With Whom Does The Buck Stops in Sierra Leone? The Buck Stops With President Koroma The Government of Sierra Leone under the leadership of President Ernest Bai Koroma overuses blame shifting ‘passing the buck’ as a political strategy. Passing the buck is an American idiom that means holding someone else “responsible for one’s own actions.” In short, passing the buck is the same as blame shifting or shifting the blame. In truth, accountability is a major problem in the current leadership of the nation. In most cases, government officials shift the blame for their irresponsible actions. In Freetown right now, this behavior is excessively used. Other than creating a false sense of being in control by the President’s administration, blame shifting actually destroys the good governance that Ernest Bai Koroma promised the nation 7 years ago. What is sad is that officials seemingly do not have the inner-drive to deliver on the president’s promise of good governance. Blame shifting is most definitely not good governance. The administration’s flagship program was the free healthcare for mothers with children and pregnant women. Authentically, it had more influence than any other initiative of the Koroma administration. Indeed a sitting leader finally devoted his attention to a sector of society whose screams for relief had been ignored over the years. At last someone was willing to invest in the future of Sierra Leone. President Koroma was ready to sponsor the well-being of the generation that will change the course of the nations history. Hopes were dashed when the Bill Gates Foundation levied the charge of mismanagement of funds. Subsequently, GAVI Funds were withheld. Despondently, the administration backed away from taking any serious actions against top healthcare officials. The mockery of the ACC and the judicial system was on display when the scapegoats were tried, convicted, and sentenced. Because of shifting the blame and the lack of accountability at top levels of management, the signature program of President Koroma has lost its sparkle. Examples abound of how the President’s men and women pass the buck; shift the blame to junior officers. Theophilus Sahr Gbenda brilliantly told the world how government officials use blame shifting and passing the buck to absolve themselves from irresponsible and negligent actions. Following the EITI suspension of Sierra Leone, Gbenda published the article “Second EITI validation unearths whopping $6M Discrepancy ……Leads to Sierra Leone’s Suspension. “ First, the buck was passed to the NRA, then mineral resources, and finance, etc. Gbenda wrote, “On its part, the government is pointing fingers at the companies.” Minister Minkailu Mansaray never took responsibility for the lack of accountability in his ministry. Instead he is daily rumored as a possible successor to the President. Ridiculous. Approximately one month ago, the allAfrica Online News came out with the blazing headlines, “Sierra Leone: Le3.5 Billion Unaccounted for At Agriculture Ministry.” Written by Jariatu Bangura and Samuel J. Kargbo, the article reveals how irresponsibility and mismanagement, has led to the fleecing of the nation’s coffers. Quoting one Mr. Saffa the writers said, “A review of the payroll documents presented for audit inspection revealed that 116 drivers were employed against 76 official vehicles while only 62 vehicles were road worthy.” The services of 40 drivers were not required resulting to “a total amount of Le142, 252.800” of doubtful spending. With the pervasive culture of shifting the blame, no one has been held accountable. The MCC effectively exposed the depth of Sierra Leone’s recurring predicament when a comprehensive package prepared by the government, was not even considered. Sadly, the people of Sierra Leone missed out on hundreds of millions for the current year 2014. The negative effects of the MCC’s rejection are yet unknown. However, it appears that other international agencies are either scrutinizing funding packages or withholding subsidies for Sierra Leone. Shifting the blame downward has made the Government of Sierra Leone looks like a fly-by-night and slapdash administration. In all these instances and dozens more, holding those at the top accountable is at best just a fantasy. The Koroma administration has a windfall of issues for which no one has taken the responsibility. The buck must stop with President Ernest Bai Koroma. The world has sophisticated minds and rational individuals who are beginning to look at the Government of Sierra Leone with critical eyes. The administration raises doubts about its efficacy when what they do is dehumanize others and shift the blame for what clearly appears as irresponsible actions taken by key government officials. The President could kick the can down the road or finally realize that the buck stops with him. In the end, let it not be said that President Koroma opened the nation up for business, but the business of the nation was shut down because his administration lacked accountability. Over to you Mr. President.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 18:45:36 +0000
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