They’re still SLPP … really?

J B Dauda and honourable Tamba Bobor-Sawyer are now members of the current APC government. They were not nominated by the leadership of the SLPP which had stated categorically that in consonance with its aim of sustaining democratic principles, the party would not participate in any form of power sharing arrangement, nor would it join the current government. The party did not stop at that but warned all its members to adhere to that principle adding that disciplinary action would be taken against any offenders. But His Excellency took the unprecedented step of going over the head of the SLPP leadership by appointing two of its members into government. While the party has yet to take a final decision on the matter, newspapers have continued to report that both men have repeated that they were still members of the SLPP. We must leave judgment on that to posterity, to the prevailing circumstances in 2012 and to the influencing factors.

Do the people who deride the SLPP as being tribalistic, of being divisive etc. ever stop to read what they write? Just what do they mean when they write that the party when in government cared only for a particular ethnic group? Do they expect to be taken seriously or is it as I presume an exercise in “I too must add my voice to the refrain?” What baffles me is that they see the list of flag bearer aspirants and their different regional and ethnic back grounds and yet fail to see how evenly distributed they are. Which other political party of such dimension could make such claim or boast. The lots I pity are those who have lived in the United States for donkey years and who have nothing to their credit than that they contributed generously to the Ernest Bai Koroma election campaign kitty. These may be compared to people who look at their reflections in a mirror and refuse to acknowledge what they see. But some day their eyes will be opened and they will come to terms with reality.

There is no doubt that under the present APC government the economy is booming; evidence of this is the large number of lingerie stores that have opened all over the city; their numbers may only be compared to the equally large number of stores selling musical and other electronic sets. But the economy is booming with the United States dollar climbing rapidly to Le4,4000. There is no point in asking for the prices of essential commodities; only the miserable housewives could comment on that. However what matters is the good news that the IMF/World bank is pleased with the way the economy is going and has pumped another 6 million United States dollars into the system. Now by logic that ought to bring the exchange rate down in favour of the Leone, and yet it has continued to climb. There must be more to it than this dinosaur can comprehend. Would that some economist would explain it without resorting to the “on the other hand factor.” In the meantime ECOWAS street is suffocating from congestion. The street traders have virtually taken over the entire width of the street and poor motorists must thread their way through cacophony of human beings selling from diamints to, you’ve guessed it, LINGERIES. The big question is, IS ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SUFFERINGS OF SHOP KEEPERS ON WHOM THE NRA DERIVES THE BULK OF ITS REVENUE, WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PETTY TRADERS? The answer is NO and the reason is that none of the owners of the numerous building material stores is a voter so who cares about their inconvenience? Dare any of them raise their voice? It would be swallowed in unprintable obscene language, including such ‘endearing terms’ like “BLOODY LEBANESE and bastard coral.” No one cares to remember that the ancestors of many of the so called Corals opened up the hinterland. Without them Sierra Leone would today still be referred to as a dark country. Ah, but na Salone dis. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the readers and well-wishers of this column the very best wishes for Christmas and the coming year. May all our pockets be able to withstand the inflation of 2011? I won’t be back till after Xmas.

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