By HON. SAA EMERSON LAMINA-GCOR (THE CONVENER)
Majority of Konos will agree with me that no meaningful development could have been achieved in the then state of division, disunity, deep-seated mistrust and hatred which characterized Kono in yester years. Some cynics maintain that only divine intervention could have brought peace and unity to the people of Kono. While such people were entitled to their views, I will humbly like to suggest thereof that:
1. A Peace, Reconciliation and Development Committee should be selected from among eminent descendants of Kono District in the Diaspora, Paramount Chiefs, Politicians, Intellectuals, the Religious Body, Co-opted credible and home-based Kono elders who are highly regarded should proceed and strengthen the BIANNUAL KONO CONFERENCE.
In my view, the proposed conference’s committee stands a better chance of reminding the Government to swiftly fulfill its promises to the people of Kono.
2. In the discharge of the conference’s objectives, I implore the stakeholders to ask themselves; where have we gone wrong? Paramount Chiefs, the former and current Ministers and Diplomats of Kono, Parliamentarians, and finally the wider community must also be wandering around this question.
3. Kono intellectuals should articulate and develop a development vision/agenda for the District along the following lines;
4. To consider human resource development as the most valuable asset and panacea for our district; and that education is the source of power for the advancement of Kono and a tool to sweep off ignorance and poverty, transform lives and change our society and by extension, the country at large. Education therefore should be given priority attention as the spring board of our district's socioeconomic development agenda.
To this end, we should:
A. Create an Education and Scholarship Fund that is not only limited to what is received from Koidu Limited's annual USD 40, 000 subscription in line with the company’s 2010 MLA, this should be extended to Seawright Mining Company, Meya Mining Company, Wongor Mining Company, African Rare Metals Company and would be large scale mining companies operating within the district to support and sponsor deserving and meritorious pupils, students to pursue courses in tertiary institutions in the field of Medicine, Engineering, Mining and Law etc.
A Seven-man Committee of eminent people of proven integrity and probity be appointed to manage the fund for a three year period, after which they should be replaced.
B. Strengthen the already established Polytechnics at Dorma and Simbakor in Koidu City for the training of skilled middle man power, including plumbers, electricians, motor, tractor, electric generator, refrigerator and air conditioning mechanics, painters, tillers, POP, brick-layers, welders, carpenters ( roof and furniture) which will promote self employment among our youths who have been influenced by Kush and other dangerous drugs. The situations of delinquent youths have turned into a major social and economic nemesis for our district and the country at large.
C. To accord priority attention to agriculture, food security-the production of our staple food, rice and other food crops; in this regard;
D. To develop a project document and solicit funds in favour of the two Councils in Kono to enable us acquire the requisite equipment such as ( bulldozers, excavators, tippers, dumpers to back fill and reclaim the mind-out lakes and valleys in Gbense, Tankoro, Kamaa, Sandor, Nimikor and Nimiyama Chiefdoms to make them suitable for the cultivation of rice, vegetables and other food crops.
E. To ensure the reservation of our wetlands and upland bush for the cultivation of tree crops, coffee, cacao, oil palm, ginger, cassava, colanut, hardwood for building and manufacture of furniture. It would be also of immense significance if stronger policies are adopted to preserve and protect our forest covers along side their funa and flora to mitigate the advancing climate change and global warming effects.
F. To set up a District Cooperative Society that will manage the export of the District’s cash crops to ensure that the beneficiaries get the best price as well as foreign exchange for their produces;
G. To develop a policy framework that will ensure the mitigation of some of our outdated cultural practices which are at odds with the laws of God, especially idol worship;
H. In order to maintain our feeder roads and other community social infrastructure, the Paramount Chiefs and various Chiefdom Committees should invoke bylaws to the effect that every able-bodied man between the ages of 18 to 50 should provide a day’s service in the month for community work. The District and City Councils should provide the necessary tools such as wheelbarrows, pickaxes, shovels, cutlasses, rakes, hammers, and tussles, while the Chiefdoms and well-wishers provide food for workers.
The past Leadership of former President EBK actually exposed the people of Kono to ridicule, fomented disunity among the Kono Chiefs, and used the Kono Ministers of Government and a number of other stakeholders as instruments to undermine and destabilize former Vice President Sam-Sumana. The past administration of EBK also created 41 new Chiefdoms in the North, two new Districts also in the North and one new Province in the North-Western Province, with Port Loko as its Headquarters.
Politically, former President Ernest Bai Koroma divided the tiny State of Sierra Leone with a population of about seven million then into two geographical and political divides namely, the South-East as the stronghold of the ruling (SLPP) and the North Province excluding Falaba and the Newly created North-Western Province are the strongholds of the main Opposition ( APC).
In exercising their franchise, the vast majority of the electorates in Sierra Leone were influenced by the tribes of the candidates, regardless of whether the Party the candidates represent is the preferred choice in the region.
In the light of the party political divisions along regional lines, what should be the stance of the people of Kono District in the Present political set-up?
In my view, we should be guided by our recent experiences when we threw in our lot with the SLPP, the ruling party from 1996 to 2007 and the APC government from 2007 to 2018.
Since the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1991, the people of Kono supported the late President Kabbah and the SLPP from 1996 to 2007. We did not get much by way of development as a reward for our support; yet there was peace and quietness among Kono stakeholders save the relics of the war on the District.
From 2007 to 2018, we supported President Koroma and the APC. Whether we benefited from that support or otherwise is an open question to us all. But I can authoritatively state that the 18 kilometer City road and 4 megawatts electricity plant brought by the past administration are still being paid for by the current government.
To my fellow Kono compatriots therefore, I want it to be known that the prevailing divisions and disharmony amongst us is inspired by external forces and the questionable dismissal of Chief Sam Sumana, a Kono man as Vice President, who was just a step to the throne is in my mind a wake up call to the people of Kono to re-examine their future political stance with the SLPP; a party that will always respect us, moreso with the correction of the huge historical injustice by bringing a university to our district after the initiation of western education in Kono since 1910 at Jaiama and the zest to construct the Koidu-Guinea highway via Fiama, Soa, Gbane-kandor and Mafindor.
What must I say about the rekindling of the West African Power Pool which President Kabbah initiated in 1999 and arched by President Julius Madam Bio in 2021; come thou and see the Maternal Center of Excellence undertaken by PIH in partnership with the current Government, the Phenomenal Free Quality Education that is still ongoing for all irrespective of your region, tribe or political party.
Going forward, the biannual resolutions of subsequent Kono Conferences should be subjects for prior negotiations and agreed considerations in terms of rapid development of our District as well as high profile appointments of our people in government, parastatals, and diplomatic missions.
Giving the limited time we have at hand, I will like to further recommend that we establish a functional Kono Conference Secretariat before long.
Comments