INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY - A DAY OF MANY QUESTIONS
De Pa, De Mammy and their many guests joined hundreds of people at Miatta Conference Centre for the final events of International Women's Day - MARCH 8. We tried very hard to sneak into the dinner at the lodge on the 7th but the police officers kicked us out. At least one of them complained about how too many people at the Lodge would impact their share of the food. "We are not interested in the food. We are Journalists and all we want is information, we shouted". The OSD man replied: "I don't want to hear about Journalists, all we want is the food". Some of our colleagues joined up at Miatta conference centre to cover the rest of the program.
The rest of the staff at Politico went to meet the uneducated and deprived women of Mama Salone living in shanty dwellings, fighting for jerry cans of untreated well water and dying of poverty and disease. The women at Miatta had bottled water with De Pa's face plastered on it with huge head ties like the Nigerian Cash Madams of the 1970s.
Our humble women at Mabela, Kroo Bay, Mo'Wharf and Mayeba treated us extremely well. Some of them told us they knew something about International Women's Day but they were more concerned with their daily survival and hated too many holidays. We've had many holidays lately and we have a few more coming in March and April.
De Pa And the March 8 Declaration...
When De Pa rose to speak, he declared that as from now on, March 8 will be observed as a public holiday in Sierra Leone. At that very moment we watched Cheri Blair's face light up. She envied Sierra Leone's brand of democracy. We could sense that she hoped her husband had such powers in their days at Downing Street.
If Tony Blair wanted to add another Bank Holiday Monday, the consultations and debate alone would have lasted the life of a whole parliament – the issue could even decide an election. The people of the UK would have asked the following questions:
- Are we now living in a semi-dictatorship?
- Is our Prime Minister now the new Caesar Augustus?
- Is this not just too patronising of women?
- Is this not a populist propaganda ploy that ignores the real needs of the deprived women?
ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS of MARCH 8 HOLIDAY
We don't know the budget for all March 8 programmes and we don't expect to be told the truth anyway. But given that the women we went to see, who are in the majority, live a subsistence life, what is the justification for such an elaborate project, coming just after SECOND INAUGURATION and SOJA DAY? In fact the Miatta Conference Hall programme was too long, boring and badly organised. Many of those who spoke were not even on the programme.
DIANA QUEEN OF KONOLAND RIDES INTO HER KINGDON
Palm Sunday arrived early in Konoland last week when Queen Diana entered the town in her full majesty. Sources on the ground told us that she had more than three hundred vehicles of all descriptions on her convoy, the crowd was huge - most came from areas outside her Kingdom and they included 80 traditional politicians called chiefs, ministers of state and tens of thousands of young people looking for a day out with lots of food and booze. The sleepy town of Koidu came alive.
Queen Diana returned to her Kingdom to tell her people how she was able to conquer the far away land of Freetown and how that has brought honour and pride to her kingdom.
We have since heard many stories about why she had to drive to the dusty town of Koidu in such pomp and pageantry just because she was made a minister. The day our people begin to see through such cynical manipulation of their goodwill that's the day they will realise that ministerial appointments are not done primarily for geopolitical reasons.
We have this funny situation now where every newly appointed minister organises a road show to go to his home district, proclaiming victory for the district because of their appointment. Honestly, we live in a strange country. We are waiting for Oluniyi Blackout to organise his own road show between PZ and Lumley. All must turn up early as Mr Blackout will want to finish before 6 pm. He doesn't want the whole programme to run into the night because there is no light. It will become a free-for-all tiff tiff affair.
Just to let the Kono Queen know that we fully understand the not-so-latent political message of the triumphant entry into the Kingdom. In other words, we know the angle she is coming from.
The alliances are forming and the vultures are circling. There are exciting times ahead for the neutrals in Mama Salone politics.
“OPONJO UNDERGROUND” FLEES HIS OWN HOLE. TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY?
When did Oponjo Underground become something of a red rag to a bull? Every time he peeps out of his hole at the SLPP headquarters his friends charge at him. Last week he had Munu's boys to bless. He was whisked away through a side road while Osuofia Boys waited outside to sing their chorus of the last few weeks - tiffy tiffy!
Prior to the elections of last November, many articles were published about the serious personality problems between Oponjo Underground and Osuofia and on every occasion, they told us such articles were "the figment of our imagination". Well, it seems as if in the last three months or so we have fallen into a coma-like sleep and all that happened at SLPP headquarters was part of our dream.
After all the events of the last few weeks, we now conclude that Sierra Leone's main opposition party is being ruined by men with large egos who have some idle hands to manipulate to cause violence for any foolish reason.
We predict that next time we fall asleep in this way, we will wake up to find both men will be out of the prominent positions they now hold in the SLPP. May be that will help them return to the main agenda item on an opposition party's work schedule - holding the government to account and providing alternative solutions to the myriad of problems confronting a country.
E.I.T.I. OYEH! MINES MINISTER STUTTERS AND STAMMERS - BUT WHO SUSPENDED SALONE?
We've been waiting for a long time for the government to tell us how Sierra Leone came to be suspended from the EITI process. When we qualified for the Millennium Challenge Corporation support, government spin doctors ran with it and were all over the place singing thy praise O De Pa. Where are they now?
Like some extractive industry watchdogs, we rest the blame squarely on the Minister of Finance, who, as State House Chief of Staff was in charge of seeing the country through the EITI process. He hasn't told us a word on the issue. That's not the way people at Commonwealth Secretariat behave. This man must treat us as serious people and with respect.
When we found some people from EITI secretariat in the provinces in the last few days enjoying themselves under the guise of "reconciling our books", we saw raw per diem written all over their faces.
The closest we have come to getting a statement from somebody who bears some political responsibility for the mess was when the aloof minister of Mineral Resources, the APC's POLITICAL ENFORCER, decided to address the issue as he launched the National Minerals Agency. But the minister just couldn't get his tongue round to calling the letters “E.I.T.I.” or maybe he did not even know what they mean. “E.T” he tried. “E.T.I” he struggled. “E” he stuttered and stammer and stumbled and gave up. He said Kan Kan Kan would help him out.
We sat in a little corner thinking: isn't this the first time this man is hearing about EITI?
In his usual self, Kan Kan Kan then tried to spin his way out of the suspension. Hahaha. But he knows that's almost impossible. We have the documentation and we intend to share it with the people.
