By Abdulai Kargbo
Member of the Ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party, Hon. Fatmata Sarah Soukenak, decried the silence of President Julius Maada Bio over ‘Kush’ Malaise in the country. She confirmed to galaxy of journalists that just a single policy statement from President HE Julius Maada Bio could put an end to the ‘kush’ killing youth.
She made this statement when the sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone summoned the Inspector General of Police, the Deputy General Manager of the Port Authority, yankuba Bio, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sertie kanneh , the National Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Chief Medical Officer to discuss the security implications of ‘kush’ and how the youths can be saved from the dangers of ‘Kush’
This sub-committee was chaired by the Deputy Leader of Government Business Hon. Bashiru Silikie, who was the mover of the motion in the well on Tuesday, 12th March 2024, for such stakeholders' engagement to address the issue of ‘Kush’
In his statement, the Deputy Leader of Government Business, Hon. Silikie, stated that the meeting was crucial in terms of deciding the future of the young generation. He urged all parties to make sincere submissions regarding the issue at hand, stating that the outcome of the meeting would warrant the declaration of a Public Health Emergency from the president. He furthered that the head of the port is expected to give a run-down of their security mechanism because most of these drugs are transited through the port.
But the position of the executive director of the port, Mr. Yankuba Bio, was that they are there to provide the enabling environment for all players to perform their legal duties, including that of the NRA and the police. This statement implicated the national revenue authority as a question was posed to the Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority, Madam Jeneba Parker Bangura, by the chief whip of the government in parliament, Hon Dixon Rogers, about how the NRA collects taxes in all their routes in the country.
The Commissioner General madam Bangura clearly stated that they are trying their best to collect tax and also to expose contraband goods. She said the NRA lacks the capacity to do a hundred percent check adding that, they only rely on intelligence to trace illegal goods or drugs in those routes.
A response from the Inspector General of the Police, William Faya Selu, was that the police are working tirelessly going after importers. He added that their efforts are being frustrated by the judiciary. Stating that on several occasions, whenever they arrest a drug importer and have them charged, the judiciary grants them bail and allows not only the effort of the police to go in vain but also allows these criminals to continue with their disastrous actions in the country. With this statement, Honorable Dixon Rogers suggested that the presence of the judiciary is needed in this conversation as the allegations against them are huge. Despite the challenges faced by the police, IGP William Faya Sellu explained several gains they have made so far both in the quay and at the airport, including the recent confiscation and burning of over one hundred and two cartoons of tramadol. He said the police had also destroyed several quantum of marshmallows at the port.
Speaking on the impact of this on the young people, the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sertie Kanneh, stated that they had been collecting data on the ‘kush’ menace since 2019, and it is a fact that the amount of mental health cases at their psychiatric home is on a steady increase. He added that in 2023 about two thousand nine hundred and fifty-five cases of mental illness were recorded, and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five were as a result of ‘kush’ all between the ages of 10 to 35 years.
According to the chief whip of the main opposition Honorable Abdul Karim Kamara, the most important institution who is at the center of this fight is being made dormant with only about 12 staff and no vehicle to carry them around to dispense their responsibilities. He continued that with a budgetary allocation of only one million annually further collapsed the fight against ‘Kush.’
The Head of the NDLA Andrew jaiah kaikai clearly stated that the government should capacitate his institution and if he fails to deliver, let him be stacked.
Hon. Osman Tombo from the APC stated that with all these moves from the public, members should also know that marshmallow is a fruit just like others, and the government is yet to tag it as illegal and that it is impossible for the police to go after a legal substance. He furthered that even the police officer are into this ‘kush’. According to him, with this act of the police, it would be very difficult for the nation to have a better result in the fight against ‘kush.’
With all these comments for stakeholders and Members of Parliament, the chairman, Hon. Silikie, thought that more consultations should be done before the relevant recommendations should be made at the well.
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