Honorable Rosaline J O Smith could be the next ‘Margret Thatcher’ of Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, politics has become a product of a culture obsessed and Honorable Rosaline Jariatu Osaio Smith (in photo) commonly called JK, is becoming a political celebrity in Parliament.  Many people have started to assess the young lady for her eloquence and dynamism and compare her with Margret Thatcher in England. In spite of her international experience from the West, mainly the United Kingdom and the United States, JK possessed leadership traits of being respectful, proactive, focus, and excellent persuasion ability. When she was in her teens, I spoke to so many of her associates and prophesied that JK has some key features that would lead her to even better than what she holds right now.

In my last visit to Freetown mid-February this year, I visited Parliament and observed two Parliament sessions. It happens that I witnessed the deliberation and ratification of a bill about the loan from South Korea to construct the City Hall. I discovered that every move Honorable Smith was making in contributing and responding to parliament session was calculated to be worthwhile. Prior to meeting with her, many people have expressed commendation to me about her performances saying that Honorable Rosaline Smith has a powerful model for inspirational leadership skills. She always want to provide her people opportunity, education, discipline when necessary, build their self-confidence, and reach out every vulnerable person in her constituency.

It was the first time of meeting with her in over ten years. I was impressed when she presented me to her colleague parliamentarians as a relative of hers’ and as an effective journalist in the United States who is fighting the course of change in our country. Time was not enough for me to conduct a detail interview with the Honorable Member of Parliament about many issues I have in mind; however, I did observed her performance and activities in her huge constituency of ‘Ward 103.’  She made me believe that she exhibited all of the character traits that I have seen in her and

what other people have said positively about her. No wonder why President Koroma has her in the chosen option for his entourage.

Even among her colleague members of Parliament, Honorable Rosaline Smith was commended on her nobility of purpose. She told me that she is getting a great support from her husband Mr. Smith to do extra benevolent activities. She has awarded numerous scholarships to students in and outside of her constituency to improve education standards. She is in every corner of her constituency to uplift the most vulnerable.  I congratulate her for her enterprise and unselfishness.

While I cannot claim to provide an in-depth analysis of the dynamics of the Honorable, However, I saw Rosaline Smith as someone who can go extra mile to help people. She tries harder to please someone, get the task done correctly and do more than one is required to do to reach a goal. One instance is that, the Honorable endeavor to accompany a diaspora man to his farm, Mr. Osman Bangura who over the years has decided to return home from England and contributes to the economic development of our country. She visited the agriculture farm and observes how much Mr. Bangura invested at Pate-Fu Maforki in Port-loko District. She did not demand anything from the farmer like the former politicians use to do. She voluntarily travelled with Mr. Osman Bangura and me in her official SUV car to visit the 300+ acre farm of cassava. Upon arrival at the firm, Honorable JK astonished and admired the effort and sacrifices the Diaspora man has put into the farm.  She appraised the farm highly beyond imagination and remarked that, “this is an example of what President Korman is looking for to accomplish the agenda for prosperity”. She made an enthusiastic support by lavishly spent a lot of money to the local farmers who unexpectedly saw the Honorable for the first time.

It is not easy to have a genuine politician like JK who is free from pretense.  Considerable political and media attention should focused on the phenomenon of this celebrity politician not because she representing a huge constituency, but to see her also as a philanthropist politician and an articulate orator in the house of Parliament.

The call over the years, both at the international and national levels, for the inclusion of women in decision making was correctly answered by President Koroma. At President Koroma’s tenure, the house has the highest number of female Parliamentarians in the history of Sierra Leone politics. With the presence of Rosaline Smith and other prominent women in Parliament, gender barrier is no longer an issue in our legislator and has got a break in a traditional grip of monopoly of men in politics.  The APC party is fortunate to have a smart lady like Rosaline Smith as a representative of one of the biggest constituency ‘Ward 103’ in the Eastern Freetown.

By Sanpha Sesay, Texas Correspondent

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