Rice is an essential commodity in Sierra Leone. In fact rice is the country’s most staple food as every household in Sierra Leone, irrespective of social background or bureaucracy eats rice maybe once or twice per day and every day in a week, month and throughout the year. Rice is believed by Sierra Leoneans as a heavy staple diet that stays longer in one’s stomach after eating a plate or two.

Sierra Leoneans love eating rice more than the locally produce foods like cassava, gari, potatoes, yams et al.

Despite rice is sown and harvested locally, yet still government spends huge chunk of taxpayers’ money to import rice for self- sufficiency because the rice harvested in country cannot feed a quantum of the society. This has been the norm of successive governments by importing the staple food that the citizens cannot get along with and as part of the tremendous effort of government in making sure that no Sierra Leonean go to bed with an empty stomach and to ensure that food is always on the table of every household in Sierra Leone.

There is a popular adage which states that “an empty bag cannot stand,” meaning someone who is hungry cannot be able to work properly. Knowing full well how to capture the minds and attention of school children to attend school on a daily basis from Monday to Friday, the president Dr. Julius Maada Bio during the launch of his flagship campaign project dubbed as Free and quality school education (FQSE) announced that there will be free school feeding programme for pupils attending government and government assisted schools in a bid to lure more children to school. The announcement by the first gentleman was welcome news that made many vulnerable and less privilege parents and guardians let their children to school because they know that their children are fed and taught in school free.

The school feeding is to encourage every child in every household to hurry up to school because they know that a sumptuous meal is prepared in school for them. This has been the dream, vision and mission of president Bio to take care of the tummies of these school children.

Sadly, the school feeding package got missing among the lots of the free education package. Bad bloods within the New Direction administration carted away with the over 49,000 bags of rice donated by the Chinese government for the successful implementation of the free education school feeding programme. It was alleged that officials in the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) were responsible for the missing bags of rice. As it is always the normal norm, the Anti-Corruption Commission investigated the matter and roped the then MBSSE Minister, Lawyer Alpha Timbo for series of questioning and charged the matter to court. While the matter was in court, the ACC Boss, Francis Ben boasted of leaving no stone unturned in the matter as the SLPP Bio’s regime does not have sacred cows.

Frustratingly for the ACC Boss, the matter was thrown out of court for lacking insufficient evidence and he went on bragging about filing an appeal to the Appeals court against the court’s ruling.

Much to the disappointment of the public is to see the appointment of Lawyer Alpha Timbo as the minister for labour and employment together with other accomplice were all appointed to serve in different capacity of governance. The public fear is that, how could someone who has been indicted for grave corrupt practices still serving the people and receiving lucrative salary from taxpayers’ money?

Some political analyst have described the 49,000 bags of rice saga in our local parlance as ‘John troway pamine nar John e ress,’ meaning the officials of the current regime are fooling themselves to letting the public to believe that most of the corrupt court issues brought up against officials of the current regime are not treated with utmost seriousness by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Because ever since the ACC Boss bragged about filing an appeal for a fresh start of the matter nothing has been done nor heard from them in respect of the missing 49,000 donated bags of rice from China.

The public is eager to know what that has led to the slow snail pace by the ACC to file an appeal to the Appeals court for the former MBSSE minister and his alleged crime accomplices to face the book. Some CSOs on corruption have decried the ACC Boss for being a parrot who talks a lot and with a little action and not being an eagle that talks less but can fly high to even touching the sky.

It is believed that that the ACC Boss is bent on roping officials of the past regime but seems reluctant to bring to book officials of the current regime for massive corrupt practices throughout their five years of ruling.