O JERUSALEM HERE WE COME AT LAST
We enthusiastically support the decision by Principal to open an embassy for this country in ISRAEL. Not in Tel Aviv, but in JERUSALEM. We believe this has taken too long to come. The decision is not only wise and strategic; it shoots down decades of African Union diplomatic hypocrisy that has caused this country to lose huge investment in agriculture, technology and tourism from ISRAEL. We cannot continue like this. Principal has acted correctly and decisively.
This country has always sympathized with the Palestinians going back to the days of Yasser Arafat who actually visited this country when Joseph Momoh was at State House and we still sign up to the TWO STATE solution like much of the international community but we cannot continue to stay out of Jerusalem at a time when those Arab nations that encouraged us to boycott Israel in the first place since the 1960s have themselves gone back and re-established diplomatic ties with Israel. This hypocrisy must end. We are an independent country and we have our own interests to pursue.
We’ve read reports quoting spokespeople for militant groups in Palestine urging us to pull back from the decision to go to Jerusalem in particular. We've heard their cry but we know how much money has been taken out of our country – legally and illegally to fund their activities. What did we get in return? As we speak more money is being taken out of this country and it would appear as if those channels are so powerful that we are not able to stop them. ISRAEL will help us with intelligence and training to stop the illegal flow of money from our country so that we can build more roads and schools. They will provide scholarships for our young people to study and face the world.
When we fought for and secured a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, we had a clear idea what we wanted to achieve. Why do people think the Israeli ambassador flew over here? We have just made a good start. Forward to JERUSALEM!
JUDICIAL WEEK IS GOOD BUT WHY CAN’T WE PREVENT IT?
CJ Babatunde Edwards has done it again. This is the THIRD edition of what is called JUDICIAL week. This time 802 cases are up for consideration over the next TWO weeks by 23 judges. The judges are going all over the country. We join many other Sierra Leoneans to congratulate our judiciary for this because the last time this program took place we read about some ridiculous cases that landed people in jail – cases that could have been easily dispatched by magistrates. The result is overcrowded correctional centers with all the challenges that go with that including diseases, deaths and huge financial burden on the state to feed people in such large numbers behind prison walls.
Maybe CJ Babatunde should shake up the court system to prevent people from being thrown into prison for stealing FOUR plastic chairs even after they are sacked from the job and made to pay for the chairs. We are not lawyers but we believe that too many people are being sent on remand when they could easily be granted bail while going through preliminary investigation or the actual trial in the High Court.
We know that police prosecutors also have a hand in causing such delays in the delivery of justice by taking countless adjournments to either prepare their case or go in search of witnesses. We want the judiciary to spend its money on other things, not an annual judicial week.
Anyway, we wish our judges well and as they say, LET JUSTICE BE DONE.
DRIP, DRIP APPOINTMENTS CAUSING SEVERE HEADACHE
We are now beginning to settle into a pattern of principal sacking and appointing people every FRIDAY. Well a few others drop during the week. This has been the pattern since this government was reelected. It started with the sacking of the BIG NINE from the State House which surprised many people. In fact since then, we have not been surprised by any other sacking. When the really big guys are cut down like grass, followers must simply surrender.
Those sackings that take place during the week are the most dangerous because those affected are normally in their offices giving out orders and signing papers. Once they receive their letters they melt away with an instant headache, never to return. Let’s see if we can be of help to our MDA bosses in terms of how to cope with the drip, drip sacking method of Principal.
1. We know your secretaries make several trips in and out of your offices on normal days so just don’t bother too much to ask them about letters from the State House each time they open the door. Worrying too much and causing headaches is unnecessary. A sack letter will come when it comes.
2. The truth is some letter- sacking people arrive late at offices but appear on social media a few minutes after they are signed by the Secretary to the President. So we advise that MDA bosses should hire social media warriors to constantly keep an eye on all platforms so that they are informed immediately so people can jump out of the office before the secretary walks in with the letter. They would also escape those rude messengers and security guards who misbehave when their bosses are sacked.
3. We also advise that MDA bosses stop trying too hard to catch the attention of Principal by hiring bloggers to report all your movements here and there, donating water or a few bags of rice. He knows such stunts are for his attention and in his second term he knows people too well to be hoodwinked.
4. Finally, don’t just fly away to America when you are sacked. Don’t create the impression that you can only live in Sierra Leone when you have political power in your hands. Please don’t tell us about visiting family or having a rest. There are nice resting places throughout this country and your families are free to come over and live with us.
OUR BANKS ARE BEHAVING BADLY WITH OUR MONEY
The last time we commented on this issue we refused to name and shame the bank that has been behaving badly with our money, in other words when we sign cheques to withdraw a certain amount of money, they give us wads of cash nicely wrapped in plastic but mostly short of what we asked for from our own account. We will still hold back on naming the bank but this time, we can authoritatively join those complaining about this unacceptable behavior and call on the Central Bank to ACT DECISIVELY to stop banks from stealing our savings. We are now working with our colleagues in other papers to shine a very bright light on this bad behavior.
It is one thing to dismiss persistent complaints from customers and a completely different thing to actually investigate and publicly punish staff found wanting, those giving the commercial banks a bad name. When the banks are obsessed with spinning and keeping their brand intact and satisfy their managers and shareholders at the expense of customers they should be prepared to receive the weak blows that people like us in the media are ready and willing to throw at this open cheating.
The commercial banks know that when they send monies that are short to the central banks they are fined like crazy so they are very careful but they take advantage of ordinary people that are paying for their services. We serve notice that we are at the very end of this cheating game now.
This idea that customers should count every note, including those bound and sealed in plastic by the banks before leaving their premises is something we will not even countenance because it is not practically possible. When people trust them with their savings and pay them for that, our commercial banks should play the game of honesty. They have no choice.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (30/08/23)
