WE APPRECIATE AND THANK THE MCC FOR THE COMPACT MONEY, BUT DOES UNCLE SAM REALLY KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING IN SIERRA LEONE ?
Cocorioko Editorial
After the U.S announced yesterday that it had made Sierra Leone eligible for the Millennium Challenge Corporation ( MCC ) Compact Award ( which is a reward for adherence to good governance principles, ,respect for human rights and robust abhorrence of corruption } ,the United States is being accused by Sierra Leoneans of cozying up to the Bio dictatorship in Sierra Leone at a time even the people of Sierra Leone have become tired and incensed with President Maada Bio’s human rights abuses, rampant corruption corruption , tribalism, governance violation of the constitution and all rules and conventions of good governance .
As soon as the award was announced by the MCC and the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leoneans took to the social media to condemn the MCC decision, which they regarded as rewarding poor governance, human rights abuses and rampant corruption in Sierra Leone.
And President Bio did not even wait for 24 hours to prove his aggrieved right . He sent troops once again to surround the residence of opposition politician and owner of the Awareness Times newspaper, Dr. Sylvia Blyden and arrested her for calling him a liar. This was a blatant act of dictatorship and abuse on the constitutional rights of the politician and publisher —-abuses that President Bio had been inflicting on his people since he came to power in 2018 and for which Sierra Leoneans have staged protest demonstrations at the UN in New York , Britain and Brussels.
How do we reconcile the avowed manifestation of the MCC itself that “The MCC provides grants based on sound data and analytics that take into account a country’s commitment to good governance, fighting corruption, and democratic rights.” We find it very hard to believe this statement, given President Bio ‘s human rights abuses, assault on the rule of law and the constitution, chronic tribalism and refusal to even publish the 2019 Audit Report , which indicts his government for high economic state crimes, wholesale embezzlement of public funds and blatant thieving . Does the U.S. really know what is going on in Sierra Leone ? Does the U.S. know what it is doing in Sierra Leone ? We have problems responding in the affirmative.
Sierra Leoneans, actually, were not surprised, to be frank, that 24 hours after the U.S told President Bio that Sierra Leone had become MCC Compact eligible , the dictator arrested journalist Sylvia Blyden for calling him a liar in her newspaper. What is surprising is how the MCC came to determine that Sierra Leone was eligible for the Compact Award under the tutelage of a human rights abuser .
The Americans see and read in the newspapers and social media about all the human rights abuses , politically-motivated killings and wild corruption going on in Sierra Leone . President Bio has even been under a U.S. Homeland Security restriction from visiting the U.S. since the early 2000s.
It is a known fact that the U.S. never deals with other countries based on the realistic feelings of the people towards their governments and the situations on the ground in client countries . The U.S. always rather place their economic and strategic interests first. They do not care for the people.
The U.S does not care if dictatorial governments, kill, maim and enslave their people , once they do not touch their strategic political and economic interests.
The U.S is very notorious for propping up dictators in Third world countries . We saw that in Liberia, DR Congo, then Zaire , Central African Republic , Equatorial Guinea etc. Even Ghadaffi and Sadam Hussein were once the toast of the U.S. Government before they fell out. The U.S. is continuing its tradition of providing economic support for dictators in foreign countries by awarding President Bio an MCC Compact Award.
It must not be wrongly concluded that we do not appreciate Sierra Leone winning the MCC Compact Award. We welcome and appreciate the fact that “The MCC provides highly impactful, life-changing development work….. ” as the organization describes its goal . We want to see the economic and infrastructural developments MCC Compact money is believed to invest on countries that win the award. We want to see our nation progress and bring an end to poverty and the suffering of the people. If Compact money will change the lives of our people, we welcome it.
However the U.S. action is going to be misperceived by President Bio as endorsement of his terrible human rights abuses and he is going to wax worse. The arrest of journalist Dr. Sylvia Blyden 24 hours after the announcement of the award is a graphic demonstration of this fact. And this is our greatest fear , the fear of Sierra Leoneans, that the U.S. has provided the spur that will propel President Bio to commit more human rights abuses , bad governance practices and corruption , with the belief that nothing will come out of it, he being the latest dictator transformed to the blue-eyed boy of America.
We suggest that the MCC not only concentrate on diplomatic and so-called expert reports to determine winners of the Compact, but should make it a priority to gauge the emotions, opinions and reality of life of the people on the ground.
Additionally, we suggest that the MCC work with Compact recipient nations to institute radical fundamental reforms in best democratic, human rights and economic management practices.
This will ensure that the Compact is not perceived as a senseless rewarding , enabling and endorsing of dictators who harm their people, while fooling the international world through fake experts purportedly monitoring events in far away countries from their armchairs in Washington DC.
1Mohamed Sankoh3 CommentsLikeCommentShare
