Title: Whose country is it anyway?
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Blog Entry: [color="green"] Whose country is it anyway? [/color] By Jacob Conteh [profile]jconteh[/profile] On January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made this famous statement during his inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, “So, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” As Sierra Leone struggles to make a transition from a donor economy to a market driven economy, that is a question all of us Sierra Leoneans should ponder: What can we do for Sierra Leone? If Freetown is full of rubbish, then what are we going to do about it? If we are tired of corruption, then what are we going to do about it? While many of us hide behind computer monitors to lash on the government and people of Sierra Leone, the time has come for us to do something about the situation in the country. The trend in many African countries including Sierra Leone is for people to sit down and wait for the government to provide everything. In Sierra Leone, people build expensive luxurious houses without providing access roads to those houses because the “government” is supposed to provide those services. The same people become very angry if they were asked to pay a tax to provide decent roads. The notion that our country is sitting of piles of money for everyone to take is a false one. If Sierra Leone is to prosper, we all have to find ways to help it prosper. None of the present political parties can deliver on their promises if they do not get help from we the people. During the colonial period, civil servants were expected to steal from the coffers of the government which was controlled by our colonial masters. Since the colonial masters took our valuable resources to develop their country, stealing from them was acceptable. Today, when someone steals from the government, they are stealing from us, the people. When we fail to pay our local or income taxes, we are stealing from us, the people. This is something many people do not think about, and it is time we face the fact. Sierra Leone will continue to be poor until we become honest hardworking patriotic people who are willing to contribute our knowledge and expertise. As we face the local and general elections in the coming years, we have to work hard to elect leaders who are willing to empower the people from Sulima to Falaba and from Freetown to Daru. The time has come for all us to use all the talents we have to help our country. We have to empower our traditional chiefs, tribal headmen, village headmen, traditional healers, dancers, musicians, farmers, miners, traders, students, and people from all walks of life so they too can contribute to the developing of Sierra Leone. We should get out of the practice of sidelining the majority of Sierra Leoneans when it comes to making decisions to rule the country. So my fellow countrymen and women, ask not what Sierra Leone can do for you, ask what you can do for Sierra Leone. If you are a teacher, teach to the best of your ability. If you are a nurse at Cottage, do not heap abuses on pregnant women who go there to deliver babies. Embrace and comfort them as you do your job. If you work at the port, do not break onto people’s containers to steal. If you are a pastor or imam, do not only preach, but live by example. If you are a politician, do not make promises you know you cannot keep. We can only transform Sierra Leone when we are ready to give it all our best.
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