Peripatetic Puawui
Would someone, preferably from the Mayor’s parlor or the APC headquarters tell this old man and his readers what last Thursday’s massive demonstration was all about. Was it a ruse to test the popularity of his Excellency or was it, as has been announced in some newspapers the mayor’s usual way of boosting his very low popularity which has continued its downward slide for some time now? (Photo: Dr. Sama Banya)
Some newspapers had announced that there would be a big demonstration with no trading that day and that all commercial houses would stay closed. The day was to be observed as “operation no plastic” and that all were expected to be out there clearing plastics which are a major environmental degradation agent. All doubts were soon cleared by the preponderance of red dresses and the usual praise singing of the exemplary success of the boss man in transforming the economy and the lives of his people. All this was in sharp contrast to the galloping rate of inflation with a Leone that has all the symptoms of malnutrition against the “green buck.” I am sure that Brima Sannoh has an appropriate expression for it which is NOT ‘primitive loyalty’.
Mr. Sesey the managing director of D and S Associates is a fine gentleman, soft spoken and friendly. His company has however found itself in the centre of an ugly procurement and performance scandal. I have read the company’s carefully worded press release but I find that it needs further clarification. According to David Tam-Baryoh D&S had only tendered for and been awarded the contract for the supply of three 2 mega watts generators to the Lungi community. Shortly after that the honorable Energy and Water Resources minister had addressed a letter, an addendum as he called it, to the Executive director of public procurement that the contract for the supply of two 2 mega watts generators for KONO was being added to the already awarded Lungi contract. In the same breadth the Executive director had given the minister a ‘no-objection ‘ go ahead without, according to Tam-Baryoh, the formality of further bidding or of even asking on what basis.
Mr. Sesey ought to enlighten us a little more about this. As a matter of further interest, were those the contracts about which the management of NPA had written such a strong letter of condemnation to the ministry of Energy and Water Resources and were they in fact members of the evaluation team before the award?
Yes, a half loaf may be better than none, as the saying goes, but a half truth isn’t equal to none, let alone supersede it. In its further efforts to tarnish the SLPP national chairman John Benjamin, a Standard Times newspaper commentary narrates how the chairman had recalled the National Executive Council for the sole purpose of amending the new constitution in order to reverse the duplication of the functions of the national chairman with those of the Secretary General. The commentary deliberately makes NO MENTION OF THE SPECIAL NEC MEETING WHICH WAS TO FURTHER AMEND THE CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW THOSE EXECUTIVE MEMBERS WHO WISHED TO CONTEST THE FLAGSHIP POSITION TO RESIGN AND DO SO.
Even more glaring is the fact that there is NO MENTION THAT AT THAT MEETING JOHN BENJAMIN FORMALLY DECLARED THAT HE WOULD ONLY REMAIN CHAIRMAN AND THEREFORE WOULD NOT CONTEST THE FLAGSHIP POSITION.
How would someone who is so bent on ruling the party, voluntarily withdraw from such an important contest in the interest of party unity and cohesion?
But nar Salone journalism dat, to present one side or half side of a story and then to tear into it as if it was the whole truth-Crooked thinking?
I keep saying that we must continue to be thankful to Almighty God for His continued Grace and Mercy to this country of ours called Sierra Leone. We are spared nearly all of the major natural disasters that have befallen other countries in recent years. I am thinking of the Chilean and the recent New Zealand earthquakes and of Thursday’s terrible earthquake and tsunami that has hit northern Japan, the effect of which was felt 250 miles away in Tokyo. After those terrible events the people still live in constant fear from what are known as ‘after shocks’.
Saturday cleaning took place alright but as always it has been followed by the familiar habit of piling all the muck and the rubbish on the highway which makes the latter impassable to motorists. Could they be the after shock of our cleaning exercise? By the way is the second Saturday the new date for the monthly cleaning or was Saturday’s affair to last for the next twelve months?
The Central Circuit of the Methodist Church Sierra Leone has as one of its topics for the weekly Lenten talks, “The Church in Politics.” One could at once think of people like Cardinal Wolsey, Rev E N Jones, more popularly known as Lamina Sankoh, of the Vicar of Bray, of Rev. Donald Soper, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Father, later Bishop Trevor Huddleston of anti apartheid fame, Ian Paisley and many others. As against those names like Joseph Sherman, Wilfred Kabs-Kanu and the like who are not worthy of the dog collar that they wear I, that is if they do at all. For them their motto or theme song is “whose bread I eat, his song I sing.” They write as if they have never come across one of the wise sayings of Solomon as recorded in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 23:- “Buy truth and sell it not.” How else would Joseph Sherman (is he a grandson of W L Sherman who taught me in standards two to four in the Bo School?) write that the SLPP government was tribalistic and self-centered?
The SLPP being the democratic political party that it is, not only tolerates constructive criticisms and suggestions, but actually welcomes them. I do not agree with everything that Kai Samba wrote about us in the Democrat newspaper, but one has to admit that it was done honestly and without prejudice. And is how things must be.
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