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2 Years On - Time for Sombre Reflection |
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Written by Raymond Dele Awoonor-Gordon
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Saturday, 26 September 2009 00:00 |
From the onset, the challenge before the Ernest Koroma-led administration was crystal clear – knock the old house down and build a new one from the foundation up.
This is not an issue of being all over the place like a cheap suit. It is talking about a meaningful existence for the majority, not the minority of Sierra Leoneans.
It is about visible and sustainable socio-economic development and infrastructure.
On the evidence of what confronted us as a people on a daily basis, there was no denying the fact that whether short, medium or long term, various plans and visions shoved down our throats by past administrations, especially from the tail-end of Siaka Stevens, had succeeded in accelerating our under-development.
The different agenda-chronicles of these governments, whether military or civilian, horrendously betrayed the collective dreams and aspirations of the people and sent them into the abyss of penury and destitution.
For long, the legendary common man has had to endure mismanagement, maladministration, corruption and economic tsunamis that have plagued the nation.
But instead of holding governments to task for poor economic management and governance and instead of voicing discontent against governmental frivolities, we’ve continued to look for the devil in the voiceless common man whose sole crime is to rightly seek a better life and to be served.
The ultimate loser when a microscopic few, with the mental ability to see only as far as the reach of their noses, continue to leave substance for sentiments and political blackmail is no one, but the health of our beloved Sierra Leone and its people.
It is indeed time to reflect; because drastic filths often require drastic cleansing machinery.
Sincerely speaking, it is soul-destroying hypocrisy if we accept on one hand, that the last regime did nothing for the years it was in power and rightly condemned them, only to turn around to applaud the slow march of the nation now being pulled by a slow coach, at a time when we should be galloping.
It is indeed time to question the seriousness of our leaders to ensure real change rather than the usual pretentious change and the unwillingness to do what it takes to cause a real seismic change, especially in the socio-economic life and welfare of the downtrodden masses.
EBK gave the pledge that not only could he do it, but that we would see a difference within three years as we cruise towards EL Dorado.
And therein lies the crux of the matter because for one it sounded like and it is fast turning to the same hymn sheet of the past.
Because of his appeal to every interest group and spectrum of the society, at a time that the nation and its people were gasping for breath from the nausea and suffocation of the then SLPP administration, EBK secured an easy ride to power.
However, the inevitable consequence is that he has since been paralyzed by the ghosts of those same varied groups as he tries to be all things to all men.
The result is that some of his initial dynamism has been diluted and the focus blurred by vampires surrounding him.
Beneath the veneer of dynamism, now lies a myth and an uncanny truth – that a complex administration haunted by subtle political intrigues is becoming a yoke to the inherent and glorious potential to make a marked departure from the mundane acts of governance.
Just as the brightest packages don’t always have the best quality content, so also the noisiest conversations won’t always bring forth the most rewarding results.
Maybe that is the stage we are in now. Only time will tell and it’s the reason for a sombre reflection rather than chest-beating.
Funnily enough, the continued inability of the present administration and its apologists to see that Salone’s cruise liner is on the slow lane despite expressed interest of many foreign donors and hawks, is indeed bemusing.
If one of the main allegations against the immediate past regime is its failure to show any tangible achievement for its existence, which led to donors putting their hands back in their pockets, then how do we justify the slow pace of development in the midst of the plenty given to the present set of rulers?
Because indeed, in some areas of our national development right now, the belts and wheels have not cranked back into gear; in continuation of the many years of inactivity.
The APC, which has with delicious irony been dancing on the grave of the SLPP, finds it unpalatable coming under microscopic scrutiny in our bid to ensure that it does not become the undertaker of the ashes of a once great and proud nation.
But every once in a while we need to confront the cruel and disturbing fact that sadly for the present administration, it just has to do better and faster than any previous government in the history of this country and this is the devil which must be confronted by those in power and their supporters club.
We can no longer allow politicians and our leaders to dance on our graves.
Our stay in the wilderness has been going on for too long.
The nation had been waiting for a defining moment and that came in 2007 when the people put their interest and trust above politics and sentiment.
We cannot now then continue to scratch the barrel of ineptitude and inaction as if the future belongs to a select few instead of to all of us especially when we could be above the waterline.
The blind and the deluded need to have the hype-riddled blindfolds stripped from their eyes so that they can see things in perspective.
The current siege mentality to criticism cannot motivate even the leaders to see the need for just that little extra bit of ingenuity and fresh vision necessary to turn the ship around.
Or else, why does the government keep coming out with pious platitudes about its successes in improving our lot when the next flight out of Lungi to the UK or the USA contains a minister or top government functionary whose family is studying overseas?
Why does our lights blinker on and off like a child in fits and some areas persist in darkness, when the houses of our leaders are shining like Christmas grotto in neon lights all day long?
When the rest of us swallow chalk as panadol, why are our servants-turn-masters on their way abroad for a mere toothache? Or when majority of us cannot remember what nutritious food tastes like, how come it’s always like a banquet in the houses of those who yesterday, could not rub two cents together?
Truly, the real test is the resolve of the government to make a marked difference and this includes cutting out spin and appeasement as it realises that without a shadow of doubt, very little outside tokenism and the norm, has been achieved in the last two years.
For those of them who are privy to the kind of life they had as youths, their conscience should tell them the truth that our yesterday was far better than now and while the changes cannot be wrung overnight, nothing in concrete terms has been done for the people.
It is a sign of our debauchery, for the government to shamelessly gloat over the fact that an APC government started a project thirty five long years ago and it is another APC administration that is completing it.
Because if nothing else, this is a testimony that the country has been left comatose all those years.
Spin and razzmatazz should not take the place of devotion and dedication to get policies right and urgently.
The government has to push the boat out fast while the tide is up and the wind is there for smooth sailing.
To be continued. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 04:21 |
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