The Harvard Account Excuse: A Masterclass in Arrogance
Chief Minister David Sengeh recently explained on Radio Democracy 98.1 FM that:
His salary is paid into an account opened for him while he was a student at Harvard.
Another person has managed that account since he was 19.
He says he does not personally access or manage the account that receives his government income, which is why he does not know the amount.
Chief Minister David Sengeh
If this is the mindset of anyone who hopes to one day lead the motherland, Sierra Leone should take notice: leadership is not a title, a résumé, or an elite education. It is accountability, especially when the question is as simple as, “How much of the people’s money are you paid?”
READ and watch the original interview with Umaru Fofanah of AYV: Out of Touch: A Chief Minister Who Does Not Know His Own Salary. When a senior official responsible for coordinating government delivery says he does not know the amount of his publicly funded salary, Sierra Leoneans are entitled to ask serious questions about transparency, accountability, and the distance between those in power and the people they serve.
Sometimes it is genuinely difficult to recognize when you have made a mistake. This was not one of those times.
When a Chief Minister is asked a basic question about the taxpayer-funded salary paid into his own account and answers, “I don’t know,” the backlash should be a signal to pause, reflect, and correct the record, not to give another interview and replay the same mistake with even greater arrogance.
David Sengeh doubled down on his defense during his appearance on Radio Democracy 98.1 FM. Sierra Leone should take notice.
The Double Down: Our man David Sengeh has now spoken at length about his salary. Why can’t we simply take him at his word? Video: Courtesy 98.1 FM
Dr. David Moinina Sengeh’s latest explanation on Radio Democracy 98.1 FM made it worse, not better: the account was opened while he was a Harvard student; someone has managed it since he was 19; and because he does not personally access or manage it, he says he does not know what the Sierra Leonean public pays him.
That is not an explanation worthy of a Chief Minister. It is an astonishing display of insulation from ordinary life. Sierra Leoneans who budget every leone for food, rent, transport, school fees, medicine, and electricity do not have the luxury of being unaware of what enters their bank accounts. They know, because they have to know.
Public leadership requires humility, judgment, and the discipline to understand how your words land. Being brilliant at innovation or building prosthetics does not automatically mean you can speak wisely for yourself, the state, or the people. Expertise in one field is not a lifetime exemption from accountability.
As Vickie Romoe once mentioned, ‘when you make a public mistake: pause. Do not press play. Eject the cassette.’ Then return with the simple answer citizens deserve: publish the salary, the allowances, the benefits, and every entitlement attached to the office.
Theo Edwards for YAME Digital
