KOTHOR JULDEH GETS THE LAST LAUGH
The good people of Sierra Leone spent last week reading sour comments from mainly opposition outlets about the humiliation of Kothor Juldeh at the Basharia Mosque in Freetown. Kothor had gone there for Juma prayers at the end of which, according to him, he was asked to address the other worshippers. This is nothing new in churches and mosques throughout the country. On this day however, however, a hard line group of Red Camp partisans shouted Kothor Juldeh down and called for their defeated 2018 presidential candidate who was also around to address them instead. We saw graphic pictures of how it all happened.
Many Sierra Leoneans were truly shocked at the unnecessary desecration of the house of God by people who really ought to know better. Now, the Muslim community has taken steps to assure Kothor Juldeh that they absolutely condemn what happened inside the Basharia Mosque. We commend them for that.
We believe that Kothor Juldeh carried himself very well on that day facing such unwarranted provocation and with that he preserved the dignity of his office and in the process convinced many Sierra Leoneans that he could be trusted to keep a steady head even when things get out of hands like what happened on that day. We note the following:
1. He did not defiantly stand there and order everybody to sit on the floor and listen to him like it happened in Kono not too long ago when that flip-flopping politician fell into a mess of his own making.
2. He did not order a wave of arrests and detentions or send his own supporters to storm the area and attack those who humiliated him.
3. He agreed to meet and talk with the leaders of the Muslim community and more specifically the elders of the Basharia Mosque. That has defused any tension that was building up around the country about that incident.
4. By this action, we expect no retaliatory action in other mosques that Red Camp politicians may visit in the near future. In fact we prayed for that defeated politician who was in that mosque and his party to play a part in cooling the tension but they were conspicuously missing in action. So much for opposition politics!
5. Those that were looking to create trouble out of this can now go home and have a rest. Kothor Juldeh is having the best laugh right now.
THE NEW HOSPITAL IS OPEN BUT THE DOORS ARE LOCKED
We joined all Sierra Leoneans recently to celebrate the opening of the newly-constructed Maternal and Child hospital on King Harman Road but now our euphoria is beginning to wane because weeks later the staff, equipment, files and patients are all still in that makeshift building about 200 meters away. What is really happening?
How could these people invite the president to formally open an important building like that only to now start pretending as if they are happy to stay in the small and damp building they call clinic.
We drive past the new building daily and we are scandalized that the doors are locked throughout the day, more than two weeks after the official opening of the facility by Principal. What is so difficult about moving files, equipment, personnel and patients away from the old building? There are many pregnant women and children waiting to receive medical help in the new building but the doors are locked.
Is anybody listening to us? Please, when you finally start work in that new building and we don’t know when that will be, don’t bring those old habits over – habits like being sloppy or collecting little things from patients. Those who go to that place are sick and need help. They are not rich people looking for a way to spend money. Please!
ROAD CONSTRUCTION WITH TEARS AT BROOKFIELDS
There is something desperately wrong with the manner and pace at which the construction company Gento Group has been doing the lower part of King Harman Road linking up with Main Motor Road. Our understanding was that the project ought to have been concluded in May but here we are in November and the job is far from complete. Is the SLRA supervising Gento Group or not?
Apart from the fact that what we have on the ground is far from our expectation as citizens – the real owners of the project – the sloppiness with which the job is being done is causing the worst traffic gridlock we’ve seen anywhere in the world. That major intersection is so crucial to west-bound rush hour traffic that Gento Group should consider hiring extra staff so that they can work throughout the night on a daily basis to deliver what we have paid for without causing us all the suffering twice a day.
We are complaining about Gento Group now, but the SLRA are the ones we should be pushing really hard. How can they allow this to happen? All the good people of this country want are first class roads, but the suffering is too much in that intersection. If Gento Group does not complete this job before Christmas they should think about some other line of business.
By all means we want our brothers to win big contracts and construct our roads and office blocks, but if this is their attitude to work then they need a proper reorientation.
PREMIER LEAGUE BOARD DOUBLE DUTCH: WHEN A REFEREE BECOMES A PLAYER
We respectfully ask that Member of Parliament who was recently invited to serve on the so-called Premier League Board to resign immediately because he is a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Sports which exercises oversight powers over sporting activities in this country. We do not question his credentials and suitability for the job but we absolutely believe his interests are in conflict with each other. It’s just like dragging somebody to court and you suddenly become the judge in the case.
The point is that we are not the only ones complaining and asking this MP to resign from the PLB. Many Sierra Leoneans can’t understand how the law maker convinced himself that he was in the clear to join the PLB. Any other MP outside the parliamentary oversight committee for sports should be fine but as a member of that committee even those who nominated him for the PLB job ought to have known that there is a definite clash of interests. The MP must resign now from the PLB or if the PLB position is so juicy that he would love to remain there come what may, he should send a letter to the Speaker of Parliament to announce his resignation from the oversight committee. We will accept that in the interest of fair play.
Truth be told, we have a big problem with the needless sacking of the most successful Premier League Board in this country ever. We hold our ground on the point that Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai was sacked because of rumors making the rounds that he is having exploratory meetings with the aim of running for the presidency of SLFA. That’s all!
© 2019 Politico Online
