Sierra Leone News: Journalist are not Criminals… Press Freedom and Liberty of Journalists to Report

June 30, 2019

Sallieu Tejan Jalloh aka Sall Tee, The Publisher of the Times SL Newspaper, David Johnson, Editor Times SL Newspaper, Mustapha Sesay, Editor Standard Times Newspaper and Abu Bakarr Kargbo aka Father Bakish, Senior Staff Writer, Standard Times Newspaper

Practicing journalists and media houses in Sierra Leone have had to over the years greatly restrain themselves in investigating and reporting on the ills of society. Four journalists have been remanded at the Pademba Road Male Correctional Center on Friday 28th June 2019 by Magistrate Mark Ngegba of Court No.2 in Freetown.

Four journalists who are all editors, Sallieu Tejan Jalloh aka Sall Tee, The Publisher of the Times SL Newspaper, David Johnson, Editor Times SL Newspaper, Mustapha Sesay, Editor Standard Times Newspaper and Abu Bakarr Kargbo aka Father Bakish, Senior Staff Writer, Standard Times Newspaper were before Magistrate Ngegba on charges brought against them by Lawyer Mohamed Pa Momoh Fofanah through a private prosecution.

Over the years, whilst the government has introduced legislations to unshackle journalists, such as the Freedom of Information Act, a thorn in the flesh of the profession is that of the Criminal and Seditious Libel law contained in the 1965 Public Order Act that was passed into law when Sir Albert Margai as Prime Minister wanted to muzzle journalists when he sought to have a One-Party Bill passed into law by a then SLPP-dominated parliament.

In the long struggle to have the legislation expunged, the former President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, veteran BBC journalist Umaru Fofanah during his tenure in office with his executive fought tooth and nail to have the former government of Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma expunge this odious piece of legislation that ties the hands of journalists from freely expressing their thoughts and opinions to no avail.

His successor, Kelvin Lewis, too has been fighting valiantly to have the law exorcised from the books and was able to win assurance from now President Bio when he was campaigning in 2018 that if he won the presidential election his government will expunge criminal and seditious libel from the books.

With the government’s Minister of Information and Communication having several times assured the media that the government will make good on its promise but having so far not filed the motion in parliament for ratification, journalists in Sierra Leone continue to be treated as criminals by the courts for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

It is under this draconian law that 4 journalist make an appearance on Friday 28th June, 2019 before the magistrate court sitting in Freetown on a criminal summon of libel against a Lawyer (Pa Momoh Fofanah) filed by lawyers representing him, when at the same time, the Government of Sierra Leone had established an Independent Media Commission to serve as first port of call in all matters having to do with dispute between the media and the public.

Many people see this first test of the liberty of journalists to report on a matter of public interest without fear of recrimination as a dangerous first step towards repression of press freedom and muzzling of journalists.

The press is appealing to the Government of Sierra Leone and the Judiciary to intervene in this matter and order the immediate release of our colleagues. May common sense prevail!

Sierra Leone News: Canadian Tour Operator to Use Sierra Leone as Melting Pot

June 30, 2019

In changing the story line of a tourism destination like Sierra Leone, from hoax and negative hypes, the right moves to attract the tourist generating region is through constant destination marketing using B2B strategy and approach as introduced by the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt using a tool kit known as “Tourism Governance” (TG) with smart tourism push-out engagement as it is now done.

The Managing Director who also served as VP Mr. Yves Marceau received the team, and thoroughly briefed them on their operations over the years.

Yves through these engagements was able to state that adventure travel is more than a vacation. It’s a chance to get to know your world better by putting yourself on a first-name basis with the people, places, and things that make it worth exploring. The group is small with adventure travel experts, and has been in existence for over 20 years.

They have got the way to design customer base by listening to travellers and giving them what they want: top-notch tours in top-notch places with top-notch staff at great prices, and Sierra Leone is no mistake for future exchanges in travel and tours business.

G Adventures agreed on partnering with Sierra Leone in establishing tourism based development projects that aid the profile of the destination.

Capacity building was part of the conclusions met; training the community based tourism workers is part of their portfolio for the past twenty years. This approach has yielded a phantom reward in other destinations in Africa, and these Yves believes can be transferred to Sierra Leone.

Transfer of expert to whatever projects is their mastery, especially Eco-tourism site development and management. Therefore, this ideal meeting if deliberations could be furthered as suggested by the G Adventures will make dividend.

The meeting closed with tight and firm deals, of stronger exchanges and coherently set future preparation and plans to visualise these mind-sets.

Sierra Leone News: Is Sierra Leone Serious about Free Education?

June 30, 2019

The dream of every parent the world over is to provide quality education for their children, so that by the time these children grow into adulthood, they will be able to live a decent life. This dream is almost achievable in Europe, America and other developed countries, but in developing countries such as Sierra Leone, this seemed to be far-fetched.

This is all the more reason why quality education stands fourth among the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. This goal calls for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. In Sierra Leone, a good number of children do not go to school. Not because they are sick or they do not want to go to school. In fact they do. Research shows that some of the issues that raise their ugly heads in preventing the children from going to school include but not limited to poverty, sanitation, child labour, early marriage, health issues and in some cases there are no schools to attend, and where there are, there are few teachers.

Little wonder that when the Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio was elected into office, he made free quality education his flagship program. In launching the free quality pre-primary, primary and secondary school education for government and government assisted schools, President Bio pointed out that education was an investment for personal and national development and without education a nation cannot get the much-needed manpower for socio-economic advancement. While pledging his government’s commitment, he used the opportunity to call on parents and teachers to support the free education program. “My government will take legal action against parents who fail to send their children to school,” President Bio warned.

At this initial stage, the venture of the president and his government is being rocked by a myriad of challenges, paramount among which is the willingness or rather unwillingness of parents to send their children to school. In a country such as Sierra Leone where poverty is rife, most parents depend on their children to assist them in fending for the rest of the family. Farmlands have to be attended to, monies have to be earned to buy basics and in some cases, the girl child has to help the mother look after younger siblings and/or help with domestic duties from time to time. Mostly in large cities children are seen leading poor blind or crippled parents along the streets assisting them in their begging trade. Another factor that is creating a stumbling block for the children is that disabled children are not being properly cared for. In a country where disability is mostly viewed as a result of witchcraft or a curse, disabled children find it hard to access education. James Fallah-Williams is the Program Director for Practical Tools initiative. He says the free quality education program initially never even incorporate disabled children as part of the general group that needed additional practical support in mobility and access. “It didn’t even consider making sure that school structures are made appropriate and reachable for the disabled,” he noted. He added that the success of the free quality education program will be judged by the unequivocal inclusion of destitute and abused children.

In addressing some of these challenges, President Bio encouraged both local and international partners to step forward and partner with government in ensuring the success of the free quality education.

One international organisation that immediately answered the call of the president is the United Nation Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They have consented to work with the government of Sierra Leone. The delegation from UNESCO met with the president at State House where they told him that they had been following the programs of government free and quality education since it was launched and that their visit was to engage government in discussing the way forward in supporting the free and quality education. Yao Ydo the multi-Sectoral regional director United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Education (UNESCO) also expressed his willingness in helping the government and the free quality education which is the flagship program of the government. He said that they were ready to support government to the fullest and called on the government to make science subjects.

Parents as well as the pupils themselves for which the free quality education is being provided have expressed optimism about the positive impact the free education will have on the socio-economic advancement of the country. The principal for the Government Secondary Technical School, Henry Kamara was very upbeat when asked whether he cared about the free education. He started off by commending the government and called the venture a good idea. He however asked for an upgrade of the physical facilities; school structures, furniture, libraries etc. “Government should also look into the affairs of teachers who are the driving force behind the free education,” he said.

On his part, Davidson Momoh, a JSS3 pupil of the Prince of Wales School, said the only issue they had with the free education was that they had to return the textbooks provided or pay a loss fine if they do not do so. “We are now afraid to even use the books, so we keep them without using them in order to return them when the time comes,” he said. He however said that the exercise was a good one as they would no longer be sent out of school because their fees had not been paid by their parents.

Joseph Sannoh the Chief Executive Officer for Heal Salone, a civil society activist and the publisher and proprietor of Education Microscope Newspaper on his part called on government to monitor the activities of the free education books and ensure the books are fairly distributed.

For the fourth pillar of the SDGs to be achievable in Sierra Leone, everyone must come on board; the government, the local authorities, parents, teachers, students, international community and the like. Free education for all must be everyone’s responsibility. Who cares about Bio’s free quality education? I care. You care. We all care.

This work is an SLRU mentorship project with support from Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) and funded by the UNDP. It was researched and written by Mentee Adama Barrie and Donald Theo-Harding provided the mentorship.

Sierra Leone News: Barefoot Women: No Stipend for 16 Months!

June 30, 2019

Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association Sierra Leone Konta Line- Koya Chiefdom, Port Loko District while commending the Sierra Leone People’s Party-led Government and Hon. Alex Mattia Rogers of Constituency 102 Pujehun District for their support and constant touch with them, said they have gone for 16 months without stipend.

This was made known when journalists facilitated by Hon. Alex Mattia Rogers visited the institute to get first-hand information about the institute and their challenges on Monday 24^th June 2019.

Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association Chief Solar Engineer and Founder Haja Nancy Kanu thanked President Bio and Hon. Rogers for their commitments.

As part of their constraints, Haja Kanu disclosed that for the past 16 months they have gone without stipend. This she added, they want to government to look into as they are ready to give quality training. She also spoke about lack of vehicle among others. She thanked the Education and Energy ministries for their supports.

She spoke about their huge manpower that is ready to give light in the country if the resources are provided.

According to Haja Kanu people want to discourage them but she said they are not going to relent because they want to empower rural communities.

“If I am uneducated and I am doing such a good thing, what if I were educated. We want the President to give us the support; the MPs are seeing the reality of what we are capable of doing.”

Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association Secretary General Edward Musa Anaque said among other things that the organisation is a grassroots one that belongs to rural illiterate’s women.

He said Haja Nancy Kanu was among the first batch of women to train in in India in 2007 and from 2007 to 2009 they have trained 260 women and now they have a batch of 50 which is funded by the central government of Sierra Leone that are drawn from South, East, North and North West regions of the country.

He said their training mainly focuses on practical which is called the ‘barefoot’ approached.

He continued to say they need a competent base educational curriculum for rural electrification as the government has picked up the mandate indicating that they are ready.

“All we are doing here is for the rural people and solar is part of the renewable energy”

He commended the selection process of training across the regions and said they have brought members of parliament and the chiefs on-board.

Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association started full operation in 2009 but was commission in 2012, now the team wants to decentralize as they need to train more people to take care of other areas.

The current structure the institute coast the past government about three billion Leones and it has a capacity of 50 students that will be train for four months.

Hon. Alex Mattia Rogers of Constituency 102 Pujehun District said Sierra Leone is moving towards rural electrification and he deems it feet to visit Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association to know the level of progress they have made.

He said he is very impressed with them because he is not a stranger in that institute as he has seen what they are capable of doing and their move to empower women.

Hon. Rogers disclosed that he has sent third set of women in that institute from his constituency.

He said one among the first batch he sent went to India and now she is doing extremely well in her village in Pujehun District.

Hon. Rogers’ prayer is for the new intakes, which is funded by the government, do their best. He promised to engage other MPs and continue to talk with the government for their support as the new direction cardinal policy is to bring energy which he said is now extended to the rural communities.

One of the beneficiaries, Pakanda from Moyamba District said when they came to the institute they knew nothing but said they have learnt a lot such as colour post, tools, hydro meters among others.

She said she never knew women can learn engineering. She thanked the government and the founder of the project for taking up the bold step to empower herself and now others.

Sierra Leone News: HRCSL Engages Gold Tree on Compliance, Rights Issues

June 30, 2019

The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) on Thursday 27^th June 2019 engaged the management of Gold Tree Company in Daru, Kailahun District to ascertain the level of compliance with Business and Human Rights (BHR) standards.

Part of the work of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone is to address business and human rights issues in the country. A guideline document titled: “Guidelines for Monitoring Business and Human Rights in Sierra Leone” was developed in 2013 in partnership with the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Danish Institute for Human Rights to provide a clear and consistent roadmap for monitoring the operations of business enterprises in Sierra Leone.

The ‘Guidelines’ lay emphasis on the ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework’ of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, other international and regional human rights standards to which Sierra Leone is a party, as well as domestic policies and laws relevant to the operations of businesses in the country.

As a business entity, the operations of Gold Tree Company continues to have extensive impacts on the enjoyment of human rights of members of host communities and its workers – directly impacting on such rights like protection of the environment, rights of workers and other employment practices, rights to property relating to access and use of land (affecting food security), right to health and access to clean and safe drinking water (relating to application of chemicals and management/disposal of wastes), freedom from discrimination, rights of women and children.

The impacts can however be negative or positive.

The Oversight Commissioner for the Directorate of Monitoring and Research at the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, Dr. Gassan Abess explained that the endorsement of the Guiding Principles on BHR by the UN Human Rights Council on 16^th June 2011, provided the platform for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework, which – for the first time – serves as a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activities.

Commissioner Abess also stated that in Sierra Leone, business activities have affected human rights through labour exploitation, discriminatory and other forms of employment practices, corruption, environmental degradation, unlawful acquisition of land, forced eviction of communities from their lands and related negative consequences.

He pointed out that protests and demonstrations by communities and workers have led to conflicts, damage to property, injuries, and sometimes death.

All of these, he went on, are encapsulated to abuse or violations of various forms of human rights. “These trends led to increase in the number of complaints to the HRCSL, relevant government institutions and other rights based organizations”. Dr. Abess mentioned.

The Deputy Director and Head of the Business and Human Rights Unit at the HRCSL, Abdulai Yolla Bangura explained in an interview that Gold Tree is one of the agri-business multinational companies operating in Sierra Leone with an oil palm plantation and a processing plant in Daru.

He said the monitoring will provide the Commission with the opportunity to engage with the company management identify gaps and proffer recommendations for remedial action.

The Acting Deputy Director and Head of the Eastern Region office of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, Sylvester Kallon was also part of the monitoring team.

Sierra Leone News: “Government will leave no stone unturned on the road to compact eligibility” -VP Juldeh Jalloh

June 30, 2019

The Vice President of Sierra Leone Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh who is also the Board Chairman of the Millennium Challenge Coordinating Unit (MCCU) has told Ministers and other Senior Government officials that in the quest to improve on the country’s performance on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Scorecard; Government “will leave no stone unturned on the road to compact eligibility”.

The Vice President who was accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of MCCU, Ndeye Fatu Koroma in June 2019, visited Ministries whose roles are considered critical to the MCC Scorecard and the Sierra Leone Threshold Program (THP) Implementation.

This strategic move by the Vice President led to fruitful engagements with key Ministries such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Lands Housing and the Environment.

In his address to Ministers and senior officials, the Vice President relayed that these visits to the Ministries were intended to send a very strong message that: 1) the Presidency takes the MCC Scorecard and the current Threshold Program implementation extremely seriously 2) there is a renewed vigour and commitment from the highest office on developing sustainable data management eco-systems and 3) a decentralized approach is essential to conveying collective responsibility to ensure that Sierra Leone passes the scorecard. He conveyed that the scorecard is a “national agenda,” and stakeholders across the spectrum should take responsibility to improve performance because it will be one of the measures of the gains that have been made under the New Direction.

The Vice President noted the pervasive challenges with data collection and storage and acknowledged that data is indispensable in the journey to promote meaningful development in Sierra Leone. To this end, he conveyed his desire to establish strategic data partnerships between the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation, MCCU and MDAs to find workable solutions to improve data collection in Sierra Leone.

The MCCU, CEO, Ndeye Fatu Koroma explained to each of the Ministries the performance of Sierra Leone over the years on key indicators on the MCC Scorecard. She also disclosed some projected scores on the country’s performance in this year’s MCC Scorecard that will be released in November 2019. She relayed some optimism about Sierra Leone improving its performance on the scorecard that is slated to be released in November, but noted that critical to this is timely data capture and submission.

The Ministers applauded the move by the Vice President to engage them and key staff of the Ministries on the MCC Scorecard and the Threshold Program implementation. They pledged to take prompt action to ensure that Sierra Leone is selected for a Compact this year.

Sierra Leone News: British High Commissioner Bids Farwell to President Bio

June 30, 2019

The outgoing British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Guy Warrington, has bid farewell to President Julius Maada Bio at State House.

While presenting the High Commissioner, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Kanja Sesay said that after years of hard work, Mr. Warrington was leaving Freetown to prepare for another assignment. He said over the years, the outgoing High Commissioner had served the country in a diligent manner.

Mr. Warrington, who is preparing for another assignment in Mali, said it had been an interesting three years working in Sierra Leone. He recalled taking up duties in the country during the post Ebola period during which the British Government undertook many post Ebola reconstructions, adding that that was a period in which British assistance to the country reached its highest level for a long time.

He stated that they were glad to have contributed in the electoral process that was peaceful, fair, credible and transparent and the subsequent peaceful transfer of power. He said the United Kingdom remained the biggest bilateral donor to Sierra Leone and that had been a long commitment through which the UK Government had been able to support the West African nation.

“We have been able to support the security sector in the country, particularly the RSLAF and now through the support of DfID, we are focusing on the education sector. I hope my successor will be able to continue the good job I have been doing and to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. It was a pleasure to work with you,” he ended.

In his response, President Bio thanked the outgoing High Commissioner for his service to Sierra Leone and for further strengthening the relationship between the two countries. He said Mr. Warrington had been a great partner who had represented the UK very well in Sierra Leone during which the two countries had widened their relationship.

“We want to thank you particularly for the role you played in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak and the elections which were very difficult moments. The British military assistance has also been another area of cooperation in which the UK has done quite a lot and we want you to continue to support the military establishment here because we have so much in common. We hope to have a similar and better relationship with your successor as we have always hoped to keep a very good relationship with the UK,” he said.

Sierra Leone News: Shekito Fires COI: ‘I Will Not Attend; But Send You My Book’

June 30, 2019

Erstwhile Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Internal Affairs in the former APC-led administration of President Ernest Bai Koroma, Sheka Tarawallie aka Shekito says he will not honour a Commission of Inquiry (COI) invitation for him to testify before the Commission.

In the article below, Shekito explains why he will not attend the COI as invited but rather, he would send the COI his book which is now internationally acclaimed and about to be launched in Sierra Leone.

Shekito writes: What a great coincidence that it is now (after your Commission has been in operation for several months) – at a time just when my autobiographical book has been published by Troubador (UK) and is gaining popularity both inside and outside Sierra Leone and is about to be launched in-country – that you have written to me with regards testimonies “on issues pertaining to the Ministry of Information during your tenure”. A striking coincidence indeed!

But that was a digression, which normally does not come at the beginning. But these are not normal times!

I received a call on 24 June 2019 at about 15:43 from Mr. Morie Lenghor (a man I found very amiable and diligent when I was Deputy Minister of Internal affairs and he was a senior police officer) saying there were issues to be addressed at your Commission with regards the Ministry of Information (where I was previously Deputy Minister) and that he would need my address for a correspondence to be sent to me to that effect. I supplied him with the information.

At about 17:44 on the same day, a friend sent me a WhatsApp message with a letter purportedly from the Commission, bearing the letter-head of same plus my name and address. Before long, I saw the same letter in several WhatsApp groups. I only actually received your letter (signed by the Secretary to the Commission but without his or her name) at about 14:00 on 25 June 2019 and found out that indeed it was a true replica (or vice versa) of the one circulating on social media.

I found this strange and astonishing – for an institution of this nature. At least, they should have waited for me, and the others addressed, to have received the correspondence before circulating it to the public (as I would do shortly). Running the Commission of Inquiry in a town-crier fashion is not fashionable at all. An institution of this magnitude of national seriousness should be operated with some office decorum and etiquette. It can clearly be seen that the WhatsApp circulation of the letter emanated from the Commission, as all the letters were from the same file which had ‘Notice of Hearing’ written on it in ink.

However, be that as it may, and coming to your secretariat’s alerting me about this development of a hearing, I appreciate the effort at reaching me. However, since there is no specific allegation against me, I would say I find it unnecessary to attend the session or even send a representative. If indeed there were, I am sure I would have been notified with the details which would be used by my legal representative to make any submission or cross-examination – even as I know that witnesses often make written statements first before their oral testimonies. Representation can therefore not be made in a vacuum, as the present scenario is.

I would like to categorically state that my position has nothing to do with the no-attendance stance of the All Peoples Congress (APC), the now Opposition which was in power within your jurisdictional timeframe. After all, many former officials have had representations made on their behalf at your Commission. I just basically do not see the necessity when there is no particular case to answer – as per your correspondence.

The fact that the substantive Minister at the time I served as Deputy Minister is around further erodes the necessity for my attendance. This is because, as Deputy (even when Acting while the Minister could be away), you do not have the capacity or authority to make any major decision without the prior approval of the Minister – as per ‘civil service protocol’ which especially Permanent Secretaries would always strictly adhere to.

To this end, I would say the letter written to me is a waste of resources. Calling someone to attend or send a representative when he or she is neither a witness nor has any specific allegation to respond to is a most unwelcome drumbeat bordering on scaremongering, as far as I am concerned. Therefore, I would crave your indulgence not to write to me if there is nothing specific to respond to in future – a future I definitely believe would not come because I am confident of the way I conducted myself in office.

Meanwhile, I am taking liberties to send you a complimentary copy of my just-published book in which I have highlighted some of my activities in Government, which I left in March 2016. Sincerely, I already had the intention of sending a copy to the Commission, but – to be sincere still – I had planned to send it to Justice Biobele Georgewill (who perhaps due to his Nigerian background – I am sure you know the links with Sierra Leone especially in contemporary times and particularly during the war period – has been more publicly trumpeted). However, as someone with a firm belief in God’s interventions in the affairs of men, I take the correspondence from your Commission as a direction to send it to you instead (and your being a Sierra Leonean makes it really better, I admit) – while I would be happy that it is shared within the three commissions.

Please forgive the fact that I have written this letter from a layman’s point of view. Perhaps, in the process, I am speaking the minds of many more laymen, who normally are in the majority.

Thank you very much for your understanding.

Yours faithfully,

Sheka Tarawalie

(Editor’s Note: published unedited)

Sierra Leone News: OMCs Want Stable Foreign Currency for Better Service Delivery

June 30, 2019

It has been learnt that it is very challenging for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Sierra Leone unlike other African countries like Liberia, Gambia etc.that are selling their petroleum products above 9,000 Leones but for Sierra Leone the price still remains at Le7, 000 for petrol and Le 7,500 for diesel. This is why foreign exchange dealers are really challenged and for that reason foreign currency is not freely available to OMCs for them to continue the process of purchasing and selling.

Oil marketing companies in Sierra Leone that have been doing extremely well in terms of timely service delivery of petroleum products and customer care, are reportedly going through trying times, having recorded a massive loss from January to May 2019 to the tune of over Le 96 billion (ninety six billion Leones).

Kobi Walker, General Manager NP-Sierra Leone, speaking recently on Radio Democracy in an interview disclosed that one of the major factors that has been responsible for the present status quo antebellum is the fact that there has been a huge difference between the actual price of PLATTS and the average purchase price of USD $ to the Leone when matched against that of the Petroleum Regulatory Agency Pricing Formula.

According to him this is a big challenge that NP and the Government cannot handle. He said that it is very challenging for OMCs as other African countries like Liberia, Gambia etc. are selling their petroleum products above 9,000 Leones but he said for Sierra Leone the price still remains at Le7, 000 for patrol and Le 7,500 for diesel.

He also said foreign exchange owners are really challenged and for that reason foreign currency is not freely available for them to continue the process of purchasing and selling.

He also said looking at the current prices of petroleum products within the context that NP is subsidizing has further compounded the situation which he said is a contributory reason why they are encumbered with such huge losses highlighting how that is not their sole responsibility as a company.

He said that it is not their business to give subsidies and sell below what they are buying pinpointing how they will continue to supply their products regardless of the fact that they are making so many losses.

The GM disclosed that Sierra Leone is consuming over 400 million litres of fuel every year.

He added that if the price for fuel remains like this it will pose serious difficulties for the survival of OMCs but expressed optimism that they are sure to address the issues with the relevant stakeholders.

He went further to say the company cannot determine the increase in price of fuel as there is the Petroleum Regulatory Agency which is the regulator of OMCs.

“They have the onus to determine increase of prices having looked at the PLATTS, foreign exchange rates and other variables,” Kobi Walker posited, adding that they as a company cannot continue in the present manner but that the relevant stakeholders are seriously looking into the situation.

Against this background, it should be noted that for any government anywhere in the world to successfully govern and manage its economy well, it can only do so by actively engaging oil producing companies and giving them the necessary attention because as the saying goes: without energy, no development.

Needless to say, in Sierra Leone, the state of oil companies is such that oil companies operating in Sierra Leone will remain challenged if nothing is quickly done by the relevant authorities to address the quagmire in which these companies currently find themselves.

It is understandable that the whole country relies on petroleum products for progress and development to transpire. But what the oil companies are saying is that they are exposed to a lot of bottlenecks that greatly hamper their profitability and running costs in what is considered to be a highly volatile market that is subject to the vicissitudes of international economic forces.

Without any doubt, we all see how quickly the whole economy grinds to a halt whenever there is no fuel in petrol stations. People can no longer travel easily and cheaply from one place to another. The cost of transportation goes up and food prices shoot up as well affecting the smooth operations of industries, sometimes causing job loss.

As such, whilst we understand the financial stress that the government is going through, but at the same time, the government must keep in mind that it is a fact that survival of society depends on the availability of petroleum products in the market at all times.

The depreciation in the value of the Leone should not be a factor in the Central Bank prioritizing foreign exchange to oil companies at official exchange rate because fuel has a very huge multiplying effect on the rest of the economy, as well as vital for investor confidence.

Realistically, if the government cannot subsidize, then it should allow market forces to prevail so that the industry does not collapse.

As things now stand, oil marketing companies are suffering at the detriment of its own survival.

“If the current fiscal regime is not reviewed many companies including Sierra Leone’s fully indigenous National Petroleum Company will go down a painful and dreadful route,” stated Steven Williams, a Development Consultant. He added that sound policies must be urgently rolled out to ensure stability.

Williams maintained that it is regrettable that the company finds it extremely difficult to purchase US Dollars in the marketplace currently.

It is recommended therefore that the Central Bank develop a mechanism wherein foreign currency is provided for the oil marketing companies to enable them pay for badly-needed petroleum products.

Of course to promote transparency of goods that are brought into the country and required taxes that must be paid to Government the ASYCUDA digital software was introduced at the Port.

However, what was gathered from the conducted research was that the method of implementation of the ASYCUDA system has been negatively impacting Oil Marketing Companies for which it was recommended that the relevant authorities put in place measures to ensure seamless flow of products free of interruption and long delay at the Quay.

The current pricing formula dictates that the pump price of petroleum products be adjusted upwards or downwards periodically as and when the combined effect of the changes in world market prices (quoted in PLATTS) and the exchange rate (measured by the average selling rates quoted by the Oil Marketing Companies, commercial banks and Bank of Sierra Leone) causing a +/- 5% change in the Leone-based landed cost of the product (s).

It was noted that prices should be changed upwards or downwards in small increments that will not create panic in the market place. The way it is currently, allows for a big jump at any time which makes it difficult for Government to effect change at the right time.

It may interest readers to note that while a litre of fuel is sold at Le7, 000.00 here, in Guinea it is sold at Le9, 120.00, in Liberia it is Le9, 321.00, Ivory Coast sells at Le9, 244.20 and Ghana at Le 9,136.44.

Oil marketing companies are further encumbered with other charges that are not provided for in the price build up formula, and these include: Toll Gate fees, ASYCUDA processing fees, Environmental Protection Agency fees, storage fees and other fees imposed by the Petroleum Regulatory Agency.

Thus, the government to help the oil companies must review some of its policies especially those affecting vibrant companies in the country as well as ensuring that economic measures are rolled out in order for the value of the Leone to appreciate.

Failure to take drastic steps to protect locally owned companies will definitely lead to closure or restructuring with dire consequences that could take the form of labour downsizing, no-payment of taxes to government among other salient issues.

Sierra Leone News: Hon. Alpha Bah Heightens Development in Const.115

June 30, 2019

It was all smiles, laughter and joy on that sunny day when the young ,dynamic and result oriented Honourable Alpha Amadu Bah, popular known as Lawyer Bah of Constituency 115 in Wellington on Wednesday 26th June 2019 commissioned a hand pump well at United Mission (UM) School, Upper Mellon Street in Ward 406 being part of a 79 Million Leones project. The project is funded by Heineken Africa Foundation through Sierra Leone Brewery Limited under a Water and Sanitation Support to the Education Sector targeting deprived schools across the constituency.
The project also includes the construction of 3 Compartment VIP Toilet at Koya Academy Secondary School, Koya Town, Wellington, Ward 405 in the same Constituency and the turning of the sod for the toilet was done earlier today.
The Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Amb. Alimamy Coleson-Turay and the Councillor and Youth Leader respectively excelled in their functions and unreservedly expressed their gratitude to Brewery and Honourable Bah for the laudable venture.

In his statement, the Corporate Affairs Manager of Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, Albert O. Collier, rained tremendous praises and commendations on the Honourable Member of Parliament of Constituency 115, Lawyer Alpha Amadu Bah, for exhibiting and demonstrating transparency and credibility throughout the successful implementation of the said projects adding that they were more than pleased and satisfied with it all as both projects were expected to benefit not only the pupils and staff of these various schools but also the various communities at large. “Our support today does not end here; it is the extension of the already existing relationship with Mellon Street community with more sustainable projects which will be intended to improve the livelihoods of our people,”he asserted.

However, beneficiaries of these projects who include teachers, pupils and residents of the community expressed overwhelming joy and appreciation beyond words that their struggle for water facility is now over thereby immensely applauding both the Member of Parliament, Sierra Leone Brewery Limited and Heineken Africa Foundation for bringing such a timely development to their doorsteps. They abundantly promised to maintain and keep it sustainable going forward. “My children will start enjoying safe drinking water and toilet facilities without resorting to go at a distance for them as it sadly used to happen,” Head Teachers of both schools appreciatively noted.

The projects were well appreciated by all and sundry. David Adams Jusu, an SLPP stalwart, stoutly glorified Lawyer Bah Sierra Leone Brewery for such a marvellous and wonderful development in both communities adding that everybody must embrace development as the time for politics is long over saying it is time now to move the constituency forward.

“Development does not choose or want to know which political party you belong. Once there are developments as in the case of these toilet and water facilities, everybody within the community is bound to enjoy them devoid of political party affiliation or inclination,” he averred.

Also in attendance to grace the occasion was his Constituency Executive including the Chairman, Chairlady, Secretary, Youth Leader, Councillor Luckyn Mansaray of Ward 406, Councillor Mohamed J. Tholley of Ward 406 and Ward/Area Development Committee members demonstrating party camaraderie and constituency solidarity.

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