POWER SHIFTS FROM THE BULLET OF THE GREEN CAMP
That BULLET was going to be stripped of his post as Leader of the GREEN CAMP was the worst kept secret anywhere in the world in the buildup to their mini convention in Freetown. He may not have said it in public but BULLET himself knew his fate was sealed the moment the delegates arrived.
The reality now facing BULLET is that his position as Chairman is largely administrative and he will have to take instructions from the party leader, THE PRINCIPAL – that is IF he survives as Chairman. In the last 48 hours the political fortune of BULLET has suffered a devastating left upper cut. He may not have been knocked out but surely he is now severely wounded and he hangs on the political ropes praying for a kind referee to end the fight.
So what’s really going on in the Green Camp? How will BULLET and his friends respond? These are really interesting times in the Green Camp. We may not have witnessed the final act in this political drama. Definitely not!
From our little corner we’ve been trying to find out how we got to this stage where the Chairman and Leader who took the party to victory is now hanging on by his finger nails. Here we go:
1. There is nothing permanent about any position we find ourselves on planet Earth. We must always prepare for the day we are thrown out by the very people who put us in those positions or the day we die. The BULLET ought to know this.
2. Getting power is one thing, holding on to that power is another. The worst thing to do when one attains power is to be arrogant about it and to begin to consider oneself a god.
3. The belief that power is about making money, money and more money is delusional. Never create enemies all around you because of power and wealth.
4. Our inside sources tell us the whole party had to endure significant blows in the days leading up to the last elections on many crucial issues particularly the award of party symbols. They say consensus was thrown out of the window and BULLET was running a lone-wolf show. No man can go it alone.
5. It is very wrong to try to fatten the pig on the market day. The BULLET realized this too late. Never say it will not happen.
THIS IS ANTI-CORRRUPTION DAY: LET US SHINE THE LIGHT ON THE THIEVES
As we observe Anti-Corruption Day in Sierra Leone today, we have another opportunity to tell the whole world again that in the Land that we love we are determined to defeat corruption in all its forms. Well, this may look like empty words to the cynics but we have very good reasons to be hopeful. Those who believe in stealing public funds directly from the coffers of the government or through some other abuse of office have recently been given very good reasons to believe their days are numbered by the powerful Afro Boy and his team. On that front, things can only get better.
For us, this day is reserved to publicly shame thieves and assure them of our commitment to their destruction. We should be unambiguous about this.
While we appreciate Afro Boy and his Scorpions for continuing their drive against the big guys in our public service we want to encourage them not to forget what we might consider small scale corruption particularly in areas where ordinary people go for social services. For example, we encourage the Scorpions to attempt to buy tickets from the main bus terminal for a journey to the provinces. They will come up against naked corruption. The criminals have no shame and couldn’t care less about how much pain they cause the ordinary people.
Let the Scorpions visit certain health facilities around Freetown and see how some health workers are busy taking advantage of the sick. So yes, we need the big guys but we should never forget that little drops of water in the shape of user fees are slowly creating a mighty ocean of corruption in our backyard.
ROADS AUTHORITY ABANDONS FOURAH BAY COLLEGE ROAD
Why the Sierra Leone Roads Authority decided to abandon the road to Fourah Bay College the way they have is something nobody understands. And we warn them not to even attempt to explain their action because we will certainly not understand them.
The maltreatment of Fourah Bay College in terms of the quality of the road leading to that campus began in King Messi days. King Messi paid the Chinese to construct the road from the new Hillside Road ending just after the small bridge leading to the FBC campus. When people complained about the rest of the road following King Messi’s refusal to complete the road at Kortright, we were told the road was the private property of the college. In fact, King Messi’s government signed an agreement with the European Union to do the road from IMATT junction ending up at Kortright. The road through the campus was again left out. Now the road to FBC campus is so bad that we have no hesitation to describe it as a scar on the conscience of King Messi. Something must be done right now to right that wrong.
Now, let’s go back to this argument that the road is the private property of FBC. We don’t even want to hear that for the following reasons:
1. Since the work on Hill-Cot road project stalled, hundreds of government vehicles use the FBC road daily to enter central Freetown. All of that contributes to the destruction of the road.
2. There are huge communities at Leicester, Tree Planting and Gloucester who depend of the road through FBC for their daily commute.
3. What if the authorities at FBC woke up one morning and decided to cut off that road to rush hour traffic? Can anybody even begin to imagine the consequences?
4. Now, if the New Direction administration decides to buy into that warped King Messi idea about the road being the private property of FBC, we will urge the University and college authorities to strike a deal with any Chinese group to re-construct the road and erect two toll gates at both ends of road. Within a few years the loan will be repaid from monies collected mainly from government vehicles using the road.
5. Many people are fed up with the sight of strange construction companies measuring and marking the road all the time with zero construction taking place.
SLFA CONGRESS AT LAST: SUPRISES SURPISES SURPRISES
The first part of the long drawn-out drama in the SLFA has come to an end. Delegates are back home from the first of three congresses as part of the road map leading to the restoration of constitutional rule in the SLFA. Like we reported the other day in this column, the so-called Stakeholders are rocking badly and the Queen of the SLFA is looking really good with the delegate count ahead of the crucial elective congress in April 2020.
All her proposals were approved under the watchful eyes of a representative of her masters in Zurich. Why was it necessary for FIFA to become convention observers? We are looking for the answer to that question. We have until April because we will be writing the history of this long nightmare in Sierra Leone Football.
We understand the Stakeholders went into this congress vowing not to allow the Queen to cross certain red lines. They have now returned home with little more to think about in terms of where their project to unseat the queen is at the moment, after losing one vote after the other. Here are some facts about the Stakeholders:
1. Their coalition is rocking badly. There is no central control and may come out of the April convention defeated and disgraced.
2. This convention should teach them very serious lessons about the dangers of being too confident – perhaps arrogant – about their political strength even in the face of dire warnings.
3. The Stakeholders are speaking to the wrong people who are telling them they are experts in this and that. Stop giving away your secrets. You have been infiltrated.
4. Voting by show of hands is primitive. When people cast votes in ballot boxes they are able to serve their consciences. When voting by show of hands they serve their stomachs.
5. Reorganize, reorganize and reorganize. Fund this project very well and inject some quick thinking into the campaign.
Copyright © 2019 Politico Online
