Lebanese National and Romanian Consul to Sierra Leone, has reacted in anger to this medium when contacted to clarify allegations that his business enterprise is engaged in supplying rotten rice to members of the public.
Our investigations into the activities of the Lebanese businessman has also revealed that Ahmed Mackie, owner of rice and cement stores at Ferry Junction, close to Bomeh dumpsite, is engaged in the process of mixing both good and rotten rice for onward supplies to the general public.
Unconfirmed reports have also disclosed that his brother has been recently awarded the rice contract to supply the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Forces, so it is also very likely that such rice would make its way to our military forces.
Ahmed Mackie has boastfully told this medium that he will not respond to any of the allegations against him and that we can go ahead with whatever that we want to do.
He has bragged that like in the days of Jamil Sahid Mohamed in the Siaka Stevens’ era, ‘’the New Direction is in my pocket and that no matter what, no bad press would destroy my hard-earned reputation with the new government, from the top to the bottom I am no stranger to anybody in this administration’’, the Lebanese businessman bragged.
Our investigations have further revealed that the Lebanese business man is operating a number of cartels in the country and he is also largely not in compliance with NASSIT and Labour Laws regulations in the country.
The Mackies are reported to be key members of the business community currently in the country and that they are very crucial to the lifeblood of the New Direction Government.
A number of Sierra Leonean workers working for them have anonymously told this medium that Ahmed Mackie is bragging that he has a good number of influential people in this government and has an unfettered access to them and hence nobody would destroy him even if he does not comply with the laws of the country.
We have also been told that the Mackies including Hisham,Tariz and Ahmed himself, are very much accessible to the top brass in government.
They are said to be very close to the powers that be in the government including senior Ministers.
How can a government very much concerned to do things in New Direction style allow foreign businessmen to supply substandard and rotten rice to its people and go and go scot free?
Where is the Standards Bureau and other competent authorities? Is the Minster of Health not in the know about such worrisome development?
The issue of governments giving too much power to foreign businessmen to the extent that they would openly brag to poor citizens is an issue of concern.
We used to know the APC for such tendencies since the Siaka Stevens days when a popular businessman was said to have become so influential in those days that government relied on him to pay salaries of government workers.
Are we fastly going back to those days where the Mackies would come in to bank roll government especially when things are getting rough? We would at least not expect that?
‘’The New Direction is in my Pocket’’ -Ahmed Mackie Brags
