Posted by Tamba Morkway-Sossah
March 2014.
http://tambasosa-troubleshooting zone.blogspot.com
@TambaMsossah
Currently, Sierra Leone youth
are facing many problems ranging from being used as pawns in the promotion of
tribalism, political violence, armed robbery, drug addiction and alcohol abuse.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him or her to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently" - Friedrich Nietzsche. The APC’s manifesto made a clear commitment to steer Sierra Leone towards a better nation by focusing on youth care, development and employment. Four Years in government their manifesto continues to remain mere words, empty slogans and wishful thinking.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him or her to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently" - Friedrich Nietzsche. The APC’s manifesto made a clear commitment to steer Sierra Leone towards a better nation by focusing on youth care, development and employment. Four Years in government their manifesto continues to remain mere words, empty slogans and wishful thinking.
Lack of employment and other opportunities are the main cause, as is
usually the case under an APC government.
The economic and social problems faced by the youth are compounded by the absence of structural programmes that could improve their prosperity. A large number of our youths are roaming the streets of our cities and towns with nothing to do.
APC deceptively made the youth of our country believe and buy into their so called "new APC" agenda, which has turned out to be nothing but constant feeding of cock and bull stories to us all.
The new Minister of Youth and Sports, instead of working with development agencies in finding solutions to our youth problems, is busy teaching the Sierra Leone Football Association how to run football, when he himself cannot even run his home.
The Labour ministry has been sending out bogus messages that they have created thousands of jobs for the youth, but they cannot tell us where these jobs are and how they were created. I want to duff my heart to African Minerals and London Mining for helping the youths get jobs in the country.
The vast majority of the youths in Sierra Leone are feeling dejected. They are without hope and a sense of direction.
Four years of APC government have reduced our youths to shamefully scrambling – sometimes using violence, to gain ownership and control of market stalls and dilapidated buildings. Far too many are resorting to pick pocketing and 'get rich quick' schemes at any cost, or adopting a 'die trying' attitude in order to make ends meet.
But we should not be surprised at the APC’s lack of policies to help our youths. This is because historically, the party has never been committed to the management of youth problems.
In the past, the party has used young people in society as thugs to enforce APC’s rule by beating and killing anyone who stood up against Siaka Stevens; feeding them with booze, drugs and weapons to carry out the heartless instructions from above.
The economic and social problems faced by the youth are compounded by the absence of structural programmes that could improve their prosperity. A large number of our youths are roaming the streets of our cities and towns with nothing to do.
APC deceptively made the youth of our country believe and buy into their so called "new APC" agenda, which has turned out to be nothing but constant feeding of cock and bull stories to us all.
The new Minister of Youth and Sports, instead of working with development agencies in finding solutions to our youth problems, is busy teaching the Sierra Leone Football Association how to run football, when he himself cannot even run his home.
The Labour ministry has been sending out bogus messages that they have created thousands of jobs for the youth, but they cannot tell us where these jobs are and how they were created. I want to duff my heart to African Minerals and London Mining for helping the youths get jobs in the country.
The vast majority of the youths in Sierra Leone are feeling dejected. They are without hope and a sense of direction.
Four years of APC government have reduced our youths to shamefully scrambling – sometimes using violence, to gain ownership and control of market stalls and dilapidated buildings. Far too many are resorting to pick pocketing and 'get rich quick' schemes at any cost, or adopting a 'die trying' attitude in order to make ends meet.
But we should not be surprised at the APC’s lack of policies to help our youths. This is because historically, the party has never been committed to the management of youth problems.
In the past, the party has used young people in society as thugs to enforce APC’s rule by beating and killing anyone who stood up against Siaka Stevens; feeding them with booze, drugs and weapons to carry out the heartless instructions from above.
We thought we had seen the end
of this strategy, but we were in for a surprise when in 2007 and 2008
politically motivated violence was unleashed by a new breed of thugs on people
of different political views, which saw widespread looting and burning of property,
and the raping of our sisters and mothers.
Whilst the president,
ministers and other APC officials keep their children safe at home, or send
them abroad for education, they are quite happy to use young people from poor
and uneducated backgrounds to do their dirty work - intimidating and beating up
innocent people and members of opposing views.
President Koroma’s APC government continues to struggle in meeting the expectations of the hundreds of thousands of registered unemployed youths across the country. They were promised job opportunities and prosperity during the election campaign of 2007.
It is now clear that this government has abandoned its election commitment to the youth of the country. They have failed to develop major youth policies and programs initiated by civil society groups and the united nations.
It is very worrying that some of these youth oriented programs started had either been grossly neglected or mismanaged, to the detriment of the youths.
It is also sad to note that the National Youth Commission, which ironically was initiated by the former government, is yet to create an impact on the lives of our youth. Instead the government is planning to feed our young people with lies and drugs, and prepare them to take to the streets during the 2012 elections.
I believe it is time for the Youth Commission to be depoliticized and positioned as a major mobilization tool for youth development and nation building.
The youths in Sierra Leone should be put at the heart of steering the country to a better future. There must be a review of the National Youth Policy from its current partisan bias, to a truly national strategy for economic and social development.
A new national youth strategy should focus on leadership development, education and skills training, entrepreneurship, a can do attitude and healthy living.
The government must lift its freeze on public sector employment, so that our young graduates, who are roaming the streets aimlessly, can be employed to utlise the wealth of knowledge and skills acquired at college and university for the benefit of the nation.
There are thousands of young people sitting at home president Koroma. What in God’s name are you doing to their future? Please stop the sermons and start working on the creation of jobs for our young people.
Four years have already been wasted, yet in the coming months and in preparation for the 2012 elections, APC will want to mobilize them in pursuit of their political objectives. But be rest assured that the days of hooliganism is over and this strategy will never again succeed in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans are now conscious of the political game plan.
And I close with this quote from Dave Barry who says: "I care about our young people, and I wish them great success, because they are our Hope for the Future, and some day, when my generation retires, they will have to pay us trillions of dollars in social security."
President Koroma’s APC government continues to struggle in meeting the expectations of the hundreds of thousands of registered unemployed youths across the country. They were promised job opportunities and prosperity during the election campaign of 2007.
It is now clear that this government has abandoned its election commitment to the youth of the country. They have failed to develop major youth policies and programs initiated by civil society groups and the united nations.
It is very worrying that some of these youth oriented programs started had either been grossly neglected or mismanaged, to the detriment of the youths.
It is also sad to note that the National Youth Commission, which ironically was initiated by the former government, is yet to create an impact on the lives of our youth. Instead the government is planning to feed our young people with lies and drugs, and prepare them to take to the streets during the 2012 elections.
I believe it is time for the Youth Commission to be depoliticized and positioned as a major mobilization tool for youth development and nation building.
The youths in Sierra Leone should be put at the heart of steering the country to a better future. There must be a review of the National Youth Policy from its current partisan bias, to a truly national strategy for economic and social development.
A new national youth strategy should focus on leadership development, education and skills training, entrepreneurship, a can do attitude and healthy living.
The government must lift its freeze on public sector employment, so that our young graduates, who are roaming the streets aimlessly, can be employed to utlise the wealth of knowledge and skills acquired at college and university for the benefit of the nation.
There are thousands of young people sitting at home president Koroma. What in God’s name are you doing to their future? Please stop the sermons and start working on the creation of jobs for our young people.
Four years have already been wasted, yet in the coming months and in preparation for the 2012 elections, APC will want to mobilize them in pursuit of their political objectives. But be rest assured that the days of hooliganism is over and this strategy will never again succeed in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans are now conscious of the political game plan.
And I close with this quote from Dave Barry who says: "I care about our young people, and I wish them great success, because they are our Hope for the Future, and some day, when my generation retires, they will have to pay us trillions of dollars in social security."
The
monkey’s Black Hand is always black no matter what you do to it: a fitting cap
for the APC.
It is true
that twenty-four years of post-independence misrule by the All People’s
Congress Party (APC), which ironically returned to power in 2007, has been
largely responsible for Sierra Leone’s economic failures.
|
Hence, when in 1992 the young
and disgruntled military officers of the country’s armed forces toppled the APC
government, whose president was also a military general - donning civilian
suit, the entire population came out in full support of the 'boys in Kaki',
praising them for getting rid of decades of economic and social injustice,
committed against the people.
Fifteen years on, we seemed to have forgotten about the economic and social strife caused by APC’s poor governance: we elected them back into power in 2007, while singing a new ‘hallelujah chorus’ – "this is a new APC that has a fine boy leader".
But in all seriousness, what we forgot was that the monkey’s hand is always black no matter what you do to it.
Fifteen years on, we seemed to have forgotten about the economic and social strife caused by APC’s poor governance: we elected them back into power in 2007, while singing a new ‘hallelujah chorus’ – "this is a new APC that has a fine boy leader".
But in all seriousness, what we forgot was that the monkey’s hand is always black no matter what you do to it.
Sierra Leone is a very small country with a population
of about 5.5 million people - living within a geographical space of 71,740
square kilometres and a coastline of 402 kilometres. Yet 75% of the population
is classed as poor – living on less than $1 a day.
Colonial British governance brought significant progress in the social, economic and educational sphere. Good communications – road networks and railway were constructed, which transformed our economic and social lives. New crops, including coffee and cocoa were introduced and became key sectors of our economy.
Colonial British governance brought significant progress in the social, economic and educational sphere. Good communications – road networks and railway were constructed, which transformed our economic and social lives. New crops, including coffee and cocoa were introduced and became key sectors of our economy.
A nation that once boast of its civil service, high
educational standard, best health service, a disciplined army and police force,
much better infrastructure; is today a demoralized, fragmented and lawless poor
nation - governed by incompetent, lazy and lethargic politicians.
Fourah Bay College that was once an envy of West Africa, responsible for educating thousands of West Africans, has today suspended students’ examinations, because of the lack of paper to write on.
When I read this story on the BBC’s website, I cried because it is the most shameful and embarrassing story I have ever read about my country, in a long while. This is what President Ernest Koroma’s four years of misrule has brought upon us.
The colony's diamond and gold export earnings increased significantly, contributing to the economic wellbeing of the people.
Today, we produce a variety of agricultural produce and have joined the rest of the world in growing thousands of acres of sugarcane for biofuel. But like many African countries, Sierra Leone has been cursed with its natural resource paradox.
Fourah Bay College that was once an envy of West Africa, responsible for educating thousands of West Africans, has today suspended students’ examinations, because of the lack of paper to write on.
When I read this story on the BBC’s website, I cried because it is the most shameful and embarrassing story I have ever read about my country, in a long while. This is what President Ernest Koroma’s four years of misrule has brought upon us.
The colony's diamond and gold export earnings increased significantly, contributing to the economic wellbeing of the people.
Today, we produce a variety of agricultural produce and have joined the rest of the world in growing thousands of acres of sugarcane for biofuel. But like many African countries, Sierra Leone has been cursed with its natural resource paradox.
Siaka Stevens'
brand of poor governance had laid down the blue print for corruption in high
places. Wealth from the country’s natural resources has not translated into
wealth for the average Sierra Leonean.
Every
discovery of significant quantity and quality of potential export earning
mineral, is frequently accompanied by political power struggle among those in
power.
Top officials and politicians are seeking to increase their personal wealth and popularity, by lining their pockets with public funds through corruptive means. They are mortgaging the country's future for their own instant economic gratification. |
Successive governments have
not been able to harness the vast natural resources for any meaningful
development, with poverty reduction as its goal. The effect is that, foreign
investors are controlling much of our natural wealth throughout the life span
of its extraction.
Before the hosting of the OAU in 1980, Sierra Leone’s Gross National Product was one of the highest in sub-sahara Africa. We had a one party government that was ruthless, the policies of which led to the civil war in 1994.
Before the hosting of the OAU in 1980, Sierra Leone’s Gross National Product was one of the highest in sub-sahara Africa. We had a one party government that was ruthless, the policies of which led to the civil war in 1994.
Yet, despite these bad track records, we elected
another APC government, entrusted to make things better for us. We ought to
have known better.
The truth of the matter is that, since the ousted of
the first SLPP government in 1967, twenty-four years of APC governance did not
lead to the effective management of the country, despite the vast range of
natural resources at their disposal, while the average Sierra Leonean became
poorer.
APC’s record 24 years in power, reversed the country's development by neglecting investment in agriculture and infrastructure, and discontinuing vital projects started before independence.
Another factor that accounts for our retrogressive step as a nation is the erosion of morality. Siaka Stevens rule created a society where people became gradually demoralized and apathetic to nationalism and patriotism.
Today, we have seen the return of those same policies implemented by Siaka Stevens and the return of unpatriotism and apathy. Politicians, public servants, and the youth have become more greedy, dishonest, corrupt and undisciplined. Everyone is scrambling for material gains by any means necessary - hook or by crook.
APC’s record 24 years in power, reversed the country's development by neglecting investment in agriculture and infrastructure, and discontinuing vital projects started before independence.
Another factor that accounts for our retrogressive step as a nation is the erosion of morality. Siaka Stevens rule created a society where people became gradually demoralized and apathetic to nationalism and patriotism.
Today, we have seen the return of those same policies implemented by Siaka Stevens and the return of unpatriotism and apathy. Politicians, public servants, and the youth have become more greedy, dishonest, corrupt and undisciplined. Everyone is scrambling for material gains by any means necessary - hook or by crook.
The entire system has become so corrupt that, state
institutions are unable to achieve positive results from the implementation of
government programs and policies.
Siaka Stevens’ mantra - "Usai you tai cow nar dae he go eat grass" has returned with deadly force, thus institutionalizing corruption. There is disorder everywhere. State institutions for many years have become goldmine for public servants, who now see themselves as public lords.
Siaka Stevens’ mantra - "Usai you tai cow nar dae he go eat grass" has returned with deadly force, thus institutionalizing corruption. There is disorder everywhere. State institutions for many years have become goldmine for public servants, who now see themselves as public lords.
Political leaders have not been sincere in trying to
tackle the myriad of economic and social problems blighting the lives of our
people. They talk too much - pay lip service – and do nothing.
If not for the international agencies that are delivering vital relief services in the country, life in Sierra Leone would have been a disaster for most people.
If not for the international agencies that are delivering vital relief services in the country, life in Sierra Leone would have been a disaster for most people.
This government lacks foresight and leadership, but
enjoys peddling false propaganda and lies in order to placate the people. These
so called "new APC" politicians and their technocrats have failed the
people of Sierra Leone.
It is now time for the opposition politicians to rise up, roll up their sleeves and begin to work on their manifesto policies and programmes that will salvage our people from the morass of economic collapse, caused by the return to power of another APC government.
It is now time for the opposition politicians to rise up, roll up their sleeves and begin to work on their manifesto policies and programmes that will salvage our people from the morass of economic collapse, caused by the return to power of another APC government.
But all participating political parties must be
pragmatic and non-partisan, devoid of cheap propaganda and political
expediency. We have a very serious national crisis of leadership in Sierra
Leone.
What we need today is a leader and a government that can honestly and competently work towards harnessing our endowed natural and human resources, so as to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development for the benefit of all of our people – not the few.
What we need today is a leader and a government that can honestly and competently work towards harnessing our endowed natural and human resources, so as to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development for the benefit of all of our people – not the few.
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