By KABS KANU
Where ever there is a contest of any kind, it must be expected of opponents to make very strong claims against one another and for some people to bandy around promises that they will bring change, if elected ( Even where such a change is not needed because the incumbents are already doing a faultless job ). Often, the poor, gullible people fall for these claims and regret later. There are already two West African nations where the citizens fell blindly for this false promise of change and have begun regretting it seriously.
Sierra Leoneans cannot afford to be taken for a ride by these false promises of change on Wednesday March 7, 2018 when the future of our nation will be decided once again at the polls. Our people must vote wisely and vote solidly for the ruling All People’s Congress ( APC ) winning team of Dr. Samura Kamara and Chernoh Bah ( Chericoco ) for the reasons I will disclose below :
- IT IS ONLY WHEN THE APC IS IN POWER THAT REAL NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TAKES PLACE IN SIERRA LEONE
This is a fact that no serious and honest Sierra Leonean can deny. All the development projects seen all over the country were executed by the APC. There is no super structure, no beautiful road network , no health, education, agricultural and energy reforms that was not performed by the APC. The APC is far more development-oriented than its traditional rival, the Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) . This is not a false claim. This is backed by concrete evidence. You cannot point to any development project in Sierra Leone that you can credit to the SLPP.
Whenever the SLPP is in power, they spend all the nation’s money on vainglorious and selfish obsessions like sending their girlfriends, paramours and family abroad to shop or study; building mansions, embellishing their three-figure accounts in foreign banks etc. Because the SLPP was in power during the immediate post-war period, no government ever benefited from the colossal infusion of international aid , loans and other forms of assistance than the SLPP , but they cannot account for any of these funds. Nor can the nation show any concrete national development project that was accomplished by the SLPP. Sierra Leone was the darkest country in the world and adjudged the most backward in the world on the UN Human Development Index—No water, no light, dilapidated infrastructure, poor and hazardous road networks that were death traps to the people, no food security with agriculture much neglected etc. etc. etc. When the SLPP is in power, tribalism is in high gear , unlike the reign of the APC, which is a grassroots party.
As for the so-called National Grand Coalition ( NGC ) , the least said, the better. Before even the elections, the NGC has been caught in whopping lies, false representation and false promises to the people. The flagbearer of the party, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella changes stories like a man changes his underpants and stand the danger of being kicked out of the race . He served for long as Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization ( UNIDO ) and did nothing to help his country .
2. UNLIKE THE OTHER CANDIDATES, DR. SAMURA HAS ALREADY BEEN PROVIDED THE PLATFORM TO PERFORM : THE LEGACY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEFT BY PRESIDENT ERNEST KOROMA
What will Dr. Samura Kamara need to do better that his opponents will never have the opportunities to do to succeed on a grand scale ? Dr. Samura Kamara must just follow the socio-economic and political development agenda he will be inheriting from President Ernest Koroma and he will surely enjoy the big moments of appreciation from the media , the people and the international community. Whether his detractors accept it or not, President Koroma really performed in power and concrete evidence can be seen all over the country that he really transformed Sierra Leone. He constructed first class highways , buildings, schools, hospitals , clinics , energy power stations , dams, and he introduced reforms in agriculture , while he set the economy on a trajectory that made Sierra Leone the fastest growing economy before Ebola.
In President Ernest Koroma, we had a magnificent leader, developer and reformer who transformed our country for stone age to a modern nation. Only a blind moron living in self-deceit will fail to acknowledge all the socio-economic and political developments accomplished by President Ernest Koroma, which made Sierra Leone the toast of the United Nations and international stakeholders.
The advantage Dr. Samura has over his opponents is that, unlike them, the platform has already been provided him to excel. Unlike the others, he does not have to grope in the dark for solutions to the country’s problems. President Koroma has already established the platform.
3. DR . SAMURA KAMARA IS THE BEST TRIED , TESTED AND EXPERIENCED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AMONG THE REST
In Dr. Samura Kamara, Sierra Leone has the best choice of a presidential candidate because he is a developmental technocrat , blessed with the political will, capacity and abilities to take off from where President Koroma will stop and move our nation even higher to the apex of national development.
In presenting Dr. Samura Kamara to the nation, the APC has not showcased a novice or an untried and untested performer. Rather, the APC has presented an erudite economist, a brilliant diplomat and an outstanding politician who has been in governance for the pat 30 years in many impressive capacities and has excelled himself to the credit and benefit of the nation. When Dr. Samura Kamara speaks, he does not blow unnecessary wind like his rivals. He speaks some of what he has already achieved during his marvelous stewardship and much of what he is capable of achieving after becoming President on March 7, 2018.
We therefore enjoin all Sierra Leoneans to pay less heed to the name-callers and jump onboard the TOLONGBO Bandwagon and help lay the basis sure for more socio-economic and political transformation of our nation.
A vote for Dr. Samura Kamara will never be regretted because he has demonstrated his mettle already as Minister of Finance and Economic Development when, under his watch, Sierra Leone had the second fastest growing economy in the whole world. As Bank Governor, he was a revelation. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, he helped set the country on an immaculate pedestal in international diplomacy and international politics . A vote for Samura Kamara on March 7 will definitely be a very important step to restoring the old glory of our nation.
SEE PART 2 TOMORROW
