The New Cabinet is Here: Sorry Only Three Names Are Out
We are still trying to understand why De Pa acted the way he did with his ministers on Monday. Many people, certainly journalists, were expecting him to name his full cabinet and get things up and running again (Let’s not fool ourselves, some old ministers who are still in that holding role are so nervous about their future that they are not working at all).
In the event, here’s what De Pa did: He sacked the political Mungo Park from the foreign ministry and replaced him with Samura Kamara who has spent all his life playing with figures and had in fact been preparing to deliver the budget speech to parliament on Friday. De Pa borrowed a leaf from Nigeria where a similar move was made with Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
It was widely thought that she was moved because she had grown wings and was too concerned about paying off the country’s debts with multilateral creditors. De Pa doesn’t owe us an explanation but can we ask why the economist has now been sent to try his hand at diplomacy?
Anyway, we predicted last week that Samura would be out of the cabinet. We missed that he is hanging in there even if in a different capacity.
As for Mungo Park we are very correct. He is out. Well, for now at least. We call him Mungo Par because of his love for exploration in the choppy waters of Sierra Leone politics. He started in River SLPP, then sailed through to River APC. As the tide grew rough, he sailed back to River SLPP then he returned to River APC where he met his political death. Nobody gave Mungo Park a chance. No more exploration sir.
The new Finance Minister is Keifala Marah (Dr.). The Commonwealth man spent the last two years or so working as Chief of Staff at State House. He is the first man to hold that post. He was appointed because of the power of his ideas. There are allegations from London and the extractive industries transparency initiative that we are investing. In the meantime have this:
”The power of Ideas”: The Power of Implementation in Real Life
On April 21 2010, Dr. Marah, then still with the Commonwealth, addressed students of Fourah Bay College. It was only a few days to the nation’s 50th anniversary so he gave this public lecture titled The Power of Ideas.
Well, Well, Well Lo and Behold, Dr Marah is now one of the most powerful people in Sierra Leone and we here present a few excerpts from that fantastic and inspiring speech.
Dr. Marah - From nothing we can become something, and from nowhere we can go somewhere… go to places that we may initially think impossible…we can make a difference through the power of ideas.
Politico – We agree with you sir because you are a visible representation of that man who used the power of his ideas to reach such high office given your humble background. But as Finance Minister in a country like Sierra Leone, the most important thing now is making a difference through the power of those same ideas. And it starts with telling people the truth about their economy – don’t give us massaged growth and inflation figures. Don’t tell us impressive growth figures when people are living in such grinding poverty. There are more Economists outsider the Ministry of Finance than are there. They understand how the figures move. What do you think?
Dr. Marah – “What if your country is resource-rich in addition to being blessed with early institutions but ironically you are poor, and in the most insulting of manners, your country is mostly rated at the bottom of the human development index among countries of the world -currently third at the bottom... To ask further, let me put it as simply as this: if you are smart and rich in resources how would you explain poverty?”
Politico – Our dear Minister, we have been asking the same questions for the last 50 years. A good many people who are benefiting from the system, don’t like us doing so but we have persisted because this is the only place we call ours. You see, you are now an integral part of that machinery that governs our society. We shall keep in touch with you from time to time.
Dr. Marah – “I am in this regard tempted to ask whether we have been able to internalise discipline in our work culture: do we respect time, do we arrive in our offices on time, and do we stay in our offices or unceremoniously take an early day off when the English Premiership is at its height, for example, when Manchester United meets with Chelsea? How do we treat public assets, for example government vehicles, etc? If people are our assets, then discipline must prevail, ethics and integrity nurtured and transparency enshrined to ensure that we work very hard, because manna stopped falling long ago in biblical times”.
Politico – Well our sources tell us that as Chief of Staff, the new Finance Minister was always at his desk at 7: 15am. Not bad. But that was State House. The finance ministry is complex, big and problematic. We are waiting to see if your cleaners will be in the office at 10:00am, two weeks into your tenure. Good Luck sir.
Dr Marah – “The failure of institutions to recognise and uphold an efficient procurement regime, for example, is a destiny chosen that manifests itself in corruption and poor public goods and services. The failure to effectively implement public expenditure is a destiny manifested in the citizens’ dissatisfaction; and the failure to take a long term view of the economy is a destiny manifested in low growth, inflation and poor macro-economic performance. In short, a national destiny is the sum total of a peoples approach to development it has never been different and so shall it continue to be with every economy. The choice is ours!
Politico – Again, we agree with you. Procurement problems, managing public expenditure in ways that leave much to be desired, approaching economic management as if it were a fire brigade operation are all in your in-tray. We shall take another look at that speech before the end of your first one hundred days in office. Will you be reading the budget sir?
A Prison Service in Peril under Bilo Kamara
A recent report by the UN has only just confirmed what everybody in this country knew all along – the prison service is at breaking point. Politicians and ordinary people couldn’t care less what happens behind those walls as long as they have no relatives in there.
The UN report talks about: Overcrowding, Poor hygiene and Dilapidated Buildings.
Politico – Can anyone deny this? People who have no business in Pademba Road jail are kept there for years without trial. We have more remand prisoners than convicts. To get a feel of the hygiene conditions in the prison, see the wretched condition of prisoners who are brought to court for trial in the worse prison vehicle anywhere in the world. How can we treat people like slaves on the Trans-Atlantic journey and tell the world we are a democracy?
UN Report – “Juveniles are often confined alongside adults due to a lack of proper assessment...”
Politico - Young people are put in that prison for the most minor of offences and they come out as hardened criminals. Young offenders’ institutions are in decay and we have a social welfare minister who spends all his time trying to gain control of a political party that people have rejected.
So What Next? This is the question many ordinary Sierra Leoneans are asking today. The prison service is a very difficult place to work. There are very highly educated Warders in the place but they are systematically suppressed. The junior ones are treated as if they are not important to the general functioning of the prison service. The system has failed.
“Director” Bilo Kamara is completely out of his depth in the place. Since Moses Showers was wrongfully thrown out of the place by VP Sam Sumana, the prison service has been sliding down hill. The government should just eat humble pie and recall the man. How many prison breaks have taken place all over the country since Moses Showers was sacked? Where is even-handedness? It looks as though things can only be good for the goose.
Mamakoh Demby of Plan Sierra Leone vs. the People of Moyamaba
An interesting case is currently going through the courts in the southern headquarter town of Bo. Mamakoh Demby is not the only one on trial. We believe the whole organization is on trial. We respect the rules of court reporting but as ordinary Sierra Leoneans we have a right to ask why this case is taking so long.
Be that as it may, we have completed our own private journalistic investigation into this matter and others concerning Lady Mamakoh Demby. We’ve been patient all this while for very good reasons. We believe it’s now time to act. We appreciate the work of Plan Sierra Leone, but they have a big decision to make, and quickly.
In the New Year, we shall publish the case for the people of Moyamba and the whole world will get the clear facts. Trust Politico!
