WHAT A WEEK: ELECTRICITY AND WATER CRISIS, GROSS INCOMPETENCE By Josephine Koroma If you ever wonder, why Pres. Koroma will go down as the WORST PRESIDENT we have had in a multi-party democracy then this week would have surely helped him with that AWARD. But you can understand why Pres. Koroma is very INCOMPETENT to govern Sierra Leone because he is surrounded by so many INCOMPETENT ministers and officials running the affairs of our country. At the start of this week even Pres. Koroma acknowledged his own incompetence. Pres. Koroma’s Energy Ministers and NPA officials whose incompetence has been depriving households from basic electricity as school going children have to battle with candles and lamps to study at night were showed the EXIT DOOR. So when the Press Release came out about the dismissal of the light minister, his deputy and NPA officials, there was a sigh of relief that at last the incompetent President has removed two incompetent ministers and suspended several incompetent officials. It was not that the decision by the President was impressive, far from it, it was an acknowledgement by the President that an Agenda for Change where there was NO electricity was a catastrophe and the present Agenda for Prosperity without electricity is Madness. “How does this incompetent President expect a Nation to prosper without electricity” an Abacha Street trader, Fatmata, asked. It is like telling students to go and take exams without pens. What a Madness! Equally, the facts that there is now a rumour going round that the former SACKED Energy Minister, Afsatu Kabba, has been tipped to replace the SACKED Minister of Energy should leave you with no doubts about the incompetence of this President and his entire APC Government. In fact, many people in the APC corridors of Power believe that the Minister, Oluniyi Robbin-Coker, was sacked not because President actually thinks the guy was incompetent, after all he has been incompetent since day one, rather the President wants to make way for the reappointment of Afsatu Kabba as Energy Minister. I know we all know the close relationship between Pres. Koroma and Afsatu Kabba when Pres. Koroma was Minority Leader in Parliament. But just in case you have forgotten Afsatu Kabba, this was the woman who as minister of Energy gave $32 million to the infamous Nigerian Company, Income Electrix, for the electrification of Freetown for just a year, yet there was widespread blackout. Then as former minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Afsatu was convicted for CORRUPTION to the tune of Le300 million by Justice Ademusu. But under the new APC Policy of Manipulative Justice which aims to achieve, among other things, Freeing the Sacred Cows, Afsatus conviction was recently quashed in December 2013 by Justice Hamilton. As such many believe that the dismissal of Olunyini Robbin-Coker has come about as a result of the conviction being quashed for Afsatu Kabba and she will be taking over as the new minister of energy. If this turns out to be true then the incompetence has reached a new high of even now recycling FAILED Ministers. Whilst ordinary people were struggling to get their heads around the electricity crisis then came the water “Combolo”. Like one Freetown resident put it on Tuesday, it was like living in a desert. During this week, School Children have been abandoning their schools to go in search of water for their families to survive. People have to make a choice between drinking and washing. People travel miles away from their homes and communities in search of water. Community “water-wells” became the saving grace. We all know Sierra Leone is blessed with water but this incompetence of President Koroma on the water crisis has been a national disgrace. Then came the greatest PR gimmick from State House. The Director of Communications who Sylvia Blyden has given a bit of breathing space since she has been CAGED, wrote on Facebook that the water crisis had been caused by the damage of a 22 trunk main at Hamilton last week. And that the damage was caused by some reckless excavation work by CSE which left a long section of the pipeline unsupported bla bla bla. Like my elder sister told me at Rawdon Street on Wednesday, it reminded me of the APC during the 70s and 80s that after the ‘toe line’ then the government start to give those ridiculous reason which will even make a deaf shouts in denial . Days after some people went with the indignity of not washing or at best using well water whilst others couldnt go to work, offices or schools, it shows how INSENSITIVE this government is to ordinary people. If this supposed 22 main trunk got damaged last week, people would want to know when did the engineers became aware of such a damage - immediately or after several days after the damage? For such an issue as essential as water supply to reach a crisis point in the capital city it shows not only the incompetence of the engineers but also the incompetent leadership of the Water Ministry especially the Minister of Water Resources and Permanent Secretary. But dont ask me why was the minister of energy sacked for incompetence but the water resources minister praised by State House for incompetence. The difference is, unlike Olunyini Robbin-Coker, Momodu Maligie, minister of water resources, is the step-son of Christiana Thorpe. Therefore, it is public knowledge that part of the understanding why the 2012 Presidential Elections was RIGGED by Christiana Thorpe through the printing of excess ballot papers used by APC, over voting and the collusion between APC members and NEC officials in polling stations was the ministerial appointment of Momodu Maligie, the step-son of Christiana Thorpe. Therefore, it is understood in the corridors of power that President Koroma does not want to RENEGE on that promise/assurance he gave Christiana Thorpe on the appointment of Momodu Maligie. So whatever incompetence by the water minister would always be ignored by State House as it was no surprise the director of communications was praising the water minister as dynamic and hardworking. What a PITY! And this was after many days the city has been hit by water crisis. So as things stand now, we have a very INCOMPETENT President who has dismissed a very INCOMPETENT Energy Minister and is planning to replace him with a former INCOMPETENT Energy Minister and a once convicted but now freed former minister of fisheries and marine resources. At the same time we have an INCOMPETENT Water Resources Minister who cannot be SACKED because his step-mother RIGGED elections in 2012 for President Koroma. What a week and what has been a week of GROSS INCOMPETENCE by an Incompetent President, running an Incompetent APC Government with Incompetent Ministers.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 11:02:16 +0000
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