By Joseph A. Kamanda
Having watched the video that went viral on social media, what came to mind is how t public reaction is going to look like- as negative as one could imagine. The video in which the First Lady called government workers ‘dogs’ who allegedly collected brown envelopes.
The description of a human being as ‘dogs’ is not good, not to mention the allegation made by Mrs. Fatima Bio that government workers collect brown envelops from company managers and ignore the welfare of Sierra Leoneans- too much to be backed by evidence.
Evidences in whichever form must be well-placed to prove the collection of brown envelops by government workers. And until the evidences that back the allegation made by Mrs Bio are laid bare to before that she is actually right in her accusations of government workers, although she has no right and power to call any Sierra Leonean a dog, not even her husband’s appointees. Such remarks should be urgently refuted to restore the reputation of public servants, including the Presidency.
Reactions from the public to the statement of the first gentleman’s wife are not in favour of the first family, especially the woman considered as mother of the nation. Mrs Bio’s remarks have ignited the question of who exactly hired the President’s wife. And dissenting views also raise similar concerns regarding who exactly the first lady is working for or with? What are her Terms of Reference in the current administration, and which legitimate position does she hold that warrants her frequent unregulated outburst at ministers, deputies, and other public service workers.
Some schools of thought reply with the simplest answers that Fatima Jabbie Bio is the wife of the President, with the official title Mrs. Bio. She is not a government worker. Her functions and services are limited at marital level, not at state governance level. Thus, Mrs. Bio should not be seen interfering directly in the running of the state.
For all, what is widely and legally known is that the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, like all cabinet ministers under his supervision, works for the government of Sierra Leone as President and head of government, a responsibility that is hardly shared with no one, not even any of his relatives. But Mrs. Bio is trying to claim the status of a President. Yes, the status of a first lady is Presidential, but the wife of the President is not the President of any country.
Bio is constitutionally charged with the mandate of hiring and firing ministers, deputies, directors, commissioners, and ambassadors, amongst others, not his wife Fatima Bio. He administers the affairs of the nation, not his wife. The ministers described as ‘dogs’ in that video by Mrs. Bio whilst addressing aggrieved Koidu Holding Limited workers, in Kono, are people working with or for Bio. They are public servants serving the nation, not as in the derogatory fashion – ‘dogs,’ as they are described by Mrs. Bio.
Calling humans dogs is an unacceptable outburst by Mrs. Bio. Such political mistake needs to be urgently corrected by the President himself before it gets out of hands.
As a matter of competence, the Presidency by the eve of March 2018 was richly blessed with highly reputable and qualified governance professionals, who were always there to turn the wheels of the state round the clock. It’s shocking to learn from Mrs. Bio that there is mass failure in the governance system. Such news to the public is discouraging, especially when state functionaries and some supporters want people to believe that New Direction and the Big-Five ‘game changers’ are ‘delivering’ to the masses on a silver platter. Or is it just a mere window-dressing with false pretences by pro-poapa followers as if all is well whilst majority of them continue to perish in ‘suffer-posh’ life styles?
Fast forward, Mrs. Bio’s decrying governance failure is due to the sacking of experts who worked with previous administrations. Most of them were unnecessarily fired by the paopa hegemony. Failures indeed spotted everywhere simply because those with institutional memories with expertise at their fingertips were removed from public service jobs based on their ethnicity and regional and political affiliations. How does Mrs. Bio want to get quality public service delivery when the required trained and qualified people are no longer in service.
Anyway, let’s leave the polemics on the Bio failed administration for next the debate and dilate a bit on the uncontrolled intrusion into governance matters, mostly with unacceptable dispositions against the very workers expected to deliver the goods?
So, there is no need for Mrs. Bio to be meddling with governance affairs in a clueless way.
By mere husband and wife relationship, every one very well knows that Mrs. Bio is not a member of the government, and should thus have no business in meddling with the affairs of the ministries, departments and agencies like she has been doing since 2018 to date.
Mrs. Bio’s continuous attacks on the personalities of government workers and ministers are uncalled for. Bio must nip it in bud so that she can discontinue to bring shame and disrespect to the Presidency and the government as a whole.
Even in the most powerful governance structures in the world, wives of heads of governments hardly interfere with the administration, compared to what happens in Sierra Leone under the watch of Bio.
Mrs. Bio is on record for humiliating ministers working with her husband. Ministers, by their Terms of References, work for the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and are also paid by taxpayers from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, just as Bio himself. Ministers and all government workers are not paid by Bio or his wife but by the Government of Sierra Leone.
Ministers are not dogs. they deserve high respect for their dedication and national service, not vilifications as it is done by the wife of President Bio.
To address such emerging issues in future, line ministries of mines and labour should strongly collaborate and engage those involved, rather than leaving things in the hands of the clueless with no solutions to such problems.
