Prior to the 2012 presidential elections in Sierra Leone, I was vehemently opposed to the candidature of Julius Maada Bio as the flag-bearer of the SLPP in Sierra leone for various reasons. And I warned the people of Sierra Leone of what they will encounter if they voted for the thief in disguise. Julius Maada Bio was part of a group of tyrants who seized power by force in a coup d’etat that saw the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Sierra Leone. They ushered in an era of brutal and barbaric governance that saw arbitrary arrests and summary execution of would-be opposition to their undemocratic practices and presided over the killing of some well renowned Sierra Leoneans whose only crime was to speak against their style of governance.

Bio and co. under the guise of the NPRC looted the country’s coffers and raped what was left of the economy after a brutal civil war with clear intent to bankrupt a nation that was already on its knees surviving only by promissory notes and at the mercy of donor governments with the IMF instituting fiscal policies that saw the country in spiraling debts because of mismanagement of the state resources.

Bio was only able to win the 2018 elections because the APC ruling party was extremely disorganized with a litany of senior party hoodlums vying for the flag-bearership of the party. If there was a unified candidate supported by all, Bio would never have come close to the Presidency because the APC was still very popular after the amazing development successes of the Ernest Bai Koroma administration that saw the country achieve double-digit economic growth and was the envy of most in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. The very credible Africanist press has widely reported allegations of inept practices in government including but not limited to the President, the First Lady, and the former Chief Minister. All being accused of mismanagement of public funds and blatant abuse of office. The daring nature of the Head of state and those around him to pilfer state funds with little or no consideration of the suffering masses is quite alarming.

Julius Maada Bio is simply unfit to govern and must be replaced in the coming elections as he has reversed all the economic gains the country has made under the dynamic leadership of President Ernest Bai Korma and has made a mockery of the constitution by constantly abusing his position as Head of state and fountain of honor and justice with the use of arbitrary powers to ensure he stays in power. and silence his critics. The disregard of the rule of law and blatant interference in the Judiciary and how parliament operates has been the hallmark of the Bio administration. Opposition politicians in the well of parliament are intimidated by unruly security personnel attached to the special security detail of the president with no respect for the democratic process. Opposition politicians are mercilessly beaten and left to die in full public view of the police who have become accomplices in the tyrannical practices of an idiotic president with no respect for the constitution.

Foreign Investment is at its minimal in a country where investors were queueing to bring business in a country with huge mineral and economic potential. Companies have packed up and left for neighboring countries where business practices are safeguarded by laws protecting investment and bribery is not an incentive to get started.

African Minerals’ Frank Timis has relocated his mining businesses from Sierra Leone after making a huge contribution to the country’s socio-economic development by virtue of corporate social responsibility with the erection of health centers and schools and even railways in the provincial parts of the country. This has left a huge drain on revenue collection regarding taxes and the employment of locals. It’s difficult to see how the country can ever recover with the cost of living so high and people can’t even afford the basic necessities of life.

Bio’s tribalism and favoritism are well documented for all to see as is evident in the appointments of heads of state agencies and their deputies. President Bio hails from the Mende tribe.

The Anti-corruption Commissioner is a Mende by tribe along with his deputy, so is the
INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE(I.G), Mende
DEPUTY (I.G), Mende
Head of operations, Mende.
Director of crime services, Mende.
Head of criminal investigation department (CID), Mende.
Deputy, Mende.
Head of paramilitary which is the (OSD), Mende.
Deputy, Mende.

2) OFFICE OF NATIONAL SECURITY (ONS)
NATIONAL SECURITY COORDINATOR (NSCORD), Mende.
DEPUTY, Mende.

3) CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE SECURITY UNIT
DIRECTOR GENERAL (DG), Mende.
DEPUTY, Mende.

4) SIERRA LEONE ARMY,
OUT OF FOUR (4) BRIGADE COMMANDERS, THREE (3) ARE MENDES AND ONE (1) IS LIMBA

5) ACC, both Commissioner & Deputy; Mende.

6) Natcom, Mende;

7) Sierratel, Mende –

8) Road Management Fund, Mende;

9) SLRA, Mende;

10) EPA, Mende;

11) SLRSA, Mende;

12) EDSA, Mende;

13) Maritime: Mende;

14) NPPA, Mende;

15) National Registration, Mende;

16) SALCAB, Mende;

17) NRA, Mende;

18) NASSIT, Mende;

19) Petroleum Directorate, Mende;

20) Petroleum Regulatory Agency, Mende;

21) Produce Marketing Board, Mende;

22) Youth Commissioner, Mende;

23) SLIEPA, Mende;

24) Ports Authority, Mende;

25) Airports Authority, Mende;

26) Civil Aviation, Mende;

27) NCP, Mende;

28) Human Rights Commission, Mende;

29) MIC, Mende; 26) Standards Bureau, Mende;

30) Pharmacy Board, Mende;

31) Guma, Mende;

32) SALWACO, Mende;

33) University Principals/Vice Chancellors, Mende;

34) Central Bank Governor, Mende;

35) Financial Secretary, Mende;

36) Principal Deputy Financial Secretary, Mende;

37) Head of the Civil Service, Mende;

38) HRMO, Mende;

39) Public Service Commission, Mende;

40) Development Secretary, Mende;

41) National Minerals Agency, Mende;

42) Chief Medical Officer, Mende;

43) Stadium Manager, Mende; Officer, Mende;

and Most commissions and the boards are occupied by Mendes,

Above list courtesy of the Debates@Forum NewspaperSl Whats App group, compiled by Comrade Koita.