As the ruling SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) and the main opposition APC (All People’s Congress) heads for elections this Saturday, a defeat for the ruling SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) in the Koya Elections is evident and imminent. APC has one message and that message is about the cancellation of an international airport project that would have brought prosperity to Koya community.
Had the project gone ahead, Koya community would have been positively sold locally and internationally. Government has provided no justification for the cancellation of a project that would have created jobs for a good number of jobless youth in Sierra Leone.
The location of the airport which is in an opposition stronghold is the only reason government would provide for the cancellation. SLPP would not like to see development projects in the north-western regions of Sierra Leone even if the benefits would spread to the entire country.
Government’s revenue base would have expanded and its capacity render essential services increased had the project gone as planned. With a new airport in Sierra Leone, government would have derived income from aircraft on arrivals and transits.
The toll gate revenue from which government is benefitting about 10% would have increased as more vehicles would use the toll road to Freetown. It is way of boosting revenue for government in a country hit by investment and economic hardship.
The past government of President Koroma was also aware of the limited capacity of the Lungi International Airport which could not all accommodate aeroplanes. These considerations are not political, but they are based on the national interest.
When it took over power in 2018, SLPP never looked at the airport project from a national perspective but on regional and political perspectives. The only aspect looked at is the location of the airport which is not in the southeast. The question is just simple: What would SLPP tell the people of Koya Chiefdom after aborting a big project there?
The Koya community is also deprived of normal government services, a situation that makes matters worse. The party in power has failed to do its homework well by failing to provide the much-needed social services to the people.
The constituency lacks water, electricity, medical facilities and other services that make life worth living. The absence of such services is direct result of SLPP’s neglect for years. SLPP’s discrimination in terms of development projects is seen not only in Koya Chiefdom but also in other areas considered as main opposition heartlands.
The party will also lose in such communities in next year’s elections.
In Marampa Chiefdom in PortLoko district, government shut down Marampa Mines which has been the people’s hope for a long time. This press interviewed land holding families and other residents in Lunsar town, and their response showed the suffering SLPP has caused in the community through political vendetta. The land owners who used to receive good sums of money form the companies became the most disgruntled.
While the company was in operation, members of landholding families were placed into good jobs, and their welfare looked after. The workers and their children received good medical facilities on a free-of-cost basis as well as other benefits. This made the company to enjoy community loyalty and cooperation.
The closure had negative impact not only on land owners but also on the entire community. Marampa Chiefdom headquaters, Lunsar which used to enjoy electricity in the mining days was engulfed into darkness as the company went away out of fear of SLPP’s savagery.
Those who own houses too feel the pinch as they got no rent after tenants too had left. A good number of people escaped the poverty created by SLPP government in Lunsar town. The mines closure triggered intermittent waves of riots that threatened the entire country. It is very difficult for peace to prevail in a community where livelihood is threatened. Government actions threatened the people’s livelihoods.
When residents fought to take back control of their destiny, SLPP government responded with a heavy hand. A number of youth were gunned down by the police and army, an act for which none of the killers were held accountable.
The shutting down of the Iron Ore miner, SL Mining Company caused the company huge financial loss which will take for years to recover. Company officials were also targeted for harassment, arrest and detention without legal basis.
The arrest and detention of company officials on false claims was the worst side of situation. Government’s objective was to ensure that the company officials leave the community for the locals to remain in deep poverty, hardship and suffering. Government justified its brutal actions on the people of Lunsar on the grounds that SL Mining Company occupied the mines on an illegal agreement left behind by former President Ernest Bai Koroma.
The brutality came while the trial was in progress in an international arbitration court where SLPP was quite hopeful of a legal victory. The hope was shattered after a verdict was handed down in an English court on SLPP’s appeal.
An intransigent SLPP government bowed down to pressure after it lost the case against the mining company. No one clearly understands the conditions on which the company exploits Marampa Blue, the most popular name of Ore in Marampa mines after the case.
The company has to be compensated for its financial and asset losses as it could not transport the ore owing to government ban. By their actions, government has sowed a seed of discord between the people and their leader, PC Bai Koblo Queen.
SLPP is known for discrimination in whatever it does in the administration of state. While the mines closed in the northern region, mining companies were going on in the south-east regions which are SLPP’s strongholds. Rutile in Moyamba, Koidu holdings in Kono districts among others are still active while companies in the north shut down. SLPP’s aim is to create hardship in the north while things are easy in the south-east.
The party in power also exposed it negative side in in the fishing town of Tombo where people’s livelihood was also put at stake through a ban not to fish. Angered by the ban, the fishermen had no alternative but to protest and the consequences were dire.
A heavy handed contingent of police officers shot and killed defenceless protesters. The unlawful killing was state- sponsored as government’s right to stop fishermen from going to the high seas to survive remains questionable.
It was not clear who issued the order, but what is clear, precious lives were taken away on the fateful day. The scores and grudges remain. SLPP is still seen as a killing government in such communities. As usual, no one was brought to justice.
SLPP’s thuggery and brutality is also in seen almost all communities in Sierra Leone, and only few expect SLPP to campaign in communities where it has wreaked the most havoc. Koya community is one of them.