By Anthony M. Bangura
It was three years after independence, during the regime of Albert Margai, when corruption reared its ugly face in some areas in the public and private sectors of the country’s economy. I see corruption as the number one enemy of Sierra Leone. It is like cancer that spreads like a wildfire in the hermattan. It is time that all patriotic citizens declare war against this enemy which eating deep into the fabric of the nation.
The enemy has to be destroyed. If we fail to do that, then it will continue to destroy our society. To be able to destroy the enemy we have to be able to fight this particular war collectively. Individually, we can be helpful, but collectively, our actions would be more effective, and it would be easier to destroy the enemy. The war has to be fought on all levels such as the presidential level, the senior ministerial level, the junior ministerial level, senior official level, and the subordinates
It is a war that has to be fought with zest and all should cooperate and be ready to disclose whatever information we have to the designated authorities. It is a war in which the churches, the mosques, the schools, and the local organizations should get involved. If the war is fought as outlined, the enemy is sure to be destroyed, which will make all Sierra Leoneans live decent lives as is the case in the rest of the civilized world.
We all have seen how the enemy has influenced the minds of politicians, military and rebel leaders who ruled Sierra Leone. Their minds were completely taken over by the enemy that they became monsters and treated their fellow Sierra Leoneans like substandard human beings
To be exact, Albert Margai was the Prime Minister when the economy started going bad because of corruption. People were dissatisfied with his leadership; they did not like where the country was heading.
But now if we as Sierra Leoneans work together we can fight corruption and win the battle.
First of all, Sierra Leone has a very bright future as long as we keep doing the right thing. President Koroma is doing a marvelous job. The problem is that people want all the changes to take place over night, and it does not work that way. There is no magic wand when it comes to government bureaucracy. To get things done takes a while.
One positive way to stop corruption in this country is to give the people reasonable wages. The salary scale is terrible compared to the cost of living in Sierra Leone. Agreeably this government has made laudable efforts to increase minimum wage in both the public and private sectors but much still needs to be done to raise the people above poverty and corruption which many say are inseparable bedfellows.
The health sector is also a corrupt place to look at. As we commence post Ebola recovery, the government should take an introspective look at the health sector to stamp out graft as it has over the years led to lose of lives. Some patients die because they do not have money to pay hospital bills, some doctors have a private clinic and they mandate the patient to go to their clinic and they charged them huge amount of money, some doctors do their operations on patient at night in their private clinics.
President Koroma and his government are in a tight fight against corruption and we as Sierra Leoneans should also help in the fight to eradicate corruption as we have done to fight against Ebola.
President Koroma cannot fight corruption alone. As the government is a government of the people, for the people and by the people, we should all join hands to fight corruption and win the fight against this war which started in the sixties under the leadership of the SLPP?s Albert Margai.
