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Hon Abdul Karim Kamara, a member of parliament representing a constituency in Kambia district, is quite critical of President Julius Maada Bio’s frequent travels referring to it as a waste of public money.
The President’s travels abroad, the MP said were more worrisome owing to the big and flamboyant entourage whose number he refused to disclose
Hon Kamara singled out for criticism President Bio’s recent trip to London. “President Bio has failed to disclose the number of people in his delegation to London and the money disbursed,”
Before now, he went on, Office of the President used to put out press releases about the importance of any travel the president embarked on. “Those press releases will indicate the cost involved and the number of people in the delegation. But, that is not done now,” he told colleague Members of Parliament.
The MP argues that if President Julius Maada Bio is serious about blocking leakages in the country, he should also be serious about telling the nation how he uses taxpayers’ money spent on travels. The country, he continued, came to a standstill since SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) government came to power. “No iota of progress of progress is seen in the country,” the MP stressed.
Hon. Kamara also argued that the President should not be travelling out of the country in the face COVID-19 pandemic. “This shows that the government is not serious about the lives of the people,” he emphasised.
The MP spoke about how Sierra Leoneans had been subjected to poverty and marginalisation, not to talk about naked violations of the country’s Constitution. The criticism is made for abandoning good initiatives he initially brought into the realm of state governance.
Alusine Kamara yesterday told this medium that when President Bio took over power in 2018, he initiated the National Cleaning Exercise, but had been abandoned after spending several billions of Leones. Kamara further stated that the regime initiated strict time attendance for all government officials, but the initiative had been abolished.
Members of the public have also criticised SLPP government for not living up to the task of state governance. “Misuse of government property is on the increase, because all these executive orders, from the first gentleman of the state, have been abandoned,” Kamara stressed. Sierra Leoneans now talk of the government displaying weaknesses in the enforcement of laws initiated by the President.
To nip recklessness in the bud, in public offices, remains government’s biggest headache at the moment. The Afro Barometer and Audit Service Sierra Leone reports have also come down heavily on government referring to its transparency and accountability mechanism as nothing to write home about.
If such an unaccountable system continues in the New Direction, Isha Jalloh says, voters will not vote for excuses but for what the government and the president has done.
On a very serious note, some honorable members of parliament are not worth it to be in parliament. With all what has happened just within two weeks on the president’s visit to England, you still call it a waste of resources? Fools are easy to identify. When the last government was in power, the SLPP while in opposition never bothered about EBK’s traveling because they know it was all good for the country.
Every trip has a purpose. Some of us are just tired with the way APC is doing things. And as a patriot, you might end up giving us a rethink of not considering voting for APC anymore