By Kabs Kanu
SLPP are very adept at propaganda and deceit. Look at the way they are busy trying to cover up Gento’s lack of intellect and communication skills for the job . Who told you you do not need brains for such a complex job ?
The Mayor of Freetown must have been educated to the level where he must be able to communicate his platform and agenda convincingly because the job involves constant interfacing with government and international stakeholders. It involves bargaining, negotiations and diplomacy to convince not only stakeholders but the very enlightened urban citizenry about the necessity of projects and how to collectively move the municipality forward.
All the well educated citizens and headquarters and stations of international policy makers and donor agencies are concentrated in the capital. You need a smart, intelligent Mayor with good communications skills to interact with them. Gento will not be working in a vacuum. He will not be using his famed riches to make wise decisions that the enlightened municipality will agree with and support, He will be seeking consensus.
People are not saying that the Mayor of Freetown must have a PH. D. Most of the brightest and most productive citizens of any country do not hold PH. Ds . However, to be able to function effectively and productively in certain high – staked jobs like the Mayor of the capital of the nation you must be reasonably educated to conceptualize issues and agendas and be able to convincingly project, propagate and sell them. What Gento demonstrated in that interview is a man who lacks understanding of basic issues ; a man who cannot communicate well, and a man who does not even know what it takes to function as a mayor , let alone a competent one. Is it everybody who will be dancing FREETOWN TITY CORRUPTION ? That shows the contempt with which the SLPP treat citizens.
No wonder Gento has run away from the planned debate with his opponent, former Mayor Yvonne Aki- Sawyer . He knew he would have disgraced himself and made himself s public figure of ridicule.
The Mayor of Freetown is also the face of the country, so to speak. He has to be able to make powerful first and lasting impressions.
Gento outlined some good ideas but he will not be using his own money and resources to accomplish them. He will need to convince the powers -that-be in the municipal heirarchy and the central government to agree snd disburse the resources . If he cannot communicate well, how can he accomplish that ?
The point at issue is also that if it had been an APC mayoral candidate that performed so badly snd unconvincingly in that interview , SLPP would have been very cruel with him or her and advanced every possible argument to prove that he or she is not fit for the job. However, it is an SLPP candidate. He can be whatever he is and lacking in everything that counts . It does not matter. He is SLPP . They can do and get away with whatever they want.
When you talk of blind loyalty in Sierra Leone, the SLPP is the most guilty. All you need to inspire loyalty from rabid, lousy and boisterous SLPP supporters is to either be a Mende or a Southeasterner or a supporter of the SLPP . It is a famous contention among Sierra Leoneans that even if you give a mongrel dog the SLPP symbol, SLPP will endorse that dog and vote for him . Being a dog and an animal does not matter , once you are SLPP. You deserve the symbol and you deserve to he voted for by everybody.
Is that the way to build s nation ?
Shame.
VICKIE REMOE
If posin go school tay e don university usai English na bin di language of instruction en day posin day no sabi express im sef pan English e no min say i stoopid.
If posin wan enta politics i for do self assessment en think but wetin en wetin i get for need for do for lead en serve people dem.
If da posin check im sef i no notice say i get deficiency in language, communication, en persuasion skills sumtin no ok. Wi all need for able for do self assessment en notice we weakness. If you wan climb Mount Everest na you responsibility for train for the altitude, physical rigor en di conditions na di Mountain.
If ah just grap wan day ah decide ah pack mi tin dem go Everest no preparation, just because jamma say ah look lek good climber en ah go day just day fodom fodom udat for blame? Other people dem way wan climb dem don train. If people dem bigin say ah no sabi climb udat for blame? If di wan dem way don prepare show dem fitness for climb en people dem say dem sabi pass mi udat for blame?
Should the rules for climbing Mount Everest change just because I didn’t prepare? Should people feel sorry for me if I didn’t prepare? I was the one who said I was going to climb Mount Everest. Nobody send call me. If I didn’t not realize that Mount Everest was going to be Mount Everesting then the fact is I deserve every bit of suffering I endure because I didn’t respect myself or the Mountain.
This is about Mount Everest. This is not about Mount Everest.
– written in Kringlish
Jaime Yaya Barry
