October 12, 2016 By Joseph S. Margai
Aspirant for the position of Publicity Secretary in the National Executive of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Imran Silla, has allayed the fears of Sierra Leoneans that the party is not as divided as perceived, but rather united to once again save the country from maladministration.
He made this statement in an interview with Concord Times on Monday. He asserted that since the SLPP has been in existence for over 65 years, it shows that the party has resilience to overcome various challenges it is confronted with.
“We are even prepared to face the challenges that will come our way in the future. I have no doubt that members of SLPP will brace up themselves to come to power in 2018. There is no disaster in the party and people are assured that unity is our utmost desire and this will lead us to State House,” said Mr. Sillah.
Having hailed from a renowned political family that has always been steadfast to the SLPP philosophy, the young and amiable politician is no stranger to internal politics within the opposition party.
When quizzed why he thought he is the fittest to vie for such position, he said his first attempt to work as a Publicity Secretary was in 2012 after he failed to secure a symbol to run as Member of Parliament in Constituency 107, west of Freetown.
However, as true blooded SLPP, he has remained loyal to the party, evening helping propagate its core values and principles among an electorate that feels disappointed over the way and manner the country is being run. As a member of the Public Relations and Media team of SLPP, he said: “During the census, I was moving around with the current Acting Publicity Secretary – Lahai Lawrence Leema – in order to state SLPP’s position to the people of Bo and Kenema. I strongly believe that I will be able to add value to the PR wing of the party because it’s one of the areas that we need to focus on in order to regain the confidence of the people.”
He vowed to rebrand and rebuild the image of the SLPP as a favourably choice and adequate alternative to the current ruling party in the 2018 elections.
He noted that what is missing in the PR wing of the party is neutrality, even though he could not blame those that are currently working in that wing, adding that if you have a PR wing with the responsibility of rebranding the party, you would not want it to be consumed with the challenges that the party faces internally. He thus promised not to dwell on the internal struggles of the party as the focus should be the bigger picture, which is to get the party to State House come 2018, adding that as an opposition it is their responsibility to speak for the so many disadvantaged people in the country.
“Our voices should be heard in the area of the economy, roads construction, education, health and many areas that we know that the current government has failed. If you have someone that is focused on the disaster that the APC government has caused in Sierra Leone, invariably you will inspire and bring the central folks again to rethink and kick them out come 2018,” he said.
However, he refused claims that the SLPP was not addressing current social and economic issues in the country very well, so as to put the government on its toes, adding that they have been reacting and speaking on behalf of the voiceless at all times but that the criticism could be that they probably have not been doing it sufficiently.
“If I have the opportunity to be a Publicity Secretary of the party my focus will be on the ills of the APC. The current austerity measures and the implications on the ordinary Sierra Leonean, exchange rate of the dollar is just increasing and if the government finally decides to remove the fuel subsidy, it means pump price of fuel will automatically increase,” he said, adding that all of these will affect the common man and not those that have APC party cards.
Imran Silla said he would not be part of the internal struggle within the party by being on the side of a particular aspirant for the position of standard bearer of the party, but instead will be rebuilding the confidence of the public and let them know the bad things that APC has done to our economy.