By Edward Marah
Moyamba is a great district with great people with great ideas. It’s headquarter Town Moyamba is home to the great Hartford Secondary for Girls, one of the elite Secondary schools in Sierra Leone.
The district has produced distinguished sons and daughters such as Sir Milton Margai the first Prime Minister, Sir Albert Margai, the second Prime minister, Dr Siaka Stevens the first executive president, Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama, the first female member of Parliament and educationists.
Moyamba district was one of the districts that was at the forefront of agitating for Sierra Leone’s independence from its colonial masters the British and above all the African struggle for Independence hereby positioning Sierra Leone as a pride for freedom of the African continent.
Today, such glorious achievements made by these distinguished sons and daughters seem to be thrown into the dustbin by some selfish, greedy, egoistic politicians in the district whose primary goal is to enrich themselves while leaving the electorate in the wilderness and abject poverty
The district despite its huge agricultural potential and minerals remained to be listed among the poorest districts in Sierra Leone.
Visiting Moyamba over the weekend one can sense and feel poverty on the faces of the ordinary people especially those who are not connected to the political leadership or to families that are economically better off.
Massive youth unemployment is at an alarming rate with no hope for the future while the majority of the women depend on subsistence farming for survival.
What has made the situation worse for the district is the fact that the political leadership whose primary responsibility is to coordinate development efforts and champion the development aspirations and needs of their people are deeply divided as a result of the 2023 elections, the award of symbols for positions of Councillors, District Chairman, Members of Parliament and party executive positions of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party, a party that remains to have dominated the political landscape of the district since independence.
The Informant Media can authoritatively confirm that a good number of senior members of the party are still in pain and have not recovered from the political injustices melted on them by the leadership of both the district executive as well as the National Executive of the SLPP party.
They felt that the party they suffered for had been hijacked by a group of opportunists who have no institutional knowledge of the party and don’t mean well for the party and the district.
The district council is also under the spotlight for running an incompetent administration and is failing to be transparent and accountable to the electorate sighting example of the council’s inability to manage the Moyamba mini stadium which was once the pride of the district, but now in a dilapidated state with grass and snakes taking over the field.
A senior SLPP member intimated The Informant Media, that if the party failed to address the current political division among stakeholders in the district it would not only affect the development but would also undermine the peace and security of the district.
He suggested that an independent body with highly respected individuals with integrity be established to serve as the district development coordinating Committee and moral grantors that will look into the development challenge the district is faced with for the benefit of its people.
The time is now for the elders of the district to rise up and take ownership of their responsibility of uniting a district that was once a pride of Sierra Leone.