TWITTER, the gossip (10/01/13)

Lo and Behold the Cabinet is Still Incomplete We have had to wait for about six weeks for a cabinet since De Pa was re-elected in November. Now we have something that looks like it. We say so because about four ministries appear to have been ignored or pushed to the corner for now. De Pa’s announcement the other day only said other appointments will be announced soon. We are in for another six weeks of waiting and waiting. By the look of things, the ministers playing the holding role in those ministries should simply abandon their posts and join us – ordinary people of this Great Republic. Those De Pa wanted to keep in their old jobs have all been returned. People like Pope John Paul of the ministry of football and the minister who claims to have put Sierra Leone on the map for SAMPA DANCE should just do the honorable thing – LEAVE. Does anybody know why De Pa is approaching this task of forming a cabinet in this haphazard way? Can a country in so much haste to develop afford this kind of slow movement? When we asked the same questions a couple of days back, one of De Pa’s men told us the old ministers are still in office. We simply pulled out of the conversation because our man couldn’t tell us how he would respond to being told his job was not guaranteed but he could continue pretending he was a minister until his replacement was named. We suspect that our friend would spend his last few days in that office looking for another job and signing hefty requisitions. The Cabinet Itself – Any Surprises? If this was the cabinet World Best had in mind, why did it take him so long to make the announcement? There is absolutely no surprise so far. After his so-called tough after-dinner talk in Makeni most people, including us, thought he was going to move mountains by “parting with friends”. As it turned out, De Pa’s friends are still very much here. Those who kept track of the clues we gave in the last three editions of Politico in 2012, would have noticed by now, how much we knew about what De Pa was going to do. We failed to capture the movement of JB Dauda, alias Mungo. Now he has another chance to continue exploring the choppy waters of Sierra Leone politics. Long Live Mungo Park! He started with River SLPP then he sailed his way into River APC. The tide changed and the waves grew strong so Mungo Park sailed back to the River SLPP and now he has returned to River APC to continue his exploration. When we grow up we will think twice about becoming a politician in Sierra Leone if this is the way Mungo Park and others are behaving. We hope you don’t mind sir, is that Water Resources minister related to Sam Maligie of OIC and the step child of…and… and…? The game is on! We will revisit this again soon. Kothor I B Kargbo Where Art Thou? The only thing that looks like a surprise in what De Pa did with his ministers is the absence of any mention of Kothor’s name. What, in God’s name is happening here? We have tried, in good journalistic fashion to hear from Kothor but “all efforts have proved futile up and till the last 20 minutes”. We predicted that Kothor was going to foreign affairs but as soon as that post was occupied by Samoura Machel, Kothor, the political colossus, began to look vulnerable for the first time since De Pa came to power. As we write this, there is no word on which role, if any, Kothor will play in De Pa’s second coming. Well, well, well, like JB Dauda, Kothor is a man of extreme physical durability. He is a man whose survival skills are well-honed. We shall come back to Kothor after six weeks. We suspect that by that time De Pa would have moved again on his cabinet. By the way, the presidency of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists is up for grabs again as Umaru Fofana completes his second term in the next few week. We will be highly honored to have a former Information Minister as our leader even if the SLAJ constitution does not allow for it. Oh YES! Hehe. There are only three small matters: Kothor cut off government subvention to SLAJ from the day he took office. He refused to appear at any major SLAJ function. And those DAILY MAIL workers some of whom died awaiting their benefits and their families are still waiting in vain. But with the fibre optic project nearing completion, Kothor will be remembered for that much more than him cutting money from that tok tok organization. For Whom the Bell Tolls We listened carefully to De Pa New Year’s Day speech and his speech to formally launch his task force to work on OPERATION W.I.D – which is basically to clear the streets of rude and reckless Okada Riders and hundreds of young people selling razor blades, mentholated balm, expired cornflakes and second hand shoes and other items of clothing including underwear on all major streets in Freetown. The Code name sounds like the Callie Weed found on Solomon’s grave and referred to by late Joe Hills in one of his songs. Why on earth did De Pa call this thing Operation WID? Is that why some of the officers involved in the operation were busy smoking CALLIE WEED last evening somewhere along Siaka Stevens Street? We have been down this road before: Acha Kamara introduced Operation Free Flow. It failed. Before that there were many others. Already Bababode and his boss are beginning to look like the Grand Old Duke of York. They have marched ten thousand men up the hill with that State House speech. They will march them down again. We will only notice that when the streets are re-occupied. We hate to sound pessimistic but we have lived here all our lives and we know the cynicism that goes on at times like this one. De Pa has set out a long list of “Lawless People” in Sierra Leone – his definition of LAWLESSNESS has been stretched to unsustainable limits. We shall see soon. We start with his speech on January 1. Here we quote De Pa himself: De Pa - “That is why I am dedicating my second term to combating indiscipline and recklessness…” Politico – Well, sir, we complained a lot during your first term about the ever-rising tide of lawlessness on our streets but your administration appeared to turn a blind eye. Making this statement now gives us an indication of which angle you are coming from – the elections have come and gone. Second term presidents can be slippery eh? But also lame duck, so watch out. De Pa - “The youths are the most innovative, energetic and creative section of our society; and there is no way this country can prosper without the active participation of our youths”. Politico – We cannot agree with more sir, but we think Sierra Leone must get a clear definition of YOUTH first. Some guys have been hanging around the youth thing for far too long now. They have lost their way with age and with that the very mission of their own organizations and the sense of their relevance. And please, this time weekend handout at Belgium and those chaotic car wash places in Freetown will be totally inappropriate. We have brought together a motley collection of individuals in a focus group to discuss the Operation WID speech. See details in the next edition. And Mayor Sir, Here is The Biggest Test for You. Our dear Mayor is now coming to terms with the enormity of the task facing him. He said a lot on radio during the campaign, this is the time for the chicken to come home to roost. We witnessed the fireworks in your office the other day in that meeting with Abacha Traders and Bike Riders. We recall this statement by the president of the Petty Traders Association: “Two Sani Abacha traders are better than the Freetown Mayor”. The Bike Riders President also said “The Mayor’s powers end at Orogu and he (Mayor) is not known beyond there. I am known all over”. Very interesting statements and our Mayor looked shocked as the bullets were fired by his constituents. So too did the State House representative madam WID-turned Minister of health-nominate. Our Mayor is going to hear a lot more from all sorts of groups particularly as the tax collection period gets underway and pressure begins to grow on him to clear the major arterial roads of street-trading and to clamp down on lawlessness among Bike Riders. The residents of Freetown stand with the Mayor and he should not fail us. If he decides to fall in the face of political pressure, the political consequences of that will be brought to his door step in four years. Making campaign promises and not living up to them in office is unacceptable in modern Sierra Leone. Long Live Mayor Bode Gibson. Where Are Those Road Transport Buses? A lot of people can vividly recall that just before the elections a number of road transport buses appeared on our roads and soon neglected destinations like Regent, Murray Town and so on had their own buses. Alpha Kanu found his way to 98.1 where their new found friend treated him with kid gloves and presented the most rigged interview ever done - allowing Alpha Kanu to score his cheap political points on account of those buses. We all know, don’t we, that all of those buses disappeared just after De Pa clinched his second term in office. Look at the human misery on our roads every rush hour. We have a lot of respect for Bockarie Lewis Kamara of the Road Transport Corporation. Using his Transport for London experience, he has achieved a few things at that corporation for which we salute him even though he is beginning to fall asleep. How can he allow himself to be made part of a scheme that was intended to hoodwink the people into shouting hosanna along with Alpha Kanu when he knew it was all a gimmick? Where are the buses now? How many times will Alpha Kanu, the new and enhanced Vuvuzela and the others try this and succeed? The people can feel it on the roads daily. By the way the people of Kono are also asking “where have all the electricity poles gone?” They were led into believing that the district would be electrified. Now we understand the real owners of the make-belief poles have taken them away. Hehehe. (C) Politico 10/01/13