Common expression today’s youth is ” Money Per Issue”, MPI. Using a clever play on words, they are now calling on other youth from across the country to come out in their numbers and vote, but this around to “vote per issue”.
They want people to vote based on their experiences these past years under President Bio and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
This was a call made by across section of young men and women supporters of the ruling SLPP who said they have now come to realise that voting should and must be done based on the issues.
It is never late to learn new things, We are not going to play around with our votes this time around. I am not going to play around with how I vote next June.
For a long time we the youth of this country have been used by all the political parties to do their dirty work and deprive others from making their choices as to who they want to vote for. Having experienced all the issues that have resulted to our present sufferings to provide for ourselves and our loved ones, we have come to realised that voting should indeed be informed by our condition or circumstances under the one we voted for . I should not vote for someone because he is in my party or from my tribe or village. Voting is much bigger than that.” The youth say they are not interested in convincing anyone to vote for anyone in particular. They added ‘If after four years under president Bio you are happy with how he has been running things, the economy, how they have spent public money, how they have given out jobs, the current state of electricity supply, the development projects we were promised like the Lungi Bridge and the 200 buses to ease our transportation problems, etc.
If Bio has done it for you, then by all means vote for him. But if Bio has not been doing right by you, if you don’t feel like he should be allowed to continue for another five year term, then vote for who you think is serious about meeting your needs.” They described voting as the greatest invention in governance as one man, one vote added up gives you a majority, and majority carries the vote He said it follows that we can come from a variety of backgrounds but through our voting share the same interests. So, we come from different levels and positions in life but can share the same wants and needs.
The person we vote for comes in to try and manage our expectations, that is, our wants and needs. The ones that deliver on our expectations stay relevant. Staying relevant depends on how you deliver. That said, President Bio has not delivered according to our expectations. He has lost relevance. It used to be “money per issue”; now we are saying vote per issue. If you vote per issue, the money will come out. But if you vote because they give you money, then the issue will still remain.” Calling themselves the largest voting bloc in Sierra Leone, the youth said the time has come for the young people of this country to treat governance issues with the seriousness they deserve saying that their lives and how they live have everything to do with what our leaders do. Therefore, when a leader like Bio comes into the scene after making grand promises he has failed to deliver on, the question of what to do about him during the elections should be a foregone concluded matter. We should not be at great pains to decide on what to do about President Bio. If my brother is running my business at a loss I don’t see how keeping him there benefits either one of us. It is either I remove him or my business will fail. This is where we are with President Bio. He has run our business at a loss; we know they have not spent our money as they should have
As a matter of fact, I can safely say they have been stealing from us based on all the audit reports and media leaks from 2018 to present. Therefore, this is a closed matter. Bio has lost relevance because he has failed to address our issues. It is either I vote for Bio or vote in the interest of the country. This should not be something to debate. This is not about tribe, or party or region. This is about the survival and success of the nation of Sierra Leone, which is much bigger than a party” .
The SLPP grassroots supporters say President Bio’s term is necessary for Sierra Leoneans as it is teaching them how to see or rate a president.
Had things turned out well for Bio, they said we would not be having this conversation. But as thing stand, President Bio has thought them that a leader should be evaluated based on his or her performance, adding that you are as good as your last performance, now going back in time to pick out past successes. –
The country needed a president like Bio to teach us who not to vote for. Under him we have seen democracy being played out in front of our touch phones for our learning, APC has finally become a democratic party, we are seeing Mr Stephen Mambu challenging Bio for the SLPP flag, and people have finally come to see corruption for what it is. Also, we had gotten used to presidents that performed after Pa Kabba and EBK. Sadly Bio didn’t continue their fine works and performances. Actually, he reversed those gains. Issues we thought we had resolved like electricity, water, roads, education, lawlessness and corruption have been allowed to get worse than ever before under Bio. So what is there to salvage Bio’s hopes for a re-election? Next year, the voting is between President Bio and Mama Salone This is not about a party or tribe or about my brother in power; this is about the future of Sierra Leone. Do we want progress and development or do we want more of the same old as they have happened for the past four years, going as far back as 61 years now since Independence?
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