{"id":41001,"date":"2012-05-21T17:46:26","date_gmt":"2012-05-21T17:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=41001"},"modified":"2012-05-21T17:46:26","modified_gmt":"2012-05-21T17:46:26","slug":"is-our-governance-in-purdah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=41001","title":{"rendered":"Is our Governance in Purdah?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From time immemorial there have been wars, and conflicts in every continent in the world, some arising from internal differences and others inflicted by greater powers from outside.\u00a0 There was always a desire by others to be properly informed, and this task was\u00a0 left to freelance war correspondents.\u00a0 It was a dangerous but worthwhile job that famous correspondents like Kate Adie, John Simpson, and Rageh Omaar undertook at their personal peril,\u00a0 and were prepared to lose their lives in that noble cause.\u00a0 That was until the Iraq War when President George W Bush, and his close allies introduced the new concept of War Reporters being embedded within the military, allegedly for their own safety.\u00a0 They could no longer wander off to explore whatever they may wish, as Kate Adie did when she braved her presence on Tiananmen Square in China,\u00a0 but rather these journalists were closely monitored, and controlled, and fed official information they should relay back to their newspapers.\u00a0 It is debatable whether they were that much safer as they rode in the same armoured vehicles in which servicemen were blown up, but they had lost their independence.\u00a0 (Photo<\/em>: \u00a0Sqn. Ldr Winston Forde RAF Ret’d, author)<\/em><\/p>\n

I have, therefore, always been intrigued by the idea of having several staff members of the AGI being embedded within our Government supposedly on the invitation of our President.\u00a0 I thought every citizen was fully aware of this arrangement, and was seriously flabbergasted when a senior citizen to whom I mentioned this two days ago, one who takes an active interest in national matters and has expressed her views publicly from time to time, was totally unaware of this arm of government.\u00a0 How many of them there are, where they are based, and what they do was totally news to her.\u00a0\u00a0 The point is that neither was I in a position to enlighten her confidently, as I could only rely on references I had come across on the Internet, and vaguely believe there could well be up to nine such individuals.\u00a0 But the claim had been made in the overseas press that they wield much influence, and are responsible for getting government plans off shelves where\u00a0 they had been gathering dust, and ensuring things were done.\u00a0 Therein lies my first confusion, are they acting as advisers only, as officials of Government, just as the political agents extensively employed in Westminster by the Blair Government did much to the chagrin, and alienation of the traditional senior civil servants, or are they paid as AGI consultants who are subservient to Ministers?\u00a0 In any case this seems to stand the concept of being embedded on its head.\u00a0 Hitherto, the journalists in Iraq were strictly controlled by those with whom they were embedded for that purpose, but it seems that the embedded AGI officers claim to control their hosts.<\/p>\n

As I have commented in earlier articles, and in line with the views of Umaru S Jah-Berlin in his article published on 18 May 2012, the Ernest Koroma Administration has proved the most visionary in our recent history, and\u00a0 has a good record of achievements.\u00a0 Where I would disagree with Mr Jah-Berlin is when he urged his readers to stop worrying ourselves with unnecessary<\/em> question of who will be the next president.\u00a0 Not even the AGI should support that viewpoint as the governance they must extol requires good leaders who must be subject to scrutiny, and change using a democratic process, or we would have a despotic dictatorship instead.\u00a0 So, we must aspire to holding open, safe, and fair elections in November 2012.\u00a0 We operate a multi-party system in our country, and selected candidates must offer themselves to the electorate for election as our next President.\u00a0 In that context, I entirely agree with the Minister who said on radio recently that if Maada Bio seeks election as part of that process, he should be prepared to face the people at home to put his case rather than doing so at Chartham House in far off London.\u00a0 Good point!<\/p>\n

And it is precisely for that reason that I have advocated that the AGI who are embedded in government, and claim to have done so much for us, should give a full account of their activities, so far, and explain their position regarding the future.\u00a0 What happens if there was a change of Government, would they pack up and leave?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Their leader should not only submit a transparent report for our information, but in the words of the minister be also prepared to speak to local audiences rather than to gatherings in London to which only a few, those with a seat on a private aeroplane, are able to attend.\u00a0 A Government that does not give account of its actions is usually referred to as a ‘Regime’, and if as Umaru said we treasure what the likes of Ban Ki Moon think, or say about us then Government accountability at this time of our vital elections must include the part that so many non elected individuals in high places, a regime or government within government, have played in the achievements that the President rightly claims in his portfolio.<\/p>\n

I have been perplexed before as to why education has not featured more forcibly, and prominently in the pronouncements of the AGI.\u00a0 At the same time I am fully conscious that there are those that would immediately draw attention to the sudden leap in our GDP, and the rapid developments including the relevant infrastructure like the revival of the Pepel railway system, and dredging of the river that facilitates the extraction, and export of our rich iron ore deposits.\u00a0 It may be that the report, that we are entitled to, would explain how the many world companies who were interested in these resources, and mines were assessed, and the Tender process leading to the award of these interests.\u00a0 Did we get the right fiscal deals for our people or are we happy to have foreigners own or mainly control our wealth to our major detriment?<\/p>\n

I continue to ask these questions as 10 years after the end of Angola’s civil war the country has made enormous strides in rebuilding its economy, which is expected to grow by around 8% this year.\u00a0 Much of that is due to the country’s enormous oil reserves; it’s now the second biggest producer in Africa.\u00a0 This rapid growth in their economy has led to a boom in infrastructure development, including a big upgrade in the mobile phone network available to Angolans to a high-speed 4G service that is better than most of Europe, and many parts of the USA.\u00a0 However, Movicel has partnered with the Chinese phone giant ZTE to bring in 4G providing all the equipment.\u00a0 ZTE dosen’t do any manufacturing in Angola as the education level in the country is still low.\u00a0 So, whilst there’s no doubt that economic growth has boosted prosperity in\u00a0 some quarters, <\/strong>Angola is still a poor country where almost 72% of the people are thought to live below the poverty line on less than US$2 a day.<\/p>\n

Readers are reminded from my earlier article that Ban Ki Moon’s UN definition of that state of affairs is less complimentary than his alleged glowing view on what’s happening to Sierra Leone, and her people at present.\u00a0 Now it’s our Gold and Iron ore, but soon this will include our ‘black gold’ flowing from our oil\u00a0 fields through our fingers into the coffers of those brought to us from overseas.\u00a0\u00a0 Angola got it wrong, and we must not do likewise.<\/p>\n

In this election year our true Governance must be more transparent, and not screened from the issues being debated by Sierra Leoneans, as if we were strangers in our own land.<\/p>\n

By Sqn. Ldr Winston Forde RAF Ret’d<\/em><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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