Over the weekend the second set of housemates’ eviction was effected from the 20 participants in the house. The atmosphere was filled with suspense and tension as supporters and fans waited anxiously to know who the victims would be, whilst participants in the house were having anxious time waiting to discover who the evicted people will be. Tension rose in the house.

As they waited nervously anticipating victory and despair, viewers say that all participants had done their best in projecting strong language, nudity and humour. Observers maintained that the housemates made use of every given opportunity to appeal to their fans and the wider citizenry here and abroad to vote for them using their tagged numbers via text to Africell Code Number 5500.

One thing that is very certain is that Housemates Salone offers the Housemates the opportunity to be empowered and after leaving the House they will definitely never be the same again but become different persons. To justify this assertion the Reality TV Show, organised by the Africa Young Voices (AYV) and Africell , provides the platform for social interaction leading to strengthening of relationships, self-expression as is evident in responding to questions posed by the unseen Chief, taking through lectures by professionals, portraying artistic skills whether in acting, poetry or modelling.

This rather unique event is now the talk of the town. AYV and Africell’s Housemates Salone 2019 has earned the name of an epitome of Reality.

During the eviction ceremony being witnessed live and via the various streaming media, fans were advised to keep the votes coming in to maintain the housemate of their choice as their vote counts in determining the position of the various contestants in the house. They were reminded that an individual’s stay in the house largely depends on the percentage of votes that each will scoop from the populace, but the evictions hinge on their performances in the House, which are closely monitored and judged.

The attractive star winning prize of Le100, 000,000 (One Hundred Million Leones) is what each competitor is eyeing, but for each day a Housemate stays in the House he or she is entitled to receive Le100, 000.
With the huge and electrifying momentum that the Housemates Salone is ascending, it has currently become the widely talked about event in the country and has indeed gone viral. Workers, school pupils, students, market women and traders are heatedly discussing it in different circles, even in Ataya Bases, with candour and varying views.

Sustained investigations cum research mounted in different parts of the country revealed that the majority are really commending the organizers of the TV Reality Show, African Young Voices (AYV) and Africell for packaging and rolling out what they described as a very extra-ordinary and breath-taking entertainment show.
Indeed, the House is getting hotter as the competitors are tensely battling to ultimately emerge as the winner to bag the Le100, 000,000 that is at stake.

But what is so good about rolling out this show is that it has really exposed all the participants and there is the probability that people cum investors could be interested in making use of their talents, be it in the music, acting, film industries or in modelling.
“It is indeed very good that the organisers of this TV Reality contest made provision for empowerment and for those that have been and will be evicted, to at least take home financial packages which will serve as a therapy to any unforeseen psychological anguish. To those that will be affected take heart and be courageous as there is more goodies in life after Housemates Salone,” Ann-Marie Williams, an activist shuttling to and fro the USA and Sierra Leone enthused.
Housemates Salone continues to thrill millions in and out Sierra Leone.

Positive development strides of the National Petroleum (NP) SL Limited, has made it the epitome of a viable Indigenous national enterprise in the Petroleum industry. It embodies what the ordinary Sierra Leonean can achieve when they come together with a shared vision and goal. With a capable Board of Directors and Management the company has contributed positively to the development of the nation.

NP SL-Ltd has turned the fortunes of this company since its inception into a viable profit making and job creation entity. In its employ are Sierra Leoneans occupying various senior and junior positions. With honouring its tax obligations to Government via the National Revenue Authority (NRA) in a timely manner, the company has contributed to the boosting of the country’s economy as well as the steady and meaningful execution of its Corporate Social Responsibility, which has improved the standards of living of many Sierra Leoneans.
The pro-active and sterling initiatives of NP’s Board of Directors and Management in respect of timely procurement of petroleum products and ensuring its availability on the market for public consumption, has seen a marked deviation from the days of fuel shortage to that of abundance.
It is highly commendable for a well-established and result-oriented company like NP to have climbed to such an enviable position especially when cognizance is taken of the fact that it is exclusively owned by Sierra Leonean shareholders, a typical testimony of how local entrepreneurs could raise the bar high.
Going down the annals of history the former British Petroleum Company decided to sell its shares to the Government of Sierra Leone that was in Governance at that material period of time.
Things took a different twist when in 1996 the Government sold its 60% shares in NP to some of the company’s members of staff. Again it was made known that 55 % was paid upfront from the end of service benefits of the workers from BP and the 5% offered to all the other workers. Thus the company known as LEONEOIL was born.
The 55% sale of Government shares to NP came as a result of the World Bank’s advice to privatize the latter. It was also revealed that among the 4 companies that bided, which included ELF, LEONOIL won the international competitive bidding conducted by Arthur De Little, a United States based Management consultancy firm hired by the World Bank.
It could be recalled that the World Bank, which advised Government to privatize NP, monitored the bidding process for the three international companies and one local company that competed culminating in LEONEOIL, which metamorphosed to NP, meeting all the set criteria.
Financial experts, whom the Calabash Newspaper had the privilege to talk with, noted that the aforementioned members of staff were indeed entrepreneurial enough to properly manage the company to such an extent that, unlike others, it survived most of the bottlenecks that it encountered throughout the years it has been in existence.
Shedding light on the historical background of NP, it came out glaringly that the 40% PMMC’s stake in the company, owned by the late Jamil Sahid Mohammed and Tony Yazbeck, was given as collateral for a loan from a Bank by one of the parties.
The business mogul, Jamil Sahid Mohammed, later sold to Cape Oil PMMC’s 40% shares to offset a fidelity loan, but LEONE OIL was not satisfied with that move and took the matter to court on the grounds that it was in violation of the M and A which dictates that the other side has the first option to buy. The outcome of the matter was that the High Court gave judgement in favour of LEONE OIL.
For mischievous reasons certain individuals have been churning out rumours that NP has a monopoly over the petroleum market in the country which is totally untrue, baseless and misleading as it has been factually proven that there are other Marketing Companies marketing petroleum products that are registered with the Petroleum Agency.
It must be noted that Petro-Leone is a storage company developed by both Addax and Leone Oil so that petroleum products will always be available in the country and avert shortage. Experts further stated that if such a venture is disrupted, the country will relapse to the former state of shortage of fuel and long queues will once more re-surface across the country, causing a lot of inconvenience and national hiccups.
At present, NP-SL has filling stations in different parts of the country with other facilities like tyre mending, mini marts and sale of gas in some of them. The company was also established in neighbouring Liberia offering various petroleum and other related services.
It can be asserted that the National Petroleum Limited is one that has grown by leaps and bounds. The company is an embodiment of sterling local entrepreneurship that is worthy of emulation.

On Friday 1st March 2019, in an unprecedented move aimed at strengthening political engagement and collaboration, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio met with all the leaders of the registered Political Parties in the country. This maiden consultative meeting, State House say is part of his inclusive governance approach to state governance.

Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Hon Sidie M. Tunis, in his welcome statement told the various political party representatives that he was instructed by the President to contact the leadership of all political parties for a meeting that will strengthen political engagement and collaboration.

Addressing the members of political parties, President Bio maintained that politics was now over and it was time for governance, adding that it is his belief that all political parties would want the best for the country but that the routes to achieve that goal are different. He further maintained that the meeting was meant to show that politicians are not enemies but that all of them can work in the best interest of the country. “This meeting is to encourage dialogue among political parties for national development and social cohesion in the country,” President Bio stated.

President Bio also used the forum to update political parties on three recent national issues which have stirred up public debates: the appointment of the Electoral Commissioner – South, the Commissions of Inquiry and the declaration of the State of Emergency.
On the three issues, President Bio briefed the leaders of political parties that all of the decisions have been taken in the best interest of the country and that the forum will now strengthen the consultation and dialogue among political parties. “For instance, the Commissions of Inquiry is for all of us as politicians so that it can serve as a deterrent and draw a line under corruption,” President Bio asserted.

Explaining the rationale for the State of Emergency, President Bio emotionally explained that when he heard the statistics and listened to the stories of survivors, he felt compelled that something urgent needed to be done not just to call for action, but to mobilise resources to support the survivors. He assured the leaders of political parties, including representatives of the All People’s Congress, that the State of Emergency was specific to address rape and sexual violence and not for politics.

Responding to President Bio, various senior members of other Political Parties including Hon. Minkailu Mansaray and Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh of the All People’s Congress, Dr Dennis Bright of the National Grand Coalition, Dr Jonathan Sandy of the National Unity and Reconciliation Party, Tamba R. Sandi of the Coalition for Change among others, praised President Bio for the initiative to engage leaders of other political parties on national issues and individually stressed that such dialogue will promote social cohesion and reduce political tension. Detailed discussion also took place in camera between the President and political party leaders.

All seventeen (17) political parties were represented at the meeting by their senior leadership and these registered Parties are: Alliance Democratic Party (ADP); All People’s Congress (APC); Citizens Democratic Party (CDP); National Democratic Alliance (NDA); National Progressive Democrats (NPD); National Unity and Reconciliation Party (NURP); Peace and Liberation Party (PLP); People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC); People’s Democratic Party (PDP); Revolutionary United Front Party (RUFP); Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP); United Democratic Movement (UDM); United National People’s Party (UNPP); Unity Party (UP); National Grand Coalition (NGC); Republic National Independent Party (RENIP) and Coalition for Change (C4C). His Excellency President Bio also assured the leaders of political parties that such a meeting will be held more frequently to enhance political dialogue and collaboration.

Stakeholders have at the end of the Western Area Peninsula (WAP) Land Use Conference held at the Hill Valley Hotel on 21st and 22ndFebruary 2019 committed to the development of a Land Use Plan for the Western Area Peninsula landscape and re-affirmed intentions to introduce strict compliance of existing rules and regulations.

The statement is made taking cognizance of the fact that the government of Sierra Leone, under the leadership of His Excellency, President, Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio with the support of environmental conservation organizations, is keen to institute responsible management of land, the environment and state resources.
The WAP Forest has been a protected Forest Reserve since 1916 and most of it was designated a National Park in 2012. The WAP National Park is a Globally Important Key Biodiversity Area and is currently on the Tentative List of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with the potential to become a fully accredited World Heritage Site.
Stakeholders have therefore unanimously declared that activities within the boundaries of the National Park should be strictly controlled; cognizant of the extent of land and forest degradation of the Western Area Peninsula (WAP) landscape; recalling the 2017 mudslide disaster and the increasing trend of disaster events and loss of natural resources and ecosystem services in the country mostly as a result of human activities.
According to the Program Manager of the Sierra Leone Conservation Society, the Western Area Peninsula receives the highest rainfall in the country-200 inches (5,000 mm) annually; and elevation rises in places up to 1,798ft (548m), that the WAP Forest Reserve stores and provides the water needs of nearly 1.5 million people settled around the reserve (Guma Valley and the Congo Dams), that the remaining forest ecosystems and endangered biodiversity need to be protected and provide the potential for sustainable development on the WAP, including social and economic benefits, if well-managed (e.g. through habitat restoration to protect water supplies; potential financing for storage and ecotourism.
However, according to Edward M. Sesay, the conference observed that the following activities greatly impact the people, land and environment of WAP negatively-massive degradation of the natural environment triggered by land grabbing, illegal and un-regulated construction, deforestation (0.7% annually), marijuana farming, logging, pole and fuel-wood cutting, sand mining, stone mining, illegal fishing and hunting and generally poor land use compounded by crime and lack of law enforcement.
Furthermore, the conference recommended strict enforcement and compliance of existing government policy and regulations on land use in and around the Western Area Peninsula Forest to be undertaken and reinforced, that all stakeholders must support government in monitoring, stopping and preventing current illegal activities that negatively impact the environment on the WAP, that a Western Area Peninsular Landscape Partnership of Government Agencies, NGOs, and civil society be established/promoted/re-vitalized highlighting that the partnership will coordinate Western Area Peninsula conservation and sustainability initiatives and oversee development of a Land Use Plan for the WAP.
Mr. Sesay further stated that funding will be sought to support the development and implementation of a WAP Land Use Plan; using a framework approved by the Government, the WAP Partnership, and local communities, develop WAP Land Use Plan /Map, to be published, popularized and implemented as quickly as possible.
Also, systems to be put in place for strict enforcement/observance of the WAP Land Use Plan, that once funding is available, a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) of the current WAP landscape will be commissioned focusing on areas bordering the forest and identifying major risks to the WAPF ecosystem and the human population, immediately work to institute plans, including feasibility studies and pilot demonstrations, for sustainable practices and alternatives to address key threats to WAP, develop and operationalize Disaster Early Warning Systems (EWS) for particularly vulnerable areas in the WAP, development of programmes of community benefits/ livelihoods–activities that can also support forest restoration and conservation and depend on sustainable use and management of the resources of the WAP in perpetuity and awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns to be undertaken by all stakeholders to highlight the value of the WAPF to people and biodiversity.

Christian Aid, Kombra Media Network (KMN) and FOCUS 1000 on Thursday 28th February 2019 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the headquarters of FOCUS 1000, Main Motor Road, Brookfields in Freetown to, among others, Strengthen Accountability, Build Inclusion (SABI) a four-year citizen-led accountability programme funded by the International Development Agency UK Aid. The project is implemented by a consortium of leading international and Sierra Leonean Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), led by Christian Aid.
Christian Aid was represented by Jeanne Kamara, Christian Aid Country Manager, Kombra Media Network (KMN) by Kemo Cham, National Coordinator and FOCUS 1000 by Alhaji Mohammad Bailor Jalloh, Chief Executive Officer.
The one-year MoU is with effect from 28th February 2019.
The SABI project aims to contribute towards improvements in basic services by delivery of quality basic services; building relationships between citizens and the state; supporting the Government’s development plans and promoting gender equality and social inclusion.
The project’s approach includes full participation and engagement of different cohort of stakeholders at the community, district and national levels. It covers key aspects of the design and delivery of services that will ensure sustained improvements in the quality of life of the citizenry.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of FOCUS 1000, Alhaji Mohammad Bailor Jalloh, the national level engagement and consultation with government and key stakeholders will create the enabling environment to facilitate effective dialogue and interaction between policy makers, service providers and the citizenry, articulating that the national level engagement with key duty bearers is predicated on the premise that unless political will and resources are provided to support improvements in service delivery, which are sought through community action plans, there will be limited changes in citizens’ access to quality delivery and improve trust between them and the State.
Highlighting the project’s expected outcomes, Alhaji Jalloh, enlightened that citizens targeted by SABI, demonstrate increased awareness of their rights and entitlements to services within the health, education and social protection sectors (in particular women, youths and Persons With Disability (PWD), that accountable relationships are leading to increased responsiveness from service providers to the demands of citizens targeted by SABI (in particular women, youths and PWD).
Christian Aid is an international development agency that has been in existence for nearly seventy-five years now. Its operations in Sierra Leone started in 1988 with a focus on service delivery and humanitarian assistance. Since the civil war ended in 2002, Christian Aid’s work has had a greater emphasis on building the capacity of local partners to challenge the systems and structures that perpetuate poverty and inequality. It is with that pedigree that Christian Aid leads the consortium of NGOs that is implementing the SABI Project.
FOCUS 1000 is a Sierra Leonean NGO that is committed to making the best investment in the most crucial time in a child’s life: the first 1000 days (the number of days from conception and pregnancy until the child reaches age two). It is primarily engaged in evidence generation and community engagement to influence health policies and promotion of utilization of health services for better health outcomes for especially women, children and the most vulnerable groups in society.
FOCUS 1000’s main responsibility under the SABI project is to engage national level stakeholders including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) involved three key sectors – health, education and social welfare/protection, to ensure that infrastructure and policy bottlenecks are adequately addressed.
The Kombra Media Network (KMN) was established in March 2015 as part of the Civil Society Platform hosted by FOCUS 1000 to contribute to Scaling-Up Nutrition and Immunization (GAVI). KMN’s key objective is to report on health- related activities like issues in nutrition, immunization and other topical health concerns as well as sensitize the public for a positive behaviour and social change.
The KMN has also pledged to communicate correct information; promote and be an advocate for proper health behaviors, including use of services; be a credible link between health providers and the general public.
The Network is currently made up of 70 journalists from different media houses (Print and Electronic Media) and is represented across the country. An interim executive coordinates the activities of the Network.
The MoU establishes a formal relationship between FOCUS 1000 and the SABI Project on the one hand and the Kombra Media Network on the other. It clearly states the roles and responsibilities of each party in the implementation of the SABI Project.
All parties agreed to carry out their roles and responsibilities as detailed in the MoU.
Furthermore, all parties understand that the MoU is not a commitment of funds but rather a commitment of a strategic partnership, based on a shared vision and mutual goals, that the SABI project objectives and activities may be revised from time to time, which may require changes to the terms of the MoU and that all such changes will require an agreement of all parties in writing.
SABI is being implemented at district, chiefdom, ward and community levels across all 16 districts of Sierra Leone. As at February, 2019, the SABI Project is operating in 610 communities, from 106 wards. SABI is also being implemented at national level via engagements with relevant national stakeholders.
The project targets citizens, civil society organizations, district councils, Ward Development Committees (WDCs), women, marginalized young people and PWDs.
SABI Partners, through FOCUS 1000, shall collaborate and share lessons learnt with the KMN on the implementation of the SABI Project on a monthly basis, commit to working with the KMN in a collaborative, open, fair and honest way, where funding is still available, each of the SABI partner shall facilitate learning visits for members of the Kombra Media Network in their districts to observe and report on the SABI work within communities, plan activities 3 or 4 days earlier and share with the KMN representative in their district, provide support to identify and ensure participation of the right people for interviews or as resource persons for radio or television discussion programmes. This is to ensure high quality interactive discourse on the activities of the project.
Kombra Media Network for its part shall have a SABI focal personnel within the Kombra Media Network, report fairly and in a balanced manner on the implementation of the SABI project, hold service providers and duty bearers accountable for their stewardship by using their journalistic skills and media houses (print, radio, television and social media platforms) to report human interest stories on access to health, education and social protection.
KMN will also make input into the development and review of the SABI citizens’ perception data collection process including input into the development of questionnaires and related tools and report on the findings from the survey, publicize SABI activities, lessons learnt and publications and share their insight on the project with the general public on a monthly basis. To this end, KMN will publish/report in the media at least one story or editorial piece on the SABI Project each month. Evidence of all publications by the KMN shall be made available to SABI through FOCUS 1000.
Furthermore, KMN will ensure regular media coverage of SABI activities to be in interactive formats that include the interviewing partners and stakeholders for news stories in both print and electronic media; inviting SABI partners for panel discussions on topical issues in health, education and social protection sectors as well as KMN attending SABI events (workshops, press conferences, district and national service summits, learning events etc.) as and when requested and report in the media the findings, discussions, outcomes, action points, etc. of the events.
The parties agree to meet every two (2) months to discuss the progress of this partnership, identify any issues or risks to the SABI project generally, or this partnership and jointly agree on how these can be addressed. These meetings are to be hosted by FOCUS 1000.
Also, both parties agreed to notify the others as soon as possible of any significant change in the project or any difficulty or delay which might significantly affect adherence to the proposed and/or the execution of the project.
Nothing in this MoU stops the KMN from signing a separate MoU or other partnership under other projects with one or more of the SABI partners as long as the Network continues to fulfill its responsibilities assigned herein.
The Memorandum of Understanding shall be guided by the following principles and practices such as all parties shall share responsibilities and show mutual respect and tolerance to each other’s views in order to achieve the desired objectives; honesty and transparency: being open in judgment and communication by sharing reliable information pertaining to the SABI Project and being sincere in dealing with stakeholders of the project.
Accountability: all parties shall establish and maintain good records and systems, demonstrate probity in all dealings, sacrifice and hard work: all parties should keep to agreed commitments, show a high level of commitment to the project, be selfless and not look for personal gains and good planning: all planning must be participatory involving all stakeholders.
In compliance with the terms of this MoU, it is implied that all parties are obliged to be aware of and comply with laws relating to the protection of children and vulnerable adults, respect for diversity and inclusion of women, marginalized young people and PWDs.
All parties must work to ensure that no one, irrespective of sex, age, ethnicity, religion and political inclination, is discriminated against and that everyone is given equal opportunity to express their views and opinions.

“We promised at the end of 2018 that in 2019, we will push the boundaries of the fight against corruption further than ever, and make corruption a very costly and terrible choice for every Sierra Leonean who crosses the line against corruption that has been drawn by His Excellency the President,” the ACC boss said.
To make good on that promise, based on the experiences and challenges with loopholes and weaknesses in the current Anti-Corruption Commission Act, he disclosed that they have now tabled before the current Parliament a very progressive amendment that, if Parliamentarians does not stand in its way, it will revolutionise and consolidate the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone for good.
Here are the highlights of that proposed amendment:
1. The assets declaration pool at present is too wide, unmanageable and cumbersome as it comprises every public employee including cleaners, teachers, all police officers, all military, every auxiliary staff of public institutions, etc.
This makes asset declaration management by the ACC wholly inefficient and compliance rate very low. We are now reducing the pool to comprise only persons in elective offices, such as; presidential appointees; public officers in grade 7 and above; and public officials below Grade 7 who handle or control cash payments; make decisions for licenses or income generating processes; and are in regulatory institutions dealing with compliance, monitoring and inspection.
All others will only declare on a need to do so basis, as the commissioner will from time to time direct by public notice.
The punishment for failing to declare assets will now include withholding of half salary of public officials after default pending declaration, naming and shaming and removal of the public official from office after over 3 months default.
2. The minimum penalty for serious corruption will now be increased from 3 years minimum to five (5) years imprisonment.
3. The minimum fine will now be increased from Le30 million to Le50 million.
4. Judges will no longer have discretion to order restitution as conviction for misappropriation of public funds will now be followed by a mandatory order to additionally pay back the full amount misappropriated to the State.
5. The civil powers of the commission will be strengthened to enter into settlements with corrupt persons. But, any settlement emanating from that settlement shall mandatorily recover the full amount at stake as a minimum, and go with an additional mandatory ban from holding public office for 3 years minimum.
6. Since bad contracts are responsible for drowning Sierra Leone into billions of dollars in local and foreign debts, due to overpriced and wickedly negotiated contracts, the ACC will now have preventive authority to intervene in contract negotiations on grounds that they are against the interest of the people of Sierra Leone, and stop any performance on the contract for seven days within which time both parties will be at liberty to proceed to court, before a judge, to consider whether the ACC’s claim is justified or not. This action will be taken in line with the principle of “Prevention is better than cure”.
The burden of proving that justification, will rest on the ACC failing which the order will be discharged.
7. We are re-positioning and tilting the evidential burden of proof as follows:
i. Where it is alleged that a public officer has been bribed, any gift above the value provided in the current Act or advantage given to that officer shall be presumed to be a bribe, until and unless he proves otherwise.
ii. Where it is alleged that money entrusted to a Public Officer has been misappropriated, the full amount will be deemed misappropriated, until and unless that Public Officer sufficiently establishes that it was used for the intended purpose.
8. Witnesses will now be better protected and severe penalties included for anyone who interferes with, unduly impedes witnesses or retaliates against any one assisting the ACC to report, investigate or prosecute corruption.
9. Many other revolutionary provisions to assist Sierra Leone place itself firmly on a footing for sincere accountability, transparency and integrity in Public Life.
Every Sierra Leonean should spread this message. Above all, let your Parliamentarians from your respective constituencies know that this is the people’s amendment.
For me, this is what will firmly help us deal corruption a deadly blow once and for all, as long as the political will remains as positive as our President, His Excellency Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio, has demonstrated, and we at the ACC remain courageous in executing our duties fairly but fiercely without fear or favour for anyone.
The fight against corruption is actually won on the bedrock of prevention – and this will be our key focus.
While prevention systems are not cheap, we however encourage our government to invest in prevention technology and systems to remove incentives for corruption and make detection and investigation faster, more efficient and better, while we battle on with this malaise that has left us as a country unjustifiably poor and beggarly.
That said, at this stage of our history, where corruption had shackled the soul of the country with public officials selfishly disrespecting their people – overcoming the collective good and benefit, with this amendment we will make any one either bankrupt or go to prison, or both, while we do our best to prevent.
This amendment is the right direction in the new direction.

On Friday 1st March the Salone Job Fair 2019, organized by careers.sl in partnership with the National Youth Commission, Radisson Blu Hotel, Africell and Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, created an opportunity for many young unemployed Sierra Leoneans, including graduates to interact with many employers. This fair brought to the fore the glaring challenges of unemployment among young people, as hundreds of unemployed youths, queued at the Salone Job Fair 2019. Many young new graduates saw the event as their first chance to enter the employment world.

James Tamba Kallay graduated two weeks ago with Honors in Mass Communication, Fourah Bay College. He said, he was “eager to work”, adding that empowering young people was key to national development and self-empowerment.

Khadija is a graduate in Applied Accounting and has been employed since 2017 but looking forward to better opportunities. “I decided to come to the job fair to be exposed to other employers, she said.

She added that the job fair was full of experiences “I have learnt more how to prepare a CV because the CV is the first step of attracting an employer.”

She said, she had interacted with eight employers and saw opportunities in four institutions related to her field of study.

Deputy Commissioner, National Youth Commission, Emerson Kamara said “42% of the country’s population are young people with about 67% unemployed,” noting that the Salone Job Fair 2019 will provide access to employers and opportunities for employment to young people.

The Commission, he said, will partner with more organizations and build synergies with different sectors and tap into every opportunity for youths.

Orange Money Sierra Leone (the Company) wishes to inform its numerous customers and the general public that it recently undertook systems upgrade resulting to a change in the Orange Money platform. The upgrade is necessitated upon the need to improve customer experience, security and faster transactions on the use of Orange Money. The company is pleased to notify the general public that the new Orange Money platform guarantees the following:
• Customers can now spend less time to send and receive money, pay bills, buy top up and data bundles. The steps for transaction has been shortened.
• Customers can now save frequently used numbers to their Orange Money phonebooks to aid repeat transactions and reduce the risk of sending to wrong numbers
• Customers can also check their Orange Money balance with ease.
• Agents and Aggregators can now go online and check their daily transactions making the process more transparent and interactive.
• Most importantly, the new platform provides a more user friendly interface with enhanced security features.

The company is aware that some of its valued customers may have experienced technical glitches in performing some Orange Money transactions after the system upgrade and registers its profound apology for this brief inconvenience. The public is reassured that a dedicated team of experienced staff are working round the clock to ensure all these technical glitches are addressed.
Orange Money Sierra Leone remains committed to providing the best mobile financial services in the market to meet every essential need of its customers. The Company will continue to provide a safe and secured means for its mobile financial services through an enhanced world class system for an unmatched experience.

Press contact:

Annie Wonnie Katta
Head, Public Relations
Orange (SL) Ltd
annie.wonnie-katta@orange-sonatel.com
+23276450194/+23276450189
25 Regent Road, Hill Station, P.O Box 75
https://www.facebook.com/orange.sierraleone/

Three weeks after the UBA group launched its operations in Mali, the global financial city of London hosted a high level gathering of business and public sector leaders on Thursday February 28, 2019, as the new UBA franchise, UBA UK was formally birthed in the United Kingdom amidst high expectations.
At the upscale ceremony which was held at The Prestigious Shard in the city of London, UBA UK was formerly introduced to business leaders across Europe and Africa with a commitment from the UBA Group of its readiness to galvanise trade and commerce between Europe and Africa.

The formal launch is sequel to the authorization of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for UBA UK Limited to carry out full scale wholesale banking across the United Kingdom.

With this launch, UBA Group further consolidates its unique positioning as the first and only Sub-Saharan African financial institution with banking operations in both the United Kingdom and the United States, thus reinforcing its strong franchise as Africa’s Global Bank, facilitating trade and capital flows between Africa and the world.

Speaking at the event, the Group Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu said the Group is excited by the authorization of the relevant regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom for UBA to upgrade its operation and further fulfil its aspiration of deepening trade and investment flows between Africa and Europe.

“The enhancement of our business in the United Kingdom is very timely and mutually beneficial for African and European corporates as well as respective governments. With the British and other European governments seeking new and improved measures to grow trade relations with Africa, we are enthusiastic on our positioning and capabilities in supporting corporate and government institutions to fulfil these lofty aspirations, which we believe are pertinent for the sustainable growth of both continents.”

Elumelu expressed that he is extremely pleased as UBA is living up to its mantra of being Africa’s global bank and positioning itself to support investors in key financial centres across the world.

Also speaking at the event, The Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said “Simultaneously, we are serving the trade and capital needs of our African customers, who are seeking exposure to the European markets. With the upgrade of UBA UK Limited, we are excited to deepen our support to existing customers whilst also providing the leverage for new customers to effectively fulfil their cross-border transactions through UBA Group’s network.”

On his part, the CEO, UBA UK, Mr. Patrick Gutmann, said; “We are now on a stronger footing, as the authorization of the PRA and FCA for an enhanced business model affords us the opportunity to swell our capital and balance sheet as well as the broader UBA Group’s network across Africa. We welcome our existing and new customers to this new world of borderless opportunities, as we creatively serve our customers in meeting their international transaction needs.”

Some of the guests in attendance at the event were the President of Dangote Group; Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President; Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah; Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, H.E Shaukat Aziz; Member of the British House of Lords and Executive Committee Member of the All Party Africa Group, Rt. Hon Lord Anthony Tudor St. John, amongst many others.

The event was not short on entertainment as one of Africa’s leading entertainers Dbanj performed to the admiration of guests including Star boy, Whiz Kid.

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Sierra Leone embarked on a new development trajectory on Thursday February 28th 2019 at the Bintumani Conference Hall in Aberdeen.
The auspicious moment which was chaired by Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh saw the launching of Sierra Leone’s new medium term National Development Plan.
The event attracted a cross section of distinguished and ordinary Sierra Leoneans including the Freetown City Mayor, traditional leaders, members of government, the public and students to witness the launching which has the theme: ‘Education for Development’.
Speaker after speaker congratulated the Minister of Economic Development and her team for their concerted effort in making the formulation of the NDP an all-embracive endeavor that incorporated all levels, regions and opinions of the country.
Summarized, the outlook of the NDP is to change Sierra Leone’s dismal narrative from underdevelopment to development encompassing eight key areas, but mainly human resource to facilitate dynamic scientific, technological, cultural, agricultural, industrial, economic development.
Presenting the NDP, which the Economic Planning and Development Minister, Nabila Tunis, called the People’s Plan, she said it is intended to transform Sierra Leone.
The participatory process which brought out the final document was launched in May 2018 and took in 2 million people including parliamentarians, political parties, civil society and lots of grassroots, men, women and youth organizations.
Its focus among other things is on inclusive rural economic development; infrastructure and economic development with sub clusters; governance and accountability for results; political inclusion for national development including the fight against corruption, promotion of human rights, public financial management; empowering women and persons with disabilities; youth employment and national environmental resilience.
To achieve the NDP, she said we need to journey together – collaborate, partner, work together.
Implementation she said will be based upon a well-defined and established monitoring and evaluation structure with a result framework, and the accompanying strategies for achieving the results in line with the SDGs and the AU Development Agenda.
The cost of implementing the plan over the next five years she said will cost US$8.1 billion, with the government providing US$6.8 billion; with us the citizens looked up to, to provide US$ each to fill in the shortfall funding.
Keynote speaker, His Excellency President Bio, reminded the audience of his policy statements to Parliament highlighting perceived development deficiencies and the need for a comprehensive blueprint for moving the country forward and that such a plan should be owned by us by being inclusive, consultative and domesticated result oriented NDP.
He applauded the Development Ministry for articulating the people centered plan which was funded by the Government, guided by the principle of leaving no voice behind including the Diaspora.
He outlined the factors that suffocate development and his Government’s solution to the rut that they inherited from the former that includes a culture of accountability, disciplined leadership, political will and commitment.
With tenacity and hard work, President Bio said as a nation we can achieve the NDP which will span over a 20 years period.
He called on donors to harmonize their assistance with the NDP to avoid duplication and wastage of resources – The end result of which will be wealth and job creation, especially for the youth.
After the launching of the Plan by His Excellency, the vote of thanks was given by a representative of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture who promised that the private sector will work closely with the Government towards implementation of the NDP.