Oh Minister of Defence: A COLOSSAL ERROR OF JUDGEMENT.
We unreservedly condemn the action of the ex-soldiers who attacked defence minister Pallo Conteh the other day at the gates of his office in central Freetown. It was a truly shameful affair. But this incident presents us with an opportunity to raise a few issues yet again.
Every Sierra Leonean who’s listened to any radio station over the last year or so must have heard about the plight of these former soldiers and their attempts to get the government to pay them for their services to Mama Salone. Sierra Leone is a poor country, we know, but this thing could have been handled in a better way. There’s been too much confusion over the whole issue. From what we now know, even the paperwork is not complete as we write.
We also can’t understand what the minister was thinking when he put his life on the line by standing in the middle of almost three dozen mentally imbalance (mad) men (declared so by Dr. Nahim). Men, not only mad but also hungry, angry and feeling cheated. We can’t accept any explanation to justify that colossal error of judgement. How can you even start rationalizing with people like these in that atmosphere?
What happened to the minister was a shame indeed but the real shame will visit us as a nation when we put mad men on trial because of that incident. The spectacle of eight mad men in the dock will be too much for most people to take and Attorney General Frank Kargbo should discontinue any action along that line. How do you try people you have yourself declared mentally retarded???!!! Come one. This is common sense. But we know common sense is not common. By the way that sprint by the defence minister in escaping the ex-servicemen could have sent a chill down the spine of Usain Bolt we thought.
FROM WHICH SUB-REGION DID NEC GET THOSE FIGURES?
Once again Christiana has failed to convince the nation about the accuracy of her figures this time relating to nomination fees for people wishing to put themselves forward for elective office in November. When she disenfranchised tens of thousands of ordinary Sierra Leoneans in 2007, she found some clay-legged and sanctimoniously hypocritical excuse to justify her action. She then travelled to an elections meeting in Ghana feeling very proud only for her colleagues to express shock at her blatant disregard for the people’s votes.
Now Christiana has come up with some more figures but this time basing them on studies from “the sub-region.” In this internet age, it was easy for us to send a quick e-mail around West Africa to put her figures to the test. It turned out that once again, Christiana failed to say the truth to the nation.
We could have said she lied but age means a lot to us in Africa and most importantly perhaps, Christiana once subscribed to the oath of the Catholic Order of Saint Joseph’s Sisters of Cluny. Obviously she quit many years ago but we think she should be spared a few kicks just because of that previous commitment to do justice to mankind.
We are now waiting for the MPs to kill themselves. Opposition MPs should be very careful with those in the ruling party because we have already heard tacit support for the fees from their party leaders. We might have what Joe Hills calls “hand a bowl, knife a throat” situation on Tower Hill.
WHEN WILL LUNGI AIRPORT TRULY CHANGE?
Ask anybody in government including De Pa about the APC’s achievement in government since 2007, they will surely tell you about physical improvements to the Lungi Airport. And to be honest, some movements have taken place at the airport. The trouble is, just scratch the surface of this spruced-up infrastructure a bit and you will see the extent to which things have largely remained the same or have moved towards the negative.
Today ordinary passengers are paying more than their counterparts in the sub-region. And Christiana Thorpe can prove us wrong by checking. The queue of “facilitators” – we call them beggars – is growing longer and longer. They are very aggressive, for merely touching your bag; they go after you for money. This happens right under the noses of the so-called authorities and they don’t seem to care. The boys stray into the airport daily to feast on passengers who are left completely unprotected despite paying that huge security charge. Security of the passengers and their luggage is more important than arresting some Osama protégé or drug traffickers from Venezuela.
Airport authority bosses are sitting in Freetown drinking coffee and their passengers are at the mercy of thieves. We have been to more than a dozen other airports recently, ours compares only to Guinea Bissau’s in this respect.
BANKERS STANDING OUTSIDE CHURCHES FOR OFFERINGS
When new banks came to Sierra Leone to do business about four years ago, we were happy that at last their aggressive business tactics would chase our traditional banks out of their complacency and laziness. To some extent they succeeded even though unnecessarily long queues are still in place at Commercial Bank, Siaka Stevens Street and ECOBANK headquarters refuse to accept that they have to find a better way of serving their customers efficiently.
Now imagine this, you go for prayers at one of these instant salvation churches and as usual, the ever energetic preacher, using a combination of guile, threats of brimstone and fire for those who cheat God with their dues and the promise of paradise on earth, including a lucrative job, a beautiful wife or husband and a US visa without interviews, collect millions as offering. Then towards the end of the prayer session, a vehicle pulls up with some smartly-dressed ladies and armed OSD officers in row to collect the money to take to their bank on a Sunday. This is aggressive banking gone crazy. When will they start collecting gate fees at Paul Kamara’s National Stadium? How about collecting cash at the many cinema houses in Freetown when the English Premier League starts in the next week or so?
The only advantage in this is that in the event of an inquiry church members will access bank records but the monies are not secure even in the hands of banks. The church elders will still spend it all. Or the banks will collapse. All they have to do is conduct prayers everyday of the week and more money will come flowing in. They tell the people “pray without ceasing.” Let the good times roll, friends.
WINSTANLEY AND THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE CREOLE
It was good to hear former Mayor of Freetown, Winstanley Bankole Johnson on radio again after many years in the political wilderness. It was clear that the man who was thrown out of office by his own party was basically trying to revive his political career.
His facade was that the Creole people of the Western Area of Freetown were planning to fight back after many years of domination by Country People. Brother Winstanley, you really didn’t need to do that. Simply ask for another chance. In fact we still don’t understand why you were forced out of office. We blame your party, the APC for landing us in the kind of mess we find ourselves in today – Almost all senior staff including your successor are waiting for the verdict in their trial for corruption and general abuse of office and above all, look at Freetown and tell us if this is what we deserve. Let’s not hide it, the verdict is not in doubt at all – we mean the verdict in the court and the political verdict on November 17 as it relates to the FCC. All vestiges of Herbert George-Williams will be swept away. We are no fools.
Brother Winstanley when you suggested on radio that your tribesmen were the “salt” of political governance in Sierra Leone, we were stunned. We all harbour petty prejudices about each other but to have displayed yours on radio, was politically incorrect.
Have a little more respect for other people’s humanity and intellect and it shall be well with you. Alleluyah?
PMDC Newspaper – The Most High, the Very Reverend Dr. DENNIS SANDY
The Weekly edition of the mouthpiece of the PMDC, Positive Change, was out last week and it was interesting to read what The Dalai Lama’s party was saying about national issues. In particular there was an article from the sacked social welfare minister Dennis Sandy (Phd.) titled The March Towards a “New Paradigm for Sierra Leone’s Development – The paradigm of “Newness.” What? Anyway in truly academic fashion, we quote:
“Talk to anybody about the causes of our underdevelopment and the common usual responses will follow, mismanagement of the country’s natural resources, corruption, no strong sense of unity manifested by the strong degree of tribalism, nepotism, sycophancy...the blame lies squarely on ...the APC and SLPP. For 51 years, we really have nothing serious and sustainable to point at in terms of development...there is no sector in the economy in which a pass mark of at least 50% should be given in terms of welfare improvement of the people. Agriculture 21%, Health 16%, Clean water supply 12%, Good roads 23%, education 24% Electricity 22%.”
ONE WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN POLITICS. DENNIS SANDY (Phd.) LEGO WE BO!
