By Tony Bee, Sydney, Australia.
The call for Kenema roads maintenance or repair, especially within the city is long overdue. Such calls always seem to be falling on deaf hears, particularly on the ears of the Kenema born politicians, senior civil servants, paramount chiefs, business people and the mayor himself. Why?
Kenema District in general has some very good prominent citizens and personalities like those mentioned above. Such a group of people are capable of solving such minor problems (potholes in the city, etc) for themselves as patriotic citizens, particularly as citizens of the district for the benefit of the poor people of Kenema with some support from the roads authorities concerned.
But where are they? It’s like they are always busy politicking instead of working for their people.
However, I would like to make one point clear to my readers that I am not one of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s APC government public relations officers (PRO), but a man who likes to see good things happening in the country, especially for the benefit of my poor people, despite the fact that I am living in a country in which I am relatively comfortable with my family.
I am always concerned about the well being of my poor, powerless and defenceless Sierra Leoneans in the country, especially in terms of the safety of their lives and daily survival. I always want to see them live very good and happy lives in their towns and villages, with peace.
That is why I always like to point out some of the good and bad things that are taking place in my motherland, called Sierra Leone, especially for its peace and development. Enemies of peace, progress and development do not want to see or hear about anyone that is always exposing their diabolic unpatriotic attitudes, behaviour and plans in and out of the country.
Nonetheless the issue of the deplorable condition of Kenema roads is something worth commenting on for the benefit of our poor and powerless Kenema people in the country, because it is becoming more and more disturbing for many peace and development loving Sierra Leoneans both in and out of the country.
There are a lot of unpatriotic attitudes and behaviour by some Sierra Leoneans who seek political and other appointments only for their personal corrupt benefit at the expense of the nation, but not for the interest of the poor people that they are always claiming to be fighting for.
Kenema road maintenance or repairs is part of the Kenema Mayor’s duties and responsibilities, especially within the township. It is not only the central government’s responsibility; it is also the duty of the Mayor to see that his Council performs its duties and responsibilities accordingly. It is part of his responsibilities to see that the roads, streets, market buildings and office buildings are in good condition. Therefore, he should not always depend on government support. Let him don’t forget what he told the people before he was given that position.
He has the right to raise funds in many different genuine ways, including the calling of the attention of his subjects in the district, particularly the chiefs and some of the prominent politicians, senior civil servants, business people and farmers on issues pertaining to the district’s development. Not only on political issues. In fact according to my radar many Sierra Leoneans like politicking more than any other thing in the country. Despite the self-destruction it entails when done immoderately and viciously, politicking is their food day and night.
Many Sierra Leoneans sit in government and parastatal offices without any good initiatives that will bring good development to the country and their districts without the central government’s support.
In many countries, including Australia, some good development efforts are done by their City Councils with little support from their central governments. The Council itself is a government of its own by law. Therefore, it should be innovative on how to raise genuine funds for its developmental projects rather than always depending on central government support.
But in Sierra Leone, it seems as if everybody in the country relies on government support, particularly the City Councils. Some of them always point accusing fingers at the Central Government for not doing much for their councils, especially in terms of financial support or funds that they can easily pocket. According to my radar, there was a certain Paramount Chief in the Kenema district that was shamelessly blaming government for not repairing the roads in his district, forgetting that they and central government are twins’ partners in development, therefore they should always work together as a team.
But it has become a philosophy in the country that everything is government; even if government gives them money to develop their districts or councils, they will sit on those monies and cry foul at the expense of their subjects. They are depriving the poor people of their rights to live better or decent lives in their districts. They only believe in castigating government, even though they have nothing good to offer their people in their districts.
They always turn into cry babies about money to the central government. Some of them have money to contribute to their political parties’ activities and can pay lawyers for political broken cup issues, instead of providing such monies for the development of their districts for the benefit of the disadvantaged people that they always fool.
One or a few politicians in the district can easily come together and buy some bags of cement to repair some of the roads and streets with potholes in their district towns other than waiting for government to do that for them. Politicians always want the people to vote for them but they do not care about their well being.
Even to provide their basic needs they always turn blind eyes on them and blame government for things that they can easily do for the vulnerable people in their districts. They are always waiting for elections time to buy them one bag of rice and give them Le30,000 or Le50,000 for their votes and later they would collect that back from them through their corrupt activities. Sometimes it necessary to teach some of these wicked guys their duties and responsibilities in the country.
According to my radar, some of them can even go the extra mile to sabotage some of the developmental projects that government is offering in their districts because of wicked unpatriotic political party interest at the expense of the poor, innocent and powerless people, especially the youths that are in dire need of jobs in their districts. They naively put their districts behind development, thinking that they are harming the APC government.
However, one thing that is well known to some of us about some unpatriotic Sierra Leoneans in and out of the country is the politicking on trivial issues to the detriment of the nation’s peace and security.
Even the current natural disaster, the floods that brought about another added suffering for the people in the country, those who sleep in the negative political web theory of tribalism and regionalism are currently politicising it to satisfy their political masters. They always pretend not to know that natural disasters are currently all over the world, including Africa because of sycophantic political party loyalty at the expense of the country’s progress and development.
Instead of coming together as a united Sierra Leonean family and tell the world how the flood devastated the lives of our poor people that have been already traumatised by the brutal civil war, the current Ebola virus and now the floods in the country, they are busy playing a political blame game at the expense of the dying people that are in dire need of immediate support from all corners of the world to rebuild their lives.
Who can stop natural disasters that are beyond human control? If anyone can, then America and Australia would not have had floods because they have the money and other resources to do that.
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