Please Condemn Incendiarism
An Open Appeal to President Koroma: Please Condenm Incendiarism.
It was a very hazy day in Freetown and the harmattan was doing justice to its name. It was hard to distinguish between the dry sands from the Sahara and the huge amount of dust rising into the atmosphere from road construction sites all over the west end and central parts of the city. People were milling around the overcrowded and lawless Lumley/Regent Road roundabout and junction respectively, crawling through occasional cracks among the mass of humanity in the street market spread all over the place. Traffic was at a virtual standstill. Then I heard someone made a comment about EBK and Lokomassama. I was not sure what it was all about. The traffic started moving and I gladly found my way to downtown Freetown. The next mention about Lokomassa was a in press release from the Special Assistant to the President, Mr. Oswald Hanciles that read in part:
"At dusk of Wednesday, 8th February, 2012, in the court barrie of Lokomassama, Port Loko District, in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, dozens of former SLPP leaders and partisans of the chiefdom publicly took off their green SLPP T-shirts (some, with campaign T-shirts of the 2007 SLPP presidential candidate, Solomon Berewa) and put on red T-shirts of the governing APC – in the presence of the APC Leader and Chairman, H.E. President Ernest Bai Koroma. There was loud cheering from the crowd inside and outside the court barrie. Bedlam broke when dozens more former SLPP partisans surged forward to get their own APC T-shirts. The green SLPP T-shirts were then publicly burned by the former SLPP partisans now turned APC."
2 commentsIMF Approves $US 13.8 Million for Sierra Leone
IMF Executive Board Completes Second and Third Reviews Under ECF with Sierra Leone and Approves $US 13.8 Million Disbursement.
Key Note Address by His Excellency the President
Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation
The journey of the next fifty years of independence has begun; and we are gathered here today to map out how we are going to make it better than the journey we made during the last fifty years. This Conference is a moment for solidifying our collective promise to make this country better than we inherited it; and to deliver a country to our grandchildren that is worthy of their admiration, respect, and honorable remembrance of us.
The vision is already cast; the aspirations made known, and the situation more opportune than at anytime since the founding of our nation. Sierra Leoneans all over the country are in agreement that this nation must seize the opportunities inherent in the growing interests in our natural resources and commitment to democracy. We are here to map out how we will utilize our natural resources, our democracy and our culture to transform this nation into a middle-income level country and an advanced economy within the next twenty-five to fifty years.
Fellow Sierra Leoneans, distinguished friends of our great nation, it is within our rights to have this vision for Sierra Leone; it is within our rights to want to be in charge of our transformation, and it is within our rights to chart the way forward towards this great vision. More importantly the realization of this vision is within our reach, it is within the possibilities offered by our immense natural resources; and it is within touching distance of what could be achieved by resolute and confident citizens.
SL 2012 Voter Registration Centers
Obama's 2012 State of the Union address
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought - and several thousand gave their lives.
We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.
Happy New Year China! Whither Africa?
The scenes on television are scenic. Happy and proud Chinese faces celebrating their New Year. This is the year of the Dragon. Reports abound about families planing to have children during this year because Dragon children are supposed to be gifted among other qualities. Many of the Chinese interviewed by international news outlets demonstrated a strong sense of nation and pride -- beyond patriotism to the level of complete ownership of the means through which Chinese prosperity will continue to grow together with a strong ownership of the means through which a guaranteed Chinese future can be fashioned for posterity. Love of culture; self-confidence; strong feeling and celebration of Chinese identity; determination to lead the world and usher in what may be indeed the Chinese Century rather than the hope for an American Century by American neocons. By the way things are progressing, it may very well be a Chinese Century. Someone remarked during an interv iew recently that China is now replacing the IMF in Africa. The loans keep flowing without much focus on risks associated with African countries, highlighted by the IMF and Western nations. In addition to loans, China is digging deep into the wealth of Africa, through agreements with African countries that give the Chinese a firm foothold on the agricultural and mining sectors.