Sierra Leone's Discredited Government Grows Reckless in Desperation

Maada and Kadi In Freetown Monday

The saying "you reap what you sow" has never rang true in Sierra Leone as it did this week for the nation's embattled president who is in a state of panic, as the euphoria to replace his inept and monumentally corrupt government reaches fever peak in the nation's capital Freetown and other major population areas in the country.

Ernest Koroma, who came into office on a wave of promises has presided over the greatest accelerated decline in the living standards of the people since the nation became an independent state in April 1961. In a period of just 5 years, the national currency declined from approximately Le. 2000.00 to 1 dollar to the current exchange rate of over Le. 4500.00 against the dollar. The price of the country's staple food rice tripled in price from a high of Le. 60,000.00 to almost Le. 200,000.00 from 2007, an astounding 200% while wages have grown during this period at an anemic 5%. The national banks are currently facing severe currency shortages, having to turn away customers who want to access funds or are rationing the amount that customers can withdraw in a single day, in spite of the fact that the country's rich natural resources have been almost handed over to unscrupulous foreign investors under the pretext of running the country like a business.

Toward The Electoral Commission

And in a classic case of reckless corruption that can only rival the Italian Mafia, the Reuters News Agency reports from West Africa that 9 out ten vessels that are responsible the greater percentage of more than 250 reports of illegal fishing off Sierra Leone's coast are cleared by the nation's so called government to export their illegal catch to Europe with the benefit accruing to the nation's top brass. Read the link for more indormation:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-10/news/sns-rt-us-sierraleone-eu-fishingbre89a01u-20121010_1_european-fisheries-iuu-vessels

A Fed up People

Fuel lines in the country's petrol stations stretch for miles, with drivers spending up to 12 hours to get just a few gallons of the now precious fuel. After an initial pledge to electrify the country in a few years, resulting in the senseless Income Electrix deal in which nearly useless generators were bought by the country's  discredited former Energy Minister Hafsatu Kabbia in a deal that netted the insiders millions of dollars, the nation's capital and many areas of the country continues to be in near perpetual darkness.

Just in the past two weeks  the president for pure political reasons and to the amazement of the country's intellectual community and foreign diplomats decided to reappoint the country's notoriously corrupt and greedy Vice President Sam Sumana,  probably in fear of what he would reveal if he was not reappointed and to encourage the people of his traditional SLPP district to switch to the ruling APC. Sam Sumana's reappointment makes the president's catch phrases of "zero corruption tolerance", "attitudinal change" and "rebranding exercise" sound like the jokes of a constipated comedian, to which only he is laughing.

The Rape of Sierra Leone

The starvation in the country combined with hopeless sanitation practices in the capital where pigs are freely allowed to breed in the slums has resulted in the greatest case of severe cholera to hit West Africa in well over half a century. Cholera like a black plague spread rapidly over the few months to every corner of the country, killing hundreds and compromising the health of thousands.

Voting Again for This?

With the country going to elections in less than 40 days the president and his party's desperation is palpable. This week, the national parties were scheduled to formally present their candidates to the country's electoral commission under the leadership of former clergy Christiana Thorpe, whose historical legacy depends on her conduct of this most contentious of elections.

The Rape of Sierra Leone

Earlier in the week the Pro-APC United Democratic Movement (UDM) headed by the PMDC defecting duo of Mohamed Bangura and Dennis Saidu registered their candidacies without much fanfare.

Atrocious Revolutionary United Front commander Eldred Collins also registered the rebel party RUFP to participate in the coming elections to lead the country, having failed to do so afters years of amputating  the limbs of innocent people, decapitating old men and disemboweling pregnant women. But such is the nature of democracy that Collins who should either be rotting in a Rwandan jail or dancing to Satan's beat in hell, is running as a candidate  reminding the people of Sierra Leone once again of the depravity and manic senselessness of their rebel movement,which found pleasure in killing fetuses in the wombs of their mothers.

Eldred Satan Collins RUFP

Such is the nature of the hypocrisy of Sierra Leone politics that the ruling APC party which has been crying murderer over the candidacy of retired Brigadier Maada Bio of the SLPP, is loudly silent at the prospect of having this degenerate human rights abuser Eldred Collins as the head of a presidential ticket, largely because he poses no chance of winning the elections and so the fact that he murdered and supervised the torture of thousands of peaceful citizens does not really matter as he poses very little risk of upsetting and upending the APC gravy train.

The Confident Duo

On Monday the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party presented their presidential duo of Julius Maada Bio and Dr. Kadi Sesay to the electoral commissioner bringing hordes of crowds out of every corner of the capital Freetown and bringing the city to a virtual standstill and sending the APC into a state of shock, awe and panic. People from all walks of life who were fed up with the hopeless situation in the country came out in their hundreds of thousands to join the slow procession of Maada and Kadi as they confidently walked up to the electoral commission. Civil servants who were afraid to join the masive rally for fear of being targeted by the jittery government stood at their office windows and cheered the peaceful crowd on. The festive atmosphere continued till the end of the day, sending chills down the spine of government politicians who were for the first time brought to the realization of just how frustrated the people of Sierra Leone were even in the period were Ernest Koroma was spending millions paying journalist to write news to the contrary. A frustrated Sylvia Blyden almost went crazy on Facebook and her awareness Times Rag concocting crazy conspiracy stories.

Loving The Crowd

APC Supporters Being Bused Into Freetown
From the North

Today is the APC's turn to present President Koroma and "Alhaji" Sumana. The APC in response to SLPP turning the seat of power and the president's supposed  base Freetown green has been spending millions of leones busing villagers from the north of the country into the country's cholera infested capital to outdo the SLPP crowd, disregarding the health implications in a country already struggling under the weight of the cholera epidemic. APC T-Shirts have been distributed all the week in Freetown at giveaway prices and thousands more are being distributed for free. The main northern town of Makeni is reportedly a ghost town as most of its prominent citizens and populace have been bused into Freetown to create the illusion of massive support for the desperate government.

APC  Today

The Crowds Are In Town

Just a few weeks ago, APC supporters were bused into the Eastern City of Segbwema with free distribution of red APC T-Shirts to create the illusion that Segbwema, the home of the SLPP chairman is now in government hands. A few days later APC T-Shirts were being handed to SLPP party leaders as the people rallied to demonstrate their support for the main opposition and express their disgust at the lies in government newspapers that the people will follow the lost MP Robin Fallay whom many accuse of being an overambitious and misguided individual.