Mahmud Tim Kargbo: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 5 November 2021:
The party is over. A celebration that began with the election in 2018 of a dynamic president who promised change and a new dawn in Sierra Leone politics, is now a pipe dream. We stand more than three years later in the ruins of false hopes and broken dreams. A new era was to begin – post tribalism, bipartisanship, regionalism and with the unity to right an economic ship that collided with the great state looting of our national resources that began under former President Koroma.
A nation of people looking for stability and restoration, not the continuation of failed policies and State House orchestrated gridlock. The opportunity and the moment were there to be seized when Koroma peacefully exited the Presidency, but our grip melted as despair replaced optimism.
Newly elected President Bio spent no time in the country to study the socio-economic situation of the country he’s elected to govern and the characters of the people that surround him to deliver his social contract with his people.
This divide that continues to widen every day has been a calculated goal of the Bio led SLPP since the first champagne corks were popped and people raised their expectations that this time, finally, things might be different. But the Bio led SLPP Party, the “Paopa” wing and ultimately the “ Paopa government” were not interested in national cohesion and the greater good of the economy for all its people.
Their agenda was set from day one, and with the bulldozing of the Speaker of Parliament in favour of his SLPP Party, the scores of constitutional violations, politicisation of independent institutions, the illegal sacking of top civil servants – assumed to be members or supporters of the opposition etc, Bio demonstrated that his number one priority was to keep on fanning the flames of discord.
Bio has shown that the economy, job creation, social service protection for all, guaranteed human rights for all, and national cohesion are a distant second to his number one goal of not just trying to further destroy national peace which started under Koroma, but to build a wall of regional and tribal difference to anything and everything that is geared towards national cohesion.
So as 2021 unfolded around the world and Bio toured using tax payers cash, he unveiled his never to be realised mission of “winning international investors” with the very weak democratic institutions under his presidency.
Anti-corruption battle which meant to specifically target unexplained wealth, something he believe would bring pragmatic solutions for his uninsured second term and tackle, in part, the rising cost of his poor leadership qualities, he keeps on experiencing barrage of resistance and indigenous behaviour from genuine democrats across the globe.
From the increase in human rights violations, to the badly behind the scene negotiated contract, forming a paramilitary unit, withdrawing monies from the national purse to pay illegal paramilitary unit, over bloated wage bill to create jobs for the boys and others, are all clear signs with the intent of destroying democratic standards and perfect wrongs Bio once condemned when Koroma was lording over the affairs of the state.
At the same time, we are also seeing the rise of a group of people who, prompted by prejudice and preconceived ideas when in opposition, began a movement on the premise that they wanted the government to lower or eliminate taxes on essential commodities—although their initial methods, which included carrying signs portraying World Bank and IMF as Hitler is now at odds with their actions of being in bed with all World Bank and IMF conditions they’ve once condemned as oppressive and causing untold economic hardship in the lives of the majority.
Within three years of the Bio regime in office, the gains and strides we expected as a nation in national cohesion and bread and butter for the suffering majority are now as out-of-focus as the mirrors in a fun house.
In 2018, March general elections buoyed by an economy that was slow in turning around and a public that was fed a daily dose of falsehoods and innuendo from Paopa-wing talk radio shows, Paopa newspapers and Bio created an atmosphere that led Sierra Leoneans to believe positive change with a nationalistic sense of purpose is indeed possible.
The “Paopa” winners spoke during their campaign about jobs and fixing the economy by observing fiscal discipline by blocking leakages, and, with their mask of patriotism and Constitution in hand, had convinced restless and discontented voters of their sincerity.
The desperation and exasperation voters felt toward Bio gave the SLPP “Paopa” party the foothold it needed; and in the four conners of Sierra Leone, ordinary people, state legislatures, and civil servants, a wave of new SLPP “Paopa” party-goers arrived to make the change possible for all nationals.
Yet jobs and economic development for all nationals to get their “bread and butter” were not Bio’s first order of business. In fact, that issue for the most part has taken a back seat to nepotism and violation of human rights for the suffering majority.
The definition of opportunity for all Sierra Leoneans changed and suppression of the young, the poor, and elders irrespective of their income bracket is increasing rapidly. This party has truly become a masquerade party and now they have saved the best for last.
During the 2018 elections campaign and since Bio came to power, these words have been uttered more than any time in our Country’s history: “APC past government was corrupt and oppressive.” After more than three years in governance, voices of reasoning considered this description as nothing, but standard procedure of diverting the attention of the suffering majority to give way to massive sycophancy and covert corruption activities in governance. This Is now being used as leverage by the Bio led government as he extracts taxes from nationals with no increase in social service protection.
Now they’re really redefining how government in this country should work for all citizens. And if they could not get their way, it appears they are willing to paralyse Sierra Leone and impact the fragile Sierra Leone economy because prevailing environment is not conducive for any genuine investors to invest in the country.
They were in favour of us criticising past government in bed with the World Bank and IMF conditions. And despite the dire consequences of such conditions to national and economic security and to an enormous percentage if not a majority of citizens, consequences which almost every single expert warned about, the Bio led government does not believe there is a real cause for concern.
In the end the only thing that really matters for them is their deceitful ideology, steeped in oppressing the suffering majority.
So, yes, the election is over and Bio and his “Paopa” team have taken off their masks, and, whether in the light of day or in the dimly lit rooms where they gather, their appearance is diaphanous, and their rhetoric and actions contribute to the sounds of the nihilistic madness that pervade us today.
Even during the days of Moses after he liberated his people from bondage, they still complained because they were not familiar with freedom after 400 years in bondage. They even complained about the Mana from heaven during their Exodus 40 years journey.
President Bio should continue to FOCUS his eyes on the ball, and continue the fight against corruption which has increased the credibility of our nation from 49% to almost 80% within 3 years, and also continue to “EMANCIPATE OUR PEOPLE FROM MENTAL SLAVERY” through the Free quality education.
Bio and his government has been a massive failure on all fronts.From the moment he was sworned in back in 2018,his strategy is a dichotomy born out of a desire to engaged in vendettas politics, which was crystallized by going after his dreamt of political opponents, like Dr Blyden and Rt Marjor Poaulo Alfred Conteh in the infamous state house assassinations atempt on his life.wasting vital years in court cases that he knew will not pass the litmus test of an independent judiciary. And every Sierra-leoneans was taken by suprise because that was not part of the manifesto promise he made.The only suprise there, there were no suprises at all . It was to be expected of a president who adopted the most forceful slogan as a Campaign Mantra.” Poapoa”.
In case you are a foreign national and don’t know the meaning of this Krio word is :Whether you like it or not. You can achieve your aims and no one is going to stand in your way. And to top it up, just to buttress some of his hardcore thuggish elements in his orbit, they coined the one direction mantra. And if that was a prediction, as a nation we seems to be heading in only one direction, at the bottom pit of the least develop nations on earth. Sierra-leone is become a failed state. Under Bio, the role of the state have increased massively, interfering in every decision making process like the appointment of public servants. In the first years of Bio many well meaning qualified Sierra Leoneans especially from the diaspora community that gave up well paid jobs in the west, to help our country soon found themselves in the receiving end of Bio’s vendettas politices. This masked ideological puritanism in getting rid of public servants that doesn’t look, sound or have the same surnames or come from the same regions was nothing sort of what could be discribe as ethinic cleansing of the highest order.
Instead of implementing growth friendly policies, and allowing the private sector to shine, by supporting small and medium sized enterprises, and engaging in massive infrastructure projects, Bionomics only seemed to be interested in increasing his strangle hold on our economy. Canceling agreements made by the former government to international businesses, only created a sense of panic, to foreign investors, that Bio was not interested in pursuing policies that will encourage foreign direct investment. I hope he ditch his policies and start to think outside the box for the good of our country.