APC/PMDC marriage: What prospects for the future?
Truth be said, the APC/PMDC alliance was neither planned nor even was it an anticipated political strategy. It was and remains a marriage of convenience, decided upon at the last moment to avoid a third party taking the prize and without involving the rest of the bride’s (PMDC) family. All through the 2007 hustling there was no talk in either camp on the subject of “WHAT IF?” For reasons that only the PMDC leadership could explain, the party was over confident about its popularity among voters and the prospects for victory at the poles. Political observers and analysts had predicted an SLPP or APC victory with PMDC coming a poor third. The APC had taken the lead in the first round and the final battle, the runoff was going to be between the SLPP and the APC. Then it happened; rumour had it that it was the PMDC leader Charles Margai who walked over from Hannah Benka-Coker street to Old Railway line; in short it was he who chased the senior partner. The lamb was anxious to marry Mary if only to humiliate the SLPP. Charles was so bitter against the SLPP that he was ready to sacrifice any and everything to thwart an SLPP victory, and worse still, to let Solomon Berewa become the next President of Sierra Leone. Like some quick marriages, there was no time for an engagement or a Church or Mosque wedding; the Registry (the Old Railway line headquarters of the APC) was enough. However, like most marriages, there was a bride price, a dowry if you like, amounting to a whacking 0NE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS. That was only revealed to the rest of the PMDC family members in Kenema, at the party’s national convention. It was only after cracks had begun to appear in the union and challenges to his leadership looming that Charles announced that in deed money had changed hands and that the then Ernest Bai Koroma had given him US$145,000 with which they were to campaign on behalf of the APC in mainly the South and parts of the East It was announced very quickly that the money had been handed over to Femi Hebron who was at the time the PMDC’s financial guru. Femi immediately issued a statement that all the money had been spent and nothing more has been said about it to this day. (Photo: Dr.  Sama Banya)
Trust the APC whose first and interest is always the APC. Compare this behaviour to when there was trouble in the political camp of Karefa-Smart’s UNPP which was the second largest party in Parliament after the SLPP after the 1996 elections. Former President Tejan-Kabbah spent much time in an effort to get the two factions of the party to come together in the interest of a strong Parliamentary opposition and democracy. They didn’t listen; instead they went to court. Some members of the SLPP criticized Kabbah for that. The APC has made no effort to heal the rift within the PMDC. Rather it has gone on a surreptitious campaign to exploit the situation by unethical poaching in PMDC waters mainly by political bribery of its members. The PMDC’s Benjamin Davies was sacked as Lands minister; he immediately resigned from the PMDC, moved over to the APC and has been rewarded with a plum job as Ports General Manager. The Kaikai “twins” had moved to the PMDC from the SLPP and are now members of the APC with one of them appointed a deputy minister. And so the trage-comedy continues. As expected, the PMDC have not taken kindly to this act of betrayal and have said so loud and clear including a recent discussion on UN radio. Charles Margai himself has on a number of occasions publicly expressed dissatisfaction over a number of the APC government’s performances.
Now the PMDC Member of Parliament from constituency 88 in the Pujehun district honourable Shiaka Musa Sama, is spitting fire. In the Wednesday January 20 edition of the Awoko newspaper, he is invoking hell’s damnation on their marriage-of- convenience to their seniour partner, “APC WILL SUFFER FROM ITS WICKED MACHINATIONS,” he screams on the pages of the Awoko newspaper. Referring to how his party helped the APC in 2007, which he said was crucial to President Koroma and the APC winning, he said that it was the responsibility of the latter to strengthen and empower the PMDC as a third political force. “But this is not the case as presently the APC is helping destroy the PMDC as was manifested recently in Port Loko,” the MP laments. He accuses their partners of using various strategies such as money, jobs and promises, but he was sure that at the end of the day, like the PMDC, APC was going to suffer the result of its wicked machinations. This may just be the opening volley; like I asked yesterday, with partners like the APC, will the PMDC need any enemies? Certainly not; not even the SLPP. Dis union go tranga for sustain tay 2012.
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