Dr Doma: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 03 September 2023:
Excruciating rising cost of living has brought the people of Sierra Leone on their knees, not just in prayer but also from the sheer weight of skyrocketing basic commodity prices.
In a broader perspective, Locally grown commodities tend to be more expensive than imported rice, and even the fish from our seas or eel is pricier than imported chicken.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Arthur E. Pearce, a distinguished member of the APC Communication team, who took it upon himself to release a “hardship newsletter.” This newsletter, backed by data from various markets, showcased the truly artistic manner in which our locally grown commodities have managed to outshine imported goods in the race to be the most expensive.
Pearce’s intention? To bring the government’s attention to the issue of hardship. But isn’t it obvious? Our government has become so good at excuses that they should consider hosting a masterclass.
Responding to Pearce’s market survey, Joe Sesay, Head of Strategic Communications for the government, had a revelation. Apparently, the survey doesn’t reflect reality, and most of the issues in the report are a result of global happenings, like the Ukraine-Russia war.
Coincidentally, this was the same excuse Pearce mentioned weeks ago on Radio Democracy. How truly remarkable it is that global crises have such a localized effect, making us wonder if our neighbourhood store will soon start blaming cosmic rays for their price hikes.
But wait, the circus doesn’t end there. In a surprising twist, the pump prices increased shortly after Pearce’s report surfaced, while the opposition has decided that they’d rather stay in the audience than participate in the government show until their demands are met.
Additionally, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sent a letter requesting a meeting with the President, and the United States imposed a visa ban on those believed to have played a role in undermining democracy during the June 24th Elections.
In the end, as Sierra Leoneans stand on the precipice of uncertainty, it’s clear that what we truly need is a grand dialogue – one that can bring some much-needed comic relief to a nation that’s been watching a tragicomedy play out for far too long.
So, let’s all gather around the national table, have a hearty laugh at the absurdity of it all, and pray for a brighter future where reality is stranger than fiction.
Today is World Giving Day which is celebrated around the world. Despite the difficulty economic conditions we are experiencing, we are still rated highly in the updated list in the below link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Giving_Index
I personally believe that Economic Sabotage by some members and sympathizers of the opposition APC party, especially the petty traders ( Abacha Street) are purposely hiking the prices of our local food products. They believe that undermining the SLPP government will fuel demonstration in Freetown.
I hope they will try to be PATRIOTIC as Musa Tombo Kamara, who always sacrifices everything by putting mama Salone first.
Despite all the current challenges we are facing, the updated links below shows that Mama Salone is no longer the hungriest and saddest country in the world :
https://medium.com/@darrendohmescholarship/worlds-10-hungriest-countries-at-the-start-of-2023-darren-dohme-c482c0ffd1c0
https://www.fresherslive.com/latest/articles/saddest-countries-in-the-world-updated-list-top-10-10022764
Nice try Captain Fallay with the spinning! The reality is : GDP per capita is considered the standard metric to guage poverty. Your God you worship in Freetown has reduced Sierra Leone’s GDP per capita almost every year since he gate-crashed and entered State House even though friends of Sierra Leone where chipping in wherever he went with his begging bowl. Cynics might say he spent all the collections on a jetset globetrotting misadventure to visit every country in the world as a tourist.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1044761/gross-domestic-product-gdp-per-capita-in-sierra-leone/
Imagine what will happen when that largesse and altruism dries up as a direct result of him being accused in cahoot with his Bo School small boy of stealing the June 2024 election under the eagle-eye-watch of the Americans, Europeans and other international advisers. Expect your man to drag us further down from being the 3rd poorest country in 2023 to the poorest in the world by 2025 if providence dictates he survives that long in the hot seat. If that becomes passe, he would set a record of making Sierra Leone the poorest country in the world during peace time. The last time we “tote the buckit was during the RUF’s operation “no living thing”. The IMF has projected us to be second poorest next year – only better off than Burundi.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-poorest-countries-2023-gdp-per-capita/
Those who are still supporting this totally inept President should be ashamed of not
being able to think judiciously for themselves…tribalism dictates to them, and they obey…it coerces and tricks them into submission and they gullibly comply; To see reality with the naked eyes, and to ignorantly try and refute, disprove it as false, is a mind-boggling experience altogether…that is totally difficult to imagine or truly understand.
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Since day one when this President assumed the reins of power, our country has been in unrelenting economic decline…food and fuel prices have always been skyrocketing and he has never been able to create and put together sustainable policies that are bound to put our little Sierra Leone on a solid and credible footing towards the nearest or even distant future. What a hopeless entity this government has now become! Give them feathers to fly and they will still continue to creep slowly along…like alligators crawling and slinking in the yucky, mucky, sticky mud;
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Folks, you can be rest assured, nothings going to change as long as Maada Bio is at the helm of our affairs…our country is going to keep on sinking and sinking further into despair, hunger, desolation and anxiety; He cares very little about a fragile nation trapped in the firm grips of Drug abuses, and rampant teenage prostitutions; His unseemly dictatorial impulses compelled him to brazenly steal an election that he lost – hands down; And his rancorous attitudes of pride prevents him from accepting the will of the people, and graciously handing over power. Now examine him anyway you want to – up, down, sideways at close range or at a far distance – this illegitimate tribalistic man in State House needs to go – he is a criminal all the same. True.
Global Warming , food crisis , and inflation are real. Even the world’s superpower the United States is still grappling with Inflation since the pandemic, and the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for 10 consecutive times( highest level in more than 22 years) ,which has affected the value of the U.S. dollar in some of the least developed countries around the world.
The good news about Sierra Leone is, there is no shortage of basic commodities like Fuel and Rice even though the prices are unstable. The only way to relieve our situation is to diversify our economy in Agriculture based on the fact that some countries have banned export of some food products to other countries. Some of the petty traders and bike riders in Freetown should form Farmer’s Corporations and move to the provinces.
Let’s continue to hope and pray for a speedy end to the Russia/ Ukrain war which is still worsening the situation.
Lastly, for the first time in history after our 11 years civil war, “mama Salone” is no longer on the recently updated list of the 10 poorest countries in the world ( which is a baby step) as shown in the link below:
https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/the-poorest-countries-in-the-world