With time running out, barely few days more remaining for the show to reach its final stage, the 2019 Housemates Salone TV Reality Show is indeed becoming interestingly very, very competitive.

One cannot doubt that it is really noticeable that the each of the current Housemates in the House are doing all his or her their ability and reach to become more endearing to members of the public, who have been offered the privilege to vote for their favorite Housemates via Africell No: 5500. Trying to display nudity, strong language and humor, the Housemates are anxiously endeavoring with tact to outsmart each other so that at the end of the day one of them becomes the ultimate and successful winner of the mouth-watering Le 100,000,000 that has been set aside as the star prize.
Could it therefore be any big surprise why presently serious lobbying is taking place by the contestants and campaigners to capture more votes?
It is discernable that all the Housemates are becoming rowdy as verbal attacks frequently do take place bordering on personal differences and more especially to gain attention as well as to claim superiority.

The whole rationale behind organizing the TV Reality Show is geared towards providing the right platform for youth empowerment. It is to give young people, the contestants, that space to demonstrate their God given talents, to imbibe new ideas, skills and gain exposure. Organizers of the competition, Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire and Africell have always being at the forefront to avail young people opportunities to be polished and become very relevant in society. It is within that ambit or realm that the 2019 Housemates Salone TV Reality Show materialized and from its commencement it has been going on very well.
Aired on AYV TV Station, Channel 34, the contest currently has become the much talked about entertainment event eliciting discussions in different quarters within and outside the country some criticizing, praising certain aspects of it alongside making predictions as to the Housemate that will top the race.

As the competition is gradually reaching its final stage, the public is anxiously looking forward to who will become the youngest millionaire that will emerge from the 2019 Housemates Salone Reality TV Show.
One can argue that with all the exposure skills and ideas learnt the Housemates are definitely not going to same as they were before entering the House. Definitely, they will be transformed individuals behavior wise, outlook and in terms of having new contacts.
It was reliably learnt that after 2019 Housemates Salone Reality TV Show ends, the leaders in media and communication, the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire and Africell Lintel Sierra Leone will be launching another bigger competition to be known as Celebrity Housemate Salone 2019 (CHMSL). Le300 Million will be at stake for this next show that will be championed by the two communications giants.
It is indeed an established fact that Africell and AYV are seriously bent on providing empowerment for young people from different backgrounds in the country.

As part of the post-election campaign coupled with being one of the lead agencies in implementing Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), the Legal Aid Board and partners have met with community and civil society leaders in the Western Area to look at issues undermining peace and cohesion in communities following the March 2018 Elections.
To discuss and explore solutions to these issues, the Board met with five hundred and twenty (520) Community and Civil Society Leaders at the Atlantic Hall, National Stadium in Freetown on the 4 April 2019.
The participants were drawn from over 30 Community Based and Civil Society Organizations including Ataya Base Union, Traders Council, Disabled Groups, Car Wash, National Bakers Union, Orjeh Council, Hair Dressers Union, Fishermen’s Union, Ordaelay, Stone Miners, Union of Artist and Vehicle Maintenance Association.
The meeting is the first in a series to be held across the country to complement these efforts. The meetings are intended to have the community leaders to take the lead in reconciling their members and promoting peaceful coexistence.
Prior to and after the March 2018 Elections, the Board has been addressing elections related disputes through its Alternative Dispute Resolution, community and school outreach programmes.
‘We should not allow the politicians to divide us. This is why you should reconcile with those on the opposite side and focus on developing yourselves, your family, community and country,’ The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles said by way of setting the tone for the meetings.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said the Board is aware the elections divided spouses, families, friends, organizations and communities. ‘We see evidence of this on a daily bases in our offices across the country and this is why we have called this meeting for you to know that belonging to a political party of your choice is a right and nobody should be denied that right regardless of status in the family or community,’ she stressed. ‘It is perfectly normal for husband and wife to belong to different political parties of their choice and this should not be a life and death affair,’ she added.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles told the participants that they know the issues dividing their respective communities and organizations and therefore better placed to handle them before they get out of proportion. She said the elections are over as such winners and losers should embrace each other.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles had a strong message for fathers and men who have abdicated their obligations because their wives or partners belong to a different political party from theirs. ‘You cannot use this as an excuse not to pay child or wife maintenance,’ she said. ‘This is why, I would like you to know that we have a Chief Justice who is defence minded and therefore stands ready to give the Board all the support to ensure these men take their responsibility seriously.’
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said sexual penetration is now a national emergency which demands collective action to put a stop to it. ‘It is not an excuse to claim you do not know the age of the child,’ she warned.
The Minister of Political Affairs, Foday Yumkella said there are lots of examples to copy regarding political tolerance. He said his relationship with his younger brother Dr. Kandeh Yumkella is cordial even though he did not support him in the Presidential Election last year.
Also, the relationship between President Bio and Dr. Kandeh Yumkella is cordial. He added that the President Bio included Dr. Yumkella in his entourage for the inauguration of President Macky Sall of Senegal.
He said despite the heated and sometimes acrimonious debates in the well of Parliament, Parliamentarians are civil to each other or even friends outside the well. He noted that elections always bring differences but they should not break down families and homes. ‘The problem we have is that some people have their differences but wait until there are elections to settle scores,’ he said.
He spoke on the efforts by government to unite the country. He said the government will be organizing a national conference, Bintumani Three in a few months’ time to promote national cohesion.
He added that government scholarships are awarded to students who have the grades and not based on connections. Also. the government is ensuring the law works for everybody regardless of status.
The Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI), Abdul Fatorma underscored the importance of access to justice, noting that without access to justice, we will not be able to hold politicians to account. Also, there will be no peace without access to justice.
He lauded the Legal Aid Board for following up on a report his organization published in 2016 regarding 187 inmates in prisons without indictments and ensuring that indictments were served on hundreds of inmates. He lamented that some of the inmates had spent over seven years in detention for stealing items like mobile phones.
He called on the government to support the Board to be able to build on its successes.
Mr. Fatorma said there is no point killing opponents because of political difference, noting that politicians will come and go. He stressed the role of chiefs and traditional leaders in ensuring peaceful coexistence. ‘When we are divided, we will not be able to hold politicians to account or agitate for what is due us,’ he said.
The President of the Temne Council, Issa Catco Kamara, called on politicians to seek the views of ordinary people on national issues. He noted that everybody has a role to play in the development of the country. He added that people should love the country by contributing to its development.
Other speakers include the President of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Mr. Jennnings Wright, the Coordinator of Civil Society Movement – Sierra Leone, Ms. Juliet Anderson, Head of the Community Relations Department for the Sierra Leone Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Hawa Momoh and the Mende Tribal Headman, Andrew Gibao Young.
The meeting was climaxed with questions and contributions from participants which bother on friction between village head and tribal headmen, access to justice for victims of domestic violence, land disputes, election of tribal head for the Kru Community and increase in crime rate in Waterloo among others.

The Premier League Board (PLB) has informed the public, by extension fervent followers of the ongoing Sierra Leone Premier League (SLPL) ,that having fulfilled its disbursement of fifty Million Leones (Le 50, 000,000) subsidies to the thirteen (13) participating clubs during the start of the first round, the PLB however, is delighted to make it known that, since Monday, 8th April, 2019 it started disbursing the remaining Fifty Million Leones (Le 50,000,000) subsidies to all the clubs involve.

The Board is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability, and it is also asking all clubs to make returns of the first instalment paid to them backed-up with a credible financial report.

In view of the aforementioned, all clubs were requested to tender these reports within the next working days so as to be able to get quick access to the next reimbursement.

The Premier League Board as always is assuring a transparent and accountable Premier League for the general good.

The Government of Sierra Leone received the sum of US$ 39,670,774.19 on Friday 5th April, 2019, as direct budget support from the World Bank under the Productivity and Transparency Support Grant Programme. The Leones equivalent of this disbursement of Le 341.6 billion has been credited into the Consolidated Revenue Fund held at the Bank of Sierra Leone.

The disbursement was made possible as a result of Government’s accomplishments in fiscal consolidation to stabilize the economy and the implementation of policy reforms in Agriculture, Fisheries, Energy, Education, and as well as strengthen the fight against Corruption.
The initial budget support amount from the World Bank was US$ 20 Million loan; but this was increased to US$ 40 Million (equivalent) and converted into a grant due to the impressive performance of Government.

The Executive Board of the World Bank approved this Support Programme on the 19th March 2019 followed by the signing of the financing agreement between the Minister of Finance and the Bank’s Country Manager on the 21st March, 2019.

This support will help Government to meet critical pro-poor expenditures in education, health and other statutory payments.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening the fight against financial and economic crimes in Sierra Leone.

The signing ceremony took place on Monday 8th April, 2019 at the Conference Room of the ACC in Freetown.

Making a brief statement at the ceremony, the Commissioner of the ACC Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. said, economic and financial crimes are responsible for the poor economic state of the country, adding that there is need for this kind of synergy to strengthen the fight against such crimes and general acts of corruption.

The ACC Commissioner said the Commission is pleased to formalize the collaboration with the FIU and ready to partner with any institution that would help bring about a robust fight against corruption and other economic crimes.

The Director of FIU, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, said he has been identifying institutions that would add value to the work of the FIU and was quick to single out the ACC as an institution that would make their work better. He said, with the kind of zest the ACC is showing in the fight against corruption, the partnership by the two institutions will produce the desired results.

The Deputy Commissioner of the ACC Shollay Davies, while earlier welcoming the Team from the FIU said, the MoU is meant to tighten the relationship between the two institutions. He made reference to Section 52 of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008, which provides for the ACC to investigate matters relating to the transfer of illicit wealth.

The FIU Team was accompanied by a Team from the Department of Treasury in the United States of America.
Christine Wondra, Economic Crimes Advisor, Office of Technical Assistance of the Department of Treasury said the political will has been inspiring and that is why they are in the country to provide technical assistance to combat cases of money laundering and other economic crimes.

The Director of Public Education and Outreach, ACC, Patrick Sandi, read the citation of the MoU, which, among other things, provides for the two institutions to “assemble, develop and analyse information in their possession concerning financial transactions suspected of being related to corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing or related unlawful activities with a view to disseminating same in a manner consistent with the terms of this Memorandum.”

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has received a high-level official delegation from the United Arab Emirates, UAE, a follow-up to his visit last month to the Arabian Peninsula nation.

The President of UAE, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had urged investors to visit Sierra Leone, the natural resource-rich West African nation that was looking for genuine businesses to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the New Direction government.

Welcoming the delegation, which included public and private investors, Chief Minister Professor David Francis told the potential investors that the country was an emerging destination of choice for Africa and other developed countries. He added that under the leadership of President Bio the government would ensure that all investors and their investments were protected.

“We are proud of the bold steps and your initiative of coming to our beloved country to invest. Sierra Leone has been ranked as the third most peaceful country in the world. This will be backed up with the political will to ensure that you are not only protected but your investments were also secure,” he assured.

Professor Francis noted that he wanted those investors to be part of the drive to transform Sierra Leone, thereby turning the country’s challenges into a unique opportunity.

Head of the delegation, His Excellency Sultan Al Shamsi, who is the Currently, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs said he was happy to visit Sierra Leone and to bring along investors to explore possible investment potentials in the private and public sectors. He said that key areas of interest would be agriculture, education, energy, health, women’s empowerment through job creation and the empowerment of small and medium-sized enterprises.

“It is very promising and important coming here to Sierra Leone to partner with the government and find ways the two countries can make investment better. One thing that is important and fundamental here is the commitment by the government to protect investors and their investments,” he said.

While responding, President Julius Maada Bio welcomed and thanked the delegation from the UAE for their time and effort to come to Sierra Leone to discuss business.

“When we last visited the UAE in search of investment opportunities, Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE assured me that he would send a delegation to Sierra Leone for this said purpose. I didn’t expect it to happen soonest. On behalf of the people of Sierra Leone, I welcome you here and I pray that your engagements will be fruitful,” he told the delegation.

President Bio also told the meeting that the country was looking for credible investors who would explore the many opportunities of the country through their various interests and assured of their protection.

During a press conference convened at the Ministry of Tertiary and Higher Education’s conference room at its New England Ville office in Freetown on Tuesday 9th April 2019, the Minister, Professor Aiah Gbakima, said they are embarking on the development of a National Policy for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Present at the meeting were members of the Technical Committee set up to develop the Policy, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Gilbert Cooper and members of the Press.
In his introduction, Gilbert Cooper stated that his Ministry deals with two categories of education, Higher Education, which is concern with colleges and the universities and the second category being that of Technical and Vocational Training. On the former, he said, that operations are going on with little itches, but the latter is the sticking point, for which this policy is being developed. He informed the media that technical experts are already in the process of formulating a Policy, which will embrace all disciplines and inputs from the public will be welcomed.
Addressing the meeting, Professor Gbakima said that over the years, two similar policies (2010 and 2014) have been developed by the previous Government, but these have not seen the light of day as they were left in the preliminary stages. This policy, he noted, will be sent to cabinet and later tabled in Parliament for enactment. He, however, stated that the past two drafts will be closely looked at and other additions made to stream line it with the needs of the country. He noted that a lot of youths from the University and from schools are unemployed. This, according to him, is due in part to the relevance of their courses to the job market, whilst others lack the necessary skills training to get them gainfully employed. He lamented over the fact that mining companies in this country hire foreigners to work in their companies because of the absence of the requisite skills in the country.
The policy, he went on, will take into cognizance all these facts to ensure they create the skills to meet the needs of the job market. It is therefore the responsibility of his Ministry to solely focus on technical and higher education. Its operational responsibilities include among others: Development of robust policies on TVET, Development of framework for public-Private-Partnership with a view to increase private sector participation in TVET, expand access, improve quality of TVET particularly in areas highly potential for job creation, review and standardize curriculum and certification for TVET, develop a national apprenticeship scheme which can provide internship for trainees of TVET and at the same time provide direct training for youth. Promote agricultural TVET to enhance food production and food security.
Development of the TVET Policy
Minister Gbakima maintained that the MTHE is currently developing a National TVET policy in collaboration and in consultation with all relevant stakeholders/ partners including GIZ. The process is being led by a national consultant with both national and international experience in policy development and implementation. Regional Consultation will be conducted simultaneously to further solicit stakeholders inputs in five regions: East in Kenema, South in Bo, North West in Port Loko, North in Makeni and West in Freetown.
He stressed that a final validation workshop will be held by the 4th week of April leading to the finalization of the policy. The final document, he said, will be presented to Parliament for approval and enactment. The purpose of the policy is to set up a common vision for the TVET system in Sierra Leone, to facilitate alignment with both national development frame work and coherence with other policies, to enhance coordination of planned actions and reforms for improving outcomes and input of TVET, to clarify institutional arrangement and stakeholders roles and responsibilities for TVTE, to integrate best practices at national and international level, to pledge the political and collective will of the GoSL and implementing stakeholders.
In that regard, he is appealing to members of the general public and interested parties to participate by sending their views, comments and suggestions to the TVET Policy Secretary Technical Working Group at email: mempower1981@yahoo.com or contact: +232 76 966959.