FREETOWN’S ROADS – WHY ARE THEY SO ROUGH?
We don’t know what the government plans for our roads because as things stand even the most enthusiastic supporter of this government should be absolutely appalled at the condition of many of our roads in Freetown. Just so that we are not called alarmists, here are examples of what we are talking about: The whole of Circular Road especially Model junction area where there is a huge crater that is widening daily, Kroo Town Road, West Street is finished, Ascension Town road leading into Syke Street, Jomo Kenyatta Road, Aberdeen Road, the main road out of Freetown, particularly around Calaba town and many more. How can minister Petito convince anybody he is on top of his job? We have not mentioned what is happening outside Freetown because it’s worse especially the road leading to KONO, home of the Vice President.
At every turn you find half a dozen boys filling up potholes and harassing motorists for money. Boy! They can be pretty aggressive. The other day they caused a huge traffic pileup near Allen Town to the surprise of many. The trouble is we pay tax to the road fund for every litre we buy and once we get on the worse roads in Freetown because we have no choice, we are confronted by young people asking for money, with no regard for the traffic chaos they cause and they operate under the noses of the Sierra Leone Police.
We understand the SLRA‘s hands have been tied to their backs and the Road Fund Board is sitting on billions and nobody understands what they are doing. Creating institutions like the Road Fund Board is one thing but allowing them to be as arrogant and aloof as this Road Fund Board is totally unacceptable.
ROKEL BANK ARMED ROBBERY CASE: HOW FAR?
We haven’t heard anything more about the highway robbery incident which took place on the road between the northern towns of Makeni and Kabala. Two councillors from the ruling All People’s Congress and some military officers were neck-deep in the robbery. Rokel Commercial Bank was the institution on target and by all accounts that was a rude wake-up call to this country that such things can happen. Now we’ve been waiting for the police to bring charges against all those involved including those two Councillors but to no avail.
That incident happened in a lonely corner of northern Sierra Leone but we should be very careful not to create the impression that as long as politicians from the ruling party are involved in crimes even as serious as serious as armed robbery, even low-life ones like those two in Makeni, the police will be unable to prosecute. How many other robberies have they coordinated in the Makeni area? Don’t tell me they came together just to attack that Rokel Commercial Bank vehicle. This was a well-organised gang, committing armed robbery in the area and once again the police failed to track them down and put them out of action. Let the police tell us what is happening with the case.
TRANSPORT MINISTER IN CALYPSO WEDDING
Confirmed reports reaching us from the Calypso land indicate that Minister of Transport Vandi Chidi Minah recently tied the knot in a simple ceremony in Port of Spain. Minah’s wife is from Trinidad and the couple first met at the UN when they both worked there. Minah’s best man at the wedding included his partner in crime, former ACC boss Abdul Tejan-Cole who decided to leave his job at the wrong time only to settle in Senegal and then constantly travel to New York, South Africa, Japan, Comoros Island and many nondescript locations.. Only he knows why he left because he could still have been in the job and travel extensively. What does he think IB Kargbo is doing every day?
Anyway...congratulations Mr Minister even though you didn’t invite us to the wedding and we were very disappointed because we thought we were friends. We would have attended at our own expense. Yes, it costs thousands of US dollars to get to Trinidad and hotels are very expensive, in fact everything is very expensive on the Island in the sun but we could have sorted ourselves out nicely in typical Salone man style.
We wouldn’t have reported on this wedding if ordinary people were involved but Ngor Vandi is not an ordinary man. He is a minister. We hope some public money wasn’t put into this wedding. Was it MIGHTY SPARROW who performed your dance piece? Politico is everywhere man. Did you bring us some coconuts? This is the first time in nearly a year that we’ve heard about this minister doing anything. While you were having your time in the sun, a vessel flying the Sierra Leone flag was arrested in Lebanon trying to deliver arms and ammunition to embattled Syrian leader, Bashar Al-Assad. That’s serious business eh?
WHERE IS BISHOP ARUNA? WHAT NOW MAKENI DIOCESE?
The so-called Laity Council in the Makeni Diocese has succeeded in keeping Bishop Aruna out of the diocese. This country should keep in mind that Father John D. Tarawallie and his so-called Laity Council have set a very bright red example that people will invoke in our life time. No matter what arguments they make, we know the real issue behind their action. The Catholic church has come through much more serious challenges than this small time thing in Father Tarawallie’s small world where local political and other primordial considerations are more important than the true meaning of life itself!
Bishop Aruna can spend his time drinking coffee at Santano House and making guest appearances at pulpits in Freetown and Bo while waiting for the Vatican to deploy him to Cambodia or some other place where the people know why the Catholic Church is called the universal church. We are coming to the day when the so-called Laity Council of Makeni Diocese will threaten to leave the faith altogether if Father Tarawallie is not made Pope.
WUSUM STARS FOOTBALL TEAM RELEGATED
Makeni town is a changed place. It started just before De Pa came to power and the pace of change has accelerated beyond recognition since 2007. Makeni has decent but very expensive hotels. Mining companies are creating few jobs and cash is flowing. Electricity from the national grid is in town. Roads are being constructed. The stadium has a great artificial turf that makes playing football a nice experience and visitor numbers are going up all the time. So look at it from any angle, the people of Makeni have every reason to smile.
But their football team is a major disappointment. They have just been relegated from the Sierra Leone Premier League after disastrous performances and sometimes outright rudeness on and off the field. They abandoned at least one match and failed to show up for two others. They had some disciplinary problems too – players were too often on strike as wages went unpaid, team management changed like traffic lights, just the perfect recipe for a team praying to be relegated. A lot of Makeni people are bitterly disappointed that Wusum Stars can be thrown out of the SPL in this way and Alie Commoner can do nothing about it. Sorry guys your team is not good enough.
CELLOU DALLEN DIALLO IN SALONE
Who was this Guinean politician visiting in Sierra Leone in the last few days? Mohamed Bangura claims Diallo came to see him but we have since heard that Bangura was doing a kind of hatchet man’s job on behalf of De Pa. We know Diallo has a lot of influence among his countrymen who can vote in Sierra Leone but it would be a political disaster for De Pa to receive Diallo in any capacity because that would anger his ‘friend’, President Alpha Conde. He could well have brought the guy here using Bangura for him to see Fullah community leaders and pass on the message – OPERATION NO RUN-OFF 2012. Interesting!
This could all be journalistic fantasy or love for conspiracy theories. But we have been watching the local scene for a long time and we have a good idea how our politicians behave. Nasio says ‘the truth will reveal and every eye shall see.’
NEW NEC BUILDING IS LEAKING BADLY
We know you will be shocked and surprised by what we are about to report here. The new NEC Building that we paid for is leaking badly. In some parts, refugee tarpaulins have been laid out to hold the rain from tampering with voting materials. LOL. What the hell is this? We don’t know which company constructed that building but we expect the under-performing minister Petito to call them in and tell them that such rubbish should stop immediately. We have paid huge money for that building and in less than two years, it’s leaking. By the time we reach August, Christiana and her staff will be floating in water and debris.
The people will not accept leaks of any kind in that building.
As for Electricity House, it is leaking so badly that water is being collected in containers inside parts of the building. Zubairu Kalokoh concentrates on finding his ‘enemies’ instead of taking care of his own property. In fact, like the Commercial Bank building, Electricity House is in need of urgent refurbishing. These two buildings are in the heart of our city, for goodness sakes. Commercial Bank gives out those bogus loans to shadowy characters while their building remains in such a messy state. They have more money than sense.
De Pa INSPECTS NEW FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING
We congratulate De Pa for visiting the new foreign ministry building recently. With SLBC cameras following the road show, as always, this was a great spectacle only a few months to a tough fight for his job in the shape of a presidential election.
To save De Pa from this constant accusation that he is latching on to every opportunity to be on camera for political reasons and is visiting select areas of the city, we would like to suggest a few more areas he must visit to shame his critics.
- SLBC – De Pa will find out that the wall we see at the entrance is a real facade covering something because once inside, you discover that the back of the building is wide open – no wall. And we have document approving the budget for that project. De Pa will also meet many disgruntled workers who depend on him for their salaries. Public Service Broadcasting, Sierra Leone style.
- De Pa should also visit 8th floor, Youyi building. Just to warn him, the lifts are down and there is no oxygen at Connaught building. The other day we removed our patient from so-called intensive care because of that. Also at Youyi, there are too many bola bola people hanging around.
- Jail yard – It’s overflowing with humanity and De Pa must see this.
ALPHA KANU’S NEW POLITICAL PARTY
Today we return to Alpha Kanu’s new political party. We want to continue putting forward our ideas of what Sierra Leone will look like with that party- THE SLIEERA LEONE PEOPLE’S CONGRESS in office. Here we go:
- Fourah Bay Community will never disappoint the ruling party
- The fencing of all cemeteries will be completed and those idle ‘friends’ of the dead who are desecrating the grave yards will be thrown out
- Garbage disposal will be well organised
- Awoko Sesay will take no political orders from State House when he auctions off unclaimed property at the quay.
- Christian Thorpe with her Didier Drogba type salary will be sacked immediately for incompetence and arrogance and her PhD thing will be withdrawn without notice.
- 6. Karefa Kargbo’s name will be mentioned for once as a possible target for the much-talked about inquest along with Maada Bio. Inquest location, SHANGRI LA.
To be continued.
