President Bio is surrounded by people whose plans are to enrich themselves to the detriment of the nation. Since elected as President in 2018, President Bio has made some appointments, who have failed to make any impact and have nothing tangible to show as their stewardship for the benefit of the nation. If not involved in a procurement scandal, their names are called on some cynical activities that are not good for the nation.
Sierra Leone is yet to benefit and stand the likes of its neighbouring West African countries in terms of development. This is as a result of the selfishness of people appointed to positions of trust. Therefore, President Bio is being urged to revisit his appointees and weed out those who are liabilities to his government and bring in performance oriented people to deliver on his vision.
A case in point is the Minister of Trade and Industry in the person, of Dr. Hingha Sandy. Dr. Sandy’s has got nothing to show since he was appointed as minister. Prices of basic commodities are running faster than Hussien Bolt (the fastest runner in the world). This is evident with the skyrocketing of prices everyday, which presents the picture as if there is no ministry or minister in charge to regulate the sector. Expired goods are having field day within our land, causing people to wonder what the Minister of Trade is doing to address some of these issues. If you take a close look at the petroleum industry, the same minister has been accused of playing double standards at the detriment of the state. Dr. Sandy, who should be regulating the industry, is said to have taken sides, siding one company against another, of which the issue between Jaffer and Leon Oil is a typical example. Minister Sandy will not say that he is not aware of what had transpired between Jaffer and Leon Oil, yet he took no action to resolve same, but allowed the matter to get out of hand and into the Court. It is the view of many Sierra Leoneans that to get investors, especially locals in the private sector to join the development trajectory of President Bio, fair treatment should be given to all. Furthermore, as Minister of Trade, it is in his power to ensure that the right thing is done, especially as the matter between Jaffer and Leon Oil bordered on the change of price of petroleum product, as to whether it could be applied retroactively or should only affect the current purchaser at the specific time that the price increase came into effect.
This failure of the Minister to intervene in this impasse exposes his inability to ensure that sanity is brought to that sector and justice maintained without bias or favour. It is the vision of President Bio in his manifesto that he will ensure that no one is disadvantaged by reason of his economic or political status. It should be remembered that President Bio’s appointment of ministers to head various sectors is as a result of the confidence he has in their ability to represent his vision, but this inaction or inability to act in the Jaffer case suggests otherwise, as His Excellency will not allow anyone to be disadvantaged by a wealthy rival or partner in business. As a disciplinarian, President Bio would have ensured that the right thing is done and justice delivered to the vulnerable investor, who is also providing jobs to Sierra Leoneans through his business.