The Nationalist: What are the dynamics that could decide the election in June 2023?
Answer: Many thanks for the privilege of this interview. I’m delighted that the All People’s Congress (APC) has now elected its leaders, including the Flagbearer, Dr Samura Kamara. Three fundamental dynamics will decide the election and see an APC victory.
The management of the APC outreach programme…i.e. the door-to-door campaign and voter education must include making every voter feel important and see the importance of making the sacrifice to go and vote on election day.
The second fundamental thing is the message/messages of the party. It should be a message of hope that change is coming, that it is not going to be the same, that Dr Samura Kamara, not so much the APC, but Dr Samura Kamara, understands and knows the needs of the public. Let’s face it; the SLPP [Sierra Leone People’s Party] had a message in 2018…”Paopa Salone for better,” and “Free Education.” Both messages haven’t materialized. But voters in 2018 embraced their messages. This is what Dr Samura Kamara and his team have to construct—persuading voters to vote for the APC. The APC leadership and its membership must know that the road to the State House is long (yes, it is long), expensive, and exhausting. Becoming the Flagbearer is the beginning of the process. Dr Samura Kamara and the APC must persuade voters that they deserve their votes. Persuading voters is the lifeblood of any successful political campaign. The right message, the vehicle to carry the message, and the driver or drivers of these vehicles are fundamental for a successful winnable election.
I hear people talking about the International Community; the International Community will not take Dr Samura Kamara to the State House. In 2018, the dynamic was different, a large section of local voters and the Diaspora claimed that the EBK ten years rule had failed Sierra Leone, and they overwhelmingly called for a change. The International Community played a significant role in getting Maada Bio to State House because President Koroma played ball…today Maada Bio is not playing ball with the International Community- which is also a fundamental deciding factor. It is very troubling because Maada Bio’s government will not work with the International Community to have a free and fair election in June 2023. So, the APC and Dr Samura Kamara MUST persuade voters to come out and vote on 23 June. The ONLY way to defeat the Paopa is with a significant voting number. Otherwise, I envisage political chaos.
The Nationalist: How can Dr Samura Kamara fix the economy of Sierra Leone?
Answer: I cannot speak for Dr Samura Kamara, but I know that pragmatism always works. Secondly, the Singapore method, which Rwanda has been following, is the best. Sierra Leone needs good men to have a good government. However good the system of government, bad leaders will bring harm to their people, which is what we are witnessing in Sierra Leone today—state capture. The single decisive factor that made Singapore’s development was the ability of its ministers and the high quality of the civil servants who supported them.
A Samura Kamara-government needs to look at social housing and a better salary structure for civil servants and other public workers like nurses, teachers, police, the military, the fire force, etc. Workable policies to encourage and develop the small business sector. Agricultural policies that encourage industrialized farming and giving tractors to local farmers are never the answer. The farmers will buy their own tractors to provide the facilities to promote agriculture. Revisit our fishing policies…. relocate certain institutions to other parts of the country…. What all of this means is that the existing system has failed. So, Sierra Leone needs a different set of mindsets. Trying to fix the country within the existing structures will never produce results. Dr Samura Kamara should have a team that will be pragmatic. To look at our situation and develop policies and ideas that will produce the maximum happiness and, contentment, well-being for the maximum number of people.
The Nationalist: What is your message to those who are still criticizing and questioning the sincerity of Ernest Koroma and few others?
Answer: To many Sierra Leoneans, in the last 20 years, politics has been a means to an end. Many who have left, including the likes of Alpha Kanu, many others whom Ernest Koroma brought into the APC, and many others serving the party or are members of the party, do not even know the ideology of the APC. I do not blame them; it is what it is…but one thing, you get into politics to gain power, to serve and make a difference in people’s lives. You do not get into politics to get joy in preventing the party you claim to belong to from winning the election. When you contest for a political position, you are taking a risk, but more crucially, because you want to belong to a particular group of people with a common agenda…. gain power, and work for your voters. But if when you contested, and you lost, and you start condemning the process to the point that you wish harm to the political party, then you are not a genuine party person.