It is often said ‘give a man flowers while he is alive’. The idea is that praise should immediately be given to someone for doing the right thing, not long after, especially not after s/he is dead. That said, despite what has and is still happening in governance President Bio has showed great willingness to accept advice and constructive criticism by making the suggested cabinet shuffle, for which we say ‘Good job, Mr President.’
Your decision to demote former Chief Minister David Francis, who many consider a sacred cow whose alleged financial mismanagement smacks of corruption, is a clear indication that you can and will take decisive actions against anyone that does what is against your promises to the people of Sierra Leone for which you were given the mandate to spearhead our development drive.
Prior to announcing last Friday’s cabinet shuffle, the general consensus among SLPP and opposition supporters was that New Direction loathes advice, and is especially apathetic to constructive criticism. At the same time, word was spreading that commentators and opinion leaders are always critical of your actions.
Far from the truth, we are very much aware that your success will naturally lead to ours as a country, with your failure also affecting us. Suffice to say that we all wish you success in your steering of our national development bus.
The success of your ideas aimed at creating a harmonious, peaceful and successful society defined by the rule of law including negligible corruption, is only assured by first listening to the reactions of the people. You will know a good idea not only by how well the people receive its proposal, but also in the way the opposition will be called upon to support you, as the idea would be of benefit to the nation, and not seen as bad or against our collective interest. So we are in this together; you writing the checks, us checking the balances.
So when we heard word of your action to clip the former Chief Minister’s wings, which many people were worried were spreading so wide as to suggest he was ambitious to go as far as presenting an internal opposition to your leadership, we saw it fit that you be praised and encouraged to continue making decisions in the interest of the people of Sierra Leone.
But – yes, here comes the big BUTT – your action against Professor Francis is part of the damage control his alleged actions has caused yours and the image of the party, including your ideas aimed at pushing the country forward. For David Francis to continue as your Chief Minister despite all the allegations of graft, arrogance and presenting an affront to your leadership credential – for which the people saw you as weak and under his direct influence and control, to the chagrin of other ministers – would have been tantamount to acknowledging yet approving of his actions.
With your manifesto promise to take the fight to all forms of corruption, any allegation of graft against anyone in your cabinet is akin to having an enemy in your midst. If anyone below the rank of minister in your administration was accused of corruption, without condoning such an action, the people would have expected such, as it is the only way we have come to expect them to behave. But when someone who contributed to the anticorruption ethos of the New Direction government gets accused of corruption, questions get asked as to how serious and important the fight is to the regime.
Going further, setting aside your intention to pass the Cybercrime Bill, the Local Governance Bill aimed at depoliticising local government and executing the Midterm Census, all of which have elicited widespread criticism from all sides of the political divide and spectrum, would be great for your re-election agenda. The people demand and expect this of you, sir.
By continuing to listen to the people of Sierra Leone, you can be assured of our support going forward. Creating a new Sierra Leone will start with listening to and doing things in the interest of the people.