One interesting fact about this land that we all love is that it is full of people who start projects with zest but lose their steam half way through the projects. And this is exactly what has happened to the men and women of the Youth Employment Scheme (YES).
After the main opposition, the All People’s Congress (APC), and the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) played see-saw with the issue of cleaning the capital, Freetown, we saw overnight the emergence of the men and women of the Youth Employment Scheme (YES) who took over the clearing and cleaning of filth in Freetown.
For a time, at least, some main areas were partially cleaned and clean. These men and women were indefatigable in their work—not out of patriotism but because their salaries were rolling in, probably in record time.
Now we are only seeing a trickle of these men and women of the Youth Employment Scheme (YES). And even when they are seen working the original enthusiasm is absent. They just do their job like living dead.
During investigations, many complained of not having enough equipment like brooms, shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows to do their job. Others said they were not being supplied with gloves and equipment to cover their mouths and noses. And a few talked often of “those people at the Youth and Sports Ministry who enjoy the fund without doing anything.”
As a medium, we are asking whether the steam of these people at YES has run out. Or are their salaries no longer were rolling in in record time? Or the incentives which used to provoke their energies no more? We are just curious.