The Confederation of West African Youth has awarded the President of the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire, Amb. Anthony Navo Jnr as Most Influential Person of the Year – Sierra Leone

Amb. Navo was awarded in absentia. Over 200 influential Business leaders, Politicians, Youth Leaders, Government Ministers, Innovators, Entrepreneurs and other professionals from all works of life in the Sixteen West African countries converged in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown where the ceremony was held.

Navo is the Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Financier of Sierra Leone’s leading multimedia institution that employs over 470 young people across the country and beyond.
His recognition is not unconnected to his contributions to changing the narrative of young people in the country.

He has created a platform that influences change in society. With his business establishments in and out of Sierra Leone, he has made influential Sierra Leoneans, especially young people who can now make boast of having platforms to influence change and hold authorities accountable.

This grand award was received on his behalf by the staff of the AYV Media Empire.

On Friday 29th March 2019, the Central Bank of Sierra Leone launched a competition known as the ‘Sierra Leone Fin Tech Challenge 2019-2020’, designed to support financial inclusion of the middle and low-income members of the population. According to a joint statement by the partners, the Bank of Sierra Leone, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the IBSA Fund, “The FinTech Challenge 2019-2020’ aims to harness the growing digital economy in order to develop and test innovative solutions, as a way to leapfrog access to finance, and consequently build out government and private sector platforms to operationalize the benefits of the digital economy.”
The statement said the initiative will test and build business models for digital infrastructure to shift from informal cash–based transactions to digital financial services that can mobilize domestic
resources and address the latent needs around health, education, agriculture and help save and plan for the future.
The focus, it added, will be nationwide, with emphasis on rural areas, smallholder farmers, women groups and youths. The scheme will seek to address two key issues: to digitize informal savings and lending groups such that it leads to greater access to financial services – bigger loans, savings, other financial services, and non-financial services such as energy, education, knowledge, market linkages among others; and to digitize payments and collections, for example revenue collection, energy, health and education payments.
The project is being implemented in three phases: January – February 2019 as the Define & Kick-off phase; March – August 2019 Design & Test phase; and August – onwards Invest & Pilot phase.
The initiative, championed in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the IBSA Fund, was launched under the theme: “Domestic resource mobilization”. The funds will come primarily from the IBSA Fund, which is the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation.
Seen as a unique initiative to enhance South-South cooperation for the benefit of nations of the South, the IBSA Fund facilitates the execution of human development projects to advance the fight against poverty and hunger in developing countries.
UNCDF makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, the UN agency offers last mile finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.
The Bank of Sierra Leone, which is the country’s central bank and which is leading this initiative, is charged with developing the country’s financial sector. This initiative is part the implementation
of its National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2017–2020.
The BSL will provide two finalists access to the Regulatory Sandbox – a safe space for unregulated financial sector innovations to grow under the guidance of the BSL staff and other specialists.
Officials say the overall goal of the scheme is to improve the country’s domestic resource mobilization and the economic well-being of its citizens living in rural and underserved areas.
The scheme has a two-pronged approach: Engagement and partnerships with innovation hubs and local players, and Catalytic investments to scalable partnerships and solutions.
“The world is currently experiencing unprecedented increases in connectivity and global data flows. And the rise of ‘superplatforms’ is starting to enter the African markets and will have significant implications for consumers, incumbent financial institutions, local entrepreneurs as well as for regulators,” the statement reads in part.
It adds: “In that context, Sierra Leone is facing a wave of new opportunities. Rapid mobile phone and network penetration across the country is opening the door to new services, making it easier than ever for people to use digital payments in their everyday lives.
Adoption of digital financial services (DFS) in the country continues to grow — active adult users increased from 6 percent to 10 percent from 2016 to 2017.”

On 21st March 2019, in its bid to support the strengthening of a resilient Health system in the country, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), delivered 15 vehicles to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS).
Poor health and poverty are inextricably linked. Gaps in governance, social injustices and economic inequalities are the bedrock of poverty, which in turn increases chances of poor health, which also traps societies in poverty. In this regard, UNDP recognizes and reaches out to compliment efforts of the government of Sierra Leone in trying to eradicate poverty in a holistic approach, through accelerated structural transformation for sustainable development.
The 15 4WD hard body Toyota land cruiser mini-trucks are well-designed to access Sierra Leone’s rural areas, tucked in thickets and forests with impenetrable roads. This is in line with the promise to leave no one behind in accessing quality health care service delivery among other development gains. These 15 trucks will facilitate the speedy delivery of medicines and other health care supplies throughout Sierra Leone’s 16 Districts.
Handing over the keys of the vehicles to Hon. Alpha Wurie, the Minister of Health and Sanitation, UNDP Country Resident Representative (RR), Samuel Doe reminded people that, the efforts to build resilient health systems in Sierra Leone started with UNDP’s interventions following the devastating Ebola Virus Disease outbreak since 2013.
In the onset, UNDP collaborated with the MoHS to improve access to quality basic health care services, promote livelihoods and economic recovery in especially the most vulnerable remote border communities in Kaliahun, Kono, and Kambia. Along with the intervention, access to clean-safe water and sanitation was provided with 88 water wells and pit latrines constructed across the three districts. This included the construction of six maternal-child health posts to improve access to and delivery of timely and efficient health services in 70 hard-to-reach communities. Sierra Leone has the world’s worst maternal mortality rates “and that is a major impediment to development we must tackle as a matter of urgency” emphasized Mr. Doe.
Additionally, UNDP in collaboration with UN women trained 360 women in various aspect of maintenance and sustainability of the facilities, including basic hand-pump mechanics, monitoring and initiation of community-led committees to manage the facilities. “Health-related issues shouldn’t be restricted to one agency; there should be concerted efforts from all stakeholders. Development starts with healthy people.” added UNDP’s RR.
The Health and Sanitation Minister, Dr. Alpha Wurie, described the gesture as a demonstration of “true fraternity and brotherhood between UNDP and the people of Sierra Leone.” He reiterated that “Sierra Leone has horrendous maternal death numbers. It has always been difficult to move medical equipment from the districts stores to the primary health posts because access roads are not there, or they are impassable. These vehicles will help manage the situation and drugs and other health care supplies to health care facilities when and where they are required. That will reduce the maternal death rates.”
The Director of Medical Services in the National Medical Supplies Agency thanked Global Fund and UNDP and assured the people of Sierra Leone that his agency would properly utilize the vehicles and employ innovative strategies in their effective maintenance and sustainability. “I’d like to thank UNDP for their effort at strengthening logistics capacity within the supply chain network and we are determined to enhance the cost-effective culture of regular maintenance, integrate parallel distribution regimes, ensure prompt attendance to emergency order and enhance general supply chain support and supervision.”
This intervention was supported by the Global Fund assistance through the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Ebola Response. UNDP will work in close partnership with sister-UN Agencies and the newly established National Supply Agency to ensure the timely dispatch and delivery of drugs and medical supplies to the most vulnerable throughout Sierra Leone.

Tomorrow April 4th 2019 marks that memorable night when His Excellency President Bio was declared winner of the March 2018 presidential election by NEC, and by extension the new president of the Republic.
If the government of President Julius Maada Bio were to be graded on their first year’s performance in office, it is likely that their report card would read, “promising start, which they must surpass in the years ahead”.
At the time, as with all changes of government, expectations were high that the new government would, above everything else, deal with the crying issue of bread and butter, namely, the high cost of living, inflation and record high unemployment among the youths, who always turn out in large numbers during elections to vote, with the hope that things will be better and brighter for them.
For a president who confessed to inheriting a battered, shattered economy desperately in need of resuscitation from recession, it is an interesting intellectual activity to evaluate how he sits with the people.
To say that President Bio does not command the respect and following of a significant proportion of his country men and women who hail from the North is to be economical with the truth – More so when he had undiplomatically called the members of their former APC government “Ayampis”.
The New Direction Government’s Commissions of Inquiry has divided the country sharply along tribal, regional and political lines.
Those against it call it a witch hunt; those for it say it is necessary therapy that the body polity needs, if it is to be purged off chronic anaemia and other symptoms of bad economic health that has resulted in the stunting of the economy generally and loss ot confidence in the country by investors, who see Sierra Leone as a den of iniquity – a dismal image of the country that President Bio, through vigorous economic and financial reforms, is trying to rewrite.
How do the majority of Sierra Leoneans view their ‘Talk and do’ president one year down the line?
Truth is, there are many who now take with a big pinch of salt talk by his Finance Minister during the campaigns that a New Direction government will easily solve the cantankerous bread and butter issues that have defied the efforts of government since the days of President Stevens’ failed IMF Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) of the 1980s, as well as President Momoh’s much vaunted ‘Green Revolution’ that would have turned Sierra Leone into rich bread basket. That is, given that since this government came to power, prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed as the value of the Leone has sky-dived.
Democracy being government of the people, by the people and for the people, politically, there are many people who think that since coming to power, increasingly, President Bio, his ministers and MPs generally have insulated themselves from not only the existential realities of the poor people that they are supposed to have been elected to help solve, but have also isolated themselves from the people, who a year ago, they were knocking at their doors to beg them for their votes.
Whilst the Free Education has generally been accepted by the nation as a boon to poor parents and their children, many observe that the program lacks adequate monitoring and supervision and that most of the same old vices committed by unscrupulous school heads and teachers, who place love of money far above love of their profession continue – like charging exorbitantly for sports, T-Shirts, Thanksgiving, Match Past, Social Science, etc.
The behaviour of teachers in the government and government assisted schools is also said to be nothing much to write home about, as private lessons instead of normal teaching in schools continues to be the order of the day.
Not helping the situation is the problem of many untrained, unqualified, unpaid community teachers in most of the schools in the provinces; particularly in the Northern Province.
Nothing much needs to be said about the crunching problem of the steady unavailability of clean drinking water in both urban and rural communities. We can leave without electricity, many say, but we cannot live without clean water.
Whilst the successes of the fight against corruption, drastic reduction in wastage of finances, plugging of loopholes, increased revenue collection are yet to trickle down to the masses, for poor people that commute every day or have to travel for businesses, they would be greatly pleased if the government had worked fast to actualise the promise of 200 new buses to fill the gaping gap that Balogun Koroma’s USD12 million buses left wide open.
Meanwhile, the people living in Freetown call the attention of the police to the growing sense of insecurity that they feel due to constant, daily harassment from armed robbers, who now brazenly break down their doors at night and attack them.
Since taking office after his successful election last year, this retired brigadier general has made a promising start, beginning with a massive investigation into corruption and mismanagement under All Peoples Congress (the APC) government of ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma.
On the recommendations of that investigation, a judge-led public inquiry is now examining corruption allegations against former officials. Early scalps in this veritable war on graft.
The issue of corruption hits a raw nerve here, a country that is desperately poor despite its wealth of natural resources and fertile lands, which in a parallel universe would guarantee a decent standard of life for every one of its 7.5 million citizens. Former government officials are also widely believed to have stolen resources meant for the victims of the Ebola and mudslide disasters which laid waste to thousands a few years back.
Simultaneously as he drove forward his anti-corruption campaign, the new President upon taking office established a consolidated account for all government revenues. The goal was to plug any potential “leakages” in his own administration.
Revenues collected have gone towards servicing the domestic debt and paying civil servants, who were now getting paid on time and without government having to borrow.
Bio’s stewardship of the economy has won applauds from the IMF, who have approved a new two-year support programme worth 172 million dollars. The World Bank has chimed in with support to the tune of 325 million dollars. Both Bretton Woods institutions’ relationship with the previous administration had been “increasingly difficult”, which saw the IMF suspending their programme in 2017. President Bio has said both institutions were “necessary evils”.
His ambitious, five-year National Development Plan, costed at 8 billion dollars, was unveiled in February and has been endorsed by the Bretton Woods double act. Its key pillars include the development of human capital and infrastructure, and increasing agricultural production, especially of the staple food, rice – which the country used to export up till the 1970s, but which now sucks up valuable foreign exchange to import.
Inevitably with report cards, you eventually get to the bits that cause embarrassment or feelings of regret in the subject. In this case, one of these has to be the alarming rates of gender-based violence against women and young girls. The available figures paint the story in vivid technicolour.
According to police statistics, there were 632 cases of rape or sexual assaults in 2012. That figure rose to an astronomical 8,505 for last year alone. Over 70 percent of victims were girls under 15 years old. Although the government declared the crisis a state of emergency and speedily passed legislation making the “sexual penetration of minors” punishable with an automatic life sentence, it remains to be seen how effective this will be.
“Our commitment [to solving this problem] is beyond mere words and beyond mere acknowledgement of an obligation,” President Bio has said. “The protection and empowerment of our women and girls is critical to our existence and progress as a nation.”
From an appraisal of the first year of President Bio’s government, two things are clear. The first is that he has entered into a marriage of convenience with the IMF and the World Bank; the second is that, if his government’s promising start is to be surpassed, or even sustained, he will need the skills of a master magician to keep both his people, as well as his “marriage partners”, happy.

The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) through the Sierra Leone Community Driven Development Project Phase Two (SLCDDll-Gietrenk), in Partnership with its Value-Chain and Livelihood Development Service Provider, Partners in Relief and Development Sierra Leone (PaRD) has concluded a 9 day Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop on Micro Enterprise Group Formation. The training which was held in Kenema City from 11th – 19th March, 2019, targeted NaCSA field staff and other partners implementing the Livelihood and Small, Medium Enterprise Development component of the Project
In his key note address, while declaring the session open, the NaCSA Senior Director Programmes, Mohamed Rashid Bah disclosed that the GIETRENK project is one of the biggest projects in the Commission, which encompasses all eight policy clusters in the new Medium Term National Development Plan of the New Direction Government. The importance of the training, he noted, is to equip participants with the relevant skills to ensure effective targeting/selection of Micro Enterprise Groups (MEGs). He assured participants that with the current leadership of NaCSA and the overarching policy environment created by the New Direction National Development Plan launched by H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, NaCSA has the appropriate political will and environment to perform in the upcoming years. Senior Director Bah reiterated the need for staff to be committed and attentive throughout the session and encouraged them to demonstrate high level of diligence during the training.
Speaking on the purpose of the training, the Director Field Operations, Sainku Fofanah, disclosed that the training is geared towards giving NaCSA field staff the requisite skills in the formation of Micro Enterprise Groups in communities across the country as well as to engage Stakeholders in community sensitization. Director Fofanah highlighted the key criteria involved in forming MEGs and implored all to take cognizance of these in the training.
In his address, the Resident Minister East, Andrew Fatorma, commended NaCSA, describing it as one of the few institutions in the country working in line with the New Direction Policy of the Government. He specially cited the area of youth capacity building and development in agriculture through the provision of direct support in the form of finance, market information, technology and technical advice to youths to engage in commercial agriculture and agro-processing activities, which are all central to the Government`s recently launched Mid Term Development Plan.

Making the opening remarks, the Chairman Kenema District Council, Mohamed O’level Sesay, registered his appreciation for being part of the event, especially at the opening session of the training. He implored participants to take the training seriously and to replicate it in their various communities. NaCSA, he said, is a credible institution that delivers on its mandate and expectations. He further wished all well in the deliberations.
In his statement, the Honorable Member of Parliament, Mohamed Festus Lansana, of constituency 015 gave a brief overview of the SLCDD project, noting that it is geared towards reducing poverty in Sierra Leone. Hon. Lansana commended NaCSA for complimenting the work of Local Councils with specific reference to Lower Bambara Chiefdom, which he represents in Parliament.
Civil Society members at the occasion expressed satisfaction over the rationale for the training and commended NaCSA for involving them, and encouraged other development agencies to do the same. Civil Society activist, Augustine Sannoh assured NaCSA of their commitment in monitoring as well as in providing follow-up on the various NaCSA projects and activities within the Kenema District.
Women’s Leader Doris Lansana expressed similar sentiments about NaCSA, especially in the area of female representation in its projects. She commended NaCSA and expressed the need for NaCSA management to empower more women.
Forming part of the training were field exercises aimed at sensitizing community stakeholders and potential group members on the targeting criteria and identifying prominent Micro Enterprise Groups along the value chain. The Director of Programmes, Obi Buya-Kamara, distributed certificates of participation to participants, forming the highlight of the event.

As the count down towards the close of the reality TV show begins, the House is becoming tenser and lots of gossiping going on. Often tempers flare up between the housemates as they fight tooth and nail to outsmart each other. Whilst trying to do so, they become agitated and confrontational, often requiring the intervention of the chief (the mystery voice).

This apparent dash for time, further makes the show more and more captivating, with the contestants attempting to act funnily, talk tough and appear sexy in a bid to woo more votes from the public. Exuding strong language, behaving humorously and displaying nudity are all part of the show. To release stress, the Housemates can be seen dancing to Sierra Leonean tunes, singing, cracking jokes and arguing. As it gets hotter, they are all appealing to their fans to vote for them. Even hotter is the activities away from the show. Supporters of various contestants are busy campaigning for votes in favor of their favorite housemates. This is done in the social media and in entertainment centres across the country. Conversations now are dominated by the Reality TV show. Members of the public are counting the days to the ultimate climax.

The live Reality Show, which is aired on AYV entertainment’s Channel 34, is indeed a novelty in this country for which the organizers, AYV Media Empire and Africell, have been widely hailed, as both continue to boost the entertainment industry.
What is uppermost in the minds of each of the Housemates is to ultimately emerge as the winner that will bag the Le100,000,000 that has been set aside as the star prize.

According to the organizers of the show, what is at the center of organizing the Reality TV Show is youth empowerment, providing a platform to showcase young people’s talents and at the same time give them the opportunity to acquire new skills like learning how to cook, socialize, how to play certain games, build confidence, how to comport themselves publicly and to speak fluently. They have been benefitting from interactions with officials of certain corporate entities, like Rokel Commercial Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, Life By Design, who have been explaining to them how their institutions operate. They are also given motivational lectures.
It is yet not known whether the way the Housemates are catered for falls under empowerment because they are offered good food and drinks nurturing them well. It is factual that the Housemates are really enjoying sumptuous food,
AYV, under its charismatic Chief Executive Officer, Ambassador Anthony Navo, has been at the very forefront of empowering young people and making them very productive and relevant in society. He has been doing so passionately and he is held in high esteem for championing that cause.
A good aspect of the Reality TV Show is that it has exposed all the participants and as viewers continue to follow it, there is the likelihood that in the future some of them will become Brand Ambassadors, artists or role models. As the Reality TV Show is climaxing, it is undoubtable that it will continue to be very enticing and lively.

As it takes one year in power, the Sierra Leone People’s Party Government has found out, and to their utter chagrin, that being in opposition criticizing the government of the day left and right on every issue is not the same as being on the receiving end of that criticism – much of it unfair at that.
It can be recalled that when the SLPP was in opposition, their propagandists spoke derogatorily of the then APC government having sold the country to the Chinese in exchange for a pittance. Now it is very interesting to read and hear the things that are being said by APC propagandists on SLPP’s involvement with the Chinese.
Truth of the matter is, the SLPP has far more on its plate than it can chew; in terms of managing an economy that is deeply in the red and nowhere near bouncing back to life; controlling and if possible, reducing inflation and consumer prices that keep escalating every now and then causing the poor, who still make up the majority of the population, unimaginable stress and sleepless nights, particularly those that are unemployed and have many mouths besides theirs to feed daily.
On both sides, the government and anti-government propagandists are very busy informing and misinforming the poor people, depending from which side of the political divide they are seated and speaking from.
However, the truth of the matter is that it does not matter to the people, who is speaking the truth or who is bombarding them with sugar coated vibes. What matters to them is that the cost of living is driving them crazy to the point that they are now chanting: “De gron dry-o!!!”
For Sierra Leoneans who have all kinds of graphic metaphors and similes to describe their deplorable existence, de phrase: “De gron dry” needs no explanation.
To the APC propagandists who pray every minute, every second that life here would get worst than they had it in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe and other poor developing countries characterized by decades of dictatorship, mismanagement and corruption, the appeal is, please cool down.
Since this government came to power, there is a lot that is happening positively on the governance and public financial management fronts that augur well for a well managed economy that will eventually translate into prosperity for the state and its people.
In helping to build the Mama Salone that we all envision, if we all truly love this our beautiful country, the advice is to practice constructive criticism.
That is, where we honestly believe that the government is doing well by way of improving on performance and delivery that benefits the people, let us be magnanimous to say so.
At the same time, without any fear, we should feel free to genuinely criticize where we see lapses and excesses without resorting to “mammy kurs” and hate speeches reek with tribalism and regionalism.
The message here is that we can criticize the government and its officials without being offensive and odious to others; then the criticism will be taken in good faith and acted upon by whoever it is addressed to.
To the government propagandists…You are very easy to lose your temper and take off your shirts, vest and blouses to fight.
You cannot fight fire with fire; you only make matters worse. APC and the opposition in general have the right to criticize your government; it is your duty to take such criticism in good faith and to engage the opposition constructively, civilly with a sense of humor.
That said, Sierra Leoneans, we are all in the same boat. If any of us pray that now that we are in the middle of the sea with a storm blowing over us and only a few life belts available, that the boat capsizes, which of us do we think will be saved?
As such, we should not pray that the “Pa-o-pa” government fails; for if it fails the failure will affect all of us in diverse ways.
At the same time, the Pa-o-pa government and its people should stop seeing those of us who do not belong to their party or did not vote for them in 2018 as enemy aliens that they should seek to suppress and destroy at all cost.
Rather, we want to see Pa-o-pa and Torkpoi in words and deeds genuinely living their mantra of “ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE”.
How long will, as Bob Marley said, fools continue to die for want of wisdom?
As ONE COUNTRY, ONE PEOPLE, tell me what 7 million of us thinking, working and pulling in the same direction cannot achieve that countries like Botswana, Rwanda, Seychelles, Cape Verde, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia have?

The newly appointed Solicitor General of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley, has subscribed to the Oath of Office before His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio in accordance with the Constitution during a ceremony held at State House.

Shortly after taking the oath of office, Mr. Tarawalley said he was thankful to President Bio for the honour and privilege to be appointed Solicitor General of Sierra Leone, adding that he was aware of the challenges, but vowed not to betray the President’s trust. He noted that the New Direction Government had made tremendous strides in revamping and restoring trust in the legal system of the country.

“Good laws and good legal system are part of the development and growth of any nation and I commend your government on that. It is my pleasure to work in tandem with the Attorney General to build, develop and improve the justice department, otherwise known as the Law Officers’ Department, which is the largest government law firm. If our laws must be respected, we must respect them and to me this is doable,” he said.

In his brief response, President Bio congratulated Lawyer Tarawalley on his new role, saying that he had been meticulously chosen and therefore so much was expected of him because the country was lagging behind and that a lot of work was required to catch up with the rest of the world.

“We are beginning to find our place in society and we should continue on that part. That is why I want to encourage everyone to put their hands on deck, because this is not something we can do alone. Now is the time to work and there are very good signs that we are on the right track. Therefore, as you join us, I want to implore you to continue to work very hard. On my part, I promise to provide the quality leadership necessary to change the bad reputation of the country,” he said.