Sacking Of Local Government Minister
It is within the extraordinary powers granted to the President by the 1991 Constitution that he hires and fires politicians. There could be a whole lot of bedlam if such powers were to be exercised otherwise.
Therefore we are constrained to accept the fait accompli. The structure of local government is such that there should be little or no disruptions of governance. It comes as a surprise therefore that there should be such fracas at that top heavy ministry. There have been irregularities in at least three (3) chiefdoms’ elections.
In one of the chiefdoms nine candidates petitioned signifying the magnitude of the maladministration. There have been reports of unconstitutional conduct of both the Declaration of Rights and electioneering processes. The security situation too comes in for bashing.
The court barry in Sambaia Chiefdom, for instance, is said not to have been well fortified thus allowing easy access while majority of legitimate chiefdom councilors were denied entrance. The non-verification of chiefdom councilors, by the National Electoral Commission prior to the beginning of the exercise, was also said to be a contributing factor to the chaos despite concerns raised to the Returning Officer and his team.
This is a ministry that has more than its fair share of political appointees. With a Minister of Internal Affairs at its head, it has Resident Ministers with their Provincial Secretaries and District Officers. Above all, during these elections, Assessor Chiefs experienced in traditional matters are appointed to assist in the process. It is therefore a wonder that things should fall apart. It is simply a matter of too many cooks spoil the broth. They have been falling over one another. There have been arguments and counter arguments about how to proceed.
But the whole pandemonium rests on the head of the Minister of Internal Affairs who lacks a sense of direction and should be removed forthwith to avoid creeping anarchy.
Chief Minister’s Office Abolished
The indecision of the President over the retention or abolition of the Chief Minister’s Office has been inadvertently transferred to the naïve public. While the incumbent of the office, that was the Chief Minister’s Office, tells the public that the office has been abolished the office is still being referred to as the Chief Minister’s Office.
Which is which? It is sad. Cicero said that there is grief in indecision. The President is seemingly confused as to whether the office should be abolished or not. As usual he keeps us guessing.
To backtrack, the office was set up as compensation to Professor Francis for his valuable help to Retired Brigadier Maada Bio in his pursuit of a doctorate degree. For a long time until his removal from that office it was thought that the Professor was as unmovable as the Rock of Gibraltar. But we all know that the unexpected always happens and will continue to happen until the end of time. Who was sure that the former President of the Gambia, Yayah Jammeh, would be removed through the ballot box? Who knew that Col. Gadaffi of Libya would be removed to die in a gutter? Incidentally would President Bio be removed in 2023 through the ballot box? Only heaven knows.
The fact that immediately after his switch to the Office of Chief Minister, Mr. J.J. Saffa was scheduled to oversee all other ministries meant that he was/is virtually the Chief Minister.
In order not to be seen to outshine Professor Francis, Mr. Saffa keeps pulling wool over the eyes of the gullible public that the Office of the Chief Minister has been subsumed under the President’s Office. We are not amused.
Mr. J.J. Saffa should realize that the intelligentia can see through any subterfuge. He should stop playing down the Office of the Chief Minister. Until there is a Press Release that the Office of the Chief Minister has been abolished J.J. Saffa has no authority to declare it to be so. It is not part of his schedule of duties to be declaring abolition of offices unilaterally.
Failure To Remove Bikes From C.B.D.
It looks as though the attempt by PAOPA to rid the Central Business District of Freetown will never succeed until 2023. Every so often the public is led up the garden path over the riddance of those nuisances from the C.B.D.
City Peep suggests that the services of ariogbo should urgently be employed to fathom the reasons for this debacle. This is an augury of policy failures that will lead to defeat of the SLPP at the 2023 polls. You mean government is unable to keep the Okada boys from the C.B.D. for true? Ah tire.