By Ragan M. Conteh
Sierra Leone, like many other nations, wants a government of national character that is working endlessly with the zest to improve the livelihood support for its citizenry.
Sierra Leonean expectations were watered down for the past two years plus since the end of the 2018 general elections as many have continued to express their dissatisfactions over what they perceived as lack of focus on the current administration in terms of good service delivery.
Many say the manifesto of the New Direction, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) document, has not been followed, as many promises highlighted in the document have now become ghost promises, which are nothing to write home about.
Mr. Mohamed Jalloh, of Mountain Cut, said yesterday that they are about to be deceived by the regime, adding that even though government is continuity but people want innovations that will help citizens to survive, especially the provision of lucrative job opportunities for the ordinary man and woman in the country.
He pointed out that the bread and butter promised by the Bio regime has not been achieved, rather the country is witnessing increasing price of food commodities with no iota of remedy to the already thorny situation.
The mass sacking of what many said mostly north-westerners in government institutions is another path to the failure of the Bio administration.
One of the residents of Zara Lane, Portee, east of Freetown, Madam Bernadette Sanusi, informed this medium that, unlike the former regime, the current administration has not been engaging on massive infrastructure development, which Sierra Leoneans used to see during the past APC regime.
Increase on taxations is another knee on the neck of Sierra Leoneans, the suppression of freedoms and the University fees increment with no subsidies for student is not unconnected with the sufferings of many.
The community animator in Allentown, Madam Kadiatu Sankoh, says the increase of unemployment has created enormous problems for the state and the people of Sierra Leone, wherein youths are now found in ghettos taking drugs to unleash mayhem on residents in respective communities.
She said, looking at what she is experiencing, the people are now lacking confidence and trust on the administration as they are now experiencing more violence than the provision of job opportunities for the masses.
President Bio, in his maiden speech, did emphasize on his promises during the elections and most of what he promised is still not be achieved due to either lack of adequate resources or otherwise.
Citizens welcomed the government in the fight against corruption, but the fight must not target people in a particular region, political party or tribes to score political point.
A youth, Joseph Kamara, said they are still optimistic of good service delivery of President Bio in the next two years, plus informing that what has created the setback is the invasion of the coronavirus in the country.
Mr. Kamara revealed that he is an admirer of the Bio admiration, but he was always against him when his henchmen are chasing the opposition using concocted corruption allegations thereby diverting focus and attention on their deliverables.
“Chasing past administration will not yield the country anything; rather it deepens the inefficiency of the administration that wants to succeed. Nobody will dismiss that the current administration is also engaged in shady deals that may be unearthed after their tenure,” he said.
He advised that government must work hard to galvanize resources for its people rather than focusing on irrelevant issues that have the tendency to derail the progress of government in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.
Many are still wondering about the outcome of the 2018 general elections, but democracy is at play and no one dismisses that Bio did not win the polls. But speculations are still lingering on the hearts of the people as to why the results of 2018 elections are not posted in the NEC website for public consumption.
While the government is buy chasing opposition members, diverting their attention on the unification of the country, the opposition members are now gaining public sympathy and trust.
There will be likelihood, according Matthew Kargbo, of the hurricane of a change in 2023, which is inevitable if the SLPP continues with this trend.