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Sierra Leone News: Ghana to School Seawright Mining on Aquaculture

The fifteen man delegation from Sierra Leone at the Aindo-Ansah Farm in Ghana.

In a bid to beef up their operations Seawright Mining Company has led a fifteen man delegation from Sierra Leone to Ghana to undertake the first ever aquaculture research.

The aquaculture which is a component of fish farming was the first to be undertaken by a Sierra Leone Company. The delegation comprises Seawright Mining Team, Parliamentarians, Agriculture Ministry, the media, lecturers and students from Njala University.

Seawright Mining Company Chief Operation Officer, Jabulani Mkoko said among other things that they are looking at analysing the models that have been done in Ghana, for them to adopt the best practices in Sierra Leone after which Seawright can model their own business thereby avoiding the pitfall Ghana business went through in its initial stages.

He said from the research Seawright Mining Company will start with very limited possible challenges.

He continued to say that they have learnt all that needed, such as the appropriate supply of good quality feeds, supply of the fingerlings without which the business can’t drive and in the area of skills.

He recalled that Seawright Mining Company is still in an exploration stage and the company is trying to diversify.

He pointed out that the company is well known for its CSR in their operational areas and even beyond. He cited lot of support programs such as construction of schools, bridges and cold rooms for the community they are operating among others.

Aindo-Ansah Farm Limited in Okyereko – Winneba Eastern Region of Ghana is one of the biggest fish farms. The Managing Director Jacob Ainoo-Ansah explained that since 2010 they had been engaged in Tilapia Fingerlings Production.

He said they train and support farmers on technical skills in over six regions in Ghana and also export to Nigeria and South Africa.

On their successes, he continued to say they are supplying small farmers’ fingerlings among others.

Fish farming, he said is contributing to Ghana GDP quite significantly and about 2,200 farms have created employment and food security.

On the side of challenges, he said one need to understand the market, who to share it with, develop infrastructure and marketing which is very important.

Feeds, he added constitute about 70 to 90%, technical knowhow is also very important as technology is changing day by day and a managerial skills because it is a business.

“I will say to Sierra Leone they have to be thinking about the future, regarding food security. Fish farming is not an option; about 50% of international markets are fish farming therefore Sierra Leone cannot escape from it. If you compare it to capital fishing, capital fishing is easier but it is not guarantee. Sierra Leone should start it and take it serious; it is a business and an art.”

Lecturer, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management, University for Development Studies Northern Ghana, Dr. Christian Larbi Ayisi, explained the places he chose for the research which included the Archery for Cat Fish, the State Research Center, S-Hoint Ltd and Raanan Fish Feed Ltd.

He said fish is what everybody wants in Ghana and there is a decline in capital fishing but aquaculture has come to solve that problem in respect of protein. “Aquaculture is not a joke in Ghana, the government is pushing on it and more research is being done.”

He said Ghana started from scratch; Sierra Leone too can do the same as the team comprises Lawmakers.

“Feed is what Sierra Leone should go along with, if they do not get the right feed, everything will crash. The team should go with a positive mind that they are capable of doing it.”

Hon. Alex Mattia Rogers of Constituency 102, Pujehun District is the consultant for Seawright Mining Company. He explained that the good intention of Dr. Alfred Seawright to establish fish farm in Sierra Leone is highly welcome.

“We are in Ghana to learn the way the business is run, so that back home we will be able to do well when it will be established considering the policies as compared to Ghana.”

He continued to say from their discussion as a team, they came to realize that there is a disconnection between Agriculture and Fisheries Ministries; and they as Members of Parliament will look into the tax consumption for agricultural products because Agriculture will complement the drive of the President Maada Bio towards food security and nutrition.

Dr. Mapade Olufemi Julius Head of Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Management, Njala University described the trip as a wonderful experience and from the look of things he believed Sierra Leone could even do better.

He rebuked critics that say aquaculture is not part of Sierra Leone setup.

“In terms of water and land resources in Africa, Sierra Leone is highly endowed; I strongly believe we have all it takes to beat all the giants in the industry. I think we need to direct our strategy and do the right thing”

He said the driver of aquaculture is what Sierra Leone lacks.

“The government is trying their best but for such sector to develop we need the private sector.”

Hon. Tom Isaac Tucker of Constituency 022 Kono District described the research as one that opened their eyes and making them to understand that Fish Farming is one of the best and most important area a country need to embark on.

“We will be able to create the same in Sierra Leone from what the team have learnt, the technical experience and the wiliness of the ministries. We have to put policies together that will enhance such project”

He pointed out that Seawright Mining is one of the companies he admired due to their CSR in the two communities they are operating.

He said if this project comes into reality, it will ease the tension of fish in Kono and beyond.

Sierra Leone News: First Lady Says Remove Cutting & Keep the Tradition

First Lady of Sierra Leone, Madam Fatima Maada Bio,

During an august meeting known as the Women Deliver Conference hosted in Vancouver, Canada deemed to be the largest  gathering for gender equality in the world – Her Excellency the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Madam Fatima Maada Bio, delivered  a powerful statement on the reforms needed to strengthen the power of girls and women in Sierra Leone.
Based on her statement  the  First Lady was commended for calling for an end to the cutting of girls as part of a rite of a passage ceremony, while maintaining the tradition, knowledge and power that come with the gathering of women and girls that is central to the Bondo society.

She called for looking at many countries where the sacred spaces, tradition and culture associated with secret society and initiation have been nurtured and respected, but where cutting has been successfully banned.

“It is time for Sierra Leone to join a growing movement of girls, women and their allies who are calling for a world where girls can live free of all forms of violence, including Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation,” she eloquently underscored.

The First Lady was applauded for her clear, bold and courageous statement that education is a basic and fundamental human right that should be enjoyed by all girls, irrespective of their social status or circumstance.

Her expressed wish to meet with those impacted by the policy banning pregnant girls from school before she is able to make further statement on the matter was well noted.

In light of what she highlighted, Purposeful and the Coalition for Girls Education said they are delighted to extend a formal invitation to Her Excellency to come and listen to testimonies from girls affected by the ban at a Special Girls Court Hearing – The Citizens Assembly will convene on June 27, 2019 – the same day the ECOWAS Court will hear a formal case brought by partners to overturn the policy banning pregnant girls from school in Sierra Leone.

Purposeful looks forward to working with the First Lady and the Government of Sierra Leone in their collective effort to build a world where girls are safe and free to enjoy their full human rights.

Sierra Leone News: Persons of Interest Compelled to Appear but must be Silent -Justice Atuguba Rules

Ghanaian judge William Annan Atuguba has ruled that persons of interest summoned before his commission 67 are compellable to appear but can remain silent if they so desire. The judge in his opinion agreed with state counsel Lawyer Musa Mewah that persons of interest are technically witnesses of the Commission.

This ruling however seems to be at variance with a ruling given by Justice Biobele Georgewill of Commission 64 on the same issue in which he said they’re not under any force or compulsion to appear before him.

In another development former Secretary to erstwhile President Koroma, Mr. Emmanuel B. Osho Coker has denied knowing anything or even aware of the sale of government shares in the Sierra Rutile Limited in 2012. Led in evidence by state counsel Mrs. Khadija Zainab Bangura in commission 64, the former secretary to the president denied every knowledge of the sale of the government’s shares in SRL adding that not everything that went to State House passed through him.

Still on the SRL probe, state witness Mr. Sahr Lahai Jusu tendered a document at the COI that he got from Bank of Sierra Leone that hinged on the matter under probe. When asked who the Minister of Finance was at the time of the sale of the government’s shares in SRL, he replied it was Dr. Samura Kamara. At that point, Justice Biobele Georgewill asked that the proceedings be halted until the former minister Dr. Samura Kamara was served notice of hearing. The matter was adjourned to Monday June 10.

 

 

Sierra Leone News: VP Juldeh Jalloh Refutes Political Statements

To set the record straight Sierra Leone’s Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has refuted statements made by certain politicians that there is presently palaver in Sierra Leone. The Vice President maintained that there is no palaver in the country, but revealed that the reality in Sierra Leone is that the Sierra Leone Peoples Party won the 2018 Presidential election and is ruling the country but the opposition is behaving otherwise. He therefore said that the SLPP should be allowed to rule the country. He made the statement while addressing stakeholders in Port Loko City at the Presidential Villa on the 4th May, 2019. Dr. Jalloh recalled that late President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah conducted the 2007 Presidential election that was won by the then opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) Party whilst the then ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party lost the election. He added that the SLPP accepted the defeat and allowed the APC to govern the country with peace without jumping on the street to fight. “If APC accept defeat, there will be no problem. But there is nothing like palaver or tension in the country, people are manufacturing palaver”, he emphasized.

The Honourable Vice President informed the gathering of the New Direction Government’s determination to move the country forward with better development, but cautioned that the Government will not hesitate to deal with anyone who flouts law and order. He furthered that no one is above the law of Sierra Leone; therefore, anybody who disturb public peace will be dealt with accordingly whether you are present or past official. He called on opposition parties especially the main opposition APC to respect the law, to allow peace, and to obey law and order in the country. “The SLPP led Administration is ready to develop and move the country to a better place at the Global stage. ‘We will not allow anybody to divert our attention from the New Direction Plan which is in implementation” he re-echoed.

The Vice President expressed dismay at people calling for justice, he explained justice as the act of people speaking truth to perpetrators of violence and hooliganism. He further explained that justice is the art of stakeholders condemning act of violence by politicians in power who terrorized their own people just because they are opposition supporters. He referenced the beaten with broken legs of then opposition SLPP loyalists by hoodlums sent by the then former Minister of Works Alhaji Kemoh Sesay, and the burning down of houses of the opposition SLPP supporters including the house and private school of the present Deputy Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Mrs. Emile Gogra in Port Loko District by APC thugs of Kemoh Sesay. Vice President Jalloh in no nonsense terms expressed his disappointment at religious leaders and statesmen/stakeholders in the country especially in Port Loko District for not condemning the brutal act that was perpetrated by the APC in Port Loko District and the country in general.

Dr. Jalloh encouraged former President Ernest Bai Koroma to act as a Statesman. He noted that the Government of President Julius Maada Bio fully recognizes former President Koroma as a Statesman; therefore, he is expected to behave in such a  manner. Sierra Leone, Vice President Jalloh reiterated, has peace and there is no conflict, the only conflict he told the people is APC refusal to accept defeat and give peace a chance.

He informed the people that Port Loko has only one party, which is the Port Loko Peoples Party. The Vice President encouraged his kinsmen to put the interest of the district first and above political party interest for the growth and development of the district. He also appealed to SLPP supporters to accept Bai Bureh Warriors and help contribute to the growth of the team for the sake of peace and development in the district whether the present management of the team is APC or not, especially now he has been given the status of patron member. He assured the people of his continued support to the district.

 

Sierra Leone News: Major Goodies Coming from NP-SL

The country’s foremost petroleum company, the National Petroleum –Sierra Leone Limited continues to win the minds and hearts of  many Sierra Leoneans countrywide due to its efficient and effective service delivery. Within the realm of making available qualitative petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, kerosene as well as lubricants one of which is Castrol oil, then it is indisputable that within that area none is equal to NP-SL as it is doing exceptionally well. Surely, one remarkable attribute which the company possesses is it always ensures that all its products are always timely available to customers. “Unlike certain petroleum companies where, from time to time, one could be told at a particular filling station that fuel is not available, for NP it is the complete opposite as one will always access them without scratching the head,” Mohamed Turay, a commercial taxi driver who has been driving for over ten years lauded the company underscoring such is all the more reason why it has a huge number of customers in different parts of the country.

When cognisance is really taken of giving its esteemed cherished customers utmost satisfaction then NP has and still continues to be rated as very good in that. As a matter of fact one of the core values of the company borders on customer satisfaction which is uppermost in the minds of its Management. This is taken seriously, mindful of the fact that the company is there to provide optimal service delivery which is the why customers are held in very high esteem.

“We want to always give our customers the best because we believe they deserve it at all times and we will never renege in our resolve,” one of the company’s Managers intimated with commitment.

A cross section of Sierra Leoneans recently asked in interviews conducted in various parts of the country highly commended NP for its readiness and willingness to enter into customer-friendly negotiations based on business agreements. A private dealer maintained, “I have entered into various business deals with NP based on trust and the Management has never being hesitant to loan me fuel which I have never failed to pay in return timely.” NP has been doing the same with corporate institutions, MDAs and other entities.

As a country we are battling with the issue of unemployment but with business entities like NP, through expanding their networks, are providing jobs, from time to time, to ambitious deserving Sierra Leoneans who were hitherto jobless. The company has been opening filling stations in different parts of the country over the years thereby creating job opportunities. It is offering satisfactory remunerations to its workers and giving some the opportunity to gain advanced training.

What is real is that NP is a hundred percent successful indigenous owned company with all its members of staff being Sierra Leoneans. The company epitomizes one that truly adheres to the Local Content Policy which is a sine qua non to overall national development. There is the realization and acceptance that we need to make use of local talents and skills which NP is following to the letter.

As the company continues to generate profits out of managerial prudence it is at the same time timely paying taxes to Government and it belongs within the bracket of Large Taxpayer to the National Revenue Authority (NRA). Again the company is strictly rolling out its Corporate Social Responsibility which has been benefiting many people.

Many have attested to the fact that as NP continues to win the minds and hearts of many around the country more goodies are being offered to the populace.

 

Sierra Leone News: Alphonso Manley Proffers Recommendations to Curb Exam Malpractice

The National Coordinator of the Civil Rights Coalition ,Alphonso Manley, has commended the Government of Sierra Leone under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio for putting more premium on education but also called  on them to increase and pay the 100% fees to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) before the commencement of external examinations in order to have a  proper conduct of those exams and effective monitoring of the  National Primary School Exanimation (NPSE), Basic Education Certificate Examination  (BECCE) and West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).   

He stated that the body charged with the responsibility of conducting external examinations within the West African Sub- Region, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) is conducting four Examinations, two National Examinations that is the National Primary School Exanimation and Basic Education Certificate Examination and two external Examinations which are the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination for school and private candidates.

He noted that WAEC also conducts Examinations on behalf of other Examination Boards that offers various courses.

 “The institution has been in existence for over 6 decades and is accredited for excellence in conducting credible examinations as well as the issuance of certificates. However in recent times lamentably, examination malpractices have become embedded and are gradually turning into a culture in our educational institutions to an extent that WAEC as examining body is concern about the credibility of certificates issued out,” Manley underscored.

According to him, the menace, if not eradicated would eat into our educational system and seriously cause harm to the moral and intellectual development of young people saying there is therefore a dire need for strict measures to be implemented not only to curb the malaise but to put an end to it.

He described examination malpractice as a deliberate attempt to beat the system by wrong means contrary to the examination rules and regulations, which will put a candidate at an unfair advantage stressing how such is illegal and can be committed by a candidate single handedly or in collaboration with other examination authorities, like invigilators, supervisors, examiners, colleagues candidates or other persons in any of the examination stages.

The National Coordinator posited that exam malpractice can occur through leakage of examination question papers, bribe/influencing examination staffs and falsification of verified entries.

He also said it can  be done through choice of invigilators, examination centers, smuggling of answer booklets in and out of the examination rooms, helping candidates, carrying offensive weapons, refusing to obey the orders of invigilators, and supervisory staffs ,creating disturbance, instigating other candidates and inscription of answers on bodily parts.

 Manley suggested that in reducing this exam malpractice some security measures have been put in place saying the Council should be strict about Manual of Procedure for entering scripts, install CCTV cameras in security places in the WAEC offices with some being out of bounds to certain members of staff.

He said the home office of WAEC in Ghana should provide six staffs to help sort packaging of question papers and monitor the conduct of the exam in Sierra Leone. He maintained that question papers must be placed in bags that are highly secure, sealed and locked with coded padlocks. He furthered that dispatch of question papers to the provincial towns should be done daily and not before 2:00 am of the day of the examination.

This, he said, will ensure that no question paper sleeps in any depot to avoid occurrence of leakage.

Sierra Leone News: “Communication Is A Necessity & Not A Luxury…” – QCELL’s CEO Avers

At a press conference held at the Headquarters of one of Sierra Leone’s telecommunication companies, QCELL SL, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Jayamani Karthik expressed appreciation to the Government and people of Sierra Leone for the welcome given to them, adding that in barely 5 months, they have been able to make their presence felt across different parts of the country. Communication, he went on, is a necessity and in this regard the company is proud to announce that its tariff for calls to other networks in now Le400/min from Le697/min.

Speaking on the new tariff, the CEO said that an agreement was reached with NATCOM, the regulatory body of the Telecom Industry in the country, to reduce the tariff according to the directive of the Government. During the meetings held with the various mobile operators, it was agreed that tariff for calls per minute should be reduced to Le400 per minute. QCELL has taken the lead in this regard to implement the agreement. He stated that it is their conviction that tariffs for both data and calls should be as low as ever, so as to enable the ordinary Sierra Leonean to have access to the use of the industry at affordable prices.

Chief Operations Manager, Ebrima Jah, told journalists that they will soon expand their services to other parts of the country. It is their aim that every Sierra Leonean has access to telecommunication and be able to browse the internet at affordable prices. He reiterated their commitment to advocate for more reduction of the tariff in the near future. For only Le2,000, a subscriber can make a call to another QCELL subscriber and talk for a whole day. Its MiFi goes for only Le200,000 and comes with 6GB. QCELL, he maintained, is poised to enhance the digital revolution at rock bottom prices, thereby enable students and other groups to access the internet to do their research and work. This, he maintained ,will further support the Free Quality Education of the government as it will provide the enabling learning environment for both pupils and teachers to develop, which will eventually result in human capital development in the country. He called on all Sierra Leoneans to embrace QCELL for better telecommunication service.    

Sierra Leone News: Statement of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone Freetown, 04 June 2019

Noting the increasing political tensions, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone calls on all political actors to engage in meaningful dialogue to reduce these tensions and maintain the focus on addressing the important development needs of the country and its people. The United Nations Resident Coordinator, continuing to stand ready to contribute to the facilitation of such dialogue, calls on all Sierra Leoneans to maintain peace and calm.

————————————-

UN Resident Coordinator Mr Sunil Saigal

Le5M Ransom for the Arrest of APC Spokesman, Youth Leader

APC National Publicity Secretary Cornelius Deveaux and APC Youth Leader of Constituency 117 in the Western Area Alfred Sulaiman Mansaray

By Amara Samura 

The Director of Crime Services in the Sierra Leone Police, AIG Brima Jah has said in Freetown that the police have put five million Leones (Le5M) ransom as reward to anyone who will help them arrest the All People’s Congress (APC) Party National Publicity Secretary Cornelius Deveaux and APC Youth Leader of Constituency 117 in the Western Area Alfred Sulaiman Mansaray.

The Police have declared the two wanted for their alleged involvement in the riot that took place on Friday May 31st 2019 at their party headquarters.

Addressing journalists at an emergency news conference held at police headquarters, AIG Jah accused Deveaux and Mansaray of inciting their colleagues after two high court judges declared the elections of ten APC Members of Parliament null and void.

Justices Komba Kamanda and Alhaji Momoh Jah Stevens of the High Courts of Sierra Leone ordered the National Electoral Commission to conduct a re-run election in Constituency 110 in the Western Urban area while the SLPP candidates who came second in the March 2018 General Elections  should  replace the APC Parliamentarians in Parliament.

This ruling did not go down well with APC supporters who staged a protest in front of their party headquarters in Freetown.

AIG Jah accused Mansaray of inciting party supporters to cause trouble contrary to the laws of the country.

He described the two men as ring leaders and organizers of the riot and protest at the APC headquarters immediately after the High Court judges ruled against the 10 APC Parliamentarians.

The crime buster pointed out that all those behind the Friday riot including Alfred Sulaiman Mansaray will face the full force of the law.

“The Le5M is for anyone that will help the Police to arrest Deveaux and Mansaray. I am appealing to the people to support us arrest these two ring leaders and organizers,” AIG Jah stressed.

Published on the 5th June 2019

Saio Sorious Samura’s on police custody for involvement in homosexuality’s

Saio Sorious Samura

By Abdul Rahman Kamara

According to reports reaching this medium, it was reliably understood that a young Sierra Leonean by the name of Saio Sorious Samura was beaten almost to death in the hands of some irate youths in the community where he was residing for involving in a gay sexual affair otherwise known as homosexuality.

In a country where being a gay or a lesbian is widely frowned upon and considered to be a serious taboo and a grave offences for which any perpetrator could be lynched to death in the form of mob justice, as the oldest Islamic communities in Sierra Leone.

Indeed, for most families in this country, any member found wanting is deemed to have brought a big shame on the family and as such is culpable to be ostracized or stone to death. Equally too, religious believers in this part of the world see such as very ungodly and totally unacceptable.

A close neighbor explain to this medium that when they transferred to the Fourah Bay Community December 2013, Sulaiman Hamid (Afasu) who was their landlord who also happened to be a Gay and was also a seemingly pious Muslim.

He furthered that on the 2nd June 2019 one Mr. Affa Bilal came to the house of Sulaiman Hamid, who happens to be the landlord of Saio and his mother, as Bilal occasionally call the landlord to go for evening prayers at a nearby mosque. On that day, Bilal used the back door to enter the house because he has been suspecting a clandestine relationship between the Landlord and Saio. In the process of entering the house he proved himself right as he caught them red handed on the act.

Upon seeing them having sex, Bilal started shouting: Dogs! Dogs! Dogs! “Allahwakbar”, neighbour reach to attendance and some community youths they further grab the landlord by his neck, beaten and was stabbed to death later dragged him outside while hitting Saio on his head. At that same time irate youths falls on Saio and was beaten mercilessly to the point of death leaving him bleeding from different parts of his body until he became unconscious, body was picked by police in a bag to the station but later noticed by people that he was still alive.

Whether Saio will turn up and survive is a wait and see situation, but according to one of the police boss sergeant Kamara says when Saio Sorious Samura regained his health he will be sent to jail for such an act because the law is against it and also our customs so their is no protection for homosexual.

See more details in subsequent editions.

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