Sleepless Nights For Ministers
By Edwina Sia Janga
In his second term in office, President Bio is determined to leave behind a legacy that will right his name in the history books, and currently, he is about to make a very difficult choice of those he wants in his government. Some of the old guard will have to go, whilst fresh legs will be brought in.
According to some analysts, the second term of Bio will be different, as he knows that he will not be seeking for any re-election, as a result, he will be making tough decisions that may not please everyone, but will be in the interest of the country. He is known for such decisions and actions, as could be seen during his days at the helm of affairs in the NPRC, when, despite losing colleagues to the rebels, he decided to bring Foday Sankoh to the negotiating table. Thus, as President now, he is going to ensure that all non-performing appointees are showed the exit door, and this has caused sleepless nights for many of his ministers.
Many Sierra Leoneans are calling for the President to change the ministers of Trade, Transport, Political Party affairs, Social Welfare, Fisheries etc. They maintained that the rise in the prices of local food in the country is of great concern, especially as they are produced in the country, and they laid the blame on the Trade Minister for not being robust enough to deal with such matters. Edward Hinga Sandy has been accused of not going down to the market to enquire about the reason for such commodities to rise and to dialogue with then on how they could be addressed. On the other hand, his Deputy has been praised for her relentless work in that area.
The Transport Ministry is another one that has come up for criticism, with many residents saying that transportation has been a very serious issue in the country, with commercial drivers charging fares at will. Serious effort has not been made to ensure that transport owners and drivers adhere to the fixed fare for any route. License fees have gone up exponentially, and the area of renewal, which was normally less fee, is now the same with a new license.
With regard to the Fisheries Ministry, many Sierra Leoneans are wondering what has happened to the disappearance of the nutritious Mina fish that was affordable by the ordinary man. They maintained that imported chicken is rather affordable than the fish that is caught in the country’s territorial waters. Thus, fish is now very expensive than chicken, even though it is in abundance in the territorial waters of the country. Many believe that foreign trawlers are making a fortune from our marine resources, whilst the people suffer to buy fish. It is their belief that things produced in the country should be cheaper than those imported. They maintained that there are various fishing groups, like youths in fisheries, and other artisanal fishermen fishing in our territorial waters, and as such the price of fish should be low and affordable.
In the area of agriculture, which is President Bio’s priority area for his second term, there is the need for the appointment of an agricultural expert, who is familiar with the goings-on in that sector to head that ministry. This sector needs technical expert, and not just any minister, especially as the priority area is to produce our local food to feed ourselves. The establishment of the Sierra Leone Seed Certification Agency, is a wise decisions and a step in the right direction. With the work of this agency yielding fruit, where the country has not imported seed for two consecutive years, it is going to provide the necessary seed that will be used to develop agriculture and increase yield, thereby assuring us of enough food to feed the country and even export.
Many Sierra Leoneans are calling on President Bio to cut down on the number of diaspora people in his cabinet and choose homebased ones, who are familiar with what obtains in the country, and as such, know how to address the needs of citizens. They are also calling on the President to appoint a seasoned Bank Governor, who has the requisite banking experience to lead that sector, as the policies of the former Bank Governor may have been responsible for our current predicament.
His Excellency has been called upon to develop performance bond with his appointees, which should be assessed periodically to ensure performance and delivery.
