TOLONGBOES CRY FOUL OVER PREMATURE ENDORSEMENT OF DEFEATED OrSAMU
We saw and read at least three different letters from three senior Tolongboes last week, addressed to their LORD, King Messi of the northern Fortress City. The three big Tolongboes complained about the premature endorsement of the second leadership bid of their defeated 2018 presidential candidate, OrSamu of Kamalo by some members of the Red Movement’s highest decision-making organ.
To cut a long story short, they asked King Messi to throw those members who prematurely endorsed OrSamu out of that big party organ because when they announced their failed leadership bids in 2018 while still holding a place in that organ, King Messi kicked them out. On the face of it, they have a good case because they can quickly say what was good for the goose in 2018 should be good for the gander three years later. But is that the way things happen inside Tolongbo Kingdom? Are all the animals equal or are some more equal than others?
The thing is: the fact OrSamu believes that he can still win a presidential election in this land that we love with a few years of being defeated by the opposition challenger, is enough wahala for Tolongboes to deal with. We know that the people complaining now were among those who were driven in that bus from Wusum Field to Tolongbo headquarters in the Fortress City on the orders of King Messi where the king SELECTED OrSamu to lead the Red Movement over them. They are putting themselves forward again, hoping to be SECOND TIME LUCKY.
We want to remind those complaining now that a people get the leadership they deserve. There are no two ways about that. They shouldn’t in fact think that the good people of Sierra Leone are amused by their call for justice and fair play because they know the following to be true:
1. In the Red Movement King Messi is everything. He makes all the decisions and all members MUST follow or they will be “CRUSHED”. The king has made that known more than once.
2. It follows therefore that King Messi is fully aware of what is going on at the moment otherwise he would have swiftly kicked those who endorsed OrSamu out of that crucial party organ the way he did to those complaining now in 2018.
3. The aggrieved guys also know that in the Red Movement they helped create King Messi SELECTS the leader and must approve all decisions. It means therefore that unless candidates win his heart they should forget about any leadership position. And they know that the king will NOT select them at all.
4. We have not heard from the U-TURN master at this stage and we are eager to because there is no doubt that the recent endorsements are warning shots fired in his direction to let him know that he has no chance in hell to lead the Red Movement. We thank God for keeping us alive to write the story of the final nail in the political coffin of the U-TURN master, Chief Sidikie.
5. Anyway the complainants should know that SELECTING the leader of Tolongbo is just ONE step in the journey of a thousand miles to the big house. The rest of that journey is VERY DIFFICULT if not impossible.
IG TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TRAFFIC POLICE OFFICERS ON OUR STREETS
We hear that IG Sovula is totally fed up with his Force for Good always being called the most corrupt institution in this country. Survey after survey brings that out every year so we understand why Ngor Sovula thinks he should take a decisive action to change the narrative. Thank you very much sir.
The report we read says the number of traffic police officer will be drastically reduced. We don’t know when that will happen but we want to believe it will be soon otherwise why make such an announcement if implementation will take place a year or so later.
So we are observing the situation closely to see what our IG does. For now we want to make the following comments:
1. We have an IG that now accepts that there is some truth to the yearly survey conclusions about corruption in his institution. Corruption exists everywhere but his boys, and they are mostly boys are the most corrupt – particularly those in the traffic division.
2. How does Ngor Sovula know that the daily BOOKING FEES now being collected from Okadas Kekehs and taxis will not continue? This tax collection is a very powerful system. Simply withdrawing a few officers from the streets will not break it sir. All the lawlessness by commercial transport operators is a direct result of that daily booking fee. The Sovula boys simply turn a blind eye after collecting the cash.
3. Ngor Sovula, people complain a lot about traffic officers because they see them in action daily but those operating in your police stations are worse. Are you going to remove them too? We will not say anything about those serving the judiciary as prosecutors.
4. We expect the few officers remaining on the streets to be very fierce in the collection efforts. They will raise the daily BOOKING FEES because they will still be committed to helping their colleague withdrawn from the frontline. In fact, the officers might even bribe their bosses to assign them to the field with the promise to share the goodies they get on the roads with them.
5. If Ngor Sovula wants to fight corruption, he should do it on all fronts in all units. Picking on the traffic officers because the public cries about them collecting chicken change on the streets is wrong. What about those who fingered big money exhibits recently from their high office at police headquarters? Are they sacred cows?
WHEN WILL SLRTC STAFF CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDE?
The SLRTC is by far the most reclusive government agency in this country despite the fact that they serve a large number of ordinary people on a daily basis. Their buses go all over the country moving people and goods to different destinations. However the SLRTC workers at the main bus terminal at Wallace Johnson Street have not changed in FORTYYEARS and it seems to us that their bosses in the east of the city are either unaware of the corruption taking place at the terminal (WE DOUBT THAT VERY MUCH) or are complicit in what their people are doing to ordinary Sierra Leonean commuters going about their normal business.
The people turn up very early at the terminal to buy their tickets to travel. They stand in suffocating queues for hours before the SLRTC staff stroll in lazily for work. For a 54-seater bus on a typical journey, they sell just TEN tickets and then close the window. How can a passenger standing in the NUMBER TEN spot in that queue not get a ticket on a bus that takes FIFTY people or so? The disappointed travellers will then be forced to buy at black market rate from street boys who have made the terminal their home unchallenged.
SLRTC workers at that terminal cooperate with those boys and share in the proceeds of that criminal enterprise. Otherwise, where do they get the tickets that people stand in the queue for? We have experienced that in person within the last three weeks.
The big people at SLRTC headquarters can continue burying their heads in the sand in their air-conditioned offices in the east, drinking coffee while ordinary Sierra Leoneans suffer such brazen corruption at their main terminal in Freetown and at other terminals in the provinces.
Apart from this open corruption, the terminal itself is badly in need of upgrade – the toilet is very bad, criminals invade the people and distress people at the slightest opportunity and there’s no proper sitting area for the large crowds that use the terminal.
We understand the SLRTC boss is one of the many diasporans who are now holding big positions in this countrty. He is from London. Can he just give us something that looks like Paddington station at our ONLY bus terminal in Freetown?
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