Don't Push The People Too Hard On The Wall and On All Fronts
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By Saikujohn Barrie
The utilization of the Sierra Leone Police to silence and intimidate the suffering masses is not a good sign for our democracy. Police harassment of one of the country’s female vocal politicians, Femi Claudius Cole is uncalled for and unnecessary. There is no need to go with a truckload of police personnel to arrest or invite her to the police. That is too much show of force.
I know in Sierra Leone, it is hardly and rarely for citizens to be allowed to protest against a sitting government or protest against burning national issues but peaceful protest is one of the democratic tools in a country. People should be allowed to protest to show their displeasure on national issues. But our governments both present and past, don’t allow their citizens to protest. Police always say protestants need police clearance in order to protest but how many people or groups of people( in my IGP people’s voice), both present and past, have been granted permission to protest against government decisions or issues that affect them.
I know according to the law, no one should protest without police clearance. Our Inspector General of Police is encouraged to execute his profession professionally to police what’s an already messy situation in our country. You see government officials bragging about democracy but one of the commonest used tools to express dissatisfaction is not guaranteed in Sierra Leone. Democracies right across civilised countries allow peaceful protests to take place.
Surprisingly, most of those holding key positions in this government had taken part in demonstrations against the past government although most of those demonstrations took place outside Sierra Leone. If other countries had allowed you to demonstrate against your government, why can’t you allow your own citizens to exercise their right to demonstrate since you believe in using that tool to express your displeasure?
The inspector-General of Police must understand that he can’t continue to use police brutality and intimidation to silence the suffering masses. This writer will advise President Bio to caution his Inspector General of Police against the overuse of the police force when handling issues in our country, especially when citizens are faced with the toughest hardship and suffering they had never faced before.
Don’t push the people too hard on the wall and on all fronts.
A total of 9 intending pilgrims from Sierra Leone who were part of the third and final batch that landed at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last Thursday ( July 7, 2022) at 23:50 KSA time have been repatriated to Sierra Leone.
The Saudi immigration office at the Jeddah Airport confirmed that the 9 intending pilgrims were returned to Sierra Leone on the next flight that was available on Saturday morning, July 10 2022.
The Ambassador of Sierra Leone to Saudi Arabia, His Excellency, Dr Ibrahim Jalloh said the Embassy staff and the Hajj Committee members did their best to rectify the visa and immigration challenges regarding the affected pilgrims. However, the absence of key Saudi authorities (as most of them are on Eid vacation) as well as time constraints (since their arrival was on the dawn of Arafat) thwarted the considerable effort of the embassy and committee in clearing the affected Pilgrims.
Both Ambassador Dr Ibrahim Jalloh, the Minister of Social Welfare, Hon. Haja Baindu Dassama, the Head of Chancery at the Embassy, Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabba and members of the Hajj Committee visited the affected pilgrims at the King Abdulaziz Airport on Friday and had discussions with them before they were repatriated.
The Ministry of Social Welfare that is responsible for Hajj Affairs in Sierra in a Press Statement on Thursday, July 7 apologized to the intending pilgrims and their families noting that it would further engage them on the way forward.
END
For more Enquiries
Abubakarr Bah, Information Attaché
Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone
Saudi Arabia
Email: information.attache@sa.slembassy.gov.sl
Police Headquarters George Street, Freetown Tuesday 12 July 2022:-
Director of Traffic Management and Road Safety (TMRS) Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Brima Kanneh has cautioned Division Traffic Officers (DTOs).
The caution came as a result of the economic challenges facing citizens following the price hike in fuel and other commodities globally.
Traffic offences he said are of two categories, “Major” and “Minor” and thus urged them to look at the gravity of the offence before proferring charges.
As an authority mandated by the 1991 Constitution to protect lives and properties, AIG Kanneh maintained that their operations would in one way or the other help in cushioning the economic challenges.
“By that, we are complementing government,” he said and therefore called on the DTOs to minimize the arrest of vehicles for little or no traffic offence. He also called on them to be always tidy in their official outfits and desist from pettiness with commercial drivers.
AIG Kanneh instructed that they brace up to maintain the free flow of traffic.
However, concerns were raised over procession by school authorities without police knowledge and the use of streets as parking spaces by Church congregation during Sunday service.
By Abubakarr Bah, Information Attaché, Saudi Arabia
Mina, July 9 2022-
The Ambassador Extra-Ordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Dr Ibrahim Jalloh, in his address to Sierra Leonean pilgrims in Mina, Saudi Arabia, wished the pilgrims a Happy Eidul Adha and congratulated them for performing the Hajj.
Ambassador Jalloh urged the pilgrims to glorify Almighty Allah on this day marking Eid and pray for Sierra Leone, for peace, unity and development.
“As Sierra Leoneans, we pray for His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, the Government and the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone. We pray for peace, unity and development on this day as it is a moment in which supplications and prayers are answered by Allah Subuhaa-nahu-wata-Allah,” Ambassador Jalloh said.
Ambassador Jalloh concluded by saying ” on this day I wish to say special thanks to Allah for giving His Excellency the President Dr Julius Maada Bio the wisdom to appoint me as the first Islamic Scholar to have studied in Saudi Arabia to serve as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.”
The Sierra Leonean pilgrims expressed their gratitude to Ambassador Jalloh, staff of the Embassy, Sierra Leonean students in Saudi Arabia and the Hajj Committee for the warm reception and hospitality accorded them throughout the Hajj process.
In another development, the Minister of Social Welfare, Hon. Haja Baindu Dassama, in a brief address, congratulated the pilgrims for successfully going through all the Hajj rituals.
Haja Dassama on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone apologized to the pilgrims for the constraints faced during the Hajj process, especially at the Lungi International Airport.
Emotionally, she expressed her sympathy to the intending pilgrims who didn’t make it to Makkah this year, adding that the problems were beyond the government’s control as many other countries faced similar challenges.
“Despite these challenges, the government is able to fly 941 pilgrims to Makkah,” she said.
The Minister further admonished the pilgrims to be patriotic and protective of the only Sierra Leone, that they have as the only country.
“Whatever thing H.E. the President does is in the interest of Sierra Leone”, Hon. Baindu Dassama assured.
The Minister concluded by urging the pilgrims to pray for the President, the Government and the people of Sierra Leone, for peace, security and development to continue to reign in the country.
A total of 941 pilgrims from Sierra Leone are participating in this year’s Hajj, the highest in decades.
Despite the many challenges faced by countries around the world in this year’s Hajj, the government of His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio worked assiduously to ensure that Sierra Leone records the highest figure in decades for the country, which is predominantly Muslim.
The third and final batch of Sierra Leonean pilgrims, led by the Minister of Social Welfare, Hon. Baindu Dassama landed in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Thursday night before the expiration of the extended deadline. Pilgrims successfully went through immigration checks and joined the first and second batches of pilgrims at Arafat immediately after performing Umrah.
At Arafat, the pilgrims spent the rest of the day praying and making supplications till sunset before proceeding to Muzdalifah, where they spent the night praying and picking pebbles, which are part of the Hajj rituals.
Muzdalifah is a place where pilgrims are supposed to spend the whole night till daybreak (Fajri) but it is religiously permissible for women and aged men to depart Muzdalifah after midnight.
The pilgrims later proceeded to Mina after the early morning fajri prayers. At Mina, they threw pebbles at the “Jamaratul Aqabah” on Saturday morning, a ritual they will do on Sunday and Monday for all the 3 “Jamarats”.
The total number of pilgrims who are performing this year’s Hajj globally is 899,353 according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) in Saudi Arabia.
END
For more Enquiries
Abubakarr Bah
Information Attaché
Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone
Email information.attache@sa.slembassy.gov.sl
Amid Rising Costs, an Electricity Tariff Hike Is Inevitable
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By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
An increase in electricity tariffs in Sierra Leone is presently inevitable as the cost of generating electricity has increased sharply and quickly around the globe, but the needs of certain groups are considered by the government of Sierra Leone through the Hon. Minister of Energy Chief Alhaji Kanja Sesay when he was making the case for an increase in energy tariffs to the Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission.
Current rising tariffs are unavoidable due to a combination of surging energy demand, fuel supply disruptions, and the growing shortages of oil, gas, and coal globally that have caused global energy prices to skyrocket. It’s clear that the current changes in prices in Sierra Leone and across the globe generally reflect variations in electricity demand, availability of generation sources, fuel costs, and power plant availability.
See the following sites for discussions on the rising cost of energy:
Regionally, Nigeria and Ghana have revised their tariffs in response to the perfect storm in the power market, in which the Ukraine war, ageing coal sector and the Covid-19 pandemic have all combined to result in a higher demand for energy; and Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea are not immune from the ripple effects arising from this ongoing situation.
But the Hon. Minister of Energy Chief Alhaji Kanja Sesay, whilst making his case for the current tariffs increased, was quite aware that measured or gradual action must be put in place to ensure that the low-income groups and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, already feeling the pinch from rising costs, are not seriously hit with another price shock with his Ministry’s local electricity tariffs revision.
With the twin shocks, many economic analysts were expecting the current tariff rate to be higher than the present revised prices for households since the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) is currently facing higher energy production costs due to rising gas prices.
At the end of last year, the price of fuel per barrel averaged $62.26, but surged to $107 (NLe 1,391) per barrel, $45 up per barrel by the end of 2021. Fuel accounts for 75% of Sierra Leone’s key source of electricity
(EDSA) has to make sure the business is sustainable (as a corporate entity), but the Hon. Minister of Energy ensure there is some form of targeted reduction for the suffering majority with regards to the electricity tariffs. The Hon. Minister of Energy suggested to the energy regulatory board that the government should intervene and provide rates for EDSA over the short term to ensure the suffering majority are not overburdened with the revised tariffs hike.
The Ministry is also seriously looking for ways EDSA can diversify its fuel sources and, over the long run, focus on renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro, and biofuel.
According to many economists within and beyond, the tariff increase in Sierra Leone is unavoidable due to international market factors beyond Sierra Leone’s control, but reducing the cost to the suffering majority is avoidable, and the Hon. Minister of Energy believes the cost should be covered by electricity companies, which are seeing higher revenue and profits as economic activities pick up.
Tariff increases are leading to higher inflation because they affect all prices. The last time this happened, it added more than 0.5% to inflation. This disproportionately affects low-income individuals and large families. This is more of the reason the Hon. Minister of Energy stoutly believe the suffering majority must be protected with a slight increase in their tariffs despite the current twin shock the world is presently facing
The Hon. Minister of Energy rejected the idea of instilling good electricity practices because rationing and consumer behaviour are difficult to manage when large families are involved especially with the suffering majority.
The Hon. Minister proposed to the energy regulatory board that the government step in with a slight increase in the tariffs of the suffering majority to alleviate the burden on consumers.
Furthermore, the tariff structure was adjusted so that the burden of higher fuel prices is borne by firms and households that can afford higher tariffs. The Hon. Minister of Energy believes it is critical that low-income groups, micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, already under pressure from rising costs, are not subjected to another huge price shock.
According to him, tariff increases should be phased in.
For far too long, stories about the birth father of Thampèreh’s democracy circulated across the village. In the village’s dark history of a brutal civil war and elements of coup d’états, a man believed to have saved the village from totalitarianism rose among the people. The man and his gang (by a gang, we mean a group of friends), belonging to the warrior squad of Thampèreh, had, in times past, stormed the village’s palace and overthrew its long-term dictator and violator of human rights. The man and his comrades ruled with an iron fist for many, many moon circles.
And one day, the man, in his infinite wisdom, felt the new rulers were not working in the people’s interest. It, therefore, pleased him to overthrow his comrades and take over the village’s affairs.
But because warriors were not allowed to rule any village across kingdoms, he handed over power to civilian rule. That transition paved the way for the start of Thampèreh’s would-be democracy. Many in the village named the man the father of democracy in Thampèreh.
But there was no way to prove that he was indeed the father. There were no DNA testing machines then, and the man had long abandoned the village and lived in another kingdom for over two hundred and forty moon circles. So, there was no way to collect samples from him to see if he was the true father. He was also jobless in his new kingdom and couldn’t send child support back home to nurture his democratic child. Some even said he lived on handouts.
Democracy is something many in the village believe should be cherished. The village has come a long way in building and strengthening its democratic principles and institutions. That was why when Hee Bee Kay, Thampèreh’s past Painter, began abusing his power by destroying some of those institutions, it was easy for villagers to vote out his Red Sun ideology and anyone who stood with him. And there was no better person to breathe new life into the village’s democracy than the father himself.
Or so the villagers thought.
Since coming to power, the people observed the new Painter’s governance method with keen interest. They wanted to see how much he loved and cared for his child. And as the days went by, he began manifesting signs of an undemocratic father.
First, he refused to condemn his wife, queen Yidador-Ka, after she called for mob justice on anyone she considered an enemy. Then Thampèreh’s N.A Gbadas, the village’s version of the police, began committing atrocities by arresting and torturing villagers. They killed innocent citizens and gunned down dozens of protesters in several regions across the village. Also, the Painter, through his comrades, accused a retired warrior of trying to topple him and charged him with treason.
And while in prison, men and women believed to be loyal to the Painter said they dreamt the retired warrior tried escaping and, acting on their dream, they stormed his cell. In the process, dozens of prisoners were massacred and buried in unknown locations. The actual number of victims and their identity remain a misery.
Since taking over as the village’s Painter, his rule has been marred by several allegations of corruption, human rights abuse, N.A Gbada brutality, illegal arrest, detention and torture, and a host of other grave violations of Thamprèreh’s guiding principles. He continues to destroy the democratic fabrics that bind the village together.
Villagers are now wondering whether this man is the true father of Thampèreh’s democracy or an imposter. They wonder if he voluntarily handed power to civilian rule or was forced to do so.
But one thing is sure; if villagers collect samples from this Painter and conduct a DNA test today, the result will show that he is an imposter and certainly not the father of Thampèreh’s democracy.
After late Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Do We Have Servant Leaders in Sierra Leone? Count The Cost
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By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
Servant leadership:
According to John Ballard, PhD. servant leadership is the second most searched leadership style on Google behind transformational leadership. Furthermore, the Leadership Quarterly reports that empirical studies of leadership styles only focused on servant leadership 1% of the time. Translate this to what we continue to experience in Sierra Leone, it means the majority of our alleged leaders continue to lie about serving the people, possibly even being servant leaders, but they know very little about what that means.
There is a danger to being drawn to a concept because it sounds good without understanding what that concept is or what it requires. There are many fake leaders today in Sierra Leone who espouse the benefits of servant leadership without understanding what the cost to the leader to implement such a style is.
The Focus Of Servant Leaders:
Individuals work in organisations and as a result, servant-leaders are both followers as well as leaders. The servant-leader serves the government he or she works in as well as the people they lead. Many people occupying social positions of trust in Sierra Leone forget about this dual focus of the servant leader and only focus on the leadership of their government and political parties. If the alleged servant leader does not serve their government well, they will quickly find that they are no longer in a position to be a servant leader. In all cases, the principles of servant-leadership must be uniformly applied.
What is Servant Leadership?
According to the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is a leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions… “ The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.
In short, Sierra Leone is still suffering from leadership problems as the majority of our alleged leaders from independence to date continue to protect their self-interests at the expense of the majority.
Where Does Servant Leadership Come From?
Servant leadership does not start with a series of agendas or practices that produce weak checks and balances within the system and benefit the selected few as we are experiencing currently. This approach produces a facade of behaviours that staff and the general public quickly realise are not genuine.
Servant leadership begins from core beliefs. It is an attitude or philosophy that drives the natural and genuine behaviour of a leader. Without this core, attempting to be a servant leader only leads to disappointment and deteriorating trust with a clean sense to constantly marginalise the already suffering majority.
Servant leadership comes from two fundamental, and seemingly contradictory, attitudes. They are selflessness and strength. The combination of these two attitudes forms a third dimension that becomes the heart of servant-leadership.
The First Fundamental Building Block: Selflessness
Selflessness is putting others first and self last. Needless to say, the majority of our current alleged leaders do not reward selflessness. The psychology of entitlement mentality permeates our society’s thinking so that the majority of people approach a situation to see how they can protect their interests or get more than their share. Situational ethics, the philosophy that indoctrinates students for twelve years of their lives, teaches them to apply values to accomplish their personal goals in the given moment. Genuine selflessness as a result is often looked down upon and even mocked in our current system of governance.
The Second Fundamental Building Block: Strength
But selflessness by itself is not sufficient to be a servant leader. Strength is required. Servant leadership does not arise out of weakness. Strength is defined as a legal, logical, or moral force; a strong attribute or inherent asset; a degree of potency of effect or of concentration. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strength
The servant-leader obtains strength from their character and from the position they hold. By virtue of these two items, the leader could demand the rights that belong to them; they could demand others obey and follow them. Instead, the servant leader willingly steps aside from what they rightfully could claim.
In essence, strength is the power to take action. The reason this is critical for a servant leader is that there must be the willingness, the strength, to step down from one’s position and to “serve others.” A person who is weak in character will not do this.
The Servant Leadership Quality Produce Sacrifice.
When strength and selflessness interact together they form a third attribute that is seen in the actions of the servant-leader. That attribute is sacrifice. Sacrifice is basically death to one’s own desires to serve others. When servant–leader selflessly steps away from their own desires to serve others, it becomes an act of sacrifice. The greatest example of servant leadership is Jesus Christ of whom it is written, “who, being in the form of God (strength), did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation (sacrifice), taking the form of a bondservant (selflessness) and been found in the form of a man, he humbled himself (selflessness), and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (sacrifice)” Philippians 2:6-8.
The attribute that allows the servant leader to sacrifice willingly is humility. Humility is not a sense of self-deprecation. It is not a belief that one is not worthy of the position of leadership or that the leader has no power or authority. It is the belief that others’ needs are more important than the leaders’.
A great example of this equation is Abraham Lincoln. Operating out of the power of the presidency, Lincoln selflessly and with humility took the actions to bring together a team of rivals to help achieve the mission. Personal power and reputation were not important. The mission was to unify a nation but to do so by implementing Lincoln’s beliefs in respecting the dignity of all mankind. (The values he was not willing to compromise or sacrifice). Ultimately, Lincoln sacrificed his health, his popularity (in the moment) and eventually his life to achieve the mission that was set before him.
Sacrifice becomes the hallmark of the servant leader. There are many other things that this leader could do with their time and authority that would be much more satisfying and enjoyable. But the servant-leader sacrifices for others.
What Is The Servant-Leader Unwilling To Sacrifice?
It is important to notice first what the servant-leader is not willing to compromise or sacrifice. As the servant-leader serves others there will be, from time to time, heavy pressure to compromise or give in on areas that are core to the leader. The leader may teach or explain these areas to those who do not understand, but the leader is not willing to compromise them. If the leader were to do so would mean the leader would lose the very reason for assuming the role of the servant-leader in the first place. All areas the servant-leader is unwilling to sacrifice are primarily related to mission and values.
• Values: A servant-leader is driven by values. The only thing more important to the leader than the people he or she serves is the values he or she stands for. When conflict arises between the values the leader stands for and the people they serve, the servant-leader always chooses to be true to values. But if the leader does not know what their values are or what they stand for, or if their values are compromised for expediency popularity, or compromise, then servant-leadership cannot exist.
If servant-leadership is attempted without a sense of values, the leader will serve the group’s whims and desires. In essence, the leader becomes obedient to the group and its pleasures. This is what many of our alleged leaders are executing today in Sierra Leone as their groups become more important than value or principle.
• Mission: A servant-leader assumes a leadership position because there is a mission that is worth accomplishing. There is an end goal that the servant-leader is moving toward, a direction that dominates their sights. The servant-leader is unwilling to compromise the mission or direction in order to gain followers of popularity. Again this becomes a challenge in today’s “politically correct’ works, where only a group consensus of the mission and values is tolerated. Standing alone for what one believes in is fast becoming a missing skill in Sierra Leone’s alleged servant leadership styles.
• Trust: A servant-leader guards integrity. This means earning the trust of the people by being honest with them in all transactions. Note, this does not mean the servant-leader has to tell everything they know. There is a fallacy today that transparency means leaders must share everything they know or they are not being honest. Not true. The servant-leader will never lie to or knowingly mislead an individual or group, but the servant leader does not, and cannot, always share all information to which they are a party.
• Team: Servant-leaders know they are no better than the quality of the team they develop. As a result, they protect their team. This may be protection from unjust criticism; it might be correcting the team when it is off course, or it might be defending the team when they are asked to perform outside their capabilities. It might be removing a member who is destructive to the team’s morale and performance. The leader is not leading when they allow the group to ignore issues they must address in order to improve. In essence, the servant-leader defends his or her “flock” by confronting the issues that challenge them.
• Progress and Results: A servant leader is not lethargic when it comes to making progress. The servant-leader is not leading when he or she allows the group to function slower than is required. The leader assesses the progress the group is making and intervenes with the group to make corrections to ensure the team is on track. In this way, the leader protects both the group and the organisation from failure.
What Sacrifices Does The Servant Leader Make?
The servant-leader primarily sacrifices to ensure the growth of the government and the growth of followers with no sense of segregation to achieve the stated mission. The cost of growth in others is high as is the accomplishment of reaching performance goals, but it is a cost the servant-leader is willing to make.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal priorities. Servant leaders allow others’ needs to take priority over their own.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal time. Servant-leader allows others access to their time. Rather than work on personal work, servant leaders use their time to help others as needed.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal preference. Servant-leaders might prefer to go in a certain direction or take a certain course of action, but they allow others latitude to take different paths (consistent with the mission and values). If others’ ideas and suggestions make sense, the servant-leader is willing to listen and accept other alternatives.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal knowledge. Servant-leader shares information and knowledge so that others gain the capability to perform on their own and live out the stated mission and values. Servant leaders often see others bypass them in the level of technical or professional skills. The servant-leader does not compete with his or her own staff to see who is the best technician. Much like a parent, the servant-leader takes pride in the accomplishment and growth of staff.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal praise. Servant leaders step aside from the limelight so that the group receives praise and recognition for the work performed or goals accomplished. Often groups will wonder why they needed a leader at all. However, they make the mistake of not seeing everything the leader did to prepare them for success.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal ease. Sometimes it would be easier for the servant-leader to simply do the job for himself or herself. The servant-leader knows that the growth of others requires allowing them to perform, as inefficient as that may be. The servant-leader knows that part of growth is to try things that are out of the box and this means some of those ideas will not work and may even cause more work.
• The servant-leader sacrifices personal popularity. Servant-leaders realise that popularity is not their goal and that in doing the right thing, they may not gain the praise of the group. Others in the group may actually begin to receive greater popularity than the leader as they are noticed and recognised for their performance that the servant leader helped develop.
• The servant-leader sacrifices perfection. Servant leaders are willing to accept mistakes and shortcomings along the way as people learn, grow and build capability.
There Is A High Cost To Servant-Leadership. Servant leadership is a high calling, but it is also a lonely path. It is a path that can cause leaders discomfort. It is not a style that should be adopted to impress others. It emanates from a personal attitude toward building a high-achieving team and this requires the leader’s personal sacrifice in order that others may succeed in a mission that is worth accomplishing.
There is a cost to being a servant-leader. That cost is death to self-interests. Most people are unwilling to pay that price but without it, servant-leadership will never be genuine or successful.
So you want to be a servant-leader in Sierra Leone?
Count the cost!
Everyone Should Be Given The Opportunity to Register To Vote
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By Saikujohn Barrie
Electoral Commission Sierra Leone, has the sole authority with the constitutional mandate to prepare and conduct public elections and referenda in Sierra Leone. From this backdrop, this writer wants to remind the chairman of the commission that it is his sole responsibility to ensure that every eligible and willing Sierra Leone voter is registered in the coming month for the 2023 elections.
Sierra Leoneans don’t want to hear people complaining about not being registered to vote in this coming registration process. Even though the main opposition made efforts to stop their people from being counted in the 2021 census, hundreds of willing people waited to be counted but no enumerators turned up to count them. Cases of people not being counted were reported in many parts of the country, especially in the Western Area and the Northern part of the country.
With that in mind, this writer would want to remind the Chief Electoral Commissioner that free, fair and credible elections start from the voter registration process. The registration system should not be rigged in favour of any particular region of the country. Sierra Leoneans in all corners of the country must be registered so that they will be able to exercise their rights to elect their leaders.
The 2023 election is one of the most important elections in the history of Sierra Leone for Sierra Leoneans because many Sierra Leoneans who started to vote in 2007 have experienced the governance of both the two main political parties in the country, i.e. the ruling SLPP and the main opposition APC, so this coming election is an opportunity for Sierra Leoneans to make a crucial decision to either go with what they have for the past four years or make a change based on their experience from both parties.
I am not talking about a third force here because I am sure Sierra Leoneans are not prepared for that yet. This writer believes that 2023 is the most important election because it gives Sierra Leoneans the golden opportunity to kick the current government out of power which will show politicians that if they don’t deliver what they were elected for, they will only serve one term in office. If the electorates make such a bold decision, they would send a strong warning to the incoming politicians that Sierra Leoneans are no longer fools and if they too fail to deliver, they will be kicked out in 2028.
On the other hand, 2023 will also give the SLPP government the opportunity to know that they are indeed in the right direction if Sierra Leoneans vote for Maada Bio for a second term. Voting for Bio in 2023 will demonstrate that the too many cries, yelling about hardship, and complaining about bad economic policies were just fabricated to tarnish the government. The 2023 election will also allow the main opposition APC to ascertain whether their governance system is indeed better than the current SLPP or not.
This writer believes 2023 will be a historical election because voting SLPP out will send a strong and clear message that if politicians come to power and fail to address the needs of the people, they will be kicked out as soon as their first term ends, while if the SLPP is voted in for the second term, it will show that the opposition APC is so abysmal and rotten that despite the current hardship and suffering in the country, Sierra Leoneans still don’t trust them to run the state.
If the APC loses the 2023 elections, they should just go to their ancestral shrines to pray for cleansing. For the aforementioned, the Electoral Commission must ensure that they provide a level platform for everyone willing to be registered to vote by giving ample time for voter registration to take place in every village and town in the country so that everyone has the opportunity to pass judgement on these two old political parties in our country.
Let the commission be a neutral referee where every player is allowed to exhibit their talent without hindrance. The chief electoral commissioner should know that the future of the country is in his hands and he should have statesmanship and loyalty to the people of the country. This is why Sane Sierra Leoneans are calling for members of Parliament to pass electoral laws that do not deprive any Sierra Leoneans in the country.
The election commission must ensure that everyone is registered so that they will be able to take part in the appraisal of the two main political parties come 2023.
This writer, therefore, thinks everyone should be given the opportunity to register to vote.
Today, I want to speak directly with members and supporters of the Sierra Leone People’s Party. I have a few questions for you. What do you really want? How do you want other Sierra Leoneans to remember your party? How do you, as a person, want to be remembered for supporting this great party?
I say “great party” because I come from that generation of young Sierra Leoneans who, immediately after the war, were introduced to the governance system of the Sierra Leone People’s Party. Through Pa Kaba, we saw how the SLPP showed us what democracy is. It wasn’t the perfect democracy, but it was close. Like many other young Sierra Leoneans, I transitioned from experiencing a decade-long brutal civil war to knowing a democratic country where all citizens were treated equally through Pa Kaba’s SLPP. We saw how, as young people, our nation moved from the barbaric times we were introduced to one where we could hope, dream, live freely and where necessary challenge our government, as long as we “don’t go to the bush.” That is why my generation will forever consider Pa Kaba, our hero. And I am sure many of you at the party will say the same.
But Pa Kaba is no more, and I find it hard to believe that when he died, he died with his values and that of the party. And even if what we are currently seeing and experiencing is the true SLPP, I still would want to believe that Pa Kaba must have installed some of his values to this green party.
So, what happened to those values?
Over the last few years, I have interacted with countless party members. And for many, the discussions are always different in private and public. In private, they worry about the party’s direction under its current leadership. Dozens of senior SLPP members supported and campaigned for President Maada Bio not because he was the most competent of all but because they thought the SLPP as a party would remain what it is. It doesn’t matter who they send to the polls; they thought the party could still shape the candidate to conform to the party’s values. They were wrong.
Deep down, most party members are entirely dissatisfied with the way things are in the country. They know the party no longer represents its values and their beliefs in it. Many feel like the party has been hijacked. The current state of the party and the country is not what many bargained and voted for. That is why I think it must be hurting so bad to have been at the forefront of things only to see the party and the nation crumble in front of you as it is today.
But now isn’t about what you did or thought you could have done. It is about what you can do now.
Sierra Leone is at a very important crossroads. These are very challenging times for all citizens, regardless of party affiliation. The current challenges will (probably) continue in the coming year or two.
Elections are around the corner, and the biggest threat to the SLPP’s reelection isn’t the social media keyboard warriors, the ragtag, the haters, or the opposition party members. The biggest threat to the SLPP is the silence of those genuine individuals in the party who bled and sweated for President Bio’s candidacy. The threat to the party is those who spend hours defending bad governance and insulting anyone who disagrees with them on national issues.
So, as we start the countdown to next year’s elections, you must ask yourselves what you truly want, how you want Sierra Leoneans to remember the SLPP, and how you, as members of this party, want your fellow citizens to remember you.
It is time you stop grumbling in private and speak up about what is happening. It is time you start holding each other accountable. You must be willing to speak up and know whether Maada Bio gets re-elected; you will walk around with your heads up, knowing that you stood up for your country and defended your party or what you think the SLPP should be.
And it is up to you to decide. I can’t choose that for you. I am just a lousy-wannabe celebrity-Social Media keyboard warrior-Ragtag-outrage guy.
So, as the party’s member of parliament, minister, senior party member, or ordinary supporter, are you satisfied with the direction of your party and the country? What do you want for Salone? What do you want for the SLPP? And how do you want to be remembered as a party member and supporter?
