By Amin Kef (Ranger)
Mohamed Gento Kamara is now seen by many as the God sent personality who has come to liberate Freetonians from the deplorable condition in which the metropolis has been plunged with the vast majority of residents not adequately accessing basic necessities that would enhance high standards of living and improve qualities of life as should be the case in any advanced city.
Well known for his simplicity and sincerity in translating promises into reality many have now come to consider Gento, as he is popularly called, as a beacon of hope whom should be trusted for his innate ability to mobilize resources and people in order to ensure that tangible and sustainable projects positively and meaningfully impact lives and communities.
Gento is here not to compete but to better the livelihood of Freetonians with indelible developmental strides that will somehow be devoid of the petty squabbles that have held the Council back from efficiently translating policies into workable realities that should be benefitting many.
For those who are now comparing him to the APC Money Jagaban, said to be filthy rich, Gento did not throw his hat to the ring because he wants to display wealth but rather out of the passion to uplift many from the abyss of poverty and lack of facilities that would make life worth living.
It is against such a backdrop that many are now poised to not only profusely campaign for him, when it is campaign time, but to also cast their votes en masse in order for him to emerge as the next Mayor of the Freetown City Council come June, 24, 2023.
When cognizance is taken of the fact that the vast majority of residents of Freetown are finding it difficult to easily access clean drinking water, to live in improved sanitary conditions , to find suitable markets for trade purposes amidst the squalor that destitute live which constitutes an eye sore vis-à-vis the growing number of disable beggars, environmental degradation that leads to sporadic disasters to the high rate of petty robbers and other social delinquents seen openly abusing drugs and alcohol to high cost of house rents, it is seen that there is much in terms of surmounting, those life threatening challenges that are militating against having a befitting city, to be undertaken or done in order to bring Freetown to the status befitting a capital city.
If there is one institution in this country that has failed woefully with regards fulfilling its mandate then it is the Freetown City Council (FCC). When thought is given to the fact that in terms of revenue generation the Freetown City Council is better placed in mobilizing such in the forms of market dues , property rates and even city rates but lamentably little is being shown when it comes to development. As a matter of fact the issue of payment of taxes by residents in Freetown only became an issue when they stoutly refused to pay taxes simply because there is nothing developmental to show that will serve as a motivation to continue to honour such a statutory obligation.
The bottom line is that as a result of poor leadership laced with political tailored biases , the Freetown City Council became a battlefield where the Mayor and Chief Administrator were not seeing eye to eye at the peril of development sometimes evident in mounting piles of garbage on streets or in public places simply because administratively things were at standstill going to the extent of delay in paying the garbage collectors or certain municipal schools not getting the required support that they deserve.
Freetonians are ready to vote him overwhelmingly. His track record is topnotch and his zest to change Freetown from the deplorable state which has been in the hands of bad leadership for decades is high.
Residents of Freetown are loudly voicing it out loudly that they are sick and tired of bad leadership at the helm of affairs at the Council. They have rejected outright the obsolete belief that it is only a person of the Krio pedigree that should be a Mayor of FCC maintaining that such is tantamount to discrimination. There is no constitutional provision that it must be the preserve of the Krios as Freetown has become more cosmopolitan and is considered to be the melting pot of all tribes in the country. It therefore means that if democracy should have a foothold then all should be allowed unfettered access to the franchise.
Freetown also considered to once be a stronghold for the APC Party has gone through transformation as the leadership of Freetown is no longer dependent on party politics but an individual who is charged with the zest to develop Freetown with no flimsy excuses.
Chief Mohamed Gento Kamara is the only way out and Freetonians should make no mistake in electing him as the next Mayor of Freetown 2023. For now the writing is now clearly on the wall that Gento is the man of the moment and many have confidence in him as the next seating Mayor that will transform the city of Freetown in order to make it one of the improved cities in the West African sub-region.
