Politicotorial

Sierra Leone is in mourning. We need look no further for a hero. This country has not produced one like him since the gallantry shown by those soldiers who helped end our brutal rebel war.

At 39 years, and the country's only specialist in viral haemorrhagic fevers, Dr Shek Umar Khan could have landed a hugely lucrative job anywhere in the world. But he chose to return home to fight a medical war against viral diseases.

By Fasalie Sulaiman Kamara

Deputy chief of mission and Charge d’ Affaires of the US embassy in Sierra Leone says her country is unwavering in its commitment to achieve an AIDS-free generation.

Kathleen FitzGibbon said “we need to make sure that every child born to a member of the Republic of Sierra Armed Forces (RSLAF) family is born HIV-free”. She told a huge gathering of military men, women and their families at the joint communication unit on Wilberforce as part of this year’s celebration of World Aids Day.

To coincide with the reopening of schools this week, we have decided to dedicate this special issue of Politico
to the issue of basic education.

The incident last week between ex-servicemen and the Defence Minister is despicable. We, at Politico,  are surprised that it has not been roundly condemned. Pallo Conteh is our Minister. No matter the security breach that led to his beating and being stripped of his jacket in broad-day light the action by these ex-servicemen, however strong the reason for their agitation, must be condemned.

A Government Minister may not be beyond reproach but he/she represents the symbol of the state and must never be subjected to such mistreatment.

We applaud some efforts that have been made and are still being made by Government in addressing the country’s poor road network. The provincial and district headquarter town projects are laudable even if some of them  seem abandoned owing, largely, to corruption between the contractors and some government officials. And barring the engineering stupidity that has caused flooding on that road, the widening of Wilkinson Road and Spur Road in the west of Freetown has tremendously eased the gridlock that vehicular traffic used to occasion there.

We have great respect for the man who is Minister of Sports and Youth Employment of Sierra Leone, Paul Kamara. But certainly not because of what he has done as minister. We believe he has done tremendous things for this country in the past as a fearless and opinionated journalist who stood for what his conscience told him was right. He may have got some of it wrong some of the time – obviously he is human – but by and large he showed some level of patriotism for which we will always salute him.

Some eight months since we first hit the newsstands, effective this week, Politico will be publishing twice a week. And please note the days: We will no longer be coming out on Wednesdays as we have been doing. Rather we will be publishing on Tuesdays and Thursdays unless, of course, on public holidays.

Our decision has been informed by several factors chief among which is the demand and pressure we have been receiving from the reading public who believe that our product is too good to be served only once a week.