PONDER MY THOUGHTS BY Andrew Keili SIERRA LEONE’S NEW PUBLIC DEFENDERS If you think you’ve been unfairly treated by a government department, organisation or public body, it is important to contact the appropriate body to deal with your problem. The Ombudsman is the ‘last resort’, normally only investigating cases when the complainant has already exhausted the formal complaints procedure of the organisation concerned. The Ombudsman’s mandate in Sierra Leone extends to any department or ministry of government, any statutory corporation or institutions of higher learning or education set up entirely or partly out of public funds. It extends to actions taken or omitted to be taken in exercise of administrative functions. In addition, there are sector regulators like NATCOM. Try as they may, such offices either have too narrow a remit or are poorly resourced to carry out their functions. To compound the problem, our governance systems may not respond well to their many concerns-the slow pace of our judicial system, poor service delivery from public utilities etc. Two people who have tapped into this void are Dr. David Tam Baryoh and Mohamed Bangura. Love them or hate them, they have unwittingly become our modern day public defenders. In his weekly Monologue programme which not only goes nationwide but is international, he moves from topic to topic, allowing people to complain about anything under the sun. The aggrieved know that going to Monologue will make their voices heard. From poor Mano River Union employees who have not been paid benefits, to foreign businessmen who have been duped, to illegal adoption of children, to poor infrastructure services, to illegal installation of solar lights at the residences of local officials, the ills perpetrated are laid bare. True to form he often leaves you in no doubt who is the ” bad guy”. Critics sometimes say this is nothing short of a “kangaroo court”, but he does argue that he gives the accused the right of reply. Tam Baryoh’s greatest success perhaps is with political parties. They admonish their membership about not washing their dirty linens in public, but whenever there is some vehement disagreement, off they go to Monologue to bare their souls. People are admonished at party meetings to avoid Monologue like a plague but when pushed to the corner, they go to Justice Baryoh’s court. The way he simplifies messages and ignites the consciousness of the man in Pidegumahum, the woman in Kurobola as well as the man in Freetown is second to none. Even President Koroma had to do his Monologue stint before the last election. Mohamed Bangura the leader of the UDM is another “latter day public defender”. Notwithstanding his own internal problems in his party and the accusation of being too close to President Koroma, he has of late become the new defender of the down trodden and is often the only opposition party leader that gives an alternative perspective to national issues. His recent defense of students involved in a WASCE fees saga, his hiring of lawyers for the disabled who were incarcerated, his criticism of the privatisation process, even bolder criticism of the Abacha street traders and radical views on the constitutional process would give the impression that he was a “man of the people”. It is not uncommon for dissatisfied groups to trot to him to defend their rights, like a knight in shining armour. This new trend is not surprising. Some aspects of good governance may indeed be under threat. The OGI which was set up by President to bring the government closer to the people and work closely with civil society organisations across the country may not be functioning well. Also generally, mechanisms that enhance participatory democracy may need to be strengthened-th ese include administrative, local governance and judicial reforms. Laws, institutions, processes and practices to better manage the country’s political, economic, social and administrative affairs, as well as protect and promote fundamental rights and freedoms need to be improved upon. Institutions must be built-in the state, politics, and civil society-that can channel citizen participation in constructive ways and deliver minimally decent, accountable, effective governance. There are many instances which would require intervention to protect people. Consider the following: Who do you complain to if you have consistently poor electricity supply and the supply damages your equipment? Who do you complain to if you haven’t had water for months or you have some complaint against the Guma Valley Water company? What about complaints against the health service or your Local council or the Paramount Chief? What about the Police?-The Independent Police Complaint Board that has been mooted has still not been set up. What if you have some complaint against your Bank or against Nassit? How well is the consumer protection Council working? There is obviously some realization that these issues need to be addressed. Hence the recent allusion to forming an Independent Police complaints Board and plans for a regulatory agency for water and power. The Bank of Sierra Leone has recently been talking about a Financial Ombudsman. The Human Rights commission has been handling a lot of human rights cases but in some instances their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. It is obvious that there needs to be the political will to set up these agencies and for them and existing agencies to work well. Until this is done our new public defenders will reign supreme and mete out judgment according to their whims. I listened to an interview with the Ombudsman earlier today in which he complained about his Office being under resourced and the poor conditions of service of its workers. Insufficient budgetary allocation has meant that sub Offices only exist in Provincial headquarter towns and complaints boxes in District Headquarter towns could not be adequately manned. This is clearly an untenable situation for such an important Government Office that has scored some notable successes in resolving several thorny issues. Even a well resourced Ombudsman’s Office would need its work to be complemented by a lot of other agencies and organisations. In some countries like Britain, you may have a financial ombudsman, pensions ombudsman, legal ombudsman, property ombudsman, energy ombudsman, housing ombudsman, prisoner ombudsman, parliamentary and health service ombudsman-the list is endless. The objective is to keep everyone in check and protect the public. Communities should also make efforts to know their constitutional rights, as this would ensure that government is responsive to the needs of the people, acts with integrity and is accountable to its people. Communities should use constitutionall y- provided mechanisms to lodge their grievances but these mechanisms must be well set up and made to work. Until these problems are addressed, we will have people serving as lawyer, judge, jury and executioner. We heartily welcome our new Justices-Baryoh and Bangura. WARAGBAY STOPS FOOTBALL MATCH I was captivated by a story in Salone Times recently titled “As “Waragbay” Interrupts COFA League … Match To Be Held Behind Closed Doors”. Let me however digress and relate my own experience of using unfair means, often bordering on the mystic to influence football scores. My experience as a CKC Boy (father forgive us for we knew not what we were doing!) was with what was done to stop the dreaded enemy-Bo School of course (no prizes for guessing!). We now know that going to the “Murray man” does not work. Our team tried his concoction of lime and something else and had the concoction rubbed on the legs of our players who made their entrance into Coronation field over the fence rather than through the main gate only to have our mortal enemies put a few past our goalkeeper before half time. I have seen dogs stoned to death at football matches after suspicion sets in that the poor stray dog must have been sent by the “Murray man” working for the opposite side. One poor man wearing a gown (Bobani) and stretching his hands upwards just before a goal was scored was “rigidly interrogated”. He left the field without the Bobani and with feet not touching the ground. Now back to the Waragbay saga. According to the story “The quarter- final match between Mountain City and Congo Farm came to an abrupt end after an equalizing goal scored by Mountain City mid way into the second half. The city Boys were 1-0 down when they scored the long awaited equalizing goal through a free kick. During the jubilation by the City fans Cole Farm midfielder Sahr Gegema fell on the ground shouting that someone had thrown “waragbay” (a local charm that causes intense scratching) on him. Cole farm fans...rushed to the pitch to rescue their player but ended up clashing with the City fans. The situation brought an abrupt end of the game as the security failed to take the fans out of the pitch” Mountain City Officials complained and obviously the game was terminated. Oh how I wish we had known about Waragbay during our school days!---still pondering the number of ways we could have used this against the old enemy. In case you are wondering what happens next the story end like this-“the organizing committee of the Central One Football Association (COFA) ..have decided that the match should continue behind closed doors.” Not a bad decision under the circumstances but two quick questions. What is the chemical composition of Waragbay? Also, how do you play a match behind closed doors in an open field with no walls? Ponder my thoughts.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:54:27 +0000
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