President Koroma is a true leader

By Sorie Fofanah, Freetown.

President Ernest Bai Koroma’s decision to suspend Kemoh Sesay was the right
thing to do at the time.

There was no way Kemoh Sesay would have continued to serve
as a Government Minister with an allegation as serious as cocaine trafficking hanging over his head.

The President is leading by example. He has so far shown that Africa still has
credible leaders.

No matter what anybody says, Ernest is a very decent man. He single-handedly
bankrolled the APC campaign in last year’s Presidential and Parliamentary
elections.

There are reports that he wrote a personal cheque for Le210m for the APC
Convention in Port Loko in 2005. Ernest came to State House with a clean record.

Even his opponents have never accused him of any act of corruption. By and
large, Ernest is an electoral asset to the APC.
You have political commentators who still believe that it was Ernest Koroma’s
personality and popularity that brought the APC to power.

Many people have
argued that he is more popular than his own party. If Ernest is removed from the
APC today, then the party is as good as dead.

No Evidence
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abdul Serry Kamal is a political heavyweight in the APC. No doubt about that. He holds a very sensitive
position in this government. He is a level-headed man.

Recently, he made it abundantly clear that there is No Evidence against Kemoh
Sesay, Ernest Koroma’s political soulmate.

Kemoh Sesay is a key member of the APC. He hails from Port Loko District, the
APC’s heartland. He is very popular in the APC. Many people see him as a Natural
Successor to Ernest. He is just 47. He is an experienced politician, having
served as a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2007.

Two months ago, President Koroma publicly endorsed him as one of his “Best
Ministers”. By then, he was still on suspension from office.

Reinstate Kemoh Now
President Koroma now has the moral authority to reinstate Kemoh Sesay. It is,
however, his prerogative to do what he thinks is politically right for him.

Time To Move On
Kemoh Sesay should put everything behind him and move forward. He is a young man
and he has a brighter future ahead of him. Let him go back to his desk and do
the job for which the President admires him.

Time To Reshuffle
President Koroma should now begin to think very seriously about reshuffling his
Cabinet. Very seriously, he has a lot of dead wood in his Cabinet.

PMDC Ministers
Will the President retain PMDC representatives in his Cabinet? Make no mistake,
Ernest is not politically naïve. He cannot afford to dispose of the PMDC
alliance. That will be political suicide.

The survival of the PMDC is in the interest of the APC. If the PMDC collapses,
the APC knows too well that they have a tough battle on their hands in 2012.
Ernest, being a clever politician, knows how to keep the PMDC on side. Make no
mistake, Ernest is a true African politician.
Dr. Soccoh Kabia and Capt. Benjamin Davies have been very good Ministers.
But, as they say in America, the buck stops with the President. May commonsense prevail.

Photo: Mr. Kemoh Sesay.