Tribute – the Late Hon. Mohamed Daudis Koroma- Minister of State, Health And Sanitation

Concord Times (Freetown)

John Momoh

4 May 2011

Freetown — William Shakespeare, the famous English classic prose writer, noted in one of his most popular political dramas that: “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones”. When news of the death of the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation Mohamed D. Koroma commonly called Mohamed Champion, flashed across this country over the air-waves last Saturday, many people were taken by surprise considering that an important pillar of the APC regime’s media set-up had fallen.

Mohamed Champion, as he was affectionately called by many due to the fact that he gained national prominence because he was publisher of the African Champion newspaper, was a man of great courage and resilience to the extent that upon hearing the sad news of his demise, President Ernest Bai Koroma referred to him as a hard worker.

He was a fearless journalist that did not compromise the dissemination of what he felt was the truth for any parochial and selfish motives. For example, the late Hon. Koroma who was one of those that typified the presence of young people in the APC government of President Koroma, was one of few journalists that can muster the courage to tell some of the nation’s politicians in his publications that it was high time for them to retire from public functions, so as to leave a place for the emerging young generation of Sierra Leoneans.

The late Minister was also very conscious that the media has a role to complement the efforts of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in their fight against corruption in the country. These views of the late minister were well articulated in the many editorial and commentary contents of the African Champion newspaper that he was helping to edit up to the time that he fell sick.

As the first Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, he worked very assiduously along-side the Minister, Hon. I.B. Kargbo to bring professional credibility to the journalism profession. He often insisted on the necessity for press freedom provided that such freedom is limited by responsible and ethical journalism. Hence, he did all in his power to avoid the abuse of his office as deputy minister to clampdown on newspapers or media institutions that publish opposing views. As deputy Information Minister the late Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation always believed in the logic that journalists should be given the free hand to perform their task.

What became very noticeable about the late Minister was that he made no secret about his unflinching loyalty to His Excellency the President and the All People’s Congress (APC) party. He always felt that action was needed by the youths of the party to ensure that the APC is voted back to power in the 2007 Presidential and Parliamentary elections at a time when few people ever realized that the APC will be able to return to power.

In fact in those crucial moments of the APC in opposition, while stalwarts of the party were fighting each other for the leadership position, it was noticed that the African Champion was one of few newspapers that chose to throw in their lots with the Ernest Koroma faction for better or for worse. His appointment as Deputy Minister of Information and Communications in the first APC cabinet therefore came as little surprise to many in view of his closeness to the party leader. One of the memorable quotations from the late hardworking Minister is that given the spate of lawlessness in the Sierra Leone society, he promised to execute his office with firmness while labeling himself as the ‘Agbasatani’ of the new APC government – an apparent reference to a crackdown on lawlessness in the society.

This desire to see that things are done in conformity with the law and procedures however was only materialized when the late Minister was appointed Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation in the first major cabinet reshuffle. Many critics view that it was in the Health and Sanitation Ministry where the late African Champion publisher – until his death recently in a London hospital – left an indelible mark on the Sierra Leonean society. He became a controversial figure in the eyes of people who had preferred that someone from within the medical profession and not a publisher should be granted the opportunity to serve in that capacity.

Whatever the controversy that may be raging, what is undisputable is that the late Hon. Mohamed Daudis Koroma became one of the most successful Deputy Ministers that had ever entered the walls of that Ministry since independence. He was responsible for many innovations meant to raise the standard of medical personnel and a point-man in government’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goal in the areas of minimizing maternal and infant mortality and the elimination of diseases such as polio and tuberculosis.

The late Deputy Minister became a success story in the Health Ministry mainly because of his closeness to His Excellency the President and Vice President Sam-Sumana who took charge of the portfolio of Acting Health and Sanitation Minister when the substantive holder was dismissed upon allegations of corruption. And it also happened that both the First Lady Madam Sia Nyama Koroma and the 2nd Lady Madam Kadijatu Sam-Sumana demonstrated keen interests in promoting the nation’s health-care delivery services. Thus the late Minister and other stakeholders were at ease to ensure the smooth launching and the successful implementation of the free health care delivery services which has been rated an important success story in West Africa.

This is why the loss of the newly appointed Minister of State for Health and Sanitation is being felt by many patriotic Sierra Leoneans who harbour profound memories of his invaluable services to the nation.

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