By Joseph A. Kamanda
With the deadly coronavirus disease outbreak in China slowly spreading to other parts of the world including Africa, Sierra Leone is confronted with the realities why they have allowed those travelers from out of the country in the first place, when the virus broke out in Hubei last December. Besides scientists at One Health Institute, Njala University and the University of Makeni in Sierra Leone have recently discovered a deadly fruit bats virus known as ‘Marburg.’ Sierra Leone is presently the first to found such a closed virus closed to Ebola.
A serious health concern amidst preparations to prevent spread of deadly coronavirus, considering the level of damages caused to lives and property in Sierra Leone during the EVD outbreak in 2014-2015. So while health authorities are targeting the Wuhan coronavirus government and its collaborative partners, should also put strategic measures in place to contain the ‘Margurg’ as well, first to discover in West Africa. Addicted fruits consumers must beware the virus in fruits as we are fast approaching fruits seasons.
The World Health Organization WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak as a health emergency in January but health workers in Sierra Leone have continued to relax movements and restriction. Coronavirus due to giant containment measures put in place by the Chinese government that is reducing the number of cases and slowing its spread to other parts of the world. Ghanaian students pursuing studies in China are reported to have called for evacuation by the Ghanaian government from mainland china where the coronavirus deaths tools have ‘surpasses’ 1,100, even as the Chinese media says the spread is slowing down. We stand with you the government and people of the PRC in your trying times with the deadly virus.
Back home in Sierra Leone government is challenged by lack of capacity to even detect the ‘virus’ where there are less virologists, limited or no proper public health education on prevention and spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. The only airport continue to receive passengers from all over whereas elsewhere in the world people are rejecting cargo ships from ducking at their ports for fares of the coronavirus.
Recent return of twenty-nine passengers home back from the People’s Republic of China who are now at a holding facilities in the airport town Lungi. Two of them who were detected by health workers showed in ‘extraordinary temperatures’. The two have been quarantined. Sad news though for the country and hope there will be collaborative efforts towards controlling its spread. The suspected cases are therefore equally reminded of days of the Ebola outbreak and everybody should abide by restrictions of movements measures. Hence president Bio must cut short his unwelcome visits to South Africa, at the AU arena in Addis and return to battle the deadly coronavirus, control its spread of ‘infections’ if any, put proper and stricter preventions and control measures in place through a joint security deployments at flashpoints, you know all hands on deck to chase the global enemy deadly Wuhan coronavirus out of Sierra Leone, like we did to the EVD.
These scares and distractions were not part of the New Direction deals but have founds themselves onboard, diverting actions of president Bio and government from implementing traditional paopa SLPP party manifesto promised in 2018, to the control of spread of infections of the ‘virus’ a already public health emergency plight slowly chasing the people of Sierra Leone. He won’t want to read nor hear it anywhere on earth but there are suspected cases somewhere from China now in Sierra Leone, should go through full observations for signs and symptoms at isolations facilities. Since it is yet that far, hope and pray its averted from Sierra Leone, health by should have been in top gear in preventions.
The situation is very much distractive to the implementations of the weak free education and other failed New Direction flagship projects, the selective fight against corruption to name just the few of the challenges encountered by president Bio, paopa and the SLPP, for fears of terribly missing out the SLPP and president Bio’s second term chances for 2023.
With public confidence in the ruling SLPP party and government are dwindling by the hours as expressions of disgust sentiments of the abysmal performance of the present administration are among several worrying concerns of the president.
These amongst concerns over bloated wage bill of huge diaspora job holders in the paopa SLPP government, bragging about their said lucrative jobs, though sadly payless back home and send their funds back to their families in the west. Most of them are subscribers to the UK and the US, remittent accounts where they transfer moneys to families leaving thousands Sierra Leoneans to die in poverty, a passenger onboard a minibus plying from Waterloo to Bombay Street opined.
In Freetown and several parts around the New Direction paopa patriots are regularly seen driving in costly luxurious spot cars worth millions of United States Dollars, with initials of their names on license plates of their cars. Cars they never had access to while they were in the UK and US, but bluff with them in Sierra Leone at the expenses of the state. Those under the presidency from the diaspora are not strange to these behaviors and actions, and they are quoted to have boastfully bragged of being well paid for doing more or less nothing in the Office of the President.
These incompetent diaspora factors around president Bio have not proved well at all, as the bunch of compensated SLPP party loyalists are on records for high profile corruption, ‘supplier/contractor’ Sierra Leone correctional services supplies, when the person is not one, aides to the president always in the news for racketeering of members of the business communities, the list of unaddressed issues that are heavily embattling the sense of right and wrong of president Bio and his weak paopa team, the highest African remitters to the US and the UK, from Sierra Leoneans tax payers’ moneys.
These are some of the deeds of our new patriots, rubbing their country to build the west, while their people suffer in silence. Don’t ask why public sectors workers salaries are being delayed. Civil servants now receive salaries eight – ten days after every month ends.
Staff of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation screened on social media for delays by management to pay their January salaries. No alert up till ‘day 38.’ Salary delays are among critical topical matters on the lips of everybody, in social and traditional media about the unprecedented delays of salaries posing huge disturbances to and challenges to the SLPP led government.
The last system is reported to have run a crook regime, but never delay with payments of salaries. It in fact, created staff motivation strategies by paying performance based allowances to workers in the implementation of the free health care since 2010, which is hardly seen now, except if HoHS wants to say that it has been terminated from the sector.
President Bio if not disturbed by party members should be seen removing most of these SLPP loyalists from those key offices within the Office of the President that have largely contributed to deceiving him to the massive failure. He pays them USD 8,000,000, to USD 10,000,000 monthly from government. Such public servants must be sacked by the president from his office, provided the government cares about their credibility. Therefore if not scared by fears of political betrayals from within, would have reshuffled none performer cabinet by now since the outcome of the January retreat was not an excellent grade for the beleaguered government.
All we can always suggest is that president Julius Maada Bio should firmly remained focused and deliver on the social mandate and contract you signed with the people in 2018. You must work in accomplishments of the presidential oath he took on April 4th 2018 at your swearing in ceremony so, work as promised, and stop tolerating the wrong thing. Forget about the hustling here and there to secure funds for second term what you can’t deliver on what is now on the table. Be attentive to the issues and stabilize the national economy Mr president before even start to calculate your level of risks of proposed financial support to campaigns. You may have replaced with Edmund Sylvester Alpha at chairman of the National Electoral Commission but that would not earn you the blessings and powers to influence the outcome of the 2023 presidential results. And that is an act the people can assure you of discouraging you from.
This period have been described by political historians as the ‘Bio’s Monoh Era,’ and hope he is set with the apologies to the nation soonest. Unlike former president JS Momoh you have more time on your side to correct your mistakes and redirect your focus from futile activities to results oriented drives.
And in all of this, one wonders with all the free education and the selective anti-corruption fight against workers of the last government, that are presently costing the ruling SLPP increasing unpopularity and host of undone national development assignments are the issues worrying the president who had wanted to offer so much to Sierra Leoneans.
