*From New Direction To Right Direction
*From Talk And Do To Do And Talk
*From Blackouts to Bright Light
The race to State House is tight as Dr Samura Kamara has started sending punches on the incumbent President Julius Maada Bio. Talk and Do, Right Direction and electricity were issues Kamara took on President Bio after the incumbent has spent five years in office.
He delved into the issues during his address at the APC (All People’s Congress) headquarters in Freetown after he successfully went through his nomination as presidential candidate for the June, 2023 election. His overwhelming victory in the February 2023 flag-bearer election was a precursor to his nomination about a week ago. Without wasting time, Kamara has hit the ground running as only months more remain for June elections.
SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) ‘New Direction’ is a strapline the APC flag-bearer is not convenient with. To him, there is nothing new about the New Direction. “When countries are moving forward, Sierra Leone is moving backwards,” Kamara criticised.
The ‘New Direction’ slogan became widely known between 2016 and 2017 when Bio was campaigning for SLPP’s flag-bearer symbol, anf continued his campaigns after he was chosen the party’s flag-bearer in 2017. The ‘New Direction’ means Bio will deviate from the leadership style of former President Koroma whose government he tagged as weak and corrupt. He said the country was less developed under Koroma since inflation was spiraling out of control.
Bio was not satisfied with the price hikes for several commodities especially rice which is Sierra Leone’s staple food. “The people of Sierra Leone do not deserve to buy a bag of rice NLe200 or Le200, 000 (two hundred thousand Leones),” he said.
Bio went on to state that a bag of rice was Le50 or Le50, 000 (fifty thousand Leones) before APC took over state governance. He therefore pledged to return the price of rice to where it was. Bio also hit hard on APC for what he referred to as wastages and financial leakages in the Koroma administration. Granting mining concessions and tax holidays were issues Bio was not pleased with while in opposition.
He would condemn Ernest’s government for being wasteful or extravagant. He said corruption was also rife in the APC government. President Bio also cited other several anomalies that badly undermined the development of Sierra Leone, and therefore promised to cleanse the system if voted in President of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans were carried away by Bio’s promises and threw their weight behind him.
But, Bio reneged on his promises after five years. Sierra Leone is still rated as one of the most under-developed country in the world, and the indicators are visible for all to see. Poor living standards, high cost of living, astronomic inflation and unhappy state of Sierra Leone are signs exhibited by a country that has been plagued by abject poverty and under-development.
Bio has also failed to cut down on inflation in the country. Almost every commodity or service is too costly to be afforded by low-income earners. But, it is worst for men in the streets. Rapid price increases in food is the worst. A bag of rice which Bio said in 2018 that people should not buy Le200, 000 is now hovering between Le650, 000 (six hundred and fifty thousand Leones) and Le700, 000 (seven hundred thousand Leones).
Prices of personal wearings too have sky-rocketed. A jean trousers which was sold at Le70, 000 (seventy thousand Leones) now stands between 180, 000 (one hundred and eighty thousand Leones) and Le200, 000 (two hundred thousand Leones).
Price for transport service in the country too has been badly affected. Huge chunk of money goes into movement from one place to another within the city. Almost invariably, travels from the city to the provinces is the worst scenario. One could pay as much as Le400, 000 (four hundred thousand Leones) for a trip from Freetown to Kailahun. Times are really tough, but tougher for President who seeks re-election for a second time.
Street Protests and sit-at-home strikes constitute evidence of economic hardship. SLPP’s failings opened a big room for criticisms from the APC side. Dr Samura Kamara also promised that if voted in, he would move his governance system from ‘Talk And Do’ to ‘Do And Talk.’ ‘Talk And Do’ phraseology means Bio says and does. He would fulfill every promise made to the people of Sierra Leone.
But, not all Bio promised that was offered. He promised to construct a bridge from Lungi to Freetown, but it never materialised. He promised to construct a diagnostic hospital out of money recovered from corrupt politicians, it was also left unfulfilled. He also promised to reduce inflation to single digit, and that also did not come to fruition. Failure to deliver provided fertile ground for big time opposition.
It offered a leeway to Samura Kamara that he would do and talk later. This means he would only talk after transforming his promises into realities. The APC presidential candidate also punched Bio for the persistent blackouts in the city as well as the provinces. “One minute of light supply and two days of blackouts in the city,” Samura Kamara hit Bio very hard.
By the energy indicators, it goes without saying that Bio has not done much. The nation’s capital Freetown is still confronted with persistent power outages, a sad situation that shocks many. Most homes especially in Eastern Freetown, have gone quiet. No sound of a musical set and no buzz of a freezer is heard for days. Only those with alternative means can make it. The noisy sound of electricity generators rent the air all day long in several communities in Freetown.
With Samura Kamara as President, he promised to bring light to Freetown within the first 100 days. He also promised to fix the economy within months. Some Sierra Leoneans doubt whether Samura Kamara will achieve what he promised but others remain confident. The APC presidential candidate played a leading role in the Agenda for Change as well as Prosperity. Many APC members have made it clear that Samura can take a good chunk of credit ascribed to former President Koroma for successes recorded in infrastructure, energy, health, agriculture and education among others between 2007 and 2018.