By Ranger
Truth be told and let the devil be ashamed. The ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party in parliament need to be told that they have to set the pace for true democratic governance of the state by stopping to try to always ride roughshod over the main opposition All People’s Congress.
What SLPP needs to understand is they cannot by any use of force or arm-twisting change the fact that it is the APC that commands the majority in parliament.
What this means is that SLPP cannot hope to bring any legislation to fruition without the active participation and cooperation of APC and for that matter the other two political parties in opposition in parliament.
SLPP has used undemocratic bullying tactics to get its way on three occasions that galled many citizen democrats.
The first of this was with the election of the Speaker. It is most unfortunate that APC did not stand their ground but chose to walk out in a matter that they clearly would have won.
The second was the ACC boss issue. Ok. Those two issues have faded into memory. But the one last week when the SLPP acting Speaker of the House tried to force into passage a motion which was not only wrongly tabled but escaped the scrutiny of the entire House before it was tabled by Hon. Ngevao, clearly smacks of an attempt to hoodwink the House and by extension the entire nation.
It is totally unacceptable for SLPP to try to in any way use underhand tactics to pass into legislation any bill or motion that does not command the majority vote of the MPs who were elected by us the people to be our eyes, ears, conscience and soul. For attempting to do such, SLPP owes the nation an apology.
The point this writer is trying to make is that it was the majority of the nation that decided to vote APC out of the presidency because we believed that the APC government had become insensitive to we the people’s cry for accountable, democratic rule.
As such, it would be most unfortunate and disheartening if the SLPP who we voted for to put right APC governance mistakes, choose to do not only the same bad governance; things we kicked out APC for, but are even doing worse.
Let SLPP be reminded that the true spirit of democracy as defined by the American politician and civil war General Abraham Lincoln is: Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Why then should time after time SLPP MPs try to put aside the concerns of the majority in parliament?
If civil society, the media and we the people choose to be indifferent to this dangerous potential for liberalism and dictatorship that the SLPP wants to impose on us as a nation, nobody should weep and wail and gnash teeth when it turns Sierra Leone into a pariah state.
A word for the wise is sufficient.
