Sierra Leone Telegraph: 11 June 2016
After last week Sunday’s SLPP party office dramatic fiasco, caused unnecessarily by the incompetent chairman Chief Kapen, former UN global energy and development expert – now one of the leading contenders for the party’s presidential candidacy – Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, was yesterday at the university of Makeni.
He spoke to over one thousand students at the university’s auditorium about leadership, good governance and transformational change in Sierra Leone.
Citing various examples of the importance of good leadership, Yumkella told the students that ‘without the right leadership, their university and its students will not succeed; without good leadership a business will collapse; and equally true, he said that without strong and focused leadership the country will continue to face difficulties in meeting the aspirations of the people.’
In a separate development, members of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the SLPP met last Saturday, 4 June, 2016, to discuss and agree a roadmap that will see the dissolution of the current executive council; the holding of elections; and a date for the next party convention. The following resolutions were passed:
That the tenure of all the current executives of the Party in Sierra Leone is further extended to terminate on or before the end of August 2016, in any case immediately after the holding of the next National Delegates Conference for the election of National Officers of the Party.
That a Times-Table for the holding of elections for all executives for the administration of the Party in Sierra Leone is hereby approved as follows:
Zonal / Sectional Level- 18 June 2016; Chiefdom Level – 25 June 2016; Constituency Level – 2 July 2016; District Level – 10 July 2016; Regional Level – 16 July 2016; NEC Meeting to ratify elected delegates to the National Conference 23 July 2016; and the National Delegates Conference – 19-21 August 2016.
That zonal / sectional / chiefdom executive shall be chosen by consensus under the supervision of the constituency executive.
That all administrative actions shall be taken promptly by every supervising executive concerned to ensure that the above time-table is adhered to strictly and in a timely manner.
That in light of the urgency and importance of moving the Party expeditiously towards the convening of the National Delegates Conference as stipulated herein, the National Officers of the Party shall endeavour to hold meetings as often as practicable giving seven (7) days’ notice, emergencies excepted, and such meetings shall take place as directed by the National Chairman and Leader or in his absence his Deputy. Proper minutes shall be kept of all such meetings of the National Officers.
That the NEC accepts in principle the initiative espoused by the Bishop Humper Group for the holding of a Party Family Dialogue and directs the National Officers to work out the timing and other details involved in consultation with the Group.
That the NEC mandates the National Officers to establish a Committee to conduct an intra-party fact-finding investigation into the tragic incident resulting in the death of Daddy George in Kenema on the 27th May 2016.
That the NEC approves the Mohamed Yongawo-led Regional Executive that was duly elected in London by the UKI Region of the Party on the 23rdApril 2016 and that it admonishes all members of the Party in the UKI Region to cease and desist from any action that might undermine the authority of that Regional Executive and advises all concerned to work together in the best interest of maintaining peace and harmony in the Party within the UKI Region.
Mr. Sannoh, can I ask you kindly. Why do you think Dr. Kandeh Yumkella does not have the leadership drive to lead the SLPP party?
And furthermore, would you please tell us who is the prospective flag bearer that possesses the leadership qualities to lead the SLPP party in 2018? Because, apart from Mr. Yumkella, there is no prospective flag bearer in the SLPP as of now, that has the political support to cause headache to the APC party in the north and western area.
Without Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, the SLPP will not win the coming elections in 2018.
Thank you.
I commend Mr. Yumkella for starting his political campaign at the university level, because they are educated enough to make the right judgement when it comes to choosing the next president of our nation – which should be based on merits and not violence.
He is also bold enough to have a honest conversation with students at the home of the current president and to remind them about the constitution and the consequence of “more time”.
Finally it seems the SLPP are moving in the right direction by having a plan which is the foundation for success.The only leader of the party should be the chairman and not the wife of the late president or any of the former presidential candidates and his decision should be respected.
I hope the party will hold a just and fair investigation into the violence that took place in Kenema so that somebody will be held accountable for his or her poor judgement, because violence will be a losing situation for the party and the nation, since the SLPP is the best alternative.
Mr Mohamed Sannoh is a vocal advocate of paopaism. This is a minority but noisy and disruptive faction within the SLPP, who believe in violence and intimidation of anyone who resists their terror and undemocratic tactics to win the flagbearer for their equally violent leader, who has strings of criminal allegations made against him by former SLPP president Kabbah. These people fear progress and discipline.
They would rather have a freeloader like Julius Bio, who has betrayed the SLPP by undermining the party’s official policy statement on the government mishandling of the economy and the Ebola virus, in returns for financial emolument to experience and excellent aspirants, who have the proven leadership skills, accomplishments, national appeal and international recognition and respect.
Kandeh Yumkella is not the right person to lead SLPP and this nation. I advise that he join the University of Makeni to lecture Sustainable Energy. He is another Kabbah from the UN and from the north to mislead SLPP.
We have had too many northerners leading this nation as president, from either APC or SLPP and all have failed us. We want to give chance this time to either a westerner, easterner and southerner to lead this nation.
Let Kandeh Yumkella first rehabilitate and improve on the poverty status of his motherland Tambaka chiefdom – the poorest and deprived chiefdom in Sierra Leone.
The University of Makeni hasn’t got 1000 students and those who attended the session were not up to even 600.
Mr. Momoh, lets stop using region as a yardstick for good leadership. Telling Kandeh to go and fix his motherland also exposes the South-Easterners of absolute neglect to the highest degree. In my view, the Northerners are far better in improving their places of birth.
Go to Binkolo or Makeni, you will see some semblance of development by their leaders. This is common among many Northerners, both in the SLPP and the APC. Go to Gentidebia and see what Alpha Wurie did; go to Kpetefu Mayopo and see what Bobson Sesay did; go to Gbendembu and see what Richard Conteh has done; and Zainab Bangura of Yoni Banna. The examples are many.
But show me one South-Easterner who has done anything in their place of birth. While Northerners on a yearly basis go home to celebrate with their people, South-Easterners stay in Freetown or go overseas. Many haven’t got a decent home to sleep in their place of origin.
Go to Kailahun for example; all you will see are structures built by their great grand fathers. When you go to the North, you see a reason why the people support the APC. This is not the case with the South-East. Go and see Gbangbatoke for example.
Let us stop this, brother. This reasoning of yours is to the disadvantage of the South-East. Let us remove the log in our own eyes before we can remove the specs from our brother’s eyes.
It is the same mistake they are making regarding Bio and other South-Easterners. What has he got to show for himself? Also, why not ask him to go fix his home town. This is not in any way helpful.
Mr Momoh, What do you have? Talk about yourself. Do you have a better option? Show us your own certificate. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella is showcasing his. Other people better than you and I have exhibited Yumkella’s ability and it is self evident everywhere in Sierra Leone and abroad.
We believe in him, not only for who he is or what he has done for humanity, but he is a visionary and he is very plain, frank and cordial. he not a malicious personality. He does his business openly within the rules set by our constitution and the structures established for sustainable democracy. He is challenging the mentality of the youths. We believe in him to move this country forward and not backward.
Do you have a better option? Bring it forth and let us have a level playing field. He is offering us an opportunity to choose the best of the best. We need to wake up and rise up to the clarion call.
I call on you and people like you to join us in this campaign and select the best for our party and for our country.
If Mr Kandeh Yumkella wins the SLPP presidential candidacy, then he may probably win the next election in 2018. He has a lot of ideas for the development of his own country, Sierra Leone – the same ideas as president Koroma.
APC has a lot of good candidates, but SLPP only has Yumkella Who has the potential to defeat APC at the general elections. Kandeh, I wish you all the best.
From a brother in Spain, Madrid.
According to Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella’s lecture at the University of Makeni, ‘without the right leadership, their university and its students will not succeed; without good leadership a business will collapse; and equally true, he said that without strong and focused leadership the country will continue to face difficulties in meeting the aspirations of the people.’
As a result of these facts and others that he did not mention in his Makeni lecture, I would like to let him and everyone know that he will not be a good leader for Sierra Leone, for the very simple fact that he has not met any of the qualities he mentioned.
If I were him, I would withdraw my candidature and stop wasting people’s time, getting them to listen to him.
His affiliation with the APC has already been leaked for a very long time, and we are not ready to appoint him to the position of Flag-Bearer; even when he comes clean.
But he can continue wasting money as we are practicing democracy, which he will know at the party delegate conference very soon.
So, who in your opinion is capable of leading the SLPP in the 2018 election?
Believe me, Mr Abdul Thomas, Mr. Mohamed Sannoh does not have an answer to your probe. In fact you should not pay any attention to him or people like him.
As Sierra Leoneans we have seen and experienced the worst and abysmal leadership. Take the case of living standards in this country for instance. The average Sierra Leonean cannot afford the cost of bread or a cup of rice. This is no joke.
We need to think seriously about these issues. Not those things that can keep us from realizing our dreams and potentials as people and country. There is need for deep reflection, or we will continue to live in ignominious poverty year in year out, and count ourselves at the very bottom of the human development index.
Mind you, the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) left us at the bottom of the development ladder. We cannot afford the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be the same in the next 15 years or so. That is something to think about.