WHAT THE SIERRA LEONE NEWSPAPERS SAY—–A COCORIOKO WEEKLY FEATURE

MINISTER SLAPS RESTAURANT OWNER ?

EDITOR’S NOTE : Recently , there was information on Facebook that the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Ibrahim Washingai was arrested for slapping an 85 year old owner of the FRANCO’S RESTAURANT at Sussex in Freetown.  This was what the minister told AYV NEWS in Freetown :

AVY NEWS : APRIL 18, 2017

APC MINISTER ARRESTED

When contacted by AYV earlier on Saturday, the Deputy Minister confirmed that he actually visited the restaurant and that there was some fracas between his friends and the restaurant owner.

He said they were approached by a lady working at the restaurant and requested to switch to another table, which he claimed they did.

According to him, they were waiting for their order when the old man approached him with sarcastic comments that food would not be served because they were occupying a reserved table.

He said even before they could explain how they ended up on that spot, the old man had insulted the President.

“Even if your President Ernest comes here, I will not serve him food if he did not make prior reservation. Go and tell him that me Franco said so,” Washingai quoted the old man.

According to him, it was at this juncture that one of his friends stood up and followed the old man inside the restaurant to clarify why he was referring to the president in such an offending manner.

“An argument ensued between them and I only went in to separate them,” he said, adding “Nobody slapped him”.

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SIERRA LEONE DAILY MAIL , MONDAY APRIL 24, 2017

The spate of armed robberies , a worrying concern

The rate at which the systemic spate of armed robberies lately makes the DAILY MAIL to believe that it is a clear affront to the president’s sustained legacies.

THE DAILY MAIL  is worried about the fact that news lately reports of an increase in armed robbery or robberies with aggravation .

WE ARE , THEREFORE,  calling on the security apparatus to tighten their belt as the country is approaching a very crucial period in its democratic dispensation.

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Salvaging Our Democracy 2: Let’s Beware of the ‘Ides’ of Bandwagon

THE CRITIQUE ECHO NEWSPAPER

Jumping on the bandwagon of the wind of change that has toppled the regimes in Nigeria and the Gambia is good and welcome, but in a system with no competing ideologies and with question marks on most of the symbols of the perceived change, how about the law of unintended consequences that will be let loose and whose impact will touch every corner of our society? Who is the symbol of that thrust? What credentials do they carry? What colour is their skin, if they are to take off the toga they currently adorn in the desperate bid to be seen as worthy?

It requires wisdom to understand wisdom. The music is nothing if the audience is deaf. Let’s not forget that a deaf husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple. This is why we should not allow even the change-halo cast on our individual and collective psyche, to dull our analytical minds. We should be aiming to build strong institutions, not just another set of apparently strong individuals to channel the change.

The saga of playing on the gullibility of a desperate populace and fanning their indignation at the mindless looting and optimal poverty around, just to gain power, is a symptom of why those who are truly desirous of a genuine transformation of the morality and values of our society must stand up NOW.  It’s time to think; to roll up our sleeves and help dig the nation out of this hole.

RAYMOND AWOONER-GORDON

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THE BATTLE FOR THE NORTH

Awareness Times Newspaper : April 28, 2017

The ruling All Peoples Congress (APC), the main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), the ever-ready Alliance Democratic Party (ADP), the revived United Democratic Party (UDM), and the newcomer National Patriotic Democrat (NPD) have all nominated candidates for the National Electoral Commission (NEC) slated Saturday 29th April 2017 by-elections in Ward 186 in Portloko district and Ward 089, Bombali district, all in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, former chairman and leader of the SLPP, John Oponjo Benjamin who also spoke to the Awareness Times Newspaper from Port Loko Town, confirmed that he had traveled from Segbwema Town, Kailahun District, Eastern Sierra Leone, to join other SLPP supporters to campaign in Lungi. He said, it is high time the APC stop thinking that the north is their strongholds. Therefore, he assured that with the amount of zeal they will pour in these by-elections, the SLPP will do all it could to claim the two seats in Makeni and Lungi.

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PRESIDENT KOROMA SCORES HUMAN RIGHTS GOAL

MY SIERRA LEONE ONLINE.COM : APRIL 27, 2017

President Koroma’s appointment of a prominent and the leading Human Rights Lawyer in Sierra Leone, Lawyer Melron Nicol-Wilson as OMBUDSMAN in Sierra Leone has been seen by many as a wise decision and an indication of his commitment to the development and maintenance of Human Rights in Sierra Leone.

His Excellency recognized the importance of appointing someone with the requisite knowledge and skill to handle the issues that this office is faced with. It is this office that workers and other people whose rights have been violated in their respective places of work and undue advantage taken over always go for help. Therefore in his wisdom the president decided to choose the leading Human Rights Lawyer in the country to head that institution. Opponents as well as supporters also see this appointment as appropriate. This move will be seen as a legacy of the president as he leaves office since the term of office of the OMBUDSMAN is 4 years.

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SLPP: Beware Of Defections!

THE GLOBAL TIMES : March 15, 2017

The outcome of the 2005 convention in Makeni led to some major defections from the party. Charles Margai who came second in that flagbearer race, defected from the SLPP to form the PMDC (Peoples Movement for Democratic Change). He took along with him a lot of disgruntled SLPP supporters like Emmanuel Grant. The formation of the PMDC served as a catalyst for the destruction of the SLPP.

Usu Boie’s defection from the SLPP was one too many. He left with a huge number of his supporters.

The SLPP should not allow Dr. Kandeh Yumkella or any other member, for that matter, to leave the party.  The issue of the thirty nine (39) disputed constituencies must be resolved through a political settlement. This over reliance on court judgment to resolve political issues in the SLPP will destroy the party.

The party needs a common sense solution to resolve issues that need to be resolved ahead of the National Delegates Conference in April this year.

There is no way the SLPP will win the 2018 elections if some of its senior members continue to disagree over issues that they can resolve peacefully.