SLPP Government Faces Crisis

It is clear now that an ugly Diplomatic situation exists between the United States government and the Sierra Leonean government and political analysts are of the view that such a matter should be addressed through diplomatic means.

Unfortunately, many believe that what triggered the current action of the US is the rather inexperienced handling of the statement of the outgone U.S Ambassador by government officials. These analysts believe that a seasoned government official like the former Information Minister, Rado Swaray, would have handled it differently, as he is believed to have the necessary experience in dealing with such situations. The response from both the Chief Minister and the current Information Minister were short of diplomacy, and this may have angered the US government, especially as its Ambassador was emphatic that his statement was that of his government’s position and not his personal opinion. To many who listened to all the statements by all parties, it was clear that the government officials were writing off the Ambassador’s statement as nothing but the personal opinion of an outgoing Ambassador and should not be countenanced. This, the US government has shown that the Ambassador was making its position clear.

Many political analysts are of the view that, while President Bio is desirous of having a government with a high youth population, he should have given those appointees Deputy Ministerial positions, so as to prepare them for future roles. As Deputy Ministers, these young appointees will be able to understudy the seasoned ministers, as can be seen in the likes of Solomon Jamiru, who went through the capable hands of the former Information Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister. Now, he has gained adequate experience to man any ministry.

These analysts believe that the government should engage the American Government and other international governments with a view to resolving this ugly situation. Moves should be made to see how the concerns of those countries can be addressed. It should be borne in mind that Sierra Leone is a donor driven country, and any action that will affect the continuation of funding from the donors should be carefully thought out, otherwise, withholding of the much-needed support from these donors will adversely affect the livelihood of citizens.