By Gibril Koroma,
Editor/Publisher.
Obama and Koroma
I see many similarities between President-elect Barack Obama of the United States and Sierra Leone’s president Ernest Koroma. Here are a few: Both men are relatively young and both are taking over or took over from extremely unpopular predecessors.
Barack is coming after George Walker Bush, a man that has lost his lustre who cannot wait to hand over to Obama in January and return to his Texas home, away from the daily bashing form the mainstream media in his country and around the world.
Ernest,on the other hand, took over from Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, unquestionably the most unpopular leader Sierra Leone has ever had towards the end of his tenure. That made it impossible for Solomon Berewa, a fellow party member, to have won the 2007 elections and succeed him, just as Bush made it impossible for McCain to have won last November’s election.
But apart from that, both men (Barack and Ernest) symbolize change, change and movement away from corruption,maladministration, economic mess and general decay. Both men also represent hope and optimism in their citizens and the rest of the world. They therefore carry a heavy load on their shoulders. I wish them well.
SLAJ Elections
Elections by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists(SLAJ) are usually pretty predictable because the candidates with enough resources to dish out cash, food and liquor usually win.I hope the next elections slated for Saturday will be different despite the extreme poverty among the country’s journalists.
Mining Sector
News and information about Sierra Leone’s mining sector have been sparse, due largely to the careful avoidance of the media by the current Mines minister and his team(according to some of my correspondents). The minister should open up more and find time for the media in accordance with the transparency policy of the current government.
We need to know more about Koidu Holdings, one of the largest mining companies in the country and their activities in Kono. We also need to know what is happening at Sierra Rutile, where a huge accident occurred not long ago. An update on Marampa mines in Lunsar is also needed. Over to you Mr. Minister.
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