News Story

FREETOWN: Dr. SAMA BANYA - PUAWUI: The price of fuel has gone up by two thousand leones to 16,500 leones per gallon. It certainly does not require a genius to conclude that the price of everything will shoot up as a result, not just correspondingly but even much more. The first area to be affected is the transport sector and therefore everything else. What a dilema for poor President Koroma and his team. We shall wait and see whether, as a responsible government, they are going to deal with the matter in a mature and sensible way rather than simply sit down with folded arms and blame the the devalued dollar, climate change and global trade for their woes. We wish them well.

When the National Revenue Authority (the NRA) was formed, for practically every quarter of that year, it exceeded its target in revenue collestion by a very wide margin, a feat which was acclaimed by both the government and the IMF. So what's all the hullabaloo in the Exclusive newspaper of Friday May 2 about "for the first time in the history of revenue collection bla bla bla" Where were they when that event took place for the first time? Now I remember; the idea of such a newspaper had not even been conceived; but is that any excuse for the staff writer not to have researched before making such a fool of himself with unnecessary superlatives? Ah Salone, dis we Salone!

The Resident Minister Eastern Province had since his appointment by President Koroma, been working quietly and even assidiously in trying to woo and win the hearts of the people in his region. Everyone has commended him very positively when compared with his strange counterpart in the South. So what has happened I wonder. Has the praise gone into his head or is the normally gentle William Smith in a rush to fulfil his part of the contract with President Ernest Koroma.

What can be the rationale behind his directive that heads of local government institutions hand in their official vehicles with immediate effect? Is the Minister at the same time implying that the mayors and District Chairmen have ceased functioning even though the local government elections are in July? Has the same directive been issued to their counterparts in Makeni, Bo (not that it would come as a surprise here!) or in Freetown where Herbert George Williams goes even to local markets to market himself as a conscientious and hard working first citizen? And what does the Honourable Minister of Local Government think about his Kenema colleague's over enthusiasm?

At last the Ziimbabwe Electoral Commision (ZEN) has released the results of the Presidential elections held in that Country some five weeks ago. The Commission said that it was verifying the results. I personally have refused to comment on the sad events in that country and I have often disagreed with some of my friends who have justified the delay of almost five weeks in releasing the results.

However I must commend ZEC because when it was doing its verification, it invited representatives of all the parties as well as of the Presidential candidates. But here we are in Sierra Leone. Christiana Thorpe invalidates 477 polling stations for alleged overvoting and doesn't invite a single party representative nor any of the independent observers, but does it all alone with the peculiar assistance of Carlos Valenzuela with a later, a much later endorsement of Algassimu Jah and Henrietta Olu-Williams. NEC has since interfered with the ballot boxes under the pretence of doing an internal audit, an action that is contrary to law. Is it not strange that not a single member of our local international community has raised a voice of concern?

These people haven't even wondered what justification there could be for NEC to demand the nomination of candidates for the local government elections well before the exercise of voter registration. Just imagine all the funny things that have been said about the conduct of the Zimbagwe elections. There appear to be different approved procedures for regime change depending on who the incumbent is.