Celebrating Salone’s birthday in darkness!
Many Sierra Leoneans have found it difficult to imagine that after 50 years of self-rule this country will celebrate her golden jubilee in pitch darkness.
It’s too sad, very, very sad!
From Allen Town in the east to Goderich in the west, frustration seems to be written on the faces of ordinary citizens as their cry seems to be the same: no power available, not even for their independence anniversary.
This is not the first time this medium has been dilating on the consequences of a nation existing without a reliable power supply. The economic factors aside, the social discomfort that torments the common man has left many in a somber mood as we approach not just our independence anniversary celebration but also the holy week of Easter.
We shouldn’t have said it, but let it be known that there is not much excitement about our golden jubilee ‘ladi dadi’, no more than a mere wish for it to pass off peacefully so that people can forget about the worries associated with the event.
Of course, long before President Koroma appointed his 50th anniversary committee to spearhead preparations for our golden jubilee, this medium had strongly insisted on the need for a stable electricity supply during the weeklong celebration so that the poor too would enjoy the benefit of being an independent nation.
Little wonder the President, with all his good intention for this country, did not take the issue of electricity during the period so seriously; otherwise nobody should be complaining by now.
The President, we are told, has invited his colleague heads of state to grace his country’s independence celebrations on April 27. He has been invited to attend other countries’ golden jubilee and he must have been delighted by the reception he got in those countries.
We are not sure he will be inviting his colleagues to celebrate with him in total darkness.
The question then is why all this talk about the beautification of Freetown ahead of the anniversary without providing adequate electricity supply to lighten the hearts of people on that memorable day?
Talking about the non-availability of power supply, we are also referring to the continued power cuts in the regions. The story there is more than pathetic.
Few days ago in Bo, the second city of Sierra Leone, President Koroma rubbed shoulders with 149 paramount chiefs from all corners of this country in total darkness.
What a shame! After fifty years of self-rule we are still grappling with power failure, yet we want to admit that we a developing nation.
Let the President give us the light he promised us. We want it now more than ever before!
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