By Kef Dukulay
I cannot say much about the 4th Parliament, that of the Ahmad Tejan Kabbah era how our parliamentarians conducted themselves, but as an editor of an opposition paper who’d monitored governance affairs during the Ernest Bai Koroma’s, the problem with the sailing of bad/controversial bills through the House started within the period of the Koroma administration of the 5th Parliament of the Republic.
Hon. Bernadette Lahai, who served as Minority Leader then, was notorious for striking deals with the APC leadership for bills’ passages within the House that favoured either the ruling party, or individuals’ or institutions’ self interest.
She would be cautioned by the opposition party leadership, then headed by controversial and politically experienced JOB, against falling for APC baits in debating laws and approving bills but alas, State House directives (laced with hefty financial incentives) would sway her away from her own party position, and by extension the people’s trust. With money in her purse, she and other opposition MPs would then sing the tune as paid pipers.
With this pattern, hardly any bill was rejected or got stalled during the Koroma era. This went similarly for debating Audit Reports that required summoning MDAs for accountability. How ridiculous it always sounded asking vault controllers of MDAs (found wanting), to make packages for the same House Committees probing them!
This brought serious challenges to the Bernadette Lahai administration as Minority leader to the extent of falling away with the party hierarchy and labeled a “betrayer” or a “sell-out.”
It was within that era that Ghana-Must-Go bags played the magic.
Let me take a few instances:
- When Ports Authority wanted to give leverage to Bollore to have unfettered control over the Berth facilities, and monopolize logistics handling at the quay, Ghana-Must-Go came in handy. And today the French company has refused to go and playing “Le Patron” to the new company.
- When CSRG wanted to impose the toll costs on the citizenry, Ghana-Must-Go came to the House, following an emergency meeting at State House. Now we are being robbed of zillions as the Chinese operate unchecked and the road remains unfinished.
- When Brewery wanted to monopolize the market they induced our MPs to impose higher taxation on the importation of foreign beers, Ghana-Must-Go was the messenger. Now we have poor quality SL Brewery products at unmerciful costs whilst foreign beers become nearly inaccessible, and very exorbitant at that! The list goes on.
Shamefully and unfortunately, this ‘monitarisation’ trend or self seeking interest in our lawmakers did not stop with the Koroma administration but spilled over to Bio’s. The only change that seems to have occurred is the mode of entry- from First-past-the-post system to Proportional Representation. The modus operandi remains the same- the self seeking as against the general interest.
The monitarisation of parliamentary proceedings, ranging from functions of oversight committees to the tabling of bills – are largely responsible for the perennial poor performance of our MDAs and bills passed with dibilitating effects on people and/or institutions.
Bio campaigned on reviewing some bad laws. Netpage, Toll gate etc…? Nothing happened!
Instead the Bio government was forward looking; framing new laws and lobbying lawmakers to approve bills; entirely forgetting the promise of reviewing “bad laws” passed by the previous Parliament.
Among the items tabled was the Bill to amend the PPRC Act in 2022. Was it that the opposition, moreso the APC accepted the lobby out of the usual executive inducement and/or hope of using the law to their advantage in future? Didn’t the APC MPs know that their party is prone to insulting and violent conducts than any other party in Sierra Leone to have agreed to Section 39 ?
Now, PPRC is not only a Regulatory Body, but having wider independence.
That is what is happening with Section 39 1c and d as the Commission carries independent execution of its mandate against political parties whose members contravene the PPRC Act.
Separately therefore, in the ongoing matter involving Lansana Dumbuya, the state is pressing charges against the offender for incitement under the Public Order Act as embedded in the Constitution. It has nothing to do with his membership to a political party.
