The ascension to the Presidential throne by the Sierra Leone Peoples Party was greatly with landmark euphoria.
The excitement is not unconnected to the hope for national unity and cohesion as well as the restoration of what many say a broken economy.
At the time the SLPP came to power, Sierra Leoneans were reeling of the effects of Ebola epidemic, the mudslide disaster and the shutting down of the operations of the two main Iron Ore Minerals-African Minerals Limited and the London Mining Company.
Through both companies have resumed operations with different nowen clotures-Shandong Iron and Steel Group and Sierra Leone Mines respectively economic hardship is still widespread.
Lalithin the Yoke of hardship, the hope for national unity and improvement of the economy was totally severed owing to the mass sacking embarked upon by the current regime.
Within a year, close to 1,000 jobs losses in the public sector were recorded.
At State House where the sledge hammer first descended close to two hundred staff were laid off.
The national Tele-Communication Commission also threw out over a hundred employees. Similarly, two hundred and forty four government workers were disgracefully kicked out of their offices at Statistics Sierra Leone.
Water Quay and other agencies have also axed their work forces in substantial numbers.
Quite a large number of workers in Ministries, Department and Agencies of government are facing threatening situation has produced an intimidated, less motivated and hopeless Civil Service in Sierra Leone.
Such a situation has also adversely affected service delivery and the citizens are the victims.
The signs of what the country is going through showcased themselves immediately after the prouncement of the 2018 Presidential results.
The violence that followed on that fateful day is tragic in nature and unprecedented in scale.
A great number of Sierra Leoneans were forced out of their towns and villages.
In Kono district, people perceived as sympathizers of the opposition APC were driven away from their homes.
Most sought refuge at Massingbi in the North.
Houses were set ablaze and other properties destroyed with impunity.
In Freetown, civilians’ task forced and vigilantes were set up to go after ex-Ministers of government officials to forcefully retrieve government properties especially vehicles.
Premises of highly placed former government officials were ransacked.
The taskforce group headed by the current Minister of Foreign Affairs chased even innocent and servicing government officials.
A Judge of the High Court was nearly brutalized for failing to surrender his vehicle as the irate vigilantes groups were not properly educated as to who should be targeted.
The daughter of the former President, Alice Mansaray was also targeted for violence by the taskforce group.
They claimed that Alice Mansaray’s vehicle is government property.
On that same day, bank accounts of government officials including that of the former President were frozen. Also, accounts of other public institutions were closed.
A government Transition Team was immediately setup to quickly investigate the activities of past government.
The report came out and it indicted former President, Vice President and Ministers as “State plunderers” no one was spared.
The country was brought to sudden standstill.
After a month, opposition Parliamentarians were forcefully thrown out of Parliament with good beatings from security operatives-the operations supported Division.
This brutality unleashed to the Parliamentarians is a direct result of a resistance to 16 petitions slammed by the ruling party petitions.
Political analyst and commentators have described the violence in Parliament as the first in Sierra Leone’s modern history.
The shameful treatment of Parliamentarians brought down the image of Parliament in eyes of most right thinking members of society.
It is an episode to be included in Sierra Leone’s annals.
Most frustrating is the contemptuous treatment meted to Sierra Leone’s Principal represent at us abroad.
Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Consuls representing Sierra Leone in important countries in the world were immediately sacked.
Allowances meant to return home with their families were not made available to them.
The sacked representatives became refugees in a foreign land.
This situation transformed Sierra Leone into a laughing stock.
As it stands, ten Parliamentary seats of the main opposition has been taken away following petition hearings adjudicated at the High Courts of Sierra Leone.
The aggrieved Parliamentarians have filed their appeals at the Court of Appeal.
Only God knows if the verdict would favour the applicants.
In Commissions of Inquiry being products of the government and transition team report are ongoing. The main opposition has described the Commission as “Kangaroo-styled” as they lack “legality” and “jurisdictional competence”.
In the midst of these dangerous and turbulent circumstances, the ruling government announced a Bintumani three conference to heal the wounds that have been inflicted on the opposition.
Since the wounds are still fresh, the opposition did not see the conference worthwhile and therefore snubbed it.
EXAMINING THE NEED FOR A PERMANENT POLITICAL TRANSITION AGENCY IN SIERRA LEONE
Considering the pain that has been inflicted through mass sacking and grievances have been nursed and nurtured by the opposition.
This means a conflict is building up.
Who can rebut the prediction that the opposition bounces back to power tomorrow? Who can also predict the nature of revenge they are also determined to unleash? Who can also can also tell what the ruling party will do if it gets back the people’s mandate? These fundamentals questions would go unanswered for now.
Therefore, a gloomy future hangs over the country.
It logically follows that an agency must be set up to manage future transitions from one government into another to forestall an all-out conflict in Sierra Leone.