By Mustapha Sesay
There seems to be no shortage of people who want to become the Secretary General of the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). The latest is a former public relations and human resource specialist, Mohamed Swarray aka Rado.
Addressing journalists at the party’s headquarters in Freetown, Swaray said he wanted to bridge the gaping divide within a party which many regard as weak and riddled with conflict.
He said he had scarified a “lucrative” job as human resource specialist at the country’s only striving mining company, Sierra Ruitile, because he believed that with his experience and exposure he could hold the party together.
“Let me make this emphatically clear: For me, no amount of personal ambition is worth plunging this party into ethnic strife. If elected Secretary-General, I commit myself to continue to do all in my power to promote an atmosphere of political tolerance in the party in order to diffuse any tension that may threaten our cohesion and wellbeing, and I will encourage all political leaders to work with me in that direction,” he said.
Quoting from a former Ghanaian president, he said a multiparty democracy was not synonymous with enmity and division, but rather must be a melting point for the exchange of ideas. He said he was ready to subscribe to all views and make a better decision from an informed point of view in the best interest of the party.
“Therefore, in my view, belonging to different camps is no reason why we cannot have unity of purpose and work together to achieve solutions to our common challenges as a party,” he said.
Swarray said he was concerned about recent criticisms against the party bordering on ethnic politics and internal wrangling over who should head the party in the coming 2018 elections. He however noted that irrespective of all the accusations, the party had been recognised and celebrated for its “strong democratic credentials, ethnic harmony, and above all, free expression” which he said had been seriously threatened of recent by the All Peoples’ Congress government.
Swarray said that if he was elected as Secretary General of the party he would focus on empowering women, raising funds for the party and creating more space for young people to occupy centre stage in the party.
The party delegates’ conference which would witness the election of its new executive was scheduled for August 2016 but has been rescheduled for December.
© Politico 26/09/16
