STANDARD TIMES PRESS SIERRA LEONE IMATT- A Problem To The Sierra Leone Armed Forces? PAGE

I read your article on the issue of Major Bangura, a dedicated Sierra Leonean officer who has been used and misused by the British Forces in this country known as IMATT. Let me first of all state that I am a Sierra Leonean soldier who is really concerned with this setup called IMATT. Most Sierra Leoneans don’t know how these people continue to misuse and abuse their stay in this country. I will therefore be very grateful if my letter is published in your newspaper so that Sierra Leoneans can know what our bosses and the government is not telling them.

There is a common saying in English that “Only he who feels it knows it”. By working with the British soldiers in IMATT, I have come to realize why great patriots like Bai Bureh, Thomas Peters and Sir Milton Margai opposed their rule in this country and resisted them by diplomacy and when necessary by force. We in this country are undoing what those patriots did by inviting these same people back to control and determine our future. In international politics there is nothing like a permanent friend but a permanent interest. We should therefore realize that they are here not to help us but to increase their influence in the world. They have been rejected everywhere they went except in countries like,,,, and . All these countries and armies asked them out because they realized that they were only there to exploit their citizens like what they did to Maj Musa Bangura. We in who always think that foreigners or outside ideas are better than our own people and their ideas have embraced them with open hands.

IMATT came into this country in 1999 and for the past nine years have done all in their power to ensure that the RSLAF remains not only a backward army but a demoralized one. Readers will be surprised at this because most people have been led to believe through mass propaganda that they have been doing well for the army and have transformed it into a respected and highly acclaimed one. That is very far from the truth but through a policy of divide and rule especially through their henchmen and the inefficiency of the government to put proper measures in place for the smooth running of the army, they have succeeded. Let me state here that the present army is one of the worst in the world as a whole. On that I will explain later but let me highlight the actions of IMATT since their inception in this country nine years ago so that readers will get a gist of what I am talking about.

In 1999, the SLPP government invited them into the country and gave them the reins of the army. This angered the Nigerian government who had spent valuable resources both logistical and human to assist us in our hour of need. They withdrew their troops and up till this very minute are still angry about the ungratefulness shown by the Tejan Kabbah regime. This was so serious that the former Minister of Defense, Joe Blell and the present CDS had to travel two years back to apologize for that action.

As soon as the IMATT came into the country, they started series of mass trainings that were not beneficial at all to the RSLAF. Former RUF and Kamajors were recruited en-masse into the RSLAF and given ranks that they were not entitled to. Seven set of such training called BSTTT and MRP were organized with promotions done by the British failing to observe proper norms and ignoring the command structure of the RSLAF. Senior officers were made redundant in decision making and that is the case up to this date. The RSLAF is virtually being run by the British with senior officers acting as stooges to them as they are the ones deciding their fates. They are therefore afraid to say anything that will anger the British even though most of the decisions IMATT is making is detrimental to the RSLAF.

In 2000, when the restructuring of the RSLAF started, British Captains and Corporals were sent to each Battalion to oversee them. In fact most of the so-called Captains were newly commissioned Lieutenants with virtually no military experience. They became the de facto commanders in these Battalions. The Commanding officers who were Lieutenant Colonel and were well trained and experienced military officers were sideline in the control of these units. Sierra Leonean officers and soldiers were treated and continue to be treated as if they are visitors or foreigners in their own army. It is no wonder that the morale of the army is deteriorating at a very fast pace. In the Brigades you have Majors overseeing Colonels. In the Military HQ, it is a Lt Colonel that is overseeing a Brigadier. These British officers lack the necessary training and experience needed to command. How can someone who has never commanded a Company let alone a Battalion be able to advice someone in Commanding a Brigade which is a far bigger unit. Something like this cannot happen anywhere else in the world except in. According to the constitution of this country, it is the Chief of Defense Staff who is Brigadier is responsible for not only the day to day running of the military but also acts as the Military Adviser to the government. However in , it is a British Colonel. It would be better if the RSLAF is disbanded and a token British force is sent to the country rather than let our citizens who are serving in the Armed Forces continue to undergo such humiliation.

In the year 2000 as part of their propaganda effort, about 150 trucks and Land Rovers were brought into the country by IMATT. This gave the impression to the general populace that the British were here to help. What they never stated that these were trucks that were used by the British army during the 60s and 70s in the British army and were decommissioned immediately after the Falkland War in 1982. Even the Company that manufactured the trucks went bankrupt and was closed in 1989. These vehicles became a burden to the RSLAF as we were spending Four hundred Million Leones (Le 400,000,000.00) on a monthly basis to buy spare parts and upkeep them. As the company that manufactured them had closed down years ago, a British Company called Motor Care was being paid this money for nothing. No wonder these vehicles lasted for only two and a half years.

In 2001, when they were busy recruiting former rebels and Kamajors into the RSLAF, they also started a policy of sacking a thousand soldiers every year. These soldiers were each given two million Leones. This was the only benefit paid to them for years of service. Some had spent over twenty years serving their country. If such is done in, the British government will be in court the next day. But since this is just a backward African country, then they can do anything. Most of these former soldiers are now roaming the streets of and provincial towns causing problems as they are jobless and penniless. No wonder armed robbery is in an increase in the country as a whole. The redundancy was in a very unprofessional way so much so that there is a serious imbalance in the command structure in the present RSLAF. There are more Senior and Junior NCOs in most units than private soldiers. Command and control within the entire RSLAF is precarious. In lay man terms it means there are more bosses than underlings, a scenario which is not possible anywhere else in the world.

In 2002, they came up with an idea called “Operation Pebu”. This was an operation in which soldiers are trained for two weeks in basic masonry, brick-making and carpentry. They were then tasked with building military barracks in all the regions in the country. Up till date over fifteen billion Leones have been spent on that project with nothing to show for it. Not only are the soldiers not able to do the work, but the type of accommodation that is being built is only fit for goats and chicken. Those who have traveled to the provinces and seen the mud huts that soldiers are living in can attest to this fact. In Kenema, Kambia, Moyamba, Yele, Pujehun, Kabala, Kailahun, Gondama and Kono, our soldiers are living like stone-age men. They are always down-casted when the rainy season approaches because the mud houses leak like sieves. About Five Hundred Million Leones is spent annually in buying plastic sheets and it is not even enough.

During the 70s the government at that time constructed three Barracks namely Benguema Training Centre, Lungi Garrison and Teko Barracks in Makeni. These Barracks were two room apartments with each containing a parlor, a kitchen, a toilet and with a bathroom. Each apartment was built so as to accommodate a soldier and his family. When you consider the fact that thirty years later IMATT is proposing a one room apartment without parlor, toilet facilities and kitchen for a soldier and his family then you can see that these people don’t have any good plans for the military. The idea was so outrageous that in Kono the Paramount Chiefs and the general population came out and stopped the soldiers from building the houses as it was an eye-sore. They even challenged the British Officer who went there and told him that if they cannot build better accommodation for the soldiers, then they will do it.

In 2003, the IMATT proposed that the 34 Military hospitals should be closed down. This came as a shock not only because of the boldness of the suggestion but that it is inconceivable that an army can exist without a medical facility in this day and age. When the idea was turned down, they have ensured that very little funding goes to the 34 Military hospital. The 34 Military hospitals once an edifice that was known and respected in the sub region is now virtually a mortuary and soldiers are very reluctant to go there for medical treatment. Only basic drugs like panadol and chloroquine is available there now. Most of the Doctors have resigned as Conditions of Service for them is not attractive at all. The Present Commanding Officer of 34 has spent just about 5 years in the military and his promotion had to be fast tracked so that he can be carry the necessary rank to Command the unit. Most Doctors recruited recently spend less than a year after which they leave for better jobs. The others are either people who graduated recently or those doing their houseman ship.

In 2005, 77 officers and 1000 soldiers were made redundant by IMATT. This was codenamed “Operation OLala”. Up till now the reason for that redundancy has not been given. Originally it was thought that it was to save money so that the army can be properly taken care of. However, when you look at the fact that the lot of the officers and men of the RSLAF has not improved in any way, then you start to question why all the redundancy. The Military Spokesperson Brig Nelson Williams normally goes around defending these decisions, but when you consider that he is the IMATT preferred choice for CDS then you can understand what it means. They always look for people like him to put their agenda forward, and then they sit back and behave as if they are not responsible. This is due to the fact that most of these people only care about what they can get out of the military rather than making it a more professional institution.

In 2005, IMATT came up with the idea to downsize the army further. Originally they claimed that the number needed was 10,000. When 10,000 were achieved, they then wanted 8,500. The SLPP government refused to accept it as elections were close by. They therefore decided to defer it for the future. This move was opposed by most of the Senior Military Officers. In a meeting called the Core review which was meant to restructure the entire military taking into consideration the entire security of the country into consideration, patriotic and well meaning officers including the then Director General of Defense opposed some of these proposals that were meant to deplete and demoralize the army. Issues dealing with benefits pay and allowances, Terms and Conditions in general for the RSLAF and Forward Planning of the RSLAF were downplayed and swept under the carpet by IMATT. Only issues like redundancy and more redundancy were important to them. When they saw they could not make headway, they adjourned the meeting and up till now the people that have the mandate to lead the army don’t know what the future plans are. Only Brig Nelson who is working in tandem with them knows what is happening. It was therefore a shock to the rank and file of the army when the APC government that they voted en masse for, is now championing these same issues of redundancy. Paolo Conteh, (Present Defense Minister) an officer who went AWOL 16 years ago and has lost touch with the military is now the chief proponent of this ruse to sack more soldiers.

Since the APC came into power nine months ago, the lot of the army continues to deteriorate. Things that no other government (even the SLPP) thought of, is now being done by the APC helped by their IMATT colleagues. Basic issues that all other armies in the world take for granted like ration, fuel and basic impress for the day to day running of the military is not forth coming. Impress, and Ration Cash Allowance (RCA) are paid four months in arrears (RCA, Impress and Fuel for January was paid one week ago). Unit Commanders are forced to use money from their pocket or to loan from civilians to feed their soldiers. I am sure the late President; Rtd Maj. Gen JS Momoh will be turning in his grave to know that his own nephew is the one leading the army down the drains.

In 2003, the idea of the RSLAF taking part in multi national operations was born. This started with the initiative of the African Union and the setting up of a regional peacekeeping force called the ECOWAS Standby Force (ECOFORCE). IMATT since the beginning opposed the idea of the RSLAF going international. They generally oppose anything that will improve the RSLAF in the eyes of the international community or that will bring benefit to the personnel of the RSLAF. There main aim is to keep us subservient and dependent on them as they control the purse strings of the government through DFID. Since that time, only lip service is being paid to that initiative by the RSLAF. We are the least represented in the whole with only three officers with the UN and One with ECOWAS. The UN has written to the country on two occasions for it to send troops on international Peace Keeping operations. Those two requests were turned down by IMATT who claimed that we don’t have the necessary resources.

I wonder how that is possible when the UN pays the country over a Thousand Dollars a month for each soldier that you send. This is excluding the money they pay for all your equipment (vehicles, ration, medical equipment and drugs, stationery and furniture and fittings) and the salary they pay to your soldiers. This kind of venture will not only bring foreign exchange to the country but will ensure that soldiers are better paid. Other countries within the sub region are really benefiting from the UN with countries like Gambia, Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria each having more than thirty of their officers serving as Military Observers on UN peace keeping operation. This is not taking into considerations the hundreds of their personnel that are deployed as formed troops in different places in the world. The caliber of their Officers and soldiers is not any better than our own as can be proved by the fact that Sierra Leonean Officers and soldiers have always excelled above these countries on international courses that they have attended. A case in point is that two of the only three UN observers that we have, performed so well in Nepal that the UN wrote a special letter to the government asking that their tenure be extended. It was also the same for the only officer we had in with the ECOWAS asking for his extension.

IMATT have contributed a lot in the downward spiral of discipline within the RSLAF. This has been done through implementing a parallel Chain of Command. This has resulted in soldiers working directly with them or using them as a way of channeling their grievances thereby ignoring their superior Sierra Leonean officers. IMATT personnel have also over the period that they have been in; insulted, molested and even physically attacked Sierra Leonean Officers. One such case was in Former Westside immediately after Operation Barass when a British Major Physically attacked Rtd Lt Col Gortor and threatened to kill him with a pistol. Another was when four British soldiers instructed by one Maj. Warrington, attacked and beat up Maj. ARD Rogers when he was a Lt in Benguema in 1999. Another was when a British Captain called Capt Sam of the Royal Irish regiment attacked Capt Gevao in the same Benguema. All these cases were reported but nothing came out of them. This and many other issues in which British soldiers continue to molest our soldiers and officers have all helped in the indiscipline trend that is taking place within the military.

Many people in Sierra Leone have the idea that the British government is helping the RSLAF due to the fabulous amount that the British government is claiming that they have spent. Spending it does not however mean spending it on the RSLAF. 90% of the money is spent on themselves with most of it going to construction of that semi-palace close to Regent where they live. Some is spent on their allowance with each British Soldier getting $150 (One hundred and fifty dollars) a day when staying in and $200 (Two hundred dollars) a day when staying in the provinces. The rest is on their vehicle fleet, fuel, their mini projects and their fabulous life style. The new Land rovers and other vehicles that the RSLAF is presently having were donated by the Dutch and Swiss government with the government of Sierra Leone buying the rest. The only vehicles (apart from the outdated stock they came with nine years ago) that the British government donated to the RSLAF were ten Benz trucks. It is worth noting here that most countries that have been assisting the RSLAF including organizations like the UN have been doing it through IMATT yet the government including the RSLAF is never privy to the amount or how it is done. They claim it is on a need to know basis, so maybe Brig Nelson may know.

Another way they are benefiting is an example of what they did to Maj. Musa Bangura. Countless number of British soldiers has written books on the issue in. Though they came to the country when the war had virtually ended, yet they were able to play on the gullible British people by claiming all sorts of things. Movies have been made in which they have made millions yet the people who actually suffered did not make a single cent. Maj Bangura was captured and tortured by the Westside boys due to a decision that was made by a British Major whose lack of experience and good judgment became glaringly clear in the documentary “operation Barass”. Yet they were the ones who benefited by making thousand of pounds whilst the poor officer health continue to deteriorate. This is the same thing that is happening within the RSLAF as a whole.

The situation within the army is so dire that most of the officers and soldiers have concluded that there is no future within the army. They are now enrolling en-masse in educational institutions so as to improve their education to become competitive in getting other jobs in civilian life. This is a very negative trend as the military is an institution that relies on experience and dedication. With a large percentage looking for other means of livelihood should be a cause for concern to the government and the general population. The main aim of the British is to continue this trend so that the government will continue to rely on them for the security of the nation. This will ensure that they will be controlling the country through devious means. It will ensure they continue to hold the country to ransom thereby undoing the job of those great patriots who fought for independence and kicked them out. The earlier we see them as the demons they really are, the better it will be for our country.

I will give you more points on subsequent mails but I will stop here for now as the narrative is becoming too long. Hope my letter is published

A CONCERNED SOLDIER

(Editor’s note—this letter from a concern military officer is published verbatim).

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