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LAB Represent 62 Clients in Kabala Criminal Sessions

By Amin Kef Sesay

The Legal Aid Board represented all the 62 cases in the criminal session of the High Court in Kabala in the Koinadugu District from the 15 to 30 September 2020.  The accused persons were represented by Legal Aid Counsels Mohamed Korie and Ibrahim Samba.

Twenty-three (23) accused persons were convicted and sentenced to various prison terms. These include two accused persons convicted of sexual penetration. Five (5) accused persons were discharged including one charged with Sexual Penetration and two (2) were acquitted and discharged including one (1) also charged with sexual penetration.

31 cases were adjourned to the next Criminal Session. These include five charged with sexual offences, seven assault, 17 larceny and 2 murder related offences. Two of the adjourned matters were referred to the Mental Home and 28 persons who were on bail were issued bench warrant.

The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has told Paralegals in Koinadugu and Falaba Districts to intensify community, school and radio outreach events to ensure a smooth return of clients and more importantly their reintegration into the community. ‘We are particularly concerned about the return and reintegration of those who committed serious offence and this is why our intervention will continue in the long run,’ she said, adding ‘Reintegration is a process.’

Heath Network-SL Urged Govt. to Implement Alcohol Laws

By Foday Moriba Conteh

“While efforts were in place to improve on the health sector, the abuse of alcohol continues to undermine such efforts by killing potential workforce as the practice is common among young and productive age groups.”

The above statement was part of support to raise awareness against the fight on the abuse of alcohol in the country, by the Heath Network Sierra Leone on Friday 2nd October, 2020 commemorated World No Alcohol Day on the theme: “Abuse of Alcohol is a risk to COVID-19” at the Civil Service Training College hall, Tower Hill in Freetown.

In his address, Chairman Health Network Sierra Leone, Robert Kondema Kargbo said that the event marks another effort in finding plausible ways and means to raise awareness in the fight against the abuse of alcohol, adding that the exponential death toll caused by alcohol can only be compared with the sickly and deadly seasons predicted by the great demographer Rev. Thomas Malthus.

“Since this is a national fight one can strategically identify and stratify a sector that has the potential to multiply the benefits of their intervention, this is why the membership of Health Network SL has decided to work with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the National Youth Commission to disseminate information, education and communication materials relating to alcohol abuse and its negative effects on our productive population” he revealed.

He told the gathering that the aim of the campaign is to reinforce the social norm that people don’t drink under the age of 18 and to raise public awareness about not drinking while driving attending official public businesses, pointing out that Alcohol is a psychological and physical addictive substance; frequent in-take can led to alcoholism and has the dominant effect of adversely affecting people of all age brackets particularly the most productive Segment of the country’s demography the young population.

He maintained that No Alcohol Day is part of the WHO’s effort to raise awareness and reduce the abuse of alcohol globally. He further disclosed that according to the World Health Organization, there are 2.5 million alcohol-related deaths each year, and of these, 320,000 are of people between the ages of 15 and 29 and that WHO has also said alcohol is the third leading cause of poor health around the world.

He stated that Health Network Sierra Leone has being observing this day annually since October 2013 and its surrounding weeks through community awareness and policy advocacy against the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs abuse, adding that their activities have concentrated on how alcohol and other drugs affect the very dynamic population between the ages of 10-35. Furthering that many data sources reveal that young people (particularly the unskilled and unemployed) not properly guided take into drinking alcohol without knowledge of their contents and the long run effects on health.

“As a health focused organization whose main aim is to achieve healthy community for everyone, hereby suggest the following cardinal principles for the action of government and development partners.

  1. Government to implement laws to prevent alcohol abuse and alcoholism
  1. To prohibit the selling of alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.
  2. 3. Review of the licensing act and other regulations on alcohol use.

We believed that if all the above cardinal principles are taken into account, harm caused by alcohol abuse, such as public antisocial behavior, domestic violence and traffic accident will reduce to a very large extent. Also, there will be a very good health across communities”, he recommended.

Assistant Director Sierra Leone Standards Bureau, Tamba Kamanda, said that alcohol consumption is common among young people across country and that its attendant’s health problems are very glaring, stating that Efforts should be made by society to curb this menace.

He said that Sierra Leone Standard Bureau develops standard for the Manufacturing industry and that these standards are either developed or adopted in line with international standards (ISO), adding that the prescribe limits terms of the alcohol percentage for various categories of alcoholic drinks including brandy, whisky, spirits, and energy drinks.

He said the Bureau carries out tests and analysis on alcoholic products in order to ascertain whether standards are adhered to.We have learnt recently that young people are in habit mixing different types of alcoholic drinks fortified with energy drinks and bitters to make it more potent. Member of Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, Dr. Sahr Emmanuel Gbomor, congratulated Health Network- Sierra Leone for commemorating no alcohol day.

He said the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1988 and reviewed in 2001 as a sole medicine regulatory agency in Sierra Leone, charged with the responsibility of ensuring that pharmaceuticals including drug nutritional agent cosmetics and chemical reagents in circulation are safe, efficacious and of good quality.

He said the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone will like to state that the regulation of alcohol and alcohol containing products do not fall under the mandate of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, but said however, it worthy to note that the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone operates a level it laboratory for the testing of pharmaceuticals and have currently built capacity for the testing of alcohol and alcohol containing products.

He noted that the Pharmacy Board will surely help in the future in investigative analysis into alcohol and alcohol containing products sent to the Pharmacy Board by sister law enforcement agencies, adding that the Board may like to note that it has observed with dismay the rampant abuse of alcohol and alcohol containing products by the general population especially the youths four country.

He went further to state that the Board will strongly recommend that advocacy and sensitization posed by alcohol abuse to the youths of this should be step up by Government, UN agencies and non-governmental agencies. Also the regulation of alcohol and alcohol containing products should be looked into by the Government.

Executive Director of Youth Against Corruption, Sheku Koroma, said youth violence takes many forms including bullying, gang violence, sexual aggression, and assaults occurring in streets, bars and nightclubs and that the victims and perpetrators alike are young people, and the consequences of youth violence can be devastating.

He said across the world an average of 565 young people aged 10 to 29 die every day through interpersonal violence, with males are at greater risk, and that for each death, there are an estimated 20 to 40 youth that require hospital treatment for a violence-related injury, adding that the impact of youth violence reaches all sectors of society, placing huge strains on public services and damaging communities reducing harmful alcohol use and violence among.

He said young people should thus be considered a priority for policy makers and practitioners across a broad range of agencies, with public health professionals having a key role in leading partnerships and prevention.

Expenditure Constantly Exceeding Tax Revenue: Can Sierra Leone Move Towards A Balanced Budget?

The Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone, Kelfala M. Kallon

By Amin Kef Sesay

Once again, the MDAs, many of whom are very notorious for using their budgets without controls, have been called upon by the Ministry of Finance to provide their annual budgets. Against this is the fact that every year instead of reporting a budget surplus, the country continues to have huge budget deficits that have to be filled with more borrowing.

This clearly shows that there is still too little investment and productivity in the economy to increase both GDP export revenue and personal incomes; only through which more taxes can be collected by the government to properly finance the budget. Central Bank Governor Professor Kelfala Kallon has made frequent reference to this in terms of the difficulty that he faces in stabilizing the economy and warding off inflation.

Going forward, many people believe that only sound budgeting will allow the country to create a spending plan for the taxes collected, in ensuring that the country will always have enough money for the things we need and the things that are important to us.

Thus, our MDAs following religiously a budget or spending plan will ensure the country stays out of debt or help us work our way out of debt. Budgeting is simply balancing one’s expenses with one’s income. If they can’t balance and you spend more than you make, you will have a problem.

Like our government, many people don’t realize that they spend more than they earn and slowly sink deeper into debt every year. As it stands, there is a great variance between what the government collects as revenue and what it spends. Over time, this cannot be sustainable and can lead to crunching fiscal circumstances; such as increasing taxes to finance the budget deficit.

The budget cannot also be just about income and expenditure on things like wages and salaries, social welfare, etc. The budget in the context of the national development plan has a policy function and a program function. The policy function involves determination of the size of the government budget and of the composition of the outlays.

The program function ensures that the programs and projects in the plan are included in the budget and that results expected from the outlays are actually achieved. The MDAs all complain that the variance between what they budget and actual receipts from ministry of finance is not enough to meet their set objectives.

Again, over the years; the economy has been buffeted by crosscurrents that have required changes in plans – such as what happened during Ebola and what is happening now during COVID-19.An important area in which development planning and the budget are expected to be congruent is development finance, which comprises resource mobilization and resource allocation.

What has been happening in our own case is that the budget does not incorporate the overall policy measures required for the success of the national development plan. This may be due to the fact that the planners are apt to assume that needed efforts would be made to collect revenue but not paid heed to MDAs overspending or adequate revenue not been collected.

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

We Yone Child Foundation

6 Sumaila Town, Pharmacy, first floor, Back of Winners Chapel Church, Freetown.

Date of Issue: 5th October, 2020

We Yone Child Foundation with funding from Sustain for Life UK is planning the construction of six classroom Primary School and a library at the Kroo Bay community to provide quality and sustainable education to the children living in that slum community.

Interested bidders may send us an email to info@weyonechildfoundation.org  to obtain more information about the building plans and specification. Working hours is Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

All bids must be accompanied with:

  • A copy of a valid local council License
  • A copy of a valid tax clearance certificate from the National Revenue Authority (NRA).
  • A copy of a valid NASSIT clearance certificate,
  • Bid security of Three million Leones (Le3, 000,000.00), it must be in the form of a valid bank guarantee from a reputable Commercial Bank operating in Sierra Leone.
  • A copy of a valid business registration certificate
  • Sealed bids must be delivered to the address 6 Sumaila Town, Pharmacy, first floor, Back of Winners Chapel Church, Freetown on or before 14th October, 2020 at 12:00am GMT. Late bids will be not considered.

 

Dr. Staneala Beckley Launches Dorwontony Organization for the Aged

By Foday Moriba Conteh

The Chairperson for Teaching Service Commission Sierra Leone Dr. Staneala Beckley has officially launched the Dorwontony Organization for the Aged (DOFA) on Saturday 3rd October, 2020. The organization which was launched at an auspicious event held at the King George’s Six Home at Grafton in Freetown, was set up to cater for the welfare of the elderly people in the country.

While launching it, Dr. Staneala Beckley expressed appreciation to the founder of the organization Dorren Barrie for thinking of establishing such organization that caters for the welfare of elderly people in the country.

She added that old people play vital roles in society such as giving health advice, comfort, and share wisdom of knowledge which she noted were very important roles that should not be overestimated.

Dr. Beckley maintained that their contributions in providing wisdom and advice to younger generations and the society as a whole should be acknowledged, adding that to ensure that older persons can participate satisfactorily in society, certain provisions can be made in the area of infrastructure, in particular in the areas of housing which is very key.

She called on all sectors in society to give their support to the aged and to also appreciate them as old persons.

Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Dorwontony Organization for the Aged, Dorren Barrie, said that they were giving birth to a baby organization that focuses on the welfare needs of elderly people in society.

She noted that the Dorwontony Organization for the Aged attaches great importance to the wellbeing of the aged, including their physical and social wellness.

“I am most delighted to see our fathers and mothers immaculately dressed this morning and their faces beaming with glowing radiance. We can’t be happier than seeing our elderly in such a happy mood. My heartfelt appreciation goes to the Home for the Aged for the care they have been providing for these people. Our interventions will be to complement efforts like this to help address the challenges that go with caring for old people” she noted.

Dorren Barrie added that they also intend advocating for vulnerable aged people to be taken off the streets, engaging the young on the need to care, respect and tap from the knowledge of the aged, adding that Social Security retirement benefits in Sierra Leone were very appalling, which is why retirement for workers in the public sector has historically been very challenging and in some cases, has led to confrontations. Furthering that this is even worse for the average and middle classes, more especially when they become pensioners of these gaps are the reasons for the establishment of DOFA. “The aim is to utilize advocacy and revenue mobilization to promote the welfare of the aged”, she stated.

The CEO revealed that one of the most sensitive stages in the life of any person is old age and at this stage requires everything around the person to become quite delicate and they tend to become more dependent on other people to survive even against their own wish.

Care, support and comfort are very essential factors elderly people need to survive and this leads to a healthy lifestyle. As people grow older, their psychology, physical strength and behavioral patterns begin to change and might end up becoming quite unstable and as such, people around them might be prompted to begin to look at them as burden or liabilities.

President Sierra Leone Association of Journalist, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, expressed gratitude gracing the occasion, adding that as the organization geared towards supporting the aged in the country which is very key.

He said that populations around the world are aging rapidly and that aging present both challenges and opportunities. According to the WHO, these challenges include demand for primary and longtime health care, need for a larger and better train work force and intensifying the environment to be age friendly. He congratulated the founder of the organization for her strives in making the launch a success.

Director of Social Welfare at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Francis Kabia, noted that the Ministry of Social Welfare is charged with the responsibility of formulating and rolling out policies and program on the aged in the country.

He congratulated the organization on their launch, adding that as a ministry they believed it will complement their efforts in address the numerous challenges faced by old people in the country.

Mr. Kabia noted that it is a truism that the ministry which set out to provide social services to vulnerable groups should be the heart and the soul of the country, adding that this is because when social welfare fails through the way the nation treats its vulnerable category sends a picture that the country is either failing or in the vague of failing.

The launch was climaxed by presentation of food and non-food items to the King George’s Sixth Home by the Dorwontony Organization for the Aged (DOFA) followed by commissioning of a new rehabilitated well at the facility.

ECOWAS Speaker First Official Visit to Abuja

ECOWAS Speaker His Excellency Sidie Mohamed Tunis

By Abdul Malik Bangura

Friday 25thSeptember 2020, saw the Speaker of the regional Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Parliament jetting into the headquarters of the regional body in Abuja, capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the very first time since he took over office in March this year.

His Excellency Sidie Mohamed Tunis has so far made significant progress barely a week since taking over his new office in Abuja, an event that was delayed due to the outbreak of the global Coronavirus Pandemic which halted all travels and led to the closure of all airports across West Africa.

Meanwhile, so far during his first official trip to Abuja, His Excellency Sidie Mohamed Tunis on day one in office held closed door meetings with the Secretary General of Parliament and the Director of Parliamentary Affairs.

Their discussions centered on Administrative issues including the upcoming Parliamentary Seminar and Extraordinary Session scheduled for Accra from 20th to 30th October 2020. They all discussed other missions of Parliament including Parliament’s Observation Missions to 5 West African States that are holding elections this year.

Furthermore, in day two of his official visit, the Honourable Speaker met with Heads of Divisions and Staff of ECOWAS Parliament. Each divisional head was given the platform to make a 5 minute’s presentation on his/her Division. The presentation centered on overview of the functions of the division, challenges and goals.

Following the presentations, the Honourable Speaker thanked the Staff for their commitment and admonished them to work in unity for the uplifting of Parliament. He then highlighted some of the challenges he has observed since taking over as Speaker and pledged to do all within his powers to solve some of the issues. He disclosed that he will institute some administrative adjustments and shifting of staff to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in Parliament’s operations.

On Wednesday 30thSeptember 2020, the Honourable Speaker Sidie Mohamed Tunis signed MoU with the National Assembly of Niger on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) which is geared towards combating Cyber Crime.

The landmark of the official visit of the Honourable Speaker to Abuja came today 1st October 2020, during which he sent and official letter of solidarity to both President Alpha Conde of Republic of Guinea and President Muhammadu Buhari of Federal Republic of Nigeria whose countries are celebrating their Independence Day.

In a letter addressed to HE Alpha Conde of Guinea on the occasion of the 62nd Independence Day Anniversary of his country, Speaker Tunis said: “Your Country has no doubt had its fair share of thick and thins, but your resilience as a nation and people proved superior over the forces of evil.  Not many nations in the world have a history of independence like yours. Yours is a history of courage, bravery, and high spirit!”

On the other hand, Nigeria celebrated its sixtieth (60th) anniversary. In a letter addressed to H.E. President Buhari, the Rt. Hon. Speaker praised Nigeria’s resilience towards succeeding as a nation and her contributions to the growth of ECOWAS. He said “Despite the challenges that you have been confronted with over the years, you have come out stronger and better. In sixty years, you have shown that a people who are determined to live and survive together can do so regardless of the challenges and the adversities that they face”.

To climax the Nigerian 60thIndependence Day Celebration, HE Sidie Mohamed Tunis joined His Excellency the Governor of Kwara State in Nigeria and Madam First Lady of Kwara State in a virtual conference on “Gender Equality”. The Conference had Her Excellency the Former President of the Republic of Liberia Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and other distinguished personalities including the UN Deputy Secretary General HE Amina Mohamed and the Federal Minister of Women Affairs of Nigeria who also serving as panellist.

During the Kwara State conference on Gender Equality, HE Speaker Tunis of ECOWAS Parliament said ECOWAS as an institution has made significant progress in addressing women issues and securing a participatory framework for women. He said since its formation, “ECOWAS has adopted several instruments and established institutions to secure social protection for women and increase their participation in governance. One of such instruments is the Supplementary Act on the Equality of Rights between Women and Men for Sustainable Development in the ECOWAS Region.”

His Excellency Sidie Mohamed Tunis added that at the ECOWAS Parliament, Article 18 (1) (c) of the Supplementary Act Relating to the Enhancement of the Powers of the Parliament, adopted by the 50th Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Abuja on 17th December, 2016, mandates each Member State to ensure at least 30 percent female representation in their parliamentary delegation. He said “the truth is, I sincerely believe that the 30% is still very low, especially owing to the enormous contributions women are making in our states.”

Furthermore, HE Sidie Mohamed Tunis said that at the inauguration of the current legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on 9th March, 2020, in Niamey, Niger Republic, where he was elected Speaker, he emphasized that “the integration of gender perspective into our mainstream politics and conflict management is key to designing an inclusive and effective development program for ECOWAS.”

“I expressed the commitment that working with the ECOWAS Gender Center and Civil Society Organizations, we shall seek to explore avenues to build local capacity of women’s groups and networks in peace building and conflict resolutions. We shall also endeavor to identify and remove obstacles to women participation in mainstream politics, peace building and mediation activities in ECOWAS States,” Speaker Tunis concluded.

HE Tunis left Abuja on Friday 2ndOctober 2020 for another official visit to the Republic of Guinea.

High Court Lifts Octea Assets’ Freeze

By Amin Kef Sesay

The High Court of Sierra Leone in Freetown has dismissed one of several legal complaints against Octea, a subsidiary of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s BSG Resources (BSGR), on jurisdictional grounds, a court ruling shows.

A lawsuit against Octea subsidiary Koidu Limited and related companies was filed in February by 15 individuals who said that their property, livelihoods or health suffered because of operations at a diamond mine in eastern Sierra Leone, according to the complaint.

The High Court put a temporary freeze on the defendants’ assets in and around the mining concession in August after a lawyer for the plaintiffs argued there was a “clear and present risk” that they could expatriate funds in order to avoid having to pay out if the court rules against them. The court did not state its reasoning in the Aug. 20 interim order.That freeze is now lifted since the case was dismissed, presiding Justice Augustine Musa told the press.

Musa said about Wednesday’s ruling that the High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case because the court in Kono, where the complaint was made, was not the proper forum to issue a writ of summons.

“Octea has consistently stated that the complaint was baseless and without merit. This has been confirmed by the ruling (of the court) in Sierra Leone … which ruled emphatically in favour of Octea,” it said in a statement.

Benedict Jalloh, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed. “We are considering issuing the writ again in Kenema, Bo, Makeni or Freetown,” he told journalists.Octea still faces legal challenges in Sierra Leone. A similar case against Octea and related companies was filed by more than 70 plaintiffs in April last year, seeking damages of an unspecified amount.

That case and nine individual complaints are still pending, Jalloh also told journalists.Representatives of BSGR and Octea further told journalists that eight of the 12 defendants listed in all the complaints don’t exist.“If they can give us that evidence, that would be good,” Jalloh said. “I am surprised they are just raising this now. They never raised this in their objections,” he added.

Representatives of BSGR and Octea also said they have no records for a significant number of the plaintiffs, saying it appeared as if many of them did not exist. Other plaintiffs have been compensated and allocated new houses in a relocation settlement, they said.

“Our clients are alive. We have interviewed them,” Jalloh said, describing claims to the contrary as “bogus and absurd”, although he said one of the original plaintiffs had passed away since last year. However, this press has not been provided with copies of any submissions to the court that challenge the list of plaintiffs or defendants named in the complaints.

Following Release of White Paper on COI Reports: Ernest Koroma To Face ACC On Thursday

All Peoples Congress party, former President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma.jpg
Former President Ernest Bai Koroma

By Foday Moriba Conteh

The Sierra Leone Government has banned former President Ernest Bai Koroma and 120 others from travelling overseas after a report was released indicating economic malfeasance during Koroma’s time in office. The ban was announced after a White Paper laid out detailed evidence of corruption and abuse of office for a number of former government officials.

The document is based on the work of three commissions of inquiry which investigated the assets of vice presidents, ministers and heads of government agencies who served along with Koroma in the administration from 2007 to 2018.

Headed by Justice Bankole Thompson, the commission found that the former president had reported his salaries, pension and income on investments to a total of 389,000 euros (4.48 billion Leones), a sum that “far exceeds his total emoluments and legitimate earnings”.

The Commission also found that one of Koroma’s properties was valued at 4.3 million euros.

However, Koroma released a statement on Wednesday, dismissing the report as a “witch hunt”. He said the allegations “are a politically motivated charade calculated to impugn” his hard-earned reputation, adding that “the government’s relentless heckling…has reached undue and unacceptable levels that amount to political harassment.”

At the release of the White Paper at State House in Freetown, President Julius Maada Bio spoke of abuse of power.“When corrupt leaders build mansions and accumulate huge bank accounts, it is not for their ethnic groups, regions, or political party to live in. It is for themselves and for their immediate families,” said President Bio.

His comments were echoed in the youth league of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party, as member Sulaiman Sesay called it a “shocking scale of corruption and abuse of office.” This report on the former two-term president and other officials could discourage Sierra Leoneans from working in politics or governance, and perhaps do greater damage to democracy in Africa, according to the former president.

“It also has the propensity of undermining peaceful democratic transitions on the continent as current leaders following these unfortunate events in Sierra Leone might find it difficult to readily hand over power, especially to opposition political parties,” said Koroma.

After a two-term presidency, Koroma handed the reins over to Samura Kamara as head of the All People’s Congress party. However, Bio defeated Kamara in the 2018 presidential election. During his presidency, Koroma made the fight against corruption a focus, signing the Anti-Corruption Bill into law during his first year in office.

However, his government was also accused of absconding with millions of Euros earmarked for sufferers during the Ebola epidemic. A report from the country’s Auditor General indicated that emergency money was, indeed, missing from the account.

The Commissions of Inquiry made several recommendations, among which were the forfeiture of properties to the state, the refund of monies allegedly misappropriated, while some issues were to be sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission for further investigation. The government accepted most of the recommendations from the commissions of inquiry, except the one to ban suspect officials from public office and political activities.

“It tends to distract from the object of the commissions of inquiry,” according to the government statement, adding that “the focus of government is to recover the people’s money and not to restrain anybody from political participation.”

In following the recommendations, Minister of Justice Anthony Brewah imposed a travel ban on all 120 persons named in the White Paper, including former President Koroma. The Anti-Corruption Commission has confirmed that the questioning of former President Ernest Bai Koroma will no longer happen on Monday 5 October following a letter from the former president’s lawyers requesting a date after Wednesday 7th October.

The commission says it’s reached an agreement, orally, with lawyers representing the former President for the alternative date of Thursday 8 October “following good reasons given” by Mr Koroma’s lawyers for a postponement. The questioning will happen in Makeni. But it’s unclear whether it will take place at his residence or the regional office of the ACC in the city. ACC Boss Francis Ben Kaifala promised that they will accord Koroma all the dignity due him as a former president. Kaifala added that all 120 accused have had their bank accounts frozen, but guaranteed that those affected “will not starve”. It is simply a measure to prevent the flight of capital, or “activities that might have an adverse effect on the economy,” Kaifala added.

Human Rights Defenders Calls on Parliament to Stop Intimidating Activists

By Amin Kef Sesay

A release from the Human Rights Defenders Network in Sierra Leone has called the authorities to stop intimidating rights activists that were doing their jobs. The release dated 2nd October 2020 said the organization was disturbed by threats and intimidation issued by the Speaker and Leadership of the Sierra Leone House of Parliament against two human rights defenders, Andrew Lavalie the Director of the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) and Ibrahim Tommy of Center for Accountability and the Rule of Law (CARL).

According to the release, the threats and intimidation came after the publication of a research report on citizens’ voices and opinions on corruption and trust in public institutions. “We strongly believe that calling citizens to account for their opinion is a new threat to human rights that will further shrink the democratic space. In our recent history of monitoring of human rights and accountability issues, we note with concern a chain of well documented incidences of direct accusation of corruption in the house of parliament by well-placed individuals including sitting MPs themselves,” the release stated.

It added that “For instance: a. In December 2014, A sitting Mayor of Kenema Mr. Joseph S Keifala accused the Public Accounts Committee of demanding a bribe Le20m before his budget can be approved. The then Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) failed to protect Mayor JS Keifala and the allocation for delivery of essential services in his locality was blocked by parliament for six months. The people of Kenema were denied of essential services throughout the period; b. In 2017, Sierra Leone parliament ordered the detention of a CSO leader Mr. Abdul Fatoma for calling on parliament to account for Le120 Billion as constituency development fund. He spent days in police cell;c. on 23rd Nov 2019, Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh of Constituency 130 and Clerk of Parliament, Hon Param Tarawally traded accusations over allegations of mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds during separate radio interviews in Freetown; d. On 11th September 2020 Hon Hindolo Moiwo Gevao admitted on BBC that some of his colleagues MPs are engaged in corruption. Hon. Gevao was removed as head of the Legislative Committee of Parliament a few days after his interview,” the report maintained.

It went further to state that the HRDNSL believes that “this chain of evidences has grave consequences on the state accountability and only contributes to weakening the environment for service delivery and government effectiveness.” It added:“We believe that the two reports by our two colleagues present an opportunity for reflection on what citizens see as the challenges facing parliament. The evidences contained in the reports should not provide a platform for attacking human rights defenders or a call on citizens to account for their opinions on parliament.”

Thy went further to state that they equally believe that the two reports by CARL, Afro barometer and IGR are results of a sad accumulation of the gross inactions and neglect citizens continue to have about elected leaders who they have entrusted with the powers to govern their lives. They went on to illustrate in three ways the neglect by parliament affecting citizens which are:

a. Cost of Corruption report as stated by CARL that the volume of corruption between 2016 and 2018 was over Le10 Trillion; and that this was higher than the total volume of domestic revenue for the three years which was Le8.4 Trillion.

b. That the grave incidences of corruption are promoted by the weakness of parliament; adding that the Majority Leader of Parliament in 2016 dismissed a real-time audit that showed that $14m have been misappropriated from Ebola funds as a mere opinion of the auditors. Such statements and many others have made parliament weak to hold MDAs to account. Consequently as we write this release, not up to 40% of the recommendations of the report of the auditor general for closing leakages have been followed by MDAs. Consequently, the weak state of accountability in Sierra Leone is a production of deliberate inaction by our parliament.

c. That according to the recently published Afrobarometer 2020 61% of citizens are afraid of reporting corruption related issues due to reprisals.

However, the HRDNSL is calling on parliament to stop the attack and intimidation of human rights defenders and rather use the findings of the report to improve parliamentary effectiveness. It added that the network is seriously concerned about the outcome of a press conference held within the Well of Parliament on 30thSeptember 2020 wherein the Speaker of Parliament issued threats and intimidation especially on the heads of institutions of CARL and IGR as well as possible funders of these institutions.

Exponential Growth of NP-SL Is Based On Sound Managerial Initiatives – Say Industrial/Financial Experts

By Amin Kef Sesay

Indisputably, the National Petroleum (NP) Sierra Leone Limited is undoubtedly the biggest and leading petroleum company that is currently operating in the country, Liberia, Guinea, The Gambia and Ivory Coast.

Over the years the company has grown exponentially to the total admiration of many in and out of the country. It can now boast of having well functional filling stations in various parts of the aforementioned countries where it is operating including ours, dealing in various petroleum products somehow making life s comfortable for residents through efficient service delivery.

What is so striking about NP is the undisputable fact that all its filling stations were being constructed in a state of the art manner, very neat and attractive. Painted in Green and Yellow colours its filling stations are very endearing and eye-catching and luring many to do business with the company. Synchronizing with the Green and Yellow of its filling stations is the same colours of the uniforms of its pump attendants making those business entities exquisite and adorable.

Naturally, individuals fall for beauty; whether it is for a sexy lady, a luxurious car, a luxurious house or an attractive office. They go for good-looking things and will want to associate with them. The sense of making customers be in a cozy environment is a strategy that has been skillfully harnessed by the competent managerial team that is at the helm of affairs at NP and smacks of enhancing customer care…to always make customers feel comfortable and it is paying dividends.

People like to shop at their mini-marts. With no exaggeration the National Petroleum (NP) Sierra Leone Limited is dominating the oil and petroleum business landscape in the country, having created a niche as a very successful entity that had been and still continues to contribute tremendously towards overall national development. NP has directly given numerous jobs to Sierra Leoneans and indirectly through its partnership with other business entities and individuals.

The company is one of the largest taxpayers to the National Revenue Authority (NRA), partly providing the necessary revenue that Government needs to undertake development initiatives.
It is on record that behind any successful entity there must be a competent managerial team at the helm of affairs to come up with fine initiatives, ensure they are effectively implemented as well as meaningfully strategizing in order to realize optimal returns. This competent and result-oriented team is what exactly NP has been blessed with since it was established by 35 Sierra Leoneans who bought shares from Government years back.

The Managerial team has been efficiently ensuring that initiatives and policies that would keep the company growing are solidly rolled out that customer care is prioritized and staff morale enhanced. The selflessness and commitment of the shareholders have made it possible for the company to empower many Sierra Leoneans and at the same time put it at a vantage position to continue to open more filling stations across the country.

That is another secret that keeps catapulting NP to the enviable position it currently occupies. As one hundred percent Sierra Leonean-owned entity, this unprecedented buoyant petroleum company is well known for customer care. It has maintained a good business relationship and rapport with its numerous customers who are realizing optimum satisfaction in dealing with NP.

The company deal with individual drivers, companies, public institutions among others, always ensures that its various petroleum products are available and selling at affordable prices. This keen symbiotic relationship with its customers has been paying dividends always resulting to a win-win scenario making NP very endearing to all and sundry.

Again, the company has a good working relationship with the Petroleum Directorate, the body that oversees all petroleum companies operating in the country. The regulatory body has over the years showered praises on NP for efficiency and effective service delivery; pledging to continue giving it the necessary technical support it deserves. The company is also known for offering Sierra Leoneans NP Gas Cookers of various sizes which are affordable, safe and very environmentally friendly. NP Gas could be purchased at all their filling stations across the country.

NP epitomizes the local content policy. Indeed, a truly indigenous company, all its workers are Sierra Leoneans dispelling the wrong notion that successful companies or business entities could only be operated by foreigners.NP has shown that indigenes can do it better.
The company’s result-oriented managerial team will definitely and sustainably continue to put NP at the top. Always attractive as a real Caribbean beauty Queen, NP, has become the darling that many are craving to embrace and she is there with open arms ready to welcome serious minded customers. However, she is not cheap!

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