Issues at Large 11-26-09
Of Bribery and Poverty in Kono
Sad news to have heard a case of $15,000 bribery that flopped between Lebanese (in the guise of Diamond Dealers Association) diamond merchants and the Ministry of Mines Officials in the country’s poorest and most affected region in the past brutal and devastating war. The Diamond Dealers Association in the District could afford to offer bribery of such mammoth prize but continues to turn blind eyes on the plight of thousands of malnourished children dying of apparent hunger and malnutrition in Kono.
The constitution of the Diamond Dealers Association is made up mainly of Lebanese and other West African Foreigners who have since the discovery of diamonds in the district continued to exploit it in collaboration with corrupt public officials; an action which has rendered the district destitute now that the diamonds are no longer available at will.
To have offered such huge sum as bribery from the Lebanese community to the Mines Engineer leaving out its corporate responsibility to the community from which it reaps is callous and insensitive to the plight of the people.Â
The reports says the new Mines Engineer rejected the bribery but what is certain is that it is not usual for such offers to be rejected and counter news is that the said offer was too small in the words of Dr. Kolleh Bangura who now serves as new Mines man to the District and could not be accepted. The tradition is that usually, those that are transferred to serve as Mines Engineers in the District are the principal representative of the interest of the government and the Minister in particular and so in such cases, it’s obvious that such money is minuscule for the goiter appetite of the mines and mineral cabal in the country.Â
Taking Issue with Zainab Bangura    Â
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation is the latest victim of the venoms of Sierra Leone’s ‘evil-media’ for reason so trivial that one could hardly see the essence of the attacks of trigger hungry pens on her personality. If one media house does pry into her personal affairs, it will cook up stories of her presidential ambition to stand against her current employer President Ernest Bai Koroma in the coming 2012 general election. Such is not only indiscernible but also could not tell under which flagship as Koroma has been given the mandate to sail the APC ship come 2012; her own party, ridiculous!
She will not think about that in her wildest moments talk least making any such undertaking; so leave the poor woman to do her job.Â
Others have invariably questioned some of her decisions most of which had gone through the Cabinet before taking them but would instead blame her rather than the government. Atomic Newspaper of Wednesday 25th November went as far as describing her as “the Haja who does not know the nearest Mosque, a piece that carried no issue other than to make vain accusations on the personality of the female minster giving no reasons for the attack whatsoever. The funny thing is that, the Minister just continues to ignore them busying herself in what she has been assigned to do. Isn’t it a nice way to treat bad press?
NRA: Tax Identification Number a must!
The National Revenue Authority (NRA) has in the spirit of modifying and improving the country’s tax collecting system and re-branding the country economic system introduced a Tax Identification Number-TIN for every business in the country in preparation to effect the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that will take effect come January 2009.
It obtains that as of December 1, 2009 tax payers without TIN will be prevented from clearing goods from the Queen Elizabeth II Quay and all custom border posts in the country. Without a TIN no one will be allowed to obtain tax clearance certificate from the Income Tax Department at NRA or process any documents at the National revenue Authority.
For the effectiveness of the programme, it said that the NRA will seal off all business premises in accordance tax laws if such businesses do not posses the TIN as such will be deemed and tax evasion. The good news is that the provision of TIN will be done all over the country and will be done free of charge.
A recent chart with the Commissioner General registered the determination of the country’s tax agency to ensure that the tax system is refined to be able to provide fiscal support for government activities.
The Rise and Survival of Mohamed Koroma
He was a lowly media practitioner and for one reason or the other, President Koroma saw the need to bring him in the running of state affairs in the guise of Deputy Minister of Information under the leadership of Aljhaji I.B. Kargbo where his pragmatism saw him break many hurdles which the most of us didn’t quite imagine he would dare.
The need came for him to serve as back up to cleanse the then degenerating health sector, that same quality that might have apparently brought him up for statesmanship-pragmatism is apparently the same that is making him survive the current state of affairs in the country. Whether you like it or not, he is making headway in his duty to reform the health sector.
First, when he took up office, he dashed at illegally established clinics which to the surprise of many took the international headlines. He closed down many illegal pharmacies in collaboration with the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, and now he is at war with corrupt doctors and nurses. This certainly makes him one the most admirable of Ernest Koroma’s lieutenants in governance; only hopes he survives further. I now know that pragmatism is part of competency in any job.
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