By Sorie Fofana.
Since my arrival in the United Kingdom on Saturday, 26th March, 2022, I have been meeting and talking to hard-pressed families and friends who continue to bemoan the soaring cost-of-living in this country.
Some families told me that they now prefer to eat than to heat and light their homes because of the high energy prices. This is the highest fall in living standards in the United Kingdom since the 1950s.
Struggling families are now being encouraged to reduce their energy use or put up with the unavoidable high cost of energy usage especially at home.
Back Home
Before I left Freetown last week, the long queues for petrol and diesel were slowly beginning to disappear. Electricity supply in Freetown was being rationed by EDSA. All of these problems can be attributed to external factors especially the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. We are not in this situation alone. Even some major economies continue to suffer from the ripple effects of the Russian/Ukraine war.
The government of President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has been doing everything possible to mitigate the effects of the hardship caused by these external factors. Direct cash transfers have been made to vulnerable families living in rural and even urban communities. The Government continues to forgo the collection of some taxes from Oil Marketing Companies just to keep the price of petroleum products under control. This is done in the best interests of struggling families, just to assist them to cope.
Even here in the United Kingdom, the pump prices for petroleum products have gone up and they are expected to go up even before the end of this year.
A friend of mine who visited me last night complained of how he spent about ยฃ30.70 to purchase 18 litres of petrol for his private car which he hardly uses these days. Few months ago, he recalled, he spent the same amount of money to buy at least 50 litres of petrol.
Ponder My Thoughts
I have great admiration for Andrew Keili especially in the way he handles issues that bother on the welfare of people. I read his latest opinion piece on “Hardship: Government Should Not Be Ashamed Of Its Bathing Bucket”. I find it both interesting and very helpful. This is part of what Andrew said in that piece, “This is a sage advice that needs to be pondered very seriously by government. Pretending as if all is well and relying on untutored minds to blame everything under the sun on the global situation alone will not help the situation. Stating the true facts and making all efforts to address issues that are under its control will go a long way to address the situation. The public may not like bad news but levelling with them and be seen to Put Salone First will help. It is disappointing that we have hardly heard from the official organs of government during this crisis”.
Going Back To The Drawing Board
When the SLPP was in opposition for eleven years (2007 to 2018), their propaganda machinery was well managed and well coordinated. Now that the party has come to power, lethargy and complacency have set in. Those people who used to handle the party’s public relations in opposition, have been pushed aside in favor of some shameless sycophants who did not even believe in Maada Bio’s leadership and chances of becoming President in 2018.
The disheartening lack of confidence in people who handled the party’s public and media relations in opposition is what is really hurting some of us. It is still not too late. Let us go back to the drawing board and bring back the winning team.
High Praise For President Bio
President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has risen to the occasion in managing the affairs of the state. Along the way, some mistakes have been made. But it is still not too late to correct some of those mistakes. As we approach crucial elections in June 2023, President Bio should fight very hard to put his house (the SLPP) in order, by bringing every party member and supporter under the roof of one broad church.
As Leader of the party, this is the perfect opportunity for President Bio to continue to make the SLPP electable by taking some tough decisions. After all, politics is about taking tough decisions. Not dodging them.
The soaring cost-of-living crisis is a global phenomenon that requires national strategies to tackle. President Bio is putting in place the right measures to help suffering families hard-pressed by this global crisis to continue to live their normal lifestyle.
Let us not blame the President for the high cost-of-living crisis. It is a global issue.
Thank you so very much!!!!
