By Hassan Osman Kargbo
Since President Julius Maada Bio took over his second term of office, Sierra Leoneans have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the prices of commodities across the country. It is no longer a secret that the country is faced with economic hardships for which many hold the view that if the situation continued like this, it is certain that the country might be heading for doom.
The inflation rate in the country is nothing good to write home about as it has caught the people in a state of dismay as to what has went wrong with the prices of basic food items, like rice, onions, cooking oil among other items skyrocketing or even triple in recent years.
The high cost of living has led to many homes being unable to afford the basic three square meals per day which is a right of every citizen.
Some can’t even afford two meals talking less of the normal three meals per day, a signal that the country is heading for doom if the country’s economic situation continues like this.
Recently, the telecommunication sector has informed the public that they will normalize their tariff citing the hike in the prices of petroleum products, electricity tariff and many more, additional burdens on the people of Sierra Leone.
A country where it citizens cannot earn more than $5 dollar per day and inflations is skyrocketing on a daily basis is a serious cause for concerns.
In additions, it seems like the government is reticent towards salvaging the issue of inflations in the country. Despite the hue and cries from citizens about the current state of the country’s economic status, President Bio is busy appointing people into positions that many are of the opinion that such appointments are not relevant considering the state of the country’s economic crisis.
The way things continue to going, it seems like President Bio’s current regime needs miracle to solve this souring economic crisis in the country.
It could be recalled that whiles in opposition, the incumbent regime under the fiscal management of former Minister of Finance, Jacob Jusu Saffa promised to fix the economy, cut down on inflation if elected into governance. Saffa also promised that the SLPP government will settle the national economy in a space of six months.
Eventually, when they came into governance the state of the economic went from bad to worse, after Jacob Jusu Saffa had vehemently failed to solve the economic challenges during his tenure as the Minister of Finance. He rather shamefully disclosed that nobody will able to solve the country’s economy even if the president appoint four ministers of Finance at the same time in the country.
Many saw his statement as an insult to Sierra Leoneans owing to the fact J. J. Saffa is considered as one among the authors of the failed New Direction Manifesto that was translated into the government Medium-Term Development Agenda.
Moreover, what is affecting the progress of the country remains a big question that is yet to be answered. Sierra Leone is a nation of less than eight million populations, yet the people are facing untold hardship in the country. The hardship has caused many young girls to drop out of school and join prostitution just for them to survival with their families while young energetic guys are now addicted to drugs which is not good for the growth of the nation.
Because, those young peoples are the leaders of tomorrow, so if they don’t capacitate themselves properly will be disastrous for the country future and as such, the country is heading for doom.
To conclude, the government really need to put modalities in place to fight not only the issues of inflations, but also the condition of young people in the country should be seriously addressed.
If not, the country is heading for doom.
