time of an elective congress comes around. This is what is happening in the ongoing regional elections that would culminate into the SLFA congress in a few weeks.
We have received a lot of papers detailing what happened at WAFA, leading to the disqualification of two leadership candidates, leaving a pastor, the incumbent unopposed. The reality is that as long as he remains in office as chairman, those who manipulated things in his favor would continue to function with real powers. The pastor’s church is not doing well at all, how can such a man continue to pretend to be chairman of the largest football region in the country?
Anyway, Daddy Brima is taking himself into a hole. Turning a blind eye to injustice by hiding behind constitutional provisions serves no useful purpose. Trying to satisfy the executioners is like feeding the beast. When you have no more food for it, the beast will eat you up. That may happen sooner than we imagine. They say journalism is the FIRST DRAFT OF HISTORY. Watch this.
ROGUE WATERLOO BUS DRIVERS FLEECE PASSENGERS
People traveling along the Waterloo – Freetown route go through hell every day because of the actions of very corrupt bus drivers. And these men conduct themselves in a way that creates the impression they are a law unto themselves. No questioning and certainly no arrest by the police. The reckless act by the drivers is done during rush hour. Seeing the teeming crowd of commuters in the morning in Waterloo they would say their final stop is Ferry Junction. The limited availability of commercial vehicles forces the commuters to jump in though in reality their normal and authorized point of disembarkation is PZ in the business district of the city.
Commuters are compelled to pay for the Ferry junction journey in desperation and immediately they leave the vehicle, the bus driver or apprentice would call out again that they would be going to PZ. Those who can afford the extra fare would jump on board with others having no choice but to walk the rest of the way into the city.
In the evening, the same Waterloo drivers pick up passengers from PZ and announce Jui junction as their final destination. They again collect fares and the passengers disembark but just about then again, they call out that they would be going to Waterloo. The passengers would then board once more, for what is another fare. So in reality, passengers spend twice or even more daily than what is the legitimate fare authorized by the Transport Ministry. The traffic division of the police knows that what the bus drivers are doing is illegal. But why can’t the police get these crooks arrested and punished? In this period of COVID-19 and its harsh economic conditions, the people commuting must not be fleeced by such a bunch of rogue bus drivers.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (30/06/23)
