Our President Has Travelled Again
By Mohamed Sankoh (One Drop)
At every given opportunity; President Julius Maada Bio does not shy away from the fact that he appears to be a spendthrift when it comes to using tax payers’ monies. Of what benefit would his going to London, to attend the Global Education Summit scheduled for 28 and 29 July 2021, be to majority of suffering Sierra Leoneans at a time when his compatriots are dying in droves of COVID-19?
The organisers of the conference make it very clear in their “Open Invitation” that, “The summit will take place virtually, allowing for a large and broad audience participation.” So, common sense dictates that President Bio could have participated even from his dining room at State Lodge in Freetown.
The factual fact is: Sierra Leone has been on the United Kingdom’s “Red List”. According to the BBC News website, “Red list countries are those the UK government says present the highest COVID risk, and should not be visited except in the most extreme of circumstances”. And that any of her citizens regardless of their vaccination status or statuses, not to talk of foreigners, returning to the United Kingdom should “self-isolate for 10 days in a government-approved quarantine hotel, which you must book and pay for in advance.”So logically, if President Bio and his delegation including First Lady Fatima are from a red-listed country like Sierra Leone then it means they would have to “self-isolate for 10 days in a government-approved quarantine hotel…” on arrival in London.
This suggests that by the time they are out from quarantine the summit would have long been finished. But what will President Bio’s presence at a two-day virtual summit in London bring to Sierra? What is so important in such a virtual conference that our Commander-in-Chief wants to be physically present at a time when majority of Sierra Leoneans at home are economically worse off than they were three years ago? Or is this virtual conference being used as a ploy by the President to go on summer holiday with his family at the expense of the State? And can State House tell starving Sierra Leoneans who and who are part of the President’s delegation in the interest of transparency because it is being alleged that some of the First Family’s children are also part of the delegation?And it is not true that President Bio is being invited mainly because of “the tremendous gains [he has supposedly] made in increasing access to education through the Free Quality Education Programme and breaking down gender barriers to increase girls’ enrolment in schools”(according to the State House press release of Sunday 25 July 2021).
The fact is that “since its inception in 2002, the Global Partnership for Education has already contributed to getting 160 million more children in school and doubling girls’ enrolment in the countries they work in….”, we are told in a press release of 11 October 2020 by the organisers. So there are many Presidents and Heads of State, who will be participating on this Summit virtually, who have put “more children in school and doubling girls’ enrolment” but they have not been shouting that feat atop Mount Everest (the world’s highest mountain above sea level). Why are the “Paopagandists” always trying to transform copper into shiny gold”? If the President and his delegation want to lure per diems and have a change of scenery let them tell the people of Sierra Leone so; they will understand that it is good for some form of relaxation due to the pressure of work. But the “Paopagandists” should not have to lie on an issue that could easily be cross-checked by just a click of a computer mouse.
Everything about this virtual summit could be found in the organisers’ press release of 11 October 2020. And come to think of it, is President Bio the only Head of State who has increased access to education in Sierra Leone? An empathic NO! According to the May 2018 “Handing Over Notes” of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, “…Education was a top priority for me and my out-gone Government [the All People’s Congress]. Our efforts resulted in increases in enrolment and number of students completing all levels of schooling. My government had also recorded yearly increases in candidates taking NPSE and BECE examinations as well as yearly increases in pass rates at the BECE and WASSCE examinations. We have also ensured annual increases in the number of approved schools enjoying cash grants and other support from Government; for example, between July 2016 and July 2017, almost 400 more schools were approved for support. My Government [the APC] further took action to address the problem of overcrowding in schools by constructing 225 classrooms between July 2016 and July 2017. These were in addition to the construction of 165 wells and 362 WASH facilities in schools….”And is President Bio the first President to break “down gender barriers” in Sierra Leone?
Again an empathic NO! Let’s go to the May 2018 “Handing Over Notes” of ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma. There it is written that, “My [APC] Government has reviewed and reformed many laws aiming for gender equality through enhancing rights, improving and expanding access to services and justice for women… Sierra Leone women, during my tenure, enjoyed appointments which broke the glass ceiling previously limiting their aspirations…”Now coming back to the 2021 Global Education Summit in London, which President Bio thinks is more important than the lives of ordinary Sierra Leoneans who are threatened by COVID-19 daily.
If the organisers say “The summit will take place virtually, allowing for a large and broad audience participation”; then it means even scavengers at Kingtom’s “Bormeh” can participate if s/he has a laptop with an internet connection in his/her shack. They do not have to do “Temple Run” to attend the virtual summit in London. I only hope this seemingly per-diem-seeking summer trip to London will not be another Lebanon-State Visit-Honeymoon fiasco?medsankoh@yahoo,com/+232-76-611-986
