The Right to Access Information and Communication (RAIC) on the 28th February 2019 engaged the media in order to update practitioners on its recent, activities and mandate since it was recently re-vitalized.
In his statement Dr. Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, who is the Chairman and Information Commissioner of the Right to Access to Information Commission (RAIC), pointed out that with support from the World Bank through the Public Finance Management, Improvement and Consolidation project (PFMICP) in the Ministry of Finance on December 6, 2018 launched the Proactive Disclosure of information (PDI) component of the law that governs all public authorities and the immediate support of the development of publication schemes for 10 pilot Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
He noted that specifically in part 2 Section 8 (1), the Act delineates 22 minimum classes of information identified that will form the core pro-active publication scheme for every public authority in the country.
Seaga Shaw disclosed that in his speech during a Pro-active Disclosure forum in December and another workshop held in January he appealed to participants to tale the message of the March 1st deadline to the various institutions they represent and encouraged them to comply.
He informed journalists present to popularize the message.
Representing the Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, the Deputy Information Minister, Solomon Jamiru, highlighted that the VP has notified all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to submit their proactive publication schemes to the RAIC on or before 1 st March 2019 for approval.
According to the Deputy Minister, failure to do so will incur an invitation to the RAIC tribunal and there are penalties to be levied.
“The pro-active publication scheme is consistent with the new Government’s call for enhanced transparency, accountability and good governance for all public authorities and limited to MDAs by implementing the law as enacted by Parliament,” Jamiru underscored.

With the massive turn out of football loving fans across the country, millions of Leones has been generated in the first few matches of the Sierra Leone Premier League competition. This means for the first time in the history of football in Sierra Leone clubs are smiling to the banks with huge deposits of cash to run their day to day activities.
Mighty Blackpool has raked in over Le150.000.000 from hosting just two matches. Other teams have raked in over Le30 to Le60 millions. From all the games played so far and the statistics coming in though Mighty Blackpool gained one point from three matches so far they are the biggest crowd pullers. If this trend continues then arguably it is safe to say that either Mighty Blackpool has the biggest fan base in Sierra Leone or the majority of football fans love to watch them play.

Meanwhile, the Freetown City Football Club is yet to contract and pay the salaries of their payers according to the Public Relation Officer, Mr. Abdullah Nazzra Bundu, adding the turnout of fans and spectators in their previous matches was very poor due to the unprecedented trials at the moment.

“We are working towards the Bamoi Declaration of 2010, the player and technical officials must be contracted for international best practices, the club is bigger the everybody, we need to respect the career of the players and the officials if we are want to win our pending matches, we are disappointed with the attitude of the management at present” he said.

In his closing remarks, he said that the Premier League Board should investigate the day-to-day actives of the club base on the seed money given to the executive of the Freetown City Council Club for the phase of the league season.

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has decorated Dr Jane Goodall with the award of the Order of the Rokel of the Republic of Sierra Leone at a ceremony held at State House yesterday 28th February 2019.

The honour, Sierra Leone’s highest and most prestigious decoration, recognises Sierra Leoneans who have distinguished themselves by making valuable contributions to the country. She is British and one of a small number of non-Sierra Leoneans to have earned that respect in recent times.

Dr. Goodall, DBE, anthropologist and United Nations Messenger of Peace, was instrumental in founding the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only place in Sierra Leone that keeps rescued chimpanzees. The establishment of the reservation for chimps makes Freetown the only capital city in the world where one can come in contact with chimps.

Dr. Goodall’s discovery in 1960 around chimpanzees had been considered as one of the greatest achievements of the twentieth-century scholarship. Her field research at Gombe, located in western Kigoma Region of Tanzania in East Africa, transformed the understanding of Chimpanzees and redefined the relationship between humans and animals in ways that continue to emanate around the world.

In her acceptance speech, Dr. Goodall said she was truly humbled by the honour, adding that it provided a reason for hope to nature in the country. She said Sierra Leone had a beautiful forest and advised that protecting and restoring it was one of the ways of mitigating climate change.

She noted that it was great to know that protecting the forest, would mean protecting the biodiversity and by protecting the forest it would be able to give out clean water and air to the environment, adding that the forest was tremendously important for human survival.

“A reason for hope is that young people are beginning to help people, animals and the environment because they are all interrelated. As individuals, we are beginning to use our brains every day to think about how we can leave as huge an ecological footprint as possible. We have to give nature a chance and nature will come back.

“You have wonderful forests and areas which people around the world will like to come and visit. I will do my level best to help conservation which might include tourism or agro-culture to help conservation in Sierra Leone,” she assured.

On his part, President Bio said he was pleased to have Dr Goodall in the country and acknowledged the great work she was doing around the world. He said there was a lot of environmental degradation around the world, noting that human activities were impacting negatively on the environment.

He stated that certain ecologies had been destroyed and that was leading to poverty and adverse weather conditions around the world. He said Dr Goodall’s experience had taught the world about the relationship between human beings and the environment.

“Thank you for your dedication and hard work around the world and rest assured we will support you. I will join my colleagues who are active in supporting wildlife around the world. Thank you so much for accepting our honour,” he said.

Both the newly appointed Chief Justice of the Sierra Leone Judiciary, Justice Babatunde Edwards and the Head of the Legal Aid Board, Madam Clara Hanciles deserve unreserved praise from the nation, especially the poor that fall in conflict with the law, for rising up to the task of setting ancient wrongs right committed by some Magistrates in giving many convicts unreasonable sentences; far beyond what their crimes require as punishment.
Working together, the sympathetic Chief Justice and LAB Head have caused the Judiciary to review harsh sentences meted out against convicts at the Magistrate level; with three Judges assigned to the review.
In Nigeria, with whom we share similarly inherited Colonial Laws, as parts of efforts to make fair dispensation of justice available to citizenry, Justice Opeyemi Oke, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, has recently signed in sentencing guidelines for the Magistrates and High Courts in the State. She signed in the sentencing guidelines at the inaugural meeting of the Criminal Justice Sector Reform Committee held in the conference room of the Ikeja High Court.
Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, the Lagos State Attorney-General, judges, representatives of the Nigeria Police and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) were at the meeting. Others that were part of the meeting include law enforcement agencies, Nigerian Prisons Service as well as other stakeholders in the criminal justice system of Lagos.
Justice Oke, the Chairman of the meeting, while applauding members of the Justice Sector Reform Committee, said that the sentencing guidelines would create uniformity in sentencing in the courts.
The guidelines which will facilitate uniformity, equity and objectivity in sentencing in Lagos State, the Chief Judge said. Oke said that the application of the guidelines would bring about similarities in sentences meted out by the courts for the same crimes.
“What has been occurring regularly is that a court will be giving a sentence that people find to be very harsh and difficult; terming the court wicked and harsh, while another court, lenient in sentencing an accused for the same type of offence, is termed sweet and kind. “We need uniformity; we really have to monitor this. The sentencing guidelines will be applicable to the Magistrate Courts and the High Courts,”
Oke noted that a new committee has been set up to also create Practice Directions for the use of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State (ACJL) for the courts.
“This is for the purpose of making the law more explicit for Judges, Magistrates and Prosecutors.”
The new committee is enjoined to evaluate initiatives such as adopting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in criminal trials, increase use of plea bargaining to drastically reduce the number of inmates awaiting trial, frontloading of evidence and restorative justice.
The Chief Judge called for the collaboration and cooperation of stakeholders to take the Lagos State Judiciary to greater heights.
“The vision of the Lagos State Judiciary under the current administration includes to make speedy dispensation of justice a hallmark of Lagos State Judiciary and to improve on the reputation of Lagos State Judiciary as the best in Nigeria and Africa,” she said.
Plans are also underway to review remand guidelines of suspects in minor cases. The plan also includes reviewing of bail terms and fines, to make the release of suspects achievable. The aim of the plan is to decongest Lagos’s overcrowded prisons by also accelerating trial and adopting community service for minor offences.

People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights Advocacy (PARHA) organisation which is advocating for sexual reproductive health and rights, few days ago convened a consultation meeting to critically look at certain key issues under its purview.
PARHA is a coalition of over 50 like-minded organisations that are advocating for the passing of a bill on sexual reproductive health rights for all and other gender issues.
In an exclusive interview granted this writer, Madam Theresa Ojong, Deputy Director of Planned Parenthood Association – Sierra Leone, who also doubles as Head of the Women’s Committee on Health Issues in the Coalition and member of the Task Force, said that the Coalition is advocating for the passing of a bill on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights for everyone, irrespective of gender. She further stated that PARHA is made up of organisations like Amnesty International, PPA-SL, Marie Stopes, Lawyers and several Civil Society Organisations, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional leaders. She furthered that they have since last year, been engaged in consultations with various stakeholders in communities across the country.
“PARHA has held consultative meetings with communities on sexual and reproductive health issues,” she revealed. Many people, she stressed, do not know how to access information about sexual reproductive health on offer.
“In this regard the organisation is advocating for the availability of information to the people, so as to enable them to make right choices about when to have kids and when not to,” she added.
She further stated that girls and boys need to know about the developments taking place in their bodies and how to deal with them. She recognised that in most families, talking about sexual reproductive health issues is a taboo.
Madam Theresa maintained that many girls learn about their bodies from their peers and seldom from their parents and this puts them in danger of getting pregnant, depending on the type of information they receive. Thus PARHA gives them a general package of sexual reproductive health. Consultations held last year with chiefs, farmers, bike riders and school kids were geared towards raising awareness about the issues. District committees were then formed to propagate the issues and regular reports are being sent to the Secretariat on the progress made.
She also disclosed that consultations with other stakeholders, including line Ministries are on-going. The group was pleased to report that consultations was held with the Inter-Religious Council on the need for a bill to address this issue and progress is being made, especially as they have the largest constituency in the country. Policy makers, like Parliament, are also being consulted with a view to establishing a partnership. She also disclosed that a meeting was held with Vice President Juldeh Jalloh, which was fruitful and recommendations received on the way forward.
Moisa Saidu, the Executive Secretary of PARHA, said that the purpose of this advocacy is to ensure that a bill is passed to enable people to make informed choices on sexual reproductive matters. He lamented that of all times, during the Ebola when people were ordered to avoid body contact with each other; it was at this time that the highest teenage pregnancy was recorded in the country.
This, he said, is as a result of the secrecy over the whole issue of sexual reproduction and its repercussions. He stressed that when a thing is hidden, people engage in it, albeit secretly, with devastating consequences. It is therefore the view of the Coalition that sexual reproductive health issues should be made a right and discussed openly in families.
He maintained that in this age of technology, a lot of sexual scenes are viewed by teenagers on TV and social media and no one has control over them, not even the parents. It is therefore in their view, the right thing to do to get the kids informed on the matter and prevent all this unwanted pregnancy and maternal mortality taking place frequently across the country. In this light they have been engaging school going kids on the progress of their bodies and the dangers involve in failing to make the right decisions.
He encouraged parents and elders to have open discussions with the kids and give them the right information that will help them avoid unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions. He observed that the home does not provide the space for such open discussion, due to tradition and admonished parents to break these barriers. In their quest to pass on this information, they are engaging traditional healers, who are believed to be part of the people some of these kids go to when pregnant and concoctions administered to those kids, which invariably result in medical complications for life for some of those kids. Moisa Saidu further disclosed that they are planning on partnering with the First Lady, as they see her campaign as the right step.
On the issue of sponsorship, he said that they do not have any external support, adding that through the individual contributions of the various member organisations in the Coalition, they are able to raise funds for their activities.

The Chief Justice of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Justice Babatude Edwards has welcomed the ongoing nationwide assessment by the legal Aid Board of sentences imposed on inmates in correctional centers from various Magistrate Courts around the country.

This follows a meeting in the Chamber of Chief Justice on Tuesday, 26 February 2019 in which the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles provided updates on the assessment which also covers inmates who have been remanded for long periods without indictment with a view to filing an application of Habeas Corpus to secure their release.

The initial assessment in the Correctional Centers in Freetown has uncovered that some inmates have been given wrong sentences, some for periods well above the jurisdiction of Magistrate Courts. For instance, a ten year prison term was imposed on an inmate convicted of larceny. Two others were sent to prison terms of thirteen and seven years for Obtaining Money by False Pretense and Malicious Damage respectively. Another, inmate was sentenced for seven years for fraudulent conversion even though the materials he was given to sew were valued at seven hundred and fifty thousand leones (US 87).

The Board also found that no prosecution witness testified in some of these trials at the Magistrate Court. In these cases only police officers or experts (formal witnesses) testified in the trials. For others, the witnesses for the complainant were not present at the material time when the incident took place.

Also, there were cases in which preliminary investigations at Magistrate courts were converted into summary trial and long sentences were handed out. These are sentences which could only be handed out for indicted offences (serious or felonious offences) in the high Court.

The Chief Justices informed the Legal Aid Board that a team comprising Justices Monfred Sesay, Sengu Koroma and Alusine essay has already been constituted to review the sentences. The Team is expected to commence work soon.

In response, Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said the Board will represent all inmates whose sentence will be reviewed. ‘This is really a welcome relief for the administration of justice in Sierra Leone,’ she said, adding: ‘The Chief Justice is showing leadership in holding the balance in the area of Justice.’

The leadership of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party, the National Grand Coalition (NGC), and the Sierra Leones Peoples Party (SLPP) on the 26th February 2019 signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with elections stakeholders (the National Electoral Commission (NEC), the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) & the Office of National Security (ONS) ahead of the re-run of the bye-election in Ward 196, Tonko-Limba Chiefdom in the Kambia District.

This decision came following the impasse between the APC and the SLPP that led to the cancellation of the elections by NEC on the 29th September 2018 and the announcement of a re-run scheduled for 9th March 2019.

The parties and the election stakeholders witnessed by the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) subscribed to the following:

POLITICAL PARTIES

1. That we shall individually, collectively and actively promote tolerance and condemn any act of violence and intimidation by our supporters before, during and after the polling day;
2. That we commit to respect the will of the people and to accept the result of the election and further, to graciously concede defeat provided the elections are transparent, free and fair;
3. That in the event of just cause to reject the result of the election, we shall use due process to register our complaints and shall resort to peaceful and legal means to redress our grievances;
4. That all political actors, party stalwarts and non-accredited individuals who are not ordinarily resident nor eligible to vote in Ward 196 must not be seen within the precinct of the Polling Centers;
5. That our political stalwarts who are not assigned to polling centers shall not invade the polling centers, obstruct or disrupt the electoral process;
6. That our leaders, candidates, members, and supporters shall refrain from wearing campaign or political colors on polling day;
7. That our supporters (voters) shall retire to their homes peacefully after casting their votes;
8. That we shall continue to uphold all the commitments in the Codes of Conduct for Political Party Candidates and Supporters.

NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (NEC)

1. That staff members of NEC shall create a conducive environment and a level playing field for all contesting parties;
2. That staff members of NEC shall display high-level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties in line with Sections 32 & 33 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and the Public Elections Act of 2012;
3. That NEC shall preside over the conduct of the election without any interference or undue influence from election observers, political party stalwarts or party agents.

SECURITY SECTOR

1. That the Security Sector shall ensure that on-lookers are 400 meters away from the polling centers;
2. That the Security Sector shall enforce the ban on the display of secret society before, during and after the election;
3. That the Security Sector shall provide adequate security and create a level playing field for all political parties, candidates, and supporters;
4. That Security Personnel shall conduct themselves in a professional manner in the discharge of their duties;
5. That the Security Sector shall restrict the movement of non-accredited high profile politicians, non-voters and unauthorized persons within and outside the polling centers.

The Rokel Commercial Bank recently held its 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) to adopt various resolutions, policies and the bank’s financial reports for the years, 2016 and 2017. Throughout the deliberations, it became apparent that shareholders who had over the years been despondent over the bank’s inability to make profits were now only asking for dividend payments.
Clearly, the amplified calls from the shareholders for profit sharing could have sounded like mere phantasmagorical conjectures had the Management not embraced and implemented the transformative benchmarks conceived and supported by Government. No one would have been talking about dividend payment if the bank had failed to make profit. And as one of the shareholders puts it; “We no longer have any doubt in the bank’s ability to make profit…we are quite pleased with the rapid transformation but we are also looking forward to the payment of our dividend…..” Therefore, when the Managing Director, Walton Gilpin assured shareholders of an imminent dividend payment to shareholders, it became obvious that the bank’s financial statements shall only continue to show an upward trajectory.
Rokel was the second most profitable bank in 2017 with a LE62.7 Billion Profit (after tax). Such a significant leap cannot be unconnected to the efforts of its selfless Managing Director and Management team. Gilpin and his team had defied the odds to institute meaningful reforms including the rolling out of an aggressive marketing strategy which had invariably succeeded to regain public goodwill towards the bank and increased its deposit base by 9%. In 2017, Rokel Commercial Bank became the most decorated financial institution with 17 Awards in a single year from credible local and international organizations.
Gilpin, a consummate professional economist has worked in over fifteen countries in Africa and the Caribbean after nurturing his skills at the Bank of Sierra Leone. His bi-partisan disposition may not give him all the friends he needs but he has proved himself as a game changer – one whose intellect and work ethics can be used to inspire our younger generation. Staff morale at the bank is reportedly at its highest in 18 years as a result of an open-door policy as well as innovative staff welfare promotion efforts. Outside his professional work, Gilpin had since 2008 utilized parts of his hard-earned income to fund the GEED Foundation which he established to provide better livelihoods for disadvantaged women and children across the country including his paternal home, Bonthe and Benguema, Port Loko and Tonkolili.
“The bank has recorded a 10% growth in the size of its balance sheet significantly in the deposit. Investment securities grew by Le 171BN (51%) as a result of the moratorium on loans and overdraft. Our deposit increased by 63 Bn (9%) due to aggressive marketing and efficient operations,” stated Abubakarr Jalloh, the Chairman of the bank’s Oversight Committee.
Rokel Commercial Bank is poised to regain its iconic status in the country’s financial sector and contribute to the New Direction’s drive for sustainable economic growth. In the same vein, it has carved a niche for resilience which other financial institutions can learn from. The transformation has been phenomenal, and with Government’s unwavering commitment to sanitize the banking sector, Rokel is set to blaze the trail for indigenous banking in Sierra Leone.

It has been widely agreed and endorsed that the National Petroleum (NP) Company definitely falls within the category of one of Sierra Leone’s successful indigenous companies. NP, many will attest, has been hugely contributing towards overall national development particularly in the areas of job creation, timely payment of taxes to Government via the National Revenue Authority (NRA) as well as the steady and meaningfully rolling out of its Corporate Social Responsibility that are positively impacting lives.
Indeed, if it has taken quite a considerable period of time since this country has not been experiencing fuel shortage then such could be largely attributed to the pro-active and sterling initiatives that the Management at NP has been executing with regards timely procurement of the petroleum product and making it available on the market for public consumption.
Without holding any brief for NP, it is highly commendable for a well-established and result-producing company like NP to have ascended 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.
Interestingly, the members of staff referred to were workers of the former British Petroleum Company, an entity that later decided to sell its shares to the Government of Sierra Leone at that material period of time.
Things took another dimension when in 1996 the Government sold its 60% shares in NP to some members of staff who were working for the company. 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 to LEONEOIL, which metamorphosed to NP, meeting all the set criteria.
Economists this medium had the privilege to talk with noted that the aforementioned members of staff were indeed serious enough to properly manage the company to such an extent that, unlike others, it survived most of the challenges that it had been encountering throughout the years it has been in existence.
Digging into the historical background of NP, in a bid to give readers the opportunity to see how it has become so successful, 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 controversial and highly influential ,Jamil Sahid Mohammed, later sold to Cape Oil PMMC’s 40% shares to offset a fidelity loan but LEONE OIL took was not satisfied with that move and took the matter to court saying 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 reasons best known to them certain individuals have been peddling rumours that NP has a monopoly over the petroleum market in the country but such have been proven to be very baseless and misleading as it is factual that there are other Marketing Companies marketing petroleum products that are registered with the Petroleum Agency.
It is worthy for readers to know 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 state 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.
Currently, NP has filling stations in different parts of the country and is even operating in other locations in neighbouring Liberia offering various economic opportunities.
Without any exaggeration one can safely conclude that the National Petroleum is on the right track and deserves a pat on the back. It is but advisable for other Sierra Leoneans to follow the sound footstep of NP instead of us wholly and solely depending on foreign investors to lubricate our economy.

In the ongoing Housemates Salone Competition, organized by Africa Young Voices (AYV) and Africell, there are presently 20 Housemates in the House in the wake of last Sunday 24th February 2019 eviction of 2 Housemates. Candidly, the TV Reality show is heightening and it is becoming more and more interesting and viral bagging widespread appreciation and commendation from different quarters in and out of the country.
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.
The primary focus of the aforementioned organizers is providing a platform for the young male and female competitors to display exemplary God-given talents which should be so captivating to lure viewers to vote for them through the Africell Cell Number 5500. What would determine the position that the various contestants will individually occupy largely depends on the percentage of votes that each will scoop from viewers.
Another objective is geared towards youth empowerment by availing these young people the opportunity to learn new skills to equip them for a successful future.
The show will also serve as a platform that will not only build ties, strengthen relationships, empower youths and showcase talents, but will spring surprises unprecedented in the history of Reality TV shows.

These 20 Housemates are expected to display strong language, nudity and humour for the attractive prize of Le100, 000,000 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.
“This 2019 Housemates Salone Reality Show truly depicts inclusiveness as the Housemates are not only drawn from residents in Freetown which is indeed in the best interest of national cohesion,” Memunatu Turay, a Secretary in one of the insurance companies in the country intimated frankly adding that it has indeed put the country on the international spotlight which is very good within the context of rebranding its image.