The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) has declared Fatmata Koroma wanted for alleged involvement in a public riot that led to the infliction of serious injuries on poor citizens and loss of properties costing millions of Leones.
The alleged incident occurred immediately when the High Court of Sierra Leone, on May 31 2019, gave a ruling to remove nine Members of Parliament from the House of Representatives who used to represent the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party.
According to the Police, Fatmata Koroma is the Chairlady for Constituency 047 in the Tonkolili District, Northern Sierra Leone but she was accused to have participated in the violence that led to the unleashing of tear gas canisters and fired live gunshots, a number of times at the party Headquarters on Old Railway Line in Freetown.
According to report, the APC is convinced that the governing Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) influenced the decision of the Court in order to clinch majority of the seats in Parliament.
As some members of the opposition APC were singing songs of victory on their way to the party office from the Court the Police started firing live shots that culminated into riot and many people sustained injuries.
Fatmata Koroma is now known to be on the run and afraid for her life. She is known to be one of the strongest supporters of the All People’s Congress Party in her community. She was reported to have fled out of the country for fear that her life is in serious danger.
Sources close to this medium alleged that Fatmata Koroma shed light on the hurdles she went through in the hands of the Police on that fateful day, and she denied playing any part in the conflict as alleged but she was chased simply because they knew her to be a supporter of the APC.
Madam Koroma was a local business woman who owns a small scale business in her community. According to residents in the community, she has helped a lot of young people.
Certain youths in her community confirmed to this Press that because of Madam Fatmata’s interventions many now have jobs and living improved standards of living. Some people narrated her state of mind before her departure especially to receive medical treatment.
It was also narrated that her family and acquaintances are presently going through hell in the hands of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) supporters. They are frequently intimidated, provoked among other things. She now fears for her safety and that of her family which is why she is very afraid of returning to the country.
Aftermath of the 2018 election petition has forced one of the strong members of the opposition APC to run away to an unknown destination. Information reaching this medium have it that, one Abdulai Patty Kargbo, a strong supporter of former Honourable member of Parliament for Constituency 130 in the Western Area has been reportedly chased out by irate youth of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party.
According to eye witnesses accounts, before the election of the petitioned MP, Abdulai patty Kargbo has been an astute supporter of the former MP who won the 2012 parliamentary seat for that Constituency.
Unfortunately, during the 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections, the incumbent MP by then was not given the symbol to contest for that seat, it was later given to Osman Timbo who won with a landslide victory.
Hon. Timbo was petitioned by the ruling SLPP for allege election violence, unfortunately, Hon Osman Timbo lost his seat following a High Court decision on Friday 31st May, 2019 which disqualified 10 APC Members of Parliament; with 9 of these seats going directly to the SLPP, this decision created a kind of confusion between supporters of the two main political parties in the country.
Sources within the Constituency revealed that, after the court ruling, supporters of the candidate who won the petition went on the rampage chased supporters of the losing side.
According to our sources, Abdulai Patty Kargbo was one of the SLPP supporters’ main targets, but fortunately for Kargbo the day he was to be leached, one of his friends alerted him that the SLPP supporters were on their way to his house to ransack the house and eventually leach him.
Upon hearing the unpleasant news, Kargbo allegedly escaped and sought refuge to one of his relatives outside the capital of Sierra Leone.
According to our sources, Kargbo, the threats of killing him do not only stopped at the capital, the irate supporters were said to have tracing where he was hiding, an ugly development that made him to flee the country to neighboring Guinea.
After Kargbo had left the country, his family was put under serious harassment and intimidation and some of his younger brothers were even sent to jail for a spent a considerable number of months, and during that period one of his brothers met his demise during the attempt prison break saga occurred in the country.
Our investigation revealed that, Kargbo is said to have nurse plans to also stay in Guinea but that, some SLPP supporters residing in Guinea were said to have put him under serious pressure threatening to expose his whereabouts back home, this prompted him to quit the Guinean capital, Conakry and flee to an unknown destination.
As at time of us going to press last night, the whereabouts of Abdulai Patty Kargbo is still unknown and sketchy.
The Parliament of Sierra Leone on Thursday 30th May 2019 debated and passed into law with some amendments two Bills with the aim of improving lending and borrowing, and combating anti-money laundering and terrorist financing in the country.
Both Bills were piloted by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Patricia Laverly. She said among other things that the Bill entitled: “The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Act, 2019” is seeking to amend The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism Act, 2012 and to provide for other matters.
She also said that the Bill entitled “The Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2019” is providing for the repeal and replacement of the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2014, provides for the broadening of the scope of Collateral Registry including the registration of encumbrances in immovable assets. Furthermore, she said that it also providing for lenders who are not licensed and supervised by the Bank of Sierra Leone to be able to register their security interests and for other related matters.
During the course of the debate, Members of Parliament acclaimed both Bills as good and healthy for the development of the financial industry in the country.
In the meantime, the Bank of Sierra Leone Act 2019 is seeking to continue in existence the Bank of Sierra Leone to act as a banker, adviser and fiscal agent to support the general economic policy of the Government of Sierra Leone. It also provides for the maintenance of price stability, stable financial system, formulation and implementation of monetary policy and financial regulations with prudent standards.
The Banking Act of 2019 is providing for the licensing of persons carrying on banking business, the regulation and supervision of banking activities, financial holding companies and subsidiaries, and the protection of depositors.
Members of Parliament commended the Deputy Finance Minister for bringing those Bills to Parliament with the view to inject confidence and to enhance effective fiscal and monetary policies in the management of the economy of Sierra Leone.
A press release issued by the Sierra Leone Renaissance Movement says it is concerned about the judgments delivered by the High Court in several petitions against the election and continuance of some members of parliament as Parliamentarians through questionable judicial decisions which removes democratic franchise from the people.
Firstly, the movement notes that the petitions filed in favor of the Sierra Leone People’s Party have been heard and determined while most of those of the opposition are yet to be listed for hearing.
Secondly, the Movement has examined section 146 of the Public Elections Act 2012 in the light of the orders declaring candidates who polled the second highest votes as duly elected members of parliament. The Movement notes that section 146 of the said Public Elections Act 2012 is silent on the position of the law when a member declared initially elected has his candidacy and election declared null and void by the Courts – while being clear in section 146(4) on what happens when the election itself is declared void.
The Movement has not found any legal justification, either statutory or a judicial precedent, for such a strange declaration by the High Court of Sierra Leone apart from the highly controversial decision by Justice A. Showers JA, in 2012 in the Hon. Sam May Lamin Macarthy V. Ansu B. Lansana Petition – which the movement believes was predicated on no precedent and had no support in the electoral laws of Sierra Leone. The movement believes that where such a situation arises, the proper position ought to be that a fresh election takes place in the affected constituencies and not an ad hoc assumption of office by judicial proclamation, thereby leaving the constituents with no voice in the matter.
The Movement is weary of what seems to be the egregious abuse of its judicial powers and privileges by the Judiciary; that relies on such wrong precedents, with possibility of stoking the flames of discontent amongst aggrieved citizens and opposition groups.
The Movement reminds the Government of its commitment to the Rule of Law as so expressly stated by the President in the first State Opening of the Fifth Parliament in which he committed his government to refraining from “acting unconstitutionally and scrupulously respecting the rule of law in the best interest of national development and stability”.
The Movement therefore believes that declarations and consequential swearing in of the new Members of Parliament was in in violation of section 146 of the Public Elections Act 2012 though consistent with that legally flawed precedent highlighted earlier.
The Movement equally condemns the violence and intimidation by the police of opposition groups, especially women, as seen on videos shared on social media; but similarly calls on the opposition to raise issues with civility and channel their grievances within the framework of law and order.
The Movement urges the government, the opposition, the judiciary and other state and civil actors to ensure they safeguard the democracy of our nation by ensuring to do justice at all times and in a manner, that does not derogate from established rules of procedure and extant laws. We should also reform the electoral laws to forestall problematic interpretations that may undermine the peace and stability of Sierra Leone.
While there is clear need for reform and fair engagement on the issues herein highlighted, we urge all concerned to remain peaceful and continue to seek redress through legal and non-violent means including appeal and political engagement.
The Bintumani III conference for peace and national cohesion held last week. A lot of things were said. A lot more were left unsaid. It has left behind debates on both traditional and social media. Some boycotted it (some opposition political parties), others have called it a waste of resources and others still have regarded it as mere opportunity for political posturing. I hold a different view and here is why.
Firstly, regardless of the description and derogation it attracted, the just concluded Bintumani III conference was a transitional justice mechanism. In the words of President Bio: “… Bintumani III conference is about soliciting the views of Sierra Leoneans on the remit, the shape, and the mechanics of the proposed independent peace and national cohesion commission. The eventual establishment of that commission will be a huge step in efforts to further consolidate and strengthen our democracy.” Going by these words alone (forget about all the other confusing reasons that have been put forward by others), the conference ticks the box of a transitional justice mechanism.
But what exactly is transitional justice? Isn’t it only relevant for the immediate periods of conflict? I hear you ask. To avoid sounding academic and not to bore you to death, I have just drawn from one definition. The United Nations defines transitional justice as “the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempt to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation.” And again, drawing from the President’s speech, this conference was to “enable us to consolidate democratic practices and enhance national cohesion.” All these tick some of the primary boxes of transitional justice.
Secondly, Bintumani III should be seen and considered as a transitional justice mechanism because it was a platform to confront the truth, however bitter that truth is. This truth-confrontation focuses (or rather should focus) on addressing the culture of impunity for human rights violations and abuses. This truth- confrontation is not about disrespecting leaders or authorities. It is about providing justice to victims and to also establish accountability mechanisms that will secure against a repetition of past and ongoing abuses.
It is also about what Paulo Freire (one of my favourite Brazilian writers) calls critical self-reflection. The Chief Minister rightly pointed out that Bintumani III is not a truth commission, yes. But that doesn’t absolve the conference from its truth-hearing function. It was a truth-seeking and truth-telling exercise. That is a primary element of transitional justice and as such should be seen from that prism.
I also see Bintumani III as a necessary transitional justice mechanism because it seeks to establish an infrastructure that will ensure constant reminders of the need for peace, social cohesion and national harmony. Not an easy feat. But transitional justice mechanisms do not always enjoy soft landing. The very complex nature of their existence is why they need time, resources and collective reasoning to make them efficient.
In the periods leading to the conference, there was so much confusion as to its objectives, its timing and relevance. I hope those questions and doubts have now been answered and clarified. Following the proceedings via TV gave me, and I am sure many other Sierra Leoneans, an opportunity to understand, despite our initial misgivings of the conference, that the space it provided was both needed and wanted. The country needed Bintumani III, the government wanted it. Balancing both needs and wants is a complicated and often challenging process to compress, even for a government. But it was absolutely necessary.
Another reason why I think it was a necessary “waste” is that though the primary outcome is the creation of a peace commission, the conference (like most transitional justice mechanisms) provided an opportunity for Sierra Leoneans to not just reflect on the past, but to examine the present in preparedness for the future. This was exemplified by some of the statements we heard from a range of stakeholders who spoke on those three days. It also aligns with the newly adopted African Transitional Justice Policy framework, which defines transitional justice to include “a society’s attempt to mitigate ongoing conflicts and to address a legacy of large scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, promote justice and achieve peace and reconciliation.”
In my view, Bintumani III gave us a platform to be prospective, while constructively being reflective on the issues we need to address to improve our stability as a nation.
However, I must add that from a transitional justice perspective, Bintumani III was inadequate in one crucial aspect: accountability. And I am referring here to the notion of people owning up, not the demand side accountability. I know it was not a conference on holding people accountable, but leaders – past and present – owning up to the reversals the country has had to endure and pledging to change their ways would have made me wholly satisfied. I was pleased though to see civil society calling out government and holding them accountable. I was thrilled by the cogency of the statement by Mariama Samai of the Children’s Forum Network.
It was shameful of the major opposition political parties (especially the APC which has governed the country the longest since independence) to have boycotted. They missed an opportunity to hold the current government accountable. They also, dare I say, missed an opportunity to take responsibility for their own actions and inactions. One way of seeking justice is to be truthful and accept the truth. And the truth is, the two main political parties (APC and SLPP) – the only ones to rule the country barring the brief military trespasses – have messed up the country in a number of ways. Their actions, inactions, utterances and policies have contributed significantly to the need for having a peace commission and its precursor, Bintumani III. The least they could have offered us is the courtesy of raising their hands up and taking unequivocal ownership of some of those mess-ups. To achieve lasting and sustained peace, society has to thrive on truth, justice and accountability. Owning up to past and current wrongs is one way of being accountable. Bintumani III did not give us that. We hope its product, in collaboration with other existing transitional justice mechanisms, will not deprive us of that important element.
Finally, and on the theme of accountability, we deserve to know how much was spent to hold this conference. The SLPP government promised accountability on all fronts. This should be straightforward. An investment in peace and national cohesion should not be a government secret.
In my view, the people could probably value it even more if we know how much it has cost the consolidated fund. A good friend of mine told me recently, that you are what you know. We act on the information we have. So, if the government is sincere about promoting peace and national cohesion, and if they want to prove to the nation that Bintumani III was a necessary “waste”, then they are obliged to inform the nation about how much it cost us. And from a transitional justice perspective, such information is crucial to ensuring that it was not just a box-ticking exercise. The full spectrum of accountability starts from here.
EDITOR’s NOTE: The Author, Makmid Kamara is the Director of the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) and is based in Accra, Ghana. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of the ATJLF.
Newly-approved Ministers and Deputy Ministers have subscribed to the Oath of Office before His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio in accordance with the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone at a ceremony inside State House.
The public servants were Hon. Foday Rado Yokie as Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Dr. Edward Hinga Sandi as Minister of Trade and Industry, Umaru Napoleon Koroma as Deputy Minister of Justice and Ms. Mamadi Gobeh-Kamara as Deputy Minister of Information and Communication.
While congratulating them, President Bio said the task was a daunting one and would require a lot of efforts. He said they were taking up jobs that would require more energy and work with very little compensation, adding that they were expected to make the extra efforts to meet expectations.
“We have inherited a very difficult system but we have to move on because we promised the people of this nation that we will take up the mantle of leadership and definitely deliver. You all have been meticulously selected, so we expect you to measure up to those positions. I will take the lead and I expect you to follow because together we can succeed,” he said.
In his response, the new Minister Rado Yokie, who spoke on behalf of the others, said they were thankful to the President for the opportunity to serve their country. He said they were aware of the challenges ahead and assured him of their readiness to do their best to actualise his campaign promises, among them to bring change to the country.
The ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party has taken over the country’s parliamentary majority from the main opposition, All People’s Congress following a High Court decision on Friday 31st May, 2019 which disqualified 10 APC Members of Parliament; with 9 of these seats going directly to the SLPP while one seat will be re-run.
This effectively reduces APC’s parliamentary seats by 10 and increases SLPP’s parliamentary seats by 9.
By-elections will be called for one seat, due to death of a Member of Parliament and a re-run order handed down by the court.
It could be recalled that the SLPP submitted petitions against 16 APC MPs on allegations of receiving salaries from the Consolidated Fund and other constitutional inconsistencies.
Similarly, 32 petitions against the SLPP were submitted for judgement by the APC. However, the court has not yet handed down judgement on this matter.
However, Counsels for the APC defendants say they will go to the country’s Supreme Court.
The petitions against the 16 APC MPs was bordered on allegations of rigging, violence and receiving salaries from the consolidated revenue fund less than a year to the March 2018 elections. A lawyer defending the disqualified APC MPs, Africanus Sesay told journalists they would appeal the decisions of the judges as well as go to the Supreme Court to argue that the courts lacked the jurisdiction to rule because the four-month period within which to do so had elapsed.
Lawyer for the ruling party, Musa Mewa said the rulings are “partially satisfactory”. On the matter of the four-month period having elapsed, he said that was a non-issue because lawyers for the opposition had raised preliminary objections which had dragged the case.
With the ruling, the SLPP now has 58 seats, while the APC has 57 with two by-elections due to be re-run as ordered by the High Court. The NGC party on the other hand has four seats, and the C4C 8.
There are also 14 traditional leaders representing the 14 geographical districts. Meanwhile the APC say that 33 petitions they filed against the SLPP have still not been listed for hearing.
A few hours after the ruling, the nation was taken by surprise with the swearing-in of the SLPP MPs that automatically occupied the seats of the 9 APC MPs who lost their seats in Parliament.
Announcing the new configuration of the House, the Hon. Speaker declared that the ruling SLPP as the Majority Party now in Parliament with 58 MPs; APC 57; C4C 08; NGC 04; Independent MPs 03; and 13 PCMP, due to the demise of Hon. P.C Kandeh Wusu Sesay III of Karene District.
The following new Members of Parliament have subscribed to the Oath of Office as detailed in the Third Schedule of the Constitution:
I. Hon. Rev. Horace E. Vincent II. Hon. Allieu Ibrahim Kamara III. Hon. Ahmed Joseph Kanu IV. Hon. Tennyson Hindolo Sandy V. Hon. Abdul Sulaiman Marray-Conteh VI. Hon. John Telson Koroma VII. Hon. Benjamin Turay VIII. Hon. Emmanuel S. Gbekie and IX. Hon. Abdul M. Lansana
After the administration of oath by the Clerk of Parliament, he congratulated and handed copies of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and the Standing Orders of the House for procedural guidance during the course of proceedings in Parliament.
Following the Orders of the High Court served to the Clerk of Parliament in light of its verdict relating to petitions regarding the 2018 General Elections, ten former MPs belonging to the APC have lost their seats in Parliament. They are:
I. Hon. Momoh Kamara-Constituency 120 II. Hon. Kemokoh Conteh-Constituency 108 III. Hon. John Sartie Kargbo-Constituency 111 IV. Hon. Ahmed Mansaray-Constituency 121 V. Hon. Hariyatu A. Bangura-Constituency 116 VI. Hon. Abu Bakarr Sillah-Constituency 128 VII. Hon. Sirajin Rollings Kamara-Constituency 127 VIII. Hon. Osman Abdal Timbo-Constituency 130 IX. Hon. Mohamed Sheriff Carew-Constituency 122 and X. Hon. Khadijatu Davies-Constituency-Constituency 110
One of Sierra Leone’s finest female journalists and women’s and children’s rights advocate, Mamadi Ngobeh Kamara, on Thursday 30th May, 2019 successfully sailed through Parliament to become the new Deputy Minister of Information and Communication.
In the Well of Parliament, Members of Parliament approved Mamadi Ngobeh Kamara and other presidential nominees were approved by Parliament after they were appointed by President Julius Maada Bio to serve in various public capacities.
The nominees before their approval went through stiff scrutiny by the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment and the Public Service.
Presenting the nominees for approval, the Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis, said they relied on specific documents provided by the nominees, coupled with other information obtained from the general public, to conduct the hearings.
He assured the House that he has no doubt that the nominees would perform well in their respective capacities, adding that the nominees were all capable and that he has no doubt that they will serve the different parastatals they were approved to serve.
Mamadi Ngobeh Kamara is a prolific administrator who has worked in top positions as manager, director and other positions. She would no doubt bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Ministry of Information and Communication and will no doubt be of exceptional assistance to her boss Mohamed Rado Swarray.
FIAN, an international human rights organization and Green Scenery on Thursday 30th of May 2019 launched a case report which documented serious of human rights violations and abuses by SOCFIN against the People of Sahn Malen Chiefdom.
The report which was launched at the SLAJ Conference Hall in Freetown attracted stakeholders and representatives from government, local and international NGOs and the media.
SOCFIN is a multinational company controlled by a Belgian businesses man Herbert Fabri and the French group Bollore, which has developed a business empire in many parts of Africa.
According to the report, since the arrival of the Agribusiness Company in 2011 as part of a large-scale investment in palm oil production in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, social conflict has raged in the Sahn Malen Chiefdom.
The reports further stated that affected communities who have lost access to and control over their land and have been exposed to serious human rights violations and abuses since 2011. “Several issues emerged, spanning from the right to land, food, water and a healthy environment, to workers’ rights, women’s right, the rights of the elderly and right to education. Added to these are serious violations and abuses of civil and political rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and association, physical integrity and clear cases of criminalization of human rights defenders’’, said the report. It also points to other allegations of corruption, lack of transparency and non-implementation of corporate social responsibility promises by SOCFIN.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Mr. Edward Sam who is a founding member of the Human Rights Commission in Sierra Leone said that the report is timely and may further inform the on-going mediation efforts by the Office of the Vice President. “We are convinced that the current settlement of the Sahn Malen conflict would prove constructive in reaching a peaceful agreement between all parties’’
He underscored the fact that the state has the obligation to protect the human rights of all its citizens. “I hold the view and strongly too, that the human rights of the people of Sahn Malen in particular must be protected as provided by local and international laws’’, he affirmed.
Alphonsus Gbanie who represented Human Rights Defenders Network highlighted issues regarding police and military brutality in Sahn Malen. He said that Government wants to protect the company because of its development agenda.
Joseph Rahall, Executive Director of Green Scenery, noted that the report will guide the mediation process and government needs to have a re-look at the issue at Sahn Malen Chiefdom and further step-up to resolve it accordingly.
Meanwhile, FIAN International has advocated for the realization of the right to adequate food for more than 30 years. Its mission is to expose violations of people’s right to food wherever they may occur. It stands up against unjust and oppressive practices that prevent people from feeding themselves. The Belgian non-state actor has closely followed the Sahn Malen case since 2012.
Timothy Kabba, Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate
Timothy Kabba, Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate
Some major oil and gas companies are poised to make use of the massive investment opportunities provided by the Sierra Leone government. If managed well, the oil and gas sector will serve as a golden opportunity to transform the country’s economy, resulting in bettering the lives of citizens.
“Oil and gas is not a partisan enterprise, it is not about politics and not a mafia enterprise. It is a natural endowment that we should make good use of for the benefit of all,” said the Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate, Timothy Kabba, adding that “our opportunities are unlimited, and we hope to have many companies to make use of the good opportunities provided in the oil and gas sector.”
Kabba said they want to ensure that the Petroleum Directorate is seen as a competent sector worth for investors’ money. “We have the capacity to ensure that our activities do not pose a threat to the environment,” he assured.
It could be recalled that in September 2018, shortly after his appointment as Director General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate, Timothy Kabba announced a six-month period of Industry Consultation, the purpose of which was to solicit feedback from potential participants in the country’s Fourth Licensing Round.
Meetings have since been held with a broad spectrum of high-quality international oil and gas companies. The Directorate is appreciative of the time that companies have so far devoted to the consultation process, and its intention is to use the insights gained to bring the Fourth Licensing Round to a successful conclusion.
Thus, the general conclusions of the consultation exercise include companies increasingly recognizing the proven nature of Sierra Leone’s working hydrocarbon system. License Round Participants have considered a broad basis of prospectively, which spans a range of geographic locations, play types and water depths; this prospectively extends beyond the boundaries of the License Areas made available at the start of the Fourth Licensing Round.
A key conclusion drawn by the Directorate is that the conditions offered pursuant to the original tender process no longer provide the Government of Sierra Leone with a structure broad enough to explore the full range of investor interest that has been expressed.
The Directorate has noted that a portion of the interest lies in water depths in excess of 2, 500 meters, the boundary line between deep and ultra-deep waters. He said it is the view of the Directorate that the number of companies with financial and technical capability to operate safely in such-ultra-deep water areas is very limited; and potential investors acknowledge that their understanding of Sierra Leone’s prospectivity will benefit from working with the world-class inventory of seismic, gravity, magnetic and well data and studies that is owned by the government.
“Based on these conclusions, the government has decided to reopen the country’s Fourth Licensing Round with the following structure: fully open the Republic’s offshore waters for petroleum licensing; optimize a more flexible Block framework as the basis for licensing; launch a Direct Tender for license applications where 50% or more of the application area is in water depths in excess of 2, 500 meters; and launch an open tender for all other license applications,” Kabba told a news conference on Tuesday. He further revealed that following publication in the Sierra Leone Gazette, both Tender processes have been launched on Tuesday 21st May 2019.
The open Tender process will run for six months and the Direct Tender process for four months. The deadline for Open Tenders is 22nd November, 2019 and Direct Tender negotiations will close on 20th September 2019. It is, however, possible for Licenses to be awarded by Direct Tender prior to the closure date.
“To participate in either Direct or Open Tender, companies must prequalify for that process by fulfilling all financial, technical and health, safety and environment (HSE) related elements relevant to their respective applications. The open tender process, being focused on shallower water depths, will provide the opportunity for a broad range of companies to apply for offshore acreage,” the Director-General remarked.
Given the predominance of ultra-depth-water areas in the Direct Tender process, each applicant will be expected to evidence that they possess the financial and technical capability to safely operate in ultra-deep water.
At the launch of the Fourth Licensing Round, five License areas were defined and released for licensing. The industry consultation process has highlighted that this rigid approach has not provided the Directorate with the flexibility it requires.
To address this, and with the Republic’s offshore waters now fully open to licensing (excepting environmentally protected estuaries and a five-kilometer wide coastal fisheries zone), the Directorate has decided to utilize a predefined, reticular Block framework. This size of each block is 1, 360km2. Using this framework, applicants are invited to delineate their areas of interest be assembling multiple contiguous Blocks.
“The License application must cover an area which is equivalent to at least 3 blocks in size and may be made up of a combination of whole and partial Blocks. Overlapping License Applications will be reviewed with reference to their relative merits and against the criteria detailed on the published scorecard. Applicants are asked to propose a work program for the Initial Exploration Period following which they will have the option to enter an extension period. No minimum work program specifications have been set for the Initial Exploration Period. However, the Directorate expects companies to invest in studies, data and other activities that build toward the drilling of exploration wells.”
“Applications for both Direct and Open Tenders will be assessed against a publicly disclosed scoring system. Once accepted, an exclusive License Agreement will be signed and ratified by Parliament. The agreement then becomes valid and binding, and a summary of the License published in The Sierra Leone Gazette. The Petroleum Directorate looks forward to a successful conclusion to Sierra Leone’s Fourth Licensing Round,” Kabba said.
In a similar development, the Director-General of Petroleum Directorate, Timothy M. Kabba, led a four-man Petroleum Directorate team to the America Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) 2019 Annual Convention & Exhibition (ACE) held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from 19-22 May 2019.
ACE 2019 brought together over 7,500 professionals from 72 countries, representing a broad spectrum of the geosciences community. Presenters shared innovations and best practices in the industry and exhibitors introduced state-of-the-art displays and next-gen products.
Mr. Kabba used the occasion to announce the re-opening of Sierra Leone’s Fourth Licensing Round for oil and gas exploration, following six months of wide-ranging consultations with multi-faceted actors in the industry, including major and independent oil companies.
Mr. Kabba informed the audience that the consultations had revealed that Fifth License Round participants are looking forward to a much broader range of prospectively than was offered in the Fourth Licensing Round.
