By Septimus Senessie in Kono.
The Chief Administrator of the Koidu City Council, Charlie Patrick Kallon has returned to work after he was pardoned last weekend by the Mayor and Councilors of the local government authority. Kallon publicly apologized to the 15 councillors who last month indefinitely suspended him from office for “failing to attend the monthly meeting of the council in his capacity as Secretary and inciting other core staff against the political wing of the council”. The Chief Administrator called on the Councilors to “forgive me and have unconditional mercy on me for boycotting last month’s council meeting and also failing to submit minutes of previous meetings”. He urged them to “bury the past and focus on the present for the development of the city.” He vowed to be loyal to the operations of the council from now on, as long as the issue at stake “does not contravene the Local Council Act of 2004.” Kallon’s apology followed the intervention of the Local Council Association of Serra Leone (LoCASIL) led by the chairman of the Pujehun District Council, Sadiq Silla. He urged both parties to work as a team for the development of the city. Silla told the political wing to put the disagreement behind them and press forward with the work of the council, adding that they had only four short years in office. He said “now is the time to show your people that they made the right decision by electing you.” The mediator warned the administrative staff “to comport” themselves as they “are liable to be transferred to other councils”. The suspension of the Chief Administrator led the Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Diana Konomanyi to write a letter to the Minister of Finance advising the “suspension of all funding” to the Koidu City Council.
