By Prince J. Musa in Kenema
The Office of National Security (ONS) has come under criticism for allegedly trivializing emergence response to disasters.
Chairman of Kenema District Council, Mohamed Amodu Sesay, told a regional security review meeting in Kenema that the national security coordinating agency has failed repeatedly to appropriately respond to emergency situations in the district thereby leaving vulnerable victims to fend for themselves.
Sesay noted that since windstorm destroyed over 100 houses in Gorahun Tunkia in 2018, leaving over two hundred people homeless, ONS could not make any tangible effort to attend to the victims. He also cited a similar incident in Dodo Chiefdom, where up to 100 houses were burnt down in a fire disaster and said up to date no response has been made to help the victims.
The regional security review committee comprises key stakeholders in the security sector in the eastern region, including representatives of the Provincial Security Committee (PROSEC) which is headed by the Resident Minister, and the District Security Committee (DISEC). It also entails representatives from police, military and the correctional services, as well as civil society organizations.
Last week’s meeting, which was held on Friday 31 May in the District Council Hall on Nyandeyama Road, was the first since the Bio administration assumed office. Officials said it was meant to introduce the new political leadership in the region to the existing security structures.
The meeting featured a wide range of security matters, from border security, to the state of the correctional centers to response to disaster and other emergency situations.
The ONS’ response to emergency was a dominant one. Councilor Sesay was particularly concerned that the agency’s work is being hindered by bureaucracy. He suggested that its functions be decentralized, especially with regards personnel, finance and logistics, to enable the regional branches immediately respond to emergencies and later report to the headquarters.
"There should not be too much bureaucracy in response to disaster situations," the Council Chairman, who is also Chairman of the Disaster Management Committee of Kenema District, stated.
Sesay also called on the security apparatus in the district to take the issue of provincial and boarder security seriously.
Resident Minister East, Andrew Ansu Fatorma, who is Chairman of the Provincial Security Committee, said there were a lot of security matters that needed urgent response, hence the timeliness of the meeting.
On the table for discussion were the protracted boundary disputes between Niawa and Small Bo chiefdoms, and Gaura and Dama chiefdoms. There was also an unsettled matter in the de-amalgamation of Kanuleppiama Chiefdom.
Mr Fatorma said security doesn't only mean taking arms to fight.
“National Security concerns economic security of the people, political security, human security, environmental and social security, which requires everyone to look at it critically,” he stated, adding: "disaster is also a key security matter and need emergency responses."
The Resident Minister maintained that security issues demand collective intervention involving both security institutions and the community, noting that this will ensure that issues of security threat could only be reported to the appropriate institutions under such conditions.
Another topical issue at the meeting was security at the district correctional center.
Emmanuel Alfred Hassan, Public Relations Officer at the Sierra Leone Correctional Center East, lamented the challenges faced by the regional centers, including overcrowding of inmates. He said there was only one available vehicle to move inmates between Kenema and Kailahun. Hassan said this poses security threat for the correctional officers and police personnel involved in the transfer of prisoners who sometimes include hard core criminal, especially when their vehicles encounter mechanical problems along the way.
But the Correctional Center also came under scrutiny over some its decisions. Civil Society representative, Augustine Sannoh, demanded an explanation from the prison authorities for the alleged release of 27 inmates from dentition. According to the activists, the inmates had been charged to court for serious crimes. Their release is causing security concerns among stakeholders.
"We need proper explanation and documents for the release of those inmates from correctional officers,” Sannoh said.
But the Correctional Services said the order to release them came from the Chief Justice’s office.
The National Fire Force was represented by its Admin Officer in the district, Gbessay Sesay, who told the meeting that 23 fire incidents were recorded from January to May this year. He noted that 50 percent of the incidents occurred at dwelling houses. The good news, according to Mr Sesay, is that there was no death reported in any of the reported cases.
Sesay also pointed out that though no life was lost, millions of leones worth of property went in flame.
For all this, according to the NFF officer, there is only one fire engine in the whole of the district to respond to fire incidences. The force, he went on, is also having to deal with insufficient water from the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO). He also informed the meeting that the Fire Force had started building an office in Kailahun and hoped that on completion they would get a new fire engine to man the district.
Mohamed Bankaponah Bangura, Director of Provincial and Boarder Security at ONS, responded to all the issues raised at the over six hours long meeting. Among other things, he spoke about the recent review of the National Security Strategy, noting that the backbone of peace is security. Therefore, he added, national security should not be left in the hands of one institution.
Bangura stressed the need for national security to be a collective responsibility for everybody, stating that there are a lot of misconceptions by people who tend to think that the ONS is an NGO.
Bangura also revealed plans by the government to create a Commission of Disaster Management. The ONS representative also blamed insufficient funding for its apparent inability to respond adequately to emergencies. He also spoke about a rising concern over cliques.
“Will be look into these adequately,” he assured.
© 2019 Politico Online
