News Story

By Dr. Sama Banya - AKA Puawui, Freetown, Sierra Leone. In the run up to the 2007 Presidential and parliamentary Election, the APC campaigned on falsehood, lies, deceit and all manner of sugar-coated propaganda to fool our people. They accused us in the SLPP of not caring for the miserable plight of the people. While the rest of our population was languishing in abject poverty, they alleged, we were busy lining our pockets with donor money. Thanks to that notorious mischief maker, the editor of Standard Times newspaper, we were accused of concealing Libyan the donated rice as a big secret and no doubt sold it and kept the money for ourselves. (italics mine.)

In 2004 prior to the local government elections the international price of rice rocketed; and due to the unprecedented industrial activities especially by the Peoples Republic of China and India, there was increased demand for shipping which also raised sea freights in general; the Freetown seaport was still on the high insurance war zone risk dating back from the AFRC takeover of the government. All of the above combined to raise the price of essential goods. The APC and their allies of the free press didn’t want to hear that and blamed it all on the ineptitude of the SLPP government. There was hardly a debate in Parliament at which the then Minority leader, now Executive President and his front bench didn’t lambaste the Kabbah government for its perceived callousness.

Then came the election campaign itself; The APC election manifesto and campaign slogans were filled with flamboyant and extravagant promises; the price of rice and other commodities would come crashing down; theirs was going to be a people–oriented government; street traders would pay no taxes. They set themselves targets which they well knew were unachievable, but so what! Their only interest was to sell it to the gullible Sierra Leone voter. Oh the Utopia that was going to be the lot of Sierra Leoneans under the APC; and so the vague promises went on ad infinitum. I struck a note of caution at the time that life was better under the SLPP and warned our people not to let the APC spoil it for them. But who listened.

The economy itself was growing; we had a healthy Foreign Reserve; a lot of stride had been made in infrastructure, governance, health, food security, education, increasing the participation of women in governance and so forth. In a 2006 review of President Kabbah’s Food Security drive it was revealed that we had achieved 64 % in rice production, over 100% in cassava production and so forth. Which of the newspapers now echoing President Koroma’s call for attitude change hailed any of those achievements? On the contrary some even ridiculed it. The Awoko newspaper was to ask its readers whether they had any food to eat; Standard Times wondered whether President Kabbah thought that his individual effort of a 60 acre rice harvest was going to feed this nation.

Six months into the APC administration, the people of Sierra Leone have never had it so bad. There is unprecedented increase in lawlessness, to say nothing about the political attack on SLPP supporters, real and perceived by APC thugs with no action being taken to address the wrongs. Vigilantes decide the fate of Paramount Chiefs. But when Honourable Elizabeth Lavalie quite rightly warns that enough could be enough and that our people had been pushed to the limit, the Minister for Presidential Affairs cries foul and describes the statement as inciting. In praise of President Koroma’s achievements in so short a time, one ignorant sycophant wrote quite shamelessly that the President had negotiated loans for the rehabilitation of the Kenema to Koindu road. Oh my! Oh my! Would somebody educate him please?

Various Ministers are talking so much as if they inherited bankrupt developments. The Ministers of Information and of Trade have run out of excuses about how the global economic situation has affected us. Is it only now that the Information Minister and his deputy have been made aware of this. Despite the platitudes and the slogans and the President Pacts with his Minister, the government has to admit that apart from the electricity supply they’ve achieved nothing to boast about. The acquisition of regular electricity is proving to be a pyrrhic victory which is leaving us economically battered and weak.

The APC and their allies accuse of being hasty and inpatient in our judgment; did we put the vain promises in their mouths? Did we tell the people in Makeni of all places, to grumble about “tin don tranga” or ask the school children to prostate themselves before a Presidential motorcade in protest over lack of food? Yes, and that photograph on the front page of Awoko newspaper of Friday 14th March of youths gambling in the street to make a living? As the New Vision reproduced, “elephant hade norto for pikin.” Our friends are simply overwhelmed by the enormity of their problems and ought to stop those funny excuses. O dat sen dem?.