By Umaru Fofana
For a president, winning an election is very daunting. But perhaps even more so is setting up the team with which to deliver on those promises made during campaigning. The resources are limited. The problems are limitless. The list of those wanting the plump jobs is lengthy. The list of jobs not so lengthy.
I bet the political horse-trading has begun. The head-scratching is on. Political scalps and political fudges being forged or crumbled. Back-room dealings that are hard to resist. Those that qualify for some of the jobs did not support him. Those who supported him – financially and morally – are expecting their pound of flesh. So the statesman in the president begins to manifest itself, or not. The difficulty of leadership begins here and now. At this stage I dare say that I do not envy the job of the president.
But whatever we may say, or think, our last two elections – in 2007 and in 2012 – have shown that we have shone on the continent as a strong emerging democracy on the world stage. But we still have a few lessons to learn. In our interest and in the interest of future generations.
On the United States' Election Night this year I was at the residence of the United States ambassador. Like I was on Election Day in the United Kingdom on the 6 May 2010 at the resident of the UK Ambassador in Freetown. Like other guests, I had been invited to watch at play democracy and what I suspected was also non-partisanship in public office.
At both residences, both diplomats remained poker-faced. In the case of the British high commissioner, even though the government under which he had been appointed was being defeated, you could not tell it in anyway whatsoever on his countenance or demeanour. He must be an Oscar-winning actor if he was pretending. The smile on his face was long and genuine. At the residence of the US ambassador, anything Democratic that was present had a corresponding thing that was Republican. No sides taken. Or may be all sides taken. United Kingdom and United States were the considerations not Tory or Labour or Lib Dems; or Democrats or Republicans.
During our recent elections almost all our ambassadors and many other diplomats appointed BY THE STATE, not a political party, were in town. They campaigned openly for the ruling party. And passionately too. They took part in the public rebuke and ridicule of opposition politicians and supporters. Yes it happened before should be no justification for a recurrence. It was bad yesterday. It is bad today. And will be bad always. Despicable. Or may be not.
I say may be not because, unlike the UK ambassador who continues to be in his post despite the loss of the party that had posted him here, our ambassadors would be out of a job today had their government lost the 17 November elections. When Challobah was recalled as Sierra Leone's ambassador to the UK in the wake of the election of Ernest Bai Koroma as president, there was furore by some of his compatriots in the UK, regardless of their political affiliation. The obvious reason was that he was appointed by the defeated regime.
When I spoke to the then foreign minister Zainab Bangura about the issue she said it was a design to have “career diplomats” in our foreign missions. I wonder how many such “career diplomats” were appointed, even starting with the very London post where Eddie Turay – a man I respect so much – was posted to despite never having had any career in diplomacy. The rest as they say is history. But may be until there is security of tenure for our diplomats they will always behave unprofessionally in office. The same applies to other public and civil servants. They are appointed by the state and they end up becoming party agents. You see why I respect Victor Bockarie Foh, the APC Secretary-General.
When Ron Gibbs wanted to start campaigning for Barrack Obama as a candidate in the recent elections, he resigned as the White House Spokesman in early 2011. This was to ensure that his job for the country did not conflict with that for the candidate. He would not be being paid by the government while working for an individual political party candidate. Tax payers cut across party lines hence their monies cannot be used to pay people who perform partisan tasks. I have always said that the only government official, for example, who had a moral high ground to campaign for President Koroma in last month's election was Alpha Kanu. And I have to be quick to add that he would have to have been doing so in his capacity as Public Affairs Secretary of the All People's Congress party. But we all saw what happened.
These are some of the considerations that must have turned into an Albatross around the president's neck as he struggles to put his cabinet and other appointment lists together. Here, the professional or academic qualifications of someone hardly matter. Here the track record of a choice is virtually meaningless. Here it is a matter of who did what to make the president become what he is. This does not help our situation and it creates a façade of the claims we should otherwise be entitled to, as a strong emerging democracy.
Without scratching my head I will safely say that one of the most effective ministers in president Koroma's first tenure was his agriculture minister, Dr Sam Sesay. He was one of those few ministers who would be honest as to say that I inherited this and this and that, and I have added this and this and that to them. Many others would say that they inherited NOTHING. Of course he is a technocrat in his field. He exhibited innovations and was largely honest to admit his drawbacks. And from the performance contracts ministers went into in 2009, Dr Sesay's was perhaps the most accomplished. Clearly there are challenges facing agricultural productivity but it largely has to do with transporting and marketing which do not necessarily fall within his domain.
The Information Minister did extremely well too, but mostly as Spokesman of Government. He has the gift of the garb. Administratively, as a minister, the Sierra Leone News Agency is still reeling with administrative challenges despite the facelift their wooden office received. The Government Information Service is almost moribund. IB Kargbo also goaded the transformation, ON PAPER, of the state broadcaster from SLBS to SLBC. I would allow his deputy, who has surprised me by fitting into that administrative job so well, to take over and send the minster to head the foreign ministry. But in this arrangement, like every other, there has to be drawn a thick line of demarcation between working for the State and working for a Party.
With the brains available at the foreign ministry – make no mistake the ministry is rich with talent – IB Kargbo can do what almost all foreign ministers since Dr Abassa Bundu have failed to do – project Sierra Leone's image abroad with persuasive arguments and engagements.
But back to something I have mentioned before, President Koroma's government has been very large. Probably too large. Call it job for the boys if you wish. But Sierra Leone does not have more than four ministries that are deserving of a deputy minister. Often we think this to mean job for only one person. But they have a large contingent of staffers who get paid from the consolidated fund. Their staffers including the civil servants, the driver, the wear and tear of the vehicle, etc. etc. I still cannot understand, for example, why the need for a ministry of political and public affairs, never mind the deputy minister there. WASTE! A smaller government will be cheaper to run and paid better, and will be more effective.
I will return next week to continue with this and talk about, among other things, layman's TAX. See you then.
