His Excellency, President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma continues to confirm to his nation that, in his Government, no officials, in whatever capacity, should consider themselves sacred cows. Simply put, this clearly means that any official who falls short of His Excellency’s expectations should look forward to exiting his cabinet, no matter how thick they think their skin might be. This is exactly the sort of policy and practice that every pro-active and forward looking leader would adopt to ensure that the tires of his locomotive are not derailed by any bumps or holes on the way.
The fact that should be taken heed of by every official in EBK’s Government is that His Excellency, the President has an agenda whose tenets and provisions he wants to fulfill before the end of his mandate in 2017. He has committed himself to leaving his nation a legacy, providing better living conditions, putting in place the state of art sort of infrastructure befitting Sierra Leone and improving our educational system so that it would match the current educational trends in the world. Thus, President Koroma believes that all his officials comprising of ministers, deputy ministers, directors, advisers and assistants should be equally committed and truly supportive of him so as to help him actualize his ‘Agenda for Prosperity’. Hence, whosoever fails to prove themselves a match to the task would have to leave the boat of progress, which by no means should be allowed to sink. And at the end of the day, such negligent and irresponsible officials would blame no-one for their inadequacies but themselves.
President Koroma’s timely relieving of his ex-deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Mamoud Tarawali, from his duties on an alleged case of rape a few weeks ago was a glowing testimony of his good governance and proof to his determination to educate his officials that maintaining the moral code is part and parcel of their functions. Although Mr. Tarawali's case is still in court, His Excellency has sent a clear message that any official found flouting this moral code would be brought to book and would have no immunity as far as the verdict of the judiciary branch is concerned. That swift and timely reaction of the President was highly acclaimed and appreciated by all moral conscious people in the country.
As we have been made to understand, Mr. Mamoud Tarawali, the sacked ex-Deputy Minister of Education, was a hardworking man whose work ethics was highly commendable as far as professionalism is concerned. However, when he got involved into allegations accusing him of raping a 24-year old woman, President Koroma immediately used his constitutional powers to relieve him of his duties as Deputy Minister of Education until a verdict is issued at the court of law.
As a consequence, one does not actually need to be a graduate of Freud Sigmund‘s school of thought to imagine the magnitude of the remorse and agony of soul that is piercing Mr. Tarawali’s feeble being right now. If found guilty, he will regret his misdemeanour and wish he had had some control over his human instinct so as to preserve his job and human dignity. For him, whether declared guilty or otherwise, I think Mr. Tarawali must have learnt a sober lesson of his life.
Away from Mr. Tarawali's case, it is highly important for the male general public to stay away from alleged rape cases; for even if the accused is eventually pronounced non-guilty by the judge, the stigma could hardly be erased from the human minds.
Also, as general advice, we should always have in the back of our minds that what is not good for the goose should not be good for the gander either. To further illustrate this point; if no-one would like to have his sister involved in an alleged rape case, then no-one should allow himself to get allegedly involved in a rape case of someone else's sister either.
On the other hand, people may not realize that one of the major causes of the abject poverty and misery we have been going through for ages is the rampant practice of adultery in our communities. One of the evils that adultery bequeaths is poverty. And it is unfortunate that the majority of our folks are not even conscious of the fact that adultery is a major sin in all the God sent religions. People simply take the liberty, or even the pride to practice adultery to prove their manhood; or rather, to show their inability to curb their libido. Fidelity is the only moral practice that distinguishes us from animals; thus, in the event that it is found lacking in us, we should not deem ourselves more decent than animals in this respect.
In the same vein, by relieving the Minister of Works, Housing and Infrastructure Hon. Alimamy Petito Koroma, and the Director General of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority, Munda Rogers, of their duties, President Koroma has once again clearly demonstrated that, when he designed his ‘Agenda for Prosperity’ and made it his central focus, he meant it to the letter. So, any officials deemed incompetent in their functions would have to give way to those committed to take up the tasks assigned to them with the spirit, vigour and seriousness that they duties require of them.
This act of His Excellency, President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma requires us all, Sierra Leoneans, to stand upright and applaud him for being so resolute in his policies and for living up to our expectations, as far as good governance is concerned. President Koroma is proving to his officials that there is no room in his cabinet for immoral behaviour, incompetence and sluggishness; and that efficiency, effectiveness and keeping to time lines are the hallmarks of his Government. No doubt, the message is loud and clear for all to learn and behave accordingly. BRAVO Mr. President!
Be the first to comment