By Yusuf Moijuah
There are growing concerns and pressure on President Julius Maada Bio by the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party SLPP home based stalwarts and supporters especially women with regards providing them with fulfillment of his campaign promises in the 2018 March elections.
The recent offer of a $3 million dollar project to the SLPP women wings is a move in the right direction, but are SLPP women the only women organization in Sierra Leone? Of course not! Women’s empower is a formidable strategy for self-reliance, social and economic liberty and targeting women at all levels rather than being selective using the vehicles of nepotisms, and other political considerations.
A video from the Chief Minister, which has gone viral, portrayed him calling for lists of names of female party members from SLPP districts, regional, zonal as well as constituency chairmen for employment opportunities.
This is an embarrassment to the government considering the present state of affairs. The President has acknowledged series of fault lines within ranging from the current state of the economy among list of other national issues.
The problem is a mixture of several socioeconomic and political issues almost always on the lips of every Sierra Leonean, due to its hitting impacts on daily economic livelihoods activities of the people in the last one year and few months of the Bio presidency.
Prof. David John Francis unfortunately told SLPP supporters that ‘it’s party time’, whiles informing them that government has placed US $3m for disbursement to party women nationwide, by way of implementing tree planting project thereby meeting political campaign promises. This is unthinkable for a whole government to allocate and lavish US $3m just on ruling party women in a ‘broken economy’ inherited from the last APC government.
In solidarity with the friendly ties Sierra Leone pledged US $1m to France for the reconstruction of the burnt French Cathedral in Paris, all done under a ‘broken economy.’ Let’s be sincere and honest in the presentation of facts a ‘broken economy’ cannot do such things; construct Bo-Matru road, link Sengbeh Pieh Bridge with president’s Juba Hills residence in west of Freetown, and the long lists of presidential and ministerial oversea trips.
Although what is now experienced is completely different from what is expected from proceeds of the timber trade. It is only too deceptive and scary for new comers into the game of policy presentation and real time implementation of a pro-people poverty alleviation project. Government and the President see it as a quick political opportunity diverting the minds of women from the impasse between SLPP Women’s Wing and move to Julius Maada Bio Women’s wing. Here, the Prof. failed to meet the right protocols around making a statement of such nature on the social media for and on behalf of government and at a ruling party headquarters elsewhere in the country. It’s unprofessional, unacceptable and above all it is a corrupt offence, as it is a controversy which the entire government sits within.
First of all, the forest of Sierra Leone is not owned by the SLPP nor other parties’ women but the people of Sierra Leone, so on no certain terms president Bio and his government through Prof. Francis limit targeted beneficiaries of timbers trade only directed to SLPP women. Before I start to question the procurement process of the project and who were the bidders nothing of such information is available to the public before one could think of Leadway. That is also a corrupt practice that deserves the attention of the ACC, as there is a gross disregard for best practices and deliberate failure to comply with legitimate procurement procedures as by law.
So, it’s a bit doubtful to most critics that if President Bio is actually serious about fighting graft. Of course recouping stolen public funds and directly targeting political opponents are not the only approaches towards fighting corruption thus no need for politically pushed Anti-Corruption Commission chief Francis Ben Kaifala to be celebrating paid up awards for going after political rivals.
Coming to office in April 2018 President Bio initially slammed a ban on the harvest, sale and export of timber products from Sierra Leone, with promises that this time around under his administration the nation will benefit greatly from proceeds of the Sierra Leone timber trade. The ban was later lifted with a new direction agenda placing timber as a major export commodity from the country.
The whereabouts of the appropriate authorities charged with the task of implementing such a programme and management of forestry products, other than the Agriculture Forestry and Food Security ministry not the Office of Chief Minister at State House, tell me Prof. Francis where do I go if I want to do business in timber, to your office or to the directorate of forestry. Or are you telling us in that video that you were the wrong driver of the massage carried in the video, a mere messenger of the good news of pro-party people job offers?
Certain people would simply ask why the chief Minister Francis wants to outsmart original SLPP king makers. Soja team hardliner commandoes have cautioned the State House big boy to take it easy, stop his tree planting pranks and discontinue his intention to succeed President Bio before he’s fired from his job. Leave political issues to be handled by politicians if you are not one to keep your job. Prof. Francis is recently quoted to have told SLPP supporters that he is not a politician and does not have money to dish out to party people, and referred them to their councilor and members of parliament of various wards and constituencies for help, when he was initially asked for help by party boys.
Further into the timber trade under the new government is a matter of concern as there were high hopes of proceeds will benefit all and sundry and not a small group of women even as the trade is rapidly exposing Sierra Leone natural forest to deforestation and growing effects of climate change. That besides tree planting should not just be limited to SLPP female members and their supporters, but women across the board since logging is everywhere in the country therefore everybody must benefit from the proceeds of the trade.
For those who are involved depends on how much has money that have been invested by the government sales agent, Leadway Trading Company in terms of exports, before recommence of harvests and exports had deposited huge amount of money into the Bank of Sierra Leone. But that does not seem to be reaching the targeted beneficiaries as far as tree planting initiatives are concerned despite the fact that Leadway pays US$ 2,850 per container. Quite apart from the official agent so many other companies are involved in the Sierra Leone timber trade through an illegal or semi-legal means, little or nothing is being realized from back door investments at the disadvantages of local investors with a small capital and the country. No wonder timber exports does not create any impact on the economy nor stimulate the foreign exchange rate off late because it’s largely foreign driven-exporting the raw materials are exported value additions like it is done in other African countries.
Natural resources including animal and plants are being destroyed during timber harvesting because the God’s given when once logged with never be replaced even if other types of trees are grown there will always be a negative effect of the environment and climate, which are some of the relevant concerns being brought to the attention of authorities by environmental and climate change activists, knowing logging as a major cause of drought, erosion and other forms of land degradations. A collective approach towards deforestation and government should think Sierra Leone in the direction of rolling out the tree planting job offers to reach every district, regions and chiefdoms to benefit every Sierra Leonean tax payer and not just ruling SLPP party women as declared by Prof. Francis heal internal party impasses and divides between women’s of Julius Maada Bio and the SLPP women’s wing. Let me once more remind the government, President Bio and Prof. Francis that SLPP was not brought to power by party women alone but the entire electorate and the president should stop seeing himself as a party property but a president of the Republic of Sierra Leone which requires to be vividly reflected in whatever he is doing as a national figure.