Sierra Leone Telegraph; 17 December 2020:
Femi Claudius Cole is the founder of the Unity Party in Sierra Leone. In 2018, she ran for the office of President and remains the only female party leader in Sierra Leone.
Madam Cole spoke yesterday live on Sierra Gem Media about the government’s newly proposed decentralisation legislation; the just concluded Constituency 110 re-run election; and also about the growing land grabbing situation in the Western Rural District.
Take a listen here and be inspired (We apologise for the quality of the video):
This is a Stupid video format.
The last time I checked, the APC had the worst human rights record than any other political party in Sierra Leone. What is happening now is like the pot calling the kettle black.
I am not sure she is the first female to form a political party. Zainab Bangura did form a political party in 2002.
I think the two party system has failed us. The reality for a third party to emerge from the shadows of the two ingrained party systems that have dominated our political system since we acquired our independence in April 27th 1961, will be a hard sell. I take my hat off to Mrs Cole. It does not mean that if it hadn’t worked in the past, it will not work in the future. I like her mantra, unless you try something, you can’t make a judgement about it’s feasibility. There is always the possibility, that when the voting public are fed up with the two party system, APC/SLPP, they might look for alternative choices to cast their votes. In my candid opinion, whether you are voting for SLPP or APC, unless you are inside the tent there is very little you can show for it.
You will find your life has stayed stagnant, you are unemployed, minister Sandy have stolen your plot of family land and sold it to the highest bidder, especially communities around the Freetown peninsula. And please don’t risk hand or limb to challenge his thuggish behaviour. Also you can’t feed your family or go on trips, unless of course you happens to be in the Bio bubble. You will find your vote has always been a wasted vote. Take the present Bio government, that has make promises to the voting public from thirty thousands feet, they never reach their intended targets on the ground where the real suffering massing are trying to eke a living in what ever form. Because, the funds for this development projects are intercepted mid air by corrupt, and fat cat politicians, that parachute even the president finish to make his declarations. For us the waiting public we will never see the benefits of this projects.
At the end of it we are left gazing in the sky, heaping praise unto president Bio and his corrupt government ministers who have shown little or no care about the welfare of the people of Sierra Leone. I hope Mrs Cole succeeds in her efforts through the Unity party. Because more than any other time, our country needs to come together, because this President is now waging an all-out war on human rights and free speech. Apart from a few, the majority of the press are cowed to submission. Bio has made sure it stays that way, by making Dr Blyden an example of her, trying to break ranks. Bottom line is, a third party is needed because there is a lot of homeless political voters out there.
Centralized administration has not done well for national development. We need to try otherwise, to empower the provinces’ local governments to tackle the economic and social needs of their localities, in the order of priorities, according to their populations. It is about time for the central government to provide enough human and financial resources to these areas, to local administrations as full development partners. It makes sense. What does not make sense in my view is, focusing everything and everybody in the capital city. Give to Freetown what is Freetown’s and to the provinces, a vital role to play in their local development.
The rampant problem of land grabbing on the other hand the honourable lady is to address, is a chronic symptom of corrupt officialdom long ignored. The Sierra Leone government says it is fighting corruption, indeed, they have gone as far as to the classrooms, with a robust zeal. The world had seen the ACC, how it acted and mistreated teachers, under the Cotton tree, suspected of unprofessional conduct. But it has maintained a tight lip on the issue of land grabbing and double dealing of lands, crimes committed by Ministry of Lands authorities and the Office of the Registrar General. These properties belong to hard working Sierra Leoneans, that lived at home or resided abroad, who purchased them and happened to be not politically connected. Are they serious to fight corruption? This is the same body that says, if you know something, say it to them.
If the ACC investigated corruption in the classrooms, exposed poor unpaid teachers to ridicule in the open Cotton tree, who were only suspected of crimes, is it not worth the same zeal for the credibility of the ACC, to investigate the rampant reports of victims of land grabbers who have been constantly publicly carried? It is just fair game.