There is widespread belief among the citizenry that both the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and All People’s Congress (APC) take turns in cheating the people of Sierra Leone of the much desired development they are always promised but have never fully received.
Concerned members of the public alongside members from both leading political parties concluded that both the SLPP and APC have been taking Sierra Leoneans for a ride since the inception of multiparty democracy in Sierra Leone.
‘If you are judging by the number of campaign promises that were fulfilled by succeeding party led governments you can see that politicians have the tendency to say a lot of things, make a lot of promises that speak to the heart of the people’s problems only to get elected to do what it is they had long planned. Take for example this present SLPP led government. No matter what clever public relations spin they might want to put on it, the SLPP failed to fulfil the campaign promises made during the 2018 campaign trail. Neither the president nor the SLPP can convince anyone that they fulfilled their campaign promises,’ said a ranking SLPP stalwart who spoke off the record.
The SLPP strongman said although some came close but no president or political party in Sierra Leone has done what they promised the people during the electioneering stage of our political process.
‘In living memory only Ernest Bai Koroma can boast of fulfilling promises he made during the campaigns. From 2007 to 2018 you can see tangible proof that EBK worked on behalf of and in the interest of the people. He came to power based on a mandate. The first was to restore consistent electric power to the city within a hundred days; which he did. We cannot mention the massive nationwide road infrastructural development that not only made travelling less burdensome in terms of time and wear and tear to the vehicle but in terms of creating job opportunities for thousands of unemployed youth right in their communities across the country. We have not seen that kind of development under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio and the SLPP,’ added a member of the opposition APC.
Also commenting a citizen who said he holds no allegiance to any political party complained that both the SLPP and APC have treated the voting public as if they don’t matter and that all they are useful for is voting for political aspirants who only want power to do as they please, not in the interest of the people they claim to represent.
‘Our elected leaders act like Paramount Chiefs. They expect the people to treat and respect them the same way they treat their PCs. They don’t expect for the people to demand that they show proof of how effective their stewardship of nation has been. This is one of the few nations on earth where people don’t vote based on how well the incumbent had delivered on his or her campaign promises but solely based on either his regional, tribal or political leanings. This has been the trend since the days of Pa Sheki and the Margai brothers. Today you will see people scrambling for the flagbearer of their parties throwing cash around and giving other forms of material support to members of the voting public without articulating a single policy on how they plan on solving the pressing issues affecting the people and state,’ said a nonpartisan citizen who said she only votes for whoever promises to address the socio-economic and political issues of our time.
‘These politicians consider us to be of such a simple cast of mind that they believe that they can say whatever they know they can or will never accomplish, all in the name of having a political manifesto, and get away with it. Whenever anyone complains such politicians would always cry foul and blame their political opponents for their failures. It is either that or they will say they have been sabotaged by political agitators bent on making it impossible for them to fulfil their campaign promises to the citizenry,’ commented a student at the nation’s leading university, Fourah Bay College.
But times are changing and the voters of Sierra Leone are demanding better from the people they elect to head their government of Sierra Leone.
‘Today we are in the heat of political activities with the ruling party having finished with the work of filling in their lower level positions in preparation for 2028. Presently the APC is busy with their lower level or primaries. Now we are calling for men and women who have proven track records of public and private leadership to come to the fore and join the race for the next leader of the country. We don’t want people who will just insult our poverty and need by throwing money at us without convincing us of how they plan on making things better than what’s presently on the offing,’ a member of the public commented at PZ in the city centre.
Sierra Leoneans say they had gotten used to being taken for a ride by members of both the leading political parties. However, this has to stop as they now expect a leadership that is wholly committed to fulfilling their campaign promises and in the interest of the people start being accountable and committed to continuity in government.
‘We need a new day in the administration of the state. We don’t want people who will use us; don’t want people who consider us to be stupid; or those who will come to enrich themselves to our detriment as a people and state. We want people who see their election into public service as working for God and country,’ said another student.
It was generally agreed that if the SLPP and APC fail to prove to the people of Sierra Leone that they are serious about developing the people and state ‘then a serious move has to be made by we the people to gravitate away from these parties to a formidable third force that is capable of addressing our development issues,’ a female student said in closing.
