KING MESSI REPLIES TO THE BIO-KKY MEETING
The whole country and perhaps a huge swathe of the world know that King Messi likes to be in charge. He enjoys moving men and things around, convincing everybody that he is a modern day KING MIDAS who turns things to GOLD with ease. King Messi, despite repeated promises to resign, continues to hold on to the leadership of his party. On voting day in 2018, without any such direct question, he announced he would retire within a few months of handing over the presidency. Four years on King Messi is still in charge through the shrewd manipulation of men and things. He receives diplomats in his capacity as LEADER for LIFE in his expensive mansion.
These days, he makes it his business to reply to speeches made by Principal in his usual presidential style. Pictures have emerged of him meeting with some politicians in his home. The social media comment accompanying that picture is that he was coordinating coalition building as a first step towards removing Principal from office in 2023. Political parties always work towards ousting an incumbent so there’s nothing wrong with such meetings but should King Messi really be doing these things? Why does he find it so hard to retire like late Tejan Kabbah and forget about front line politics?
We have met a few people who have told him to his face that he is hurting himself and his party. He thinks it’s the reverse. We wish him all the best while letting him know that the people in that picture are totally unable to move the political needle in Sierra Leone. If this was his reply to Principal’s meeting with KKY, then he needs real help with his political judgment at this time.
We feel a little sorry for the people who would eventually emerge as leaders of the RED Movement. There would be very little time to reposition the party in their image before facing Principal. The debacle of 2018 can be seen on the horizon once more and King Messi has only himself to blame AGAIN.
SALONE PREMIER LEAGUE WITHOUT SEED MONEY OR TROPHY
We are only a few matches now to the end of this much troubled Salone Premier League but already things are building up between the SLFA and the Premier League clubs. The clubs have still not received a cent as seed money to help run their clubs, nor have they been told what to expect from participating in the league or what the eventual winner would take home. Now, this is what we call DARKNESS.
Why is it that when it comes to football administration in this country, we experience so much uncertainty? More than a dozen Premier League clubs started a league without being told the full package. They have bought players, paid acceptable wages in this country receiving only pittance as seed money in the first round. With the second round drawing to a close questions are all over social media about the unavailability of seed money for the clubs and the money that winners would receive at the end of the tournament. All we’ve heard from the SLFA is that they would LOAN some money to the Premier League Board to run the second half of this league. We won’t even discuss that.
We find ourselves in a strange situation. We call it total darkness. The SLFA should throw some light around the place now on these issues. It’s urgent.
WHY SHOULD ACC PAY FOR WHAT THEY CAN GET FOR FREE?
We welcome the fact that the ACC is returning to the idea of paying and protecting whistleblowers for calling attention to those stealing or attempting to steal money from the public purse. We don’t necessarily agree with the amount of money people get for their effort or the extent to which the ACC would protect them in case of reprisals but we can give it a try again. The ACC is one of those national institutions that we respect a lot.
Having said that, we must draw the ACC’s attention to the amount of work the media are doing to point in the direction of people who are clearly taking things that belong to the state of Sierra Leone. The ACC has a partnership agreement with our organization, SLAJ, which we are committed to but why is it that our partners sometimes treat the information we publish with zero respect? As a consequence, we are left with no alternative but to believe that the ACC itself has a problem. We are not for one moment suggesting that just because a corruption allegation is published in a newspaper people should be indicted but there are some glaring cases that the ACC has ignored or swept under the carpet that we believe give us some reason for concern.
For example, we recently published an article about a huge amount of money taken from an account at the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank by the SLFA by methods that are unconventional. We know the money belongs to the government of Sierra Leone and we also know that the original signatories to that account were NEVER contacted before the money was taken out. In any case, the SLFA had rejected the money and people who worked for a portion of that money were NEVER paid. We believe that’s irregular and even the SLCB had some explaining to do.
We cannot believe that the ACC is not aware of that publication. In fact we were told by a source that they asked a few questions about the issue and pulled back. What else does Afro Boy want from us in the media? In the last few weeks, we have received some more information on that issue and we will publish it in the best interest of Sierra Leone. Contrary to what was said in public, the money has still NOT been repaid as promised by those who took it away.
We don’t want any whistleblower money from ACC. We want them to do their job.
NRA FACING ITS BIGGEST TEST IN FOUR YEARS
Some shops in the Central Business District were closed on Thursday as the traders took action to register their displeasure with the new method instituted by the NRA to monitor tax compliance. The two sides have been in discussion for weeks now but it would appear as if they have not been able to understand each other. Such actions are normal in a democracy but how about the idea that this whole development was clearly avoidable? We say so because we believe that both the NRA and the leadership of the traders could have taken certain steps to prevent people from closing shops and creating some temporary inconvenience for ordinary Sierra Leoneans.
We have a few points to make on this issue and we believe we are reflecting the views of millions of Sierra Leoneans who believe in the mission of the newspaper.
1. The guy who represents the traders in their negotiations with the NRA was on breakfast radio on Thursday telling the world that his executive didn’t call for shops to be closed because they were still negotiating with the NRA. He suggested – not in as many words that fringe elements in the organization circulated such fake information on social media, calling for shops to close.
We can only tell Mr. Secretary General to make sure he is not thrown out of office by means of a social media post. He left a huge vacuum which the so-called fringe elements took advantage of to embarrass him.
2. On the side of the NRA we believe the introduction of these hated machines is not as bad as people make it and in the end Sierra Leone benefits. Again we believe that despite commendable last minute efforts to get the message through, there were lapses in the communication strategy that unfortunately opened the way for their detractors to cause mischief. Relying on traditional means of communication in the age of social media and spin is like fighting a modern war with a catapult.
3. Plenty money has been spent on that effort already but there is nothing wrong with taking a step back to re-organize. Again, relying on the leadership of the traders is a good thing but in some cases engaging the people directly is something to consider in the new approach.
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