Sierra Leone – our democracy, our only power – make it work

Moses Moore Conteh Jr

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 10 October 2017

I appreciate the efforts of all those who in their truest meaningful ways, turn out to register and vote every election year in Sierra Leone. The fundamental question is, what good do we realise from the decisions we make?

Do we get better or bitter after the polling rituals? Better, if we prosper as a people and nation; bitter if we continue to cry for even the basic things.

Power lies in our ballots

Democracy as the flourishing voice of the majority is but a costly enterprise.  Costly, because the decisions of the majority may mean BOOM or DOOM.

Boom, if the voices are reasoned and made against the back-cloth of sound judgement; doom, if the voices are tinted with sentiments and stained by sectionalism.

Nations have enjoyed blessings and curses, good times and bad times; poverty and deprivation, diseases and suffering as a result of the choices their electorate made.

A democracy that is not informed or reasoned is unprogressive, battered, accursed and hence no good for our humanity.

It is demoCRAZY: Crazy because we allow our emotions, not our wits to get the best of us.  Crazy because we allow interest of self over national concern.

Crazy because we helplessly fall for cheap incentives and not the expensive and enduring services we deserve.

Our choice of leadership should be made in full awareness of the nation we want to see, and who or which political arrangement can truly make our dreams and aspirations come true: the dream of a prosperous nation, the dream of getting a workable social security and insurance scheme, the dream of a robust health system, the dream of having uninterrupted electricity, the dream of having clean and safe drinking water,  the dream of seeing our graduates gainfully employed,  the dream of having a buoyant economy; the dream of having a contemporary education that answers the questions of the time.

We the people of this great country Sierra Leone, owe our nation a sacred duty – a duty to see that our decisions on elections day – 7th of March 2017, usher honest servants and not looters.; a duty to see that we continuously hold our leaders to account, when they seem to be going overboard.

We the people have an omnipotent power to change the destiny of our great nation – that power lies in our decisions on polling day.

A decision that queries the track records and personalities of aspiring candidates will do justice to our fledgling democracy.  Let’s think Sierra Leone.

About the author

Moses Moore Conteh Jr is the National President and Coordinator of the Sierra Leone Debating Council. He possesses a BA Hons in English Language and Literature.

2 Comments

  1. I do believe as elections are coming in, people will not mistakenly vote for the wrong person, who makes everything impossible for all Sierra Leoneans – not only lining their pockets. Please study the ins and outs of all the electoral campaigns and see which party is next to the truth before voting.

  2. Until Sierra Leone elects a government which sincerely practises:-
    1. …transparent accountability across all sources of its incomes, goods and services; with, all costs centres of its expenditures;
    2. …respects audit functioning as administrative and management tolls for optimisations;
    3. …cease lubrications of illicit outflows from Sierra Leone of untaxed, unearned, financial loots from public sector treasuries;
    4. …compliance with our laws, rules, and regulations by our political classes, Sierra Leone will not progress at the rate that it should.

    Look at Singapore today – it was granted independence within the same decade as Sierra Leone!

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