BIG MCC MONEY TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS SALONE
On Wednesday evening news broke that the Millennium Challenge Corporation, MCC, has finally approved over 400m US dollars to do something about electricity in this country. There are still a few steps to take but a major push has just taken place and social media is awash with comments and perspectives.
We join many Sierra Leoneans in congratulating the government of this country and those people who patiently worked on the project. It’s a massive vote of confidence in the program for which the money is sought.
A few weeks ago, we weren’t so hopeful because we were fed up with pushing and pulling that the nation was subjected to while the Americans made sure their tax dollars would go into what is intended. There’s nothing wrong with that but sometimes it hurts when goalposts begin to shift all over the place.
This achievement is something ALL Sierra Leoneans should celebrate but like we suggested the last time, there are Sierra Leoneans, especially in the opposition that have made it a prayer point to fight even the remotest possibility that the MCC money will roll into the electricity project in Freetown. They are focused on whatever political gains the Green Movement will get from that instead of doing their best for their country to get money from Uncle Sam. This is the state of our politics today. Let’s see how the major politicians react to this MCC compact approval. It’s very important.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES KILLING THE SALONE MEDIA
It’s common to hear ministers and heads of government agencies criticizing the media for lack of professionalism and all that stuff. Most of the time they base their criticism on their interaction with a few journalists and end up making clay-legged generalizations that can be easily challenged and defeated. And they are good at that, a check round many newspapers would quickly reveal that government ministries and agencies are swimming in debt owed to newspapers in particular for all manner of advertisements. The debt portfolio runs into hundreds of thousands of NEW LEONES.
When newspapers are denied money that belongs to them, the good guys in the reporting field don’t get their salaries and because they have mouths to feed, they do one of two things:
1. They quit journalism and go to other jobs where the grass is green. That opens the way for untrained or badly trained guys to move in. It's natural for owners to want to remain in what little business they can do to put food on the table.
2. The good guys decide to stay on but completely abandon professionalism. Those are the people politicians complain about all the time.
We are not saying this is the only challenge that explains questionable quality of journalism in our newspapers but it’s a big factor. So let’s start by paying all debts because at that point there would be no excuse.
Many government agencies are doing a real disservice to the people in the way they place adverts. For example:
1. Their media officers ask for unreasonable rates of commission from newspapers. As far as we know, commissions must only be paid if an adverts agency is placing the material on behalf of their clients. Why should somebody who is paid to do that job ask for commission? Ben Keifala should be interested in this.
2. Some demand that the commission be paid upfront before the advert is placed. That means even before the agency pays up. Is that fair? Newspapers then lose everything when the agencies end up not paying a DIME.
3. There is no formula how those adverts are placed and in which newspaper. Money is the only consideration. Newspapers are struggling - all papers. Maybe the politicians have found a way to quietly put some out of business.
BO RANGERS LIFTS SLPL TROPHY AGAIN
Hotels in the southern city of Bo were all booked last weekend as thousands pour into the city to watch Bo Rangers receive a guard of honor as they played their last match against lowly Lamboi FC from Lungi and then lift the trophy they won long ago for the THIRD time in a row.
Those in football – administrators and fans have to admit that it will take something special to stop Bo Rangers from continuously winning the Sierra Leone Premier League. We are getting to that point when winning the local league will not be so much a prize anymore for the Rangers. Their fans will expect them to challenge the rest of Africa. Maybe that time is now. Bo Rangers have a right to enjoy their current status but they now have to live up to the expectations of their growing fan base in the context of their continental ambitions.
As for the other clubs in the league, they can only now look south and see the model used by Babadie Kamara the inspirational chairman of Bo Rangers who injected some reasonable amount of money, probably unprecedented in club football history, careful organization of the fan base and getting good players from across the country to believe in the project and joining up.
Going through this season, Bo Rangers should go back and look at critical matches and see how to improve their shape. It’s not as if they are good in all departments. They should be very well aware that in the next season other clubs are going to try to make them pay for their success on the field.
Congratulations, Bo Rangers – ALWAYS IN THE RANGE.
POLITICAL INFIGHTING MAY DESTROY SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM
It emerged in the last 48 hours or so that trouble is brewing in one of the most important agencies of government under the Ministry of Basic Education. We are talking about the office that handles the SCHOOL FEEDING program. From what we’ve read, backed by our own investigations, we have reason to believe that unless the government acts quickly and in an unambiguous way, the education of tens of thousands of our children would be on the line.
So far, we want to applaud Minister Sackey for insisting on treating whatever disagreement exists among the big money political employees in charge of the program as a purely ADMINISTRATIVE matter. Not a matter for the Green party office. We urge him to stand firm because in the coming days and weeks those attempting to challenge his authority are going to turn to their tired tactic of hiring the usual assassins on social media to go after him. As long as his hands are clean and his moves are taken in good faith and in the best interest of our children, he has our support.
Talking about the school feeding program itself we have a few points to put on the table:
1. We know that a man called S I Fofanah was supposed to be running that place long before the man now complaining all over the place was brought in to Amara Sowa who is now at the UN. We have NEVER heard S I Fofanah complaining about “marginalization”. Our investigations reveal that he is simply there receiving his salary at the end of every month but the actual implementation of the program is in the hands of other people, including this chief complainant.
2. We remind Principal again that he should stop appointing people into such positions purely for political reasons. That kind of job is for highly technical people who love their job and have had good experience going through the ranks. Our man landed there because of politics so he doesn’t think administrative structures are important in addressing official challenges. That’s why he invited politicians to deal with the issue.
3. The last thing we want is for the foreign governments and agencies putting money into the school feeding program to turn attention elsewhere because of the potential of this unbridled infighting to destroy the program and waste monies they could have spent in countries where people put the interest of their countries FIRST.
4. We have to warn that if school feeding suffers and children are forced to drop out of school, we already have those to hold responsible on earth before they even get to answer more serious questions to their creator when that day comes.
5. By purposely leaking internal administrative letters to the media, those responsible have simply opened the way for doubts to emerge over the way the whole school feeding program is rolled out. Is there something inside that space that we need to know about?
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