The no-nonsense Minister of Internal Affairs David Panda Noah has made it abundantly clear that it’s not going to be business as usual in all departments under his ministry’s supervision including the Sierra Leone Correctional Service, National Fire Force, the Sierra Leone Police, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) and the Coroner’s office.
The new minister is reported to have said that he is not in the ministry to witch-hunt any worker but will frown at anyone who attempts to work in personal interest rather than the country. My ultimate goal here is for us all to work hard as a formidable team so that together we can succeed and all of us will take the credit.
“I will not accept or tolerate any thing that works against the interest of the ministry and the country in general,” the minister insists, adding that the progress of Sierra Leone is not for a particular tribe, region, religion or political party but for all Sierra Leoneans. It is against this backdrop Mr. Noah has encouraged all the workers to work very hard with clear minds for the betterment of the nation.
Gov’t Officials In Trouble
Once the long awaited regulations for the fight against covid-19 including but not limited to the mandatory wearing of face mask in public places are now in force, many believe government officials are going to be in a serious trouble for its imminent violation either because they feel they are not used to wearing it or for other obvious reasons.
The regulations among other things come with fines in violation ranging from Le20,000 to Le500,000. The regulation emphasized that, “All government officials found to be in violation of these regulations in public buildings shall pay a fine of Le500,000 or be suspended from duty.”
These stringent measures followed President Maada Bio’s decision to relax some initial measures including removal of inter-district lockdown, adjustment of night curfew from 9pm to 6am to 11pm to 6am and the lifting of ban on weekly market days (lumas) in the provinces etc.
The mandatory use of face masks by the public has been described by concerned citizens as a litmus test for the government, given that many of Sierra Leoneans are just too stubborn and lawless who always like to test government decisions and therefore now waiting to see if indeed this particular measure will hold.