DE PA MEETS THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD
We still have to find out if De Pa's meeting with Obama will last for more than one hour. It will nevertheless be a perfect photo op. US presidents don't spend too much time talking because they have the whole world to look over. For example, they have to study the consequences of a foolish coup in Central Africa Republic; the refusal to hold democratic elections in Guinea; The return of military dictator Musharaf to Pakistan; the release of an unashamedly corrupt State Governor in Nigeria; Bashaar Al- Assad's killing fields in Syria; the crazy baby president of North Korea and all the climate change conundrum.
Because of this very busy schedule he will probably only raise the following very pressing issues with De Pa.
Obama - Welcome to America. You know I am an extremely busy man so here's what I want you to go back and do in tiny Sierra Leone. I have heard the cries of your people, not from my ambassador (he was recently battered by your closest friends) but from the people themselves. Now go back to Sierra Leone and do the following:
a. Fight corruption in a much more serious and sustained manner. Eliminate the Sacred Cow syndrome that is taking hold in your country – suspending some while being investigated and allowing others to continue unperturbed.
b. Publicly declare your assets as a way of helping the people compare what you have today to what you had in 2007.
My officials will have a word with you later on the details with specific examples.
De Pa - Your will be done, Sir. But before those details can we please have more pictures. Some members of my delegation would like to have photos with you. It is for our local audience.
End of White House Meeting and time for photos that do not reflect the reality of the meetings - it's a funny old world eh?
PARLIAMENT ALLOCATES MONEY TO MDAS: BUT WHERE IS IT?
Several ministries, departments and agencies of government have had their annual budgetary allocations cleared by the appropriate parliamentary committees for the current financial year. The process itself has been long, repetitive and boring. We saw hours of it on TV yesterday. With the TV camera fixed on one MP for hours, we have to commend the guy for that Oscar-winning performance. We sat there and watched only because we wanted to be able to make this comment but we can't understand how SLBC came to the conclusion that in these times in Sierra Leone people will watch this brand of daytime TV instead of looking for money to feed their families.
The real issue here is: what's the point of allocating so much money to these MDAS when in the end they receive just half. Even as we write many MDAs have not received any money for the first quarter which has ended. It's a miracle that workers have still not been sent home and some services, however shambolic, are still being provided.
When somebody who knows what the issues truly are told us that we are using 2011 revenue to fund 2012 budget the other day, we were shocked and confused. Now the true picture is coming into view. Budgetary Allocation? yes! but where is the money?
OPONJO UNDERGROUND AND OSUOFIA WILL NEVER MEET
Once again the elders in the main opposition SLPP have buried their heads in the sand. They know the problems plaguing their party but they are refusing to use the correct drugs prescribed by the people of Sierra Leone as medication. When they have attempted to use it, they have not administered the full dose. That's why they easily relapse.
Here's what the people prescribed based on the diagnosis that a house divided against itself over petty jealousies and bloated egos cannot contain the leaders of this land that we love: Remove both Oponjo Underground and Osuofia from their leadership positions now until they are able to win a fresh mandate whenever you decide to face your foot soldiers in a convention; organise a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the SLPP for people to clear their chests and then critically review the two books written by Kabbah and Berewa and come out with a position statement on the key issues in them. Finally, stop taking people for granted and start doing the job for which 42 of you were sent to parliament.
WHEN WILL BAYUKU CONTEH START WORK IN HIS NEW OFFICE?
On the eve of the last elections, he looked like a huge political corpse waiting to be buried. Bayuku suffered a humiliating rejection at the hands of his own people and we are not sure that he's fully recovered from that even now.
Bayuku is now the Minister of Tourism but he is yet to spend a day at his desk. The point is there is no furniture in the place. We hear that a Mermaid took them away with a message telling Bayuku to buy his own. Well, well, well, we can't find our way through this fog. It's almost as if we're not in the real world.
Meanwhile Bayuku has gone off to Koinadugu to be received by thousands of his supporters. It probably was a good time to tell those who rejoiced at his brief downfall that Bayuku was a fighter more skilful than Amalinze the Cat.
The rest of us are very angry with the triumphalism that comes with people being appointed to such positions. Many of our ministers have either done this or are planning to do so soon. Even the guy from Commonwealth organised a road show when he became Chief of Staff. Sorry folks, this is just not right. Being appointed minister is a sacred responsibility to be discharged with humility and respect. Please stop organising carnivals for every little thing.
IS DEFENCE MINISTER PALLO CONTEH A SOLDIER?
When people like Pallo Conteh violate the law, Munu turns a blind eye. The defence minister fled this country as an army Major in 1992 in the wake of the coup that up-rooted his woefully inept benefactor JS Momoh who rapidly promoted him through the ranks of the then SLA. He abandoned his vow to defend this country and fled to the UK and USA. He's been defence minister since 2007 and is more often than not seen in military camouflage uniforms. No police officer has ever challenged him.
Radio stations and newspapers have been shouting against this since 2007 but Pallo is above the law and even De Pa appears powerless against the most potent symbol of EKUTAY political strength in the APC power infrastructure.
You should see how Munu's boys will behave if a former soldier who is not as "blessed" as Pallo is seen in military uniform even within the walls of his home. They will accuse him of organising armed robbery and all that. Let's not even talk about what will happen to a civilian caught wearing anything that looks like military uniforms. We are being reminded everyday that on this Animal Farm, some animals are more equal than others.
SLBC: COMPULSORY RETIREMENTS AND CONSPIRACY
The drama goes on at the SLBC and things have well and truly fallen apart. We hear that ten members of staff who’ve been at SLBS/C since the week Pedro Da Cintra left our shores have been told to go home, rest and collect NASSIT money every four weeks. But they are refusing to go claiming the SLBC Act was violated in arriving at that decision. The public has been crying about grievous violation of that act by these same people for years and they’ve always ignored us. Now they want to seek protection from the act. No way!
Imagine the Deputy DG, the retired primary school teacher who woke up one morning and saw himself in the office of the deputy director of broadcasting. Management thinks he’s been pretending for too long. We hear that when he received his letter, he rushed into the office of his boss and accused him of plotting to sack him. “I will fight back”, he is reported to have shouted. He shouldn’t have been there pretending to be deputy DG in the first place but we know how he got there. Even the DG who made a not-too-convincing statement on the works of the late Chinua Achebe has no place at SLBC. We really can’t wait another 24 hours.
It’s been a catalogue of unmitigated disasters at SLBC since these two square pegs were forced into the round hole of broadcast management in Sierra Leone. In total there are about nine managers on a monthly pay of sixteen million leones and the six Koinadugu Sacred Cows who get one million, five hundred thousand leones. The rest of mankind collect one million and below.
The wage differentials are disgraceful and we see the consequence of that on our TV.
By the way we have just been intimated that the Deputy DG has just sworn an affidavit to justify the false claim that is 55. Mind you this is a man who retired many years ago in the civil service where retirement age was 55. That was over five years ago. We will investigate to know the JP who issued that affidavit.
