The shortest three years

I have always maintained that the rhetoric of opposition is a far cry from the reality of governance; I am sure that no one would agree with me more than the leadership of the APC. They were so carried away by the euphoria of winning the results of the Presidential elections of 2007 that they promised the people of Sierra Leone a joyous landing on the moon only to find that they could barely find themselves among the stars.

I listened to his Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma’s third anniversary broadcast statement to the nation last Friday and I was impressed that except for a few areas, he wisely refused to concentrate on specifics.

Going through his “green book” later I discovered that he had also succumbed to some exaggeration and false claim of his government’s achievements. It is also fair to say that with the exception of the obvious ones like the Torchlight, We Yone, the Exclusive and last but not least the African Champion newspapers have been generous with their grading of the achievements which they rank as average.

I always say that I have a soft spot for Alpha Kanu the mineral resources minister and Presidential spokesman. He is soft spoken and what is more not easily ruffled. How I wish I could say the same thing of his flamboyant colleague the information and Communications Minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo . Would you believe that minister Kargbo went through the roof on Friday morning? The occasion was the SLBC’s tea break programme in which were both guests. He had boasted as usual of how his government had given powers to the ACC which no government had done before. I challenged him on the failed follow-up of blatant cases of corruption; as soon as I mentioned the matter of the GST receipt books the man went through the roof and accused me of always commenting on events about which I knew nothing. A very crafty diplomatic move on the part of Claudia Anthony the tea break hostess prevented me from responding to the honourable minister’s uncalled-for explosion. Among other things he accused me of sitting comfortably in an office that they had commissioned. Miserable fellow that he is, he could not even read the plaque at the entrance to the broadcasting house where it is clearly stated that the facility was provided and commissioned by the NPRC’s Julius Maada Bio. He has gained notoriety for his gaffes, like when he has said that President Ernest Bai Koroma will raise the capacity of the Goma hydro which supplies electricity to Bo and Kenema from 4mega watts to 6 mega watts next April. It does not even occur to him that that was achieved as far back as 2006.

I continue to be amused by apologists who continuously babble about the APC’s achievements in 3 years compared to the SLPP’s dismal performance in 11 years. These people deserve to be pitied for their deliberate display of ignorance in such matters. In the first place what did the SLPP inherit in March 1996? It was a very ferocious raging war with wanton destruction of life and property. Government was restricted mainly to regional headquarters that is, until Makeni fell into rebel hands. The army and the police were poorly trained and equipped with no motivation. In their ranks were hundreds of sobels who were no better than the core rebels. There was mass displacement of people with thousands of children not attending school, the airport was closed to international flights and the main port almost sealed. We secured the peace and were then faced with the herculean task of disarmament, demobilization, repatriation and resettlement and with economic activity which had ground to a halt. We were complimented for beginning development even as we pursued the war.

By the time we left office, there was not a single chiefdom that was without at least a junior secondary school, a health centre etc. Those children who had missed out on primary school because of the war were placed in a fast track system; the education system was restored with free primary education, free secondary school education including free uniform and educational materials.

Local Government had been introduced in all districts with decentralization progressing satisfactorily. 73 Paramount chieftaincy vacancies were filled without violence or political interference, the mining sector had resumed production, food security became a priority with the economy under control and much more.

The APC inherited a robust economy with the price of our staple food rice no more than Le70,000 a bag. There was peace everywhere, the citizenry felt safe and secure.

The situation of the average Sierra Leone since the advent of the APC three years ago is a sad story which only the housewife with a family of four could more accurately describe or the roaming unemployed youth everywhere with no let off in the spate of armed robbery. In spite of all the odds the APC praise singers tell us even with our empty stomachs that “we’ve never had it so good.” But nar salone dis.

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