THE RISING COST PROTECTING BRITISH MPs FROM THEIR OWN PEOPLE
Now we are beginning to learn that it’s not as rosy across the wide ocean as some here have encouraged themselves to believe. One of the hot topics in the land of our colonial masters is the safety of the members of the great HOUSE of COMMONS, the mother of all parliaments. The whole world looks up to that house to see democracy at work – that, of course includes the protection MPs enjoy, speaking freely in that big house as they represent the views of their constituents. Recent events however, have given many people around the world cause to, as they say, pause for thought.
There’s news out of the Mother Country that His Majesty’s government is to spend THIRTY-ONE MILLION pounds to protect MPs against their constituents in certain troubled communities.
We checked with the BBC to find out what this was all about. We kept in mind the long running tension between Israel and Gaza, particularly the escalation that occurred after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Here’s what we found on the BBC website:
1. MP Tobias Ellwood - targeted by pro-Palestinian members of the British public
2. Justice Minister Mike Freer is not running again after death threats and arson attack on his constituency office
3. Preet Gill, Labour MP said death threats had become "a norm" in her job,
4. Conservative MP Theo Clarke said she carried a panic button directly linked to the police "at all times".
5. MP Jo Stevens was daubed in red paint and plastered in posters accusing her of having "blood" on her hands after she abstained in a vote on a ceasefire.
Also in the background are the 2016 murder of MP Jo Cox and the 2021 murder of Sir David Amess.
What’s really going on?
In Sierra Leone, MPs don’t get attacked and killed in this way. They are totally free to move around without any security operation because. THIRTY ONE MILLION POUNDS will significantly boost those FIVE things especially after our visit to China. Anyway!
1. Our MPs don’t get to deal with global ideological and security challenges like the one between Israel and Palestine over Gaza – really big issues that divide world opinion. Just think about what happened recently in front of the embassy of Israel in America.
2. In general people don’t pay much attention to what goes on in our parliament. It is only when there are mass sackings or business people start a fight over contracts - like the issue between Leone Rock and Arise IIP over the management of the port and rail facility or indeed a proposal to increase tollgate charges become a political football that parliament suddenly comes alive.
3. Even at that point the media have to be sufficiently interested and it takes certain things to get the media interested. We are all Sierra Leoneans.
4. Many MPs themselves stay out of their constituencies because they are afraid of the multitude that turn up not to argue about ideology but to ask for school fees for their children, medical bills and jobs. Some MPs will not go to see their people until the eve of the 2028 elections.
5. Frankly, many Sierra Leoneans just don’t think our parliament can change anything because they always concentrate on their own welfare. So the guys are safe. Half of this parliament would be gone again in 2028.
TRYING TO END THE KUSH MENACE WITH VIOLENCE
There’s very little or no sympathy for KUSH addicts in Sierra Leone. Everybody is talking about the danger facing a good percentage of the young people in this country that are now addicted to KUSH. Social media is awash with pictures of young people messing about in remote communities and street corners in major cities throughout the country. This is not looking good at all. Public anger against KUSH has reached boiling point and it’s becoming dangerous. The authorities have to do more than issuing press releases, going into communities for photo opportunities and making endless appearances on radio to talk and talk.
We have seen pictures of community people in depressed areas of Freetown physically attacking KUSH addicts, blaming them for stealing from community facilities like schools. In the deep south of the country, a place called Sulima, we saw an angry group of youths tearing down shacks allegedly belonging to dealers in KUSH.
They accuse them of destroying the young people in the place and the best way to end the menace is to destroy their joints and chase them out of Sulima. We do not subscribe to any form of violence to solve problems. Certainly, dealing with KUSH requires an approach more organized and strategic than burning down shacks and attacking people.
We are not in charge of this fight against KUSH and other such drugs so it is the duty of NDLEA to lead on this. We are ordinary citizens concerned about KUSH destroying our next generation. Anyway, here’s what we think should happen immediately:
1. We need a national conference on KUSH and other narcotic drugs. Local and international actors should all come together so we get to grips with the challenge and plan a way ahead. Government should provide the cash.
2. We want to see real community people in that conference including groups and individuals working to rehabilitate addicts. We are tired with professional workshop goers that are after money
3. Rogue members of the security forces facilitating the trade should be sacked without delay. We may even require them to take random tests for certain drugs. Just like the testing regime that athletes are put through.
4. After all the talking and planning the necessary money should be provided to roll out programs aimed at dealing with the problem. This campaign should be monitored for results. We are not amused by sporadic visits to small communities for the purpose of social media reporting.
IF THIS IS NOT A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY, THEN WHAT IS IT?
We took the pictures here about a week ago. We checked again in the last 48 hours and the government vehicles you see here are still parked in a corner inside Youyi building to the left of the entrance to Miatta Conference Center. Our sources around told us those vehicles belong to the Environmental Protection Agency and have been abandoned there for more than a year. What’s really going on?
If these vehicles are beyond repairs, which we doubt very much, why can’t EPA dispose of them in the normal way? We can’t even begin to imagine what criminals have to what was left in those vehicles at the time they were pushed to that corner. We will stop so far for now and wait for another week or so to see if the concerns of the good people of Sierra Leone expressed here on their behalf will be ignored. As we say in journalism – WATCH THIS SPACE!
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