MISPLACED PRIORITIES – A HALLMARK OF THE NEW DIRECTION.
By David Y. Worry
I will attribute the failed three years plus of the Julius Maada Bio regime to misplaced priorities.
President Bio and wife and their political party should know how they spend state resources on unbudgetted interventions as against policy issues as well as those that involves their wellbeing.
It is only when citizens begin to ask questions that the President and his cashiers would sit up and begin to take the people seriously.
It takes hard work to restructure and build a nation because things will never go right for citizens particularly when the mass media has turned out to be “thank you editors” and had fail to tell their leaders the truth.
Regrettably, the New Direction had misplaced priorities, putting up procurement and projects that were of no significant benefit to the masses.
For instance Bio prefers to use millions of dollars to extend our airport in Lungi when they could not pay salaries of certain state workforce.
Instead of duplicating projects like the Lungi Airport, resources should be diverted to meet other cogent needs that would be of more use to the masses.
It is sickening for a government to not listen to the cry of the common man, to understand their needs rather than just carrying out projects.
Of what use is it to be duplicating airport runways worth millions of dollars when the roads in Kenema, Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba, etc that the common man travels are deplorable more than ever before?
Having a duplicated airport in Lungi that hardly sees passengers or cargoes will be useless to the greater majority, while the roads which the common man uses for his day to day activities are so bad.
One can imagine if one is travelling from Krumbola to Kabala, Yinfin to Kono, Tambaka to Kambia, Bondapie to Bo, Thonko Limba to Bombali, Kenema to Kono, etc. how many hours it will take you due to very poor roads.
Of what use is it to the education of our children when you can order for the release of over 4 Billion Leones to footballers for winning a single match, money which could have been spent to build a state of the art modern hospital to save thousands of lives?
These are some of the things Bio needed to check and talk to himself and his wife about, that if we don’t seek for the truth we can’t progress.
The common man, in reality, has no food, no money among others. The poor police officer knows exactly the errands and warnings of the authority he is protecting at State House and other locations; and sometimes sees the extortion levied on the poor drivers as nothing when compared to what his political authority is scooping in their eyes whiles they stand saluting.
The Limkogwing student is begging on the streets of Freetown to pay his fees at a time the government is boisterous about providing FREE AND QUALITY education.
Doctors and their patients are dieing in Intensive Care Units of the biggest referral hospital in the country for lack of simple electricity.
The New Direction must stop hiding behind politics and tribal affiliations to perpetuate crime.
Our nation must learn to call a criminal a criminal, regardless of affiliation and come together as good people to fight the evil ones among us, for development to workout.
Today People hide under politics to say or do certain things that are totally against the security and development of the state.
The Police sometimes dont effect arrest because the person belongs to the political party of the day; what is bad is bad. Whether he is a “Bua Bisseh or Togboi” APC, SLPP or NGC, first or second lady, remove all these and let them answer their name, a criminal, you have stolen government money.
But once we start using tribe or status among others to claim right, or using the very offices meant to fight graft to defend possible graft offenders, corruption becomes stinky to a point that even if we open our mouths to announce the smell the air from our mouths compounds the corruption odour.
Let us forget our sentiments when elected into office because whoever is elected into office becomes leader of all regardless of party or other affiliations and above all, let us have our priorities right.
