The Leader and Presidential Flag bearer of the Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), last week told the people of Bo that “this year’s election is an election with a difference.” What he said makes the November 17th polls different from all other elections ever in Sierra Leone, was that the people were faced with the issue of choosing between three alternatives. “This year’s election, is an election with a difference, as Sierra Leoneans are voting for three things which are stagnation, progression or retrogression.” Sierra Leone he said “bleeds and cries” for good leadership, as poor leadership was the cause of the country being labeled “poor but Sierra Leone is no poor nation.”
The country, he said, has to go into the “past, present and future” and try to know what to do, come November 17th this year. Delving into history, he stated that “there was peace and progress under Sir Milton and Albert Margai” and that the country only came to know “tribalism as an issue in Sierra Leone after the deaths of the two men.” But he stated that “this was the time to correct it.”
When asked “why did you ally with APC” in the past 2007 elections that made Ernest Bai Koroma President of Sierra Leone, Charles Margai retorted that “it was due to tribalism and also the violence that I saw coming.” And, Ernest Koroma, he stated, therefore initially requested him to present his men to him and which he did. Ernest Koroma however he said could not even “out of decency inform me when he was about to drop these people.”
In furtherance, he took the time to comment on the road network in the country. Looking back on his 27 years residence in Bo, he stated that before now, he used to ply the roads from Matotoka to Bo and Matotoka to Kono within 2 and a half hours and 8 hours respectively. “But even though they say the road is being made, I now spend 4 and half hours from Matotoka to Bo and 8 hours from Matotoka to Kono. So where is the progress?” And before now, he explained, “all the streets the APC brags with, were tarred. And there was no bump even on the un-tarred roads. So where is the progress?”
And if the people of Sierra Leone choose him as President come 17th November, he would make the Judiciary and Police “independent” and that there “would be no GST” on the business people.
The Freedom of Information bill, he said, would be passed and I would “review a lot of mining agreements made” and also “review the land tenure system.”
He said this in a radio programme on the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Co-operation in Bo.
By Jenkins Bawoh
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