PONDER MY THOUGHTS BY Andrew Keili HAIL CZAR PALO 1-THE NEW EBOLA SUPREMO Many people were a bit taken aback by the apparent “ouster” of Steve Gaojia as the head of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the Ebola fight. After all Gaujia had given the revamped EOC a more palatable face. After the botching up of the “shutdown” or “lockdown” with many of the President’s trusted advisers creating a “reds under the bed”, doomsday-like scenario, Gaujia spearheaded a more pragmatic and consultative approach culminating in the “ose to ose” campaign, as it was later named, becoming more acceptable and understood. He has been not only knowledgeable and articulate but has also adopted a hands- on approach to his job. One could be excused therefore for the mistrust of skeptics that this was another case of the President putting his own man in a strategic position for opportunistic reasons. The press release however was a little bit explicit and certainly later interviews and further probing have revealed that at least the changes in the set up of the organisation in the Ebola fight were inevitable. The press release made it clear that “due to the diversity of the resources being provided and the intensity of the activities to be undertaken, it has become necessary to reconfigure the emergency operations centre (EOC) into a separate entity that will have a robust command and control structure. The EOC will be renamed the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC) which will be located together with the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) at the premises of the former Special Court”. The governing body of NERC will be headed by his Excellency the President. On the face of it, this seems quite logical and understandable. One observer put it like this: “The government has restructured to reflect the current international approach. Ebola Response is no longer a health issue but a global security concern. Therefore, with UNMEER & other foreign military personnel on the ground, government needs someone of cabinet rank and military background to make decisions.” Palo Conteh will be Chief Executive Officer of NERC on special assignment from his current position as Minister of Defense- a kind of Ebola Czar. Indeed it is normal for such action to be taken in times of grave crisis like this. In the USA, Ron Klain, was recently appointed the Ebola Czar, responsible for making sure that state and federal agencies such as the CDC and the Department for Homeland Security are working more effectively to track possible exposure to the disease. “Klain, an attorney, comes to the job with strong management credentials, extensive federal government experience overseeing complex operations and good working relationships with leading members of Congress, as well as senior Obama administration officials, including the President,” said a senior administration official. MFS has long claimed that efforts to curb the deadly Ebola epidemic are being undermined by a lack of leadership and emergency management skill. The question then should be not whether the Ebola leadership structure should have been revamped to have a Czar of sorts but what sort of Czar should we have and who should be that Czar. One supporter of Palo stated thus: “With UNMEER & other foreign military personnel on the ground, government needs someone of cabinet rank and military background to make decisions”. Others say it is better to have a senior Minister who enjoys the trust of the President to get the efforts together. He will get things done faster. “No”, say the naysayers. One remarked: “What if we did not have somebody who fits the job spec of military background and is of cabinet rank? The EOC to date has had an international approach with the UN co-chairing it. The British who have sent their Navy here have their job precisely defined. Steve Gaojia in charge could have done exactly what Palo can do….. A simple explanation should be that the President has brought in one of his own trusted men to give a sharp edge to our approach to Ebola. This would be more persuasive given that all other approaches have so far failed!” Another more caustic observer says; “This is just a way of ensuring that they get a grip on the funds expected to materialize in this Ebola fight-an outsider cannot be trusted.” Gaojia, it would appear does not really fit into the equation for political and other reasons. Not being an insider it would have been difficult for a President under immense pressure from parochial minded party stalwarts to hand over such a high profile position to an “outsider”. If rumours are to be believed, there were a lot of knives out for the affable but tough Gaojia who would not let some people have their way, much to their chagrin. At least he keeps his job and will be able to continue contributing to the Ebola fight. The good thing is that he is said not to consider this as rivalry but regards himself as a COO willing to report to a CEO. But who else could the President have appointed as Czar? After ruling out the Foreign and Finance Ministers, who were grossly enmeshed with their present work, some associates of mine proffered the following names of senior Government operatives, shooting them down just as fast: Vice President-Would be given a backpack for a parachute and made to jump out of the plane Chief of Staff-Chief of who? Head of Office of National Security-Missing in action-Top military man but ONS had been sidelined for too long in this fight. Their notion was that power was centralized at the President’s Office, so you might as well have someone who has his ears. Palo Conteh is an ex military man and a highly qualified Human Rights lawyer. The retired Major served in the Sierra Leone armed forced before his retirement. He has overseen changes in the army that have seen Sierra Leone excel in Peace Keeping missions. In an environment in which the Police are constantly derided, the army has remained fairly unscathed. He has not however been without detractors and there have been controversies related to army personnel from time to time, some of which still linger. These relate to premature discharge of personnel from the army, payment for soldiers wounded or killed in action, and alleged slashing of pay for soldiers on peace keeping missions-accusations which he has strenuously denied. The jury is still out on many of these. Also he is not without his share of enemies in the media who often forage into his private life. Notwithstanding these, he has scored high marks in the recent evaluation of Ministries by the Office of the President. The real question is whether he is the right man to be the Czar for the most important issue in our country at the moment. Many questions come to mind. Is it better to have someone who is a party insider, in the President’s inner circle that the President can listen to? Does he have the muscle to ruffle cocky feathers that may not want to toe the line and will the President allow him to kick butts? Will his military background and stint as Defense Minister make it easier to deal with the multifarious parties in this Ebola fight, some of whom may have unsavoury motives. Many of these questions seem to be justified. There are several unsubstantiated reports of poor procurement practices and illegal funneling of money related to the Ebola fight. The silence over the resignation of the reputable KPMG as auditors would seem to lend credence to this. “Ebola money” has now become a derogatory term and a skeptical public remains suspicious. Some also opine that his presence may engender a greater participation of the military in the Ebola fight. Many have wondered including himself why the military with all its discipline is not utilized in burial teams that have sometimes become so unmanageable. Others wonder why the Engineering wing of the military has not been in the avant garde of constructing isolation and treatment centers and some of the logistical work. The fact is that many of the peccadilloes that have developed during this Ebola fight have been shaped by the need to make money. It is an open secret that there are too many people lurching in the dark to bag their own “Ebola money”. Tough decisions would need to be made that will hurt many politically connected people. Palo will have to prove his mettle and adopt a no nonsense attitude. He should have the testicular fortitude to make such decisions and the President must stand by him. Lingering questions however remain as to why the Defense Ministry has to be run by the President during his absence. Those that hold the view that his military credentials are apt for this fight wonder whether he should not have kept his Defense Ministry portfolio in order to use the military more effectively in the Ebola fight. Palo has been chosen over other potential candidates for this position which needs skills in diplomacy and management, a command and control mentality, an ability to coordinate various MDAs and players and keep charlatans at bay and a dogged determination to make things work. Is this too much to hope for an insider who needs to prove his mettle to detractors? It is all left with our new Czar. Hail to Czar Palo, our new Ebola supremo! And good luck! Ponder my thoughts
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:31:19 +0000
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