The Executive Director of Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority David Panda-Noah has reaffirmed his institution’s commitment in promoting road safety in Sierra Leone and thus change the road safety situation in the country.

This happened when the SLRSA joined countries across the world to commemorate the 5th Global Road Safety Week on the theme: ‘Leadership for Road Safety’. that saw Persons With Disability (PWD) Issues from Milton Margai School for the Blind, Sierra Leone National Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SLNAD) among other institutions petition the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority together with 5 institutions including; Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Parliament of Sierra Leone, Freetown City Council, the Ministry of Transport and Aviation and the Ministry of Works and Public Assets.

The PWD’s called on the SLRSA to place more efforts to Intensify Enforcement on Road safety; Amendment of already existing Road Traffic Acts and Regulations that will guarantee the safety of Persons with Disability issues; SLRSA to institute rigorous Licensing process, Enforcement of the existing ban on metal seats on public service vehicles and for the immediate review of the National Road Safety Policy and Strategy that would seek the interest and safety of Persons with Disability Issues.

Receiving the Petition paper, David Panda-Noah said that the petitions raised are well in place, he however noted that the Authority is presently working tirelessly with the Ministry of Transport and Aviation to see that the House of Parliament amends all existing Road Traffic Acts and Regulations and such amendments would be done after thorough consultations with all stakeholders including PWDs.

He recalled that since he took up office as Executive Director of SLRSA almost one year ago, he has ensured that he puts an end to the registration of vehicles with metal seats; implementation and enforcement of the existing ban on Right-Hand Drive vehicles, instituted a compulsory roadworthiness test on all vehicles before registrations and licensing, and a rigorous driving test for all applicants for driver’s license. According to him, all of these are strategies and policies geared towards achieving the Authority’s mandate as stated by law and making sure that Sierra Leone have an effective and efficient road safety lead agency that works in accordance with international best practice.

David Panda-Noah maintained that under the ‘New Direction’ dispensation, the SLRSA does not work in isolation that is why all key stakeholders in the transport sector are adequately represented in the Authority’s board so that decisions arrived at are unanimous and constitutes the views and aspirations of all road users.

“His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio is very meticulous and concerned about the safety of road user. And Persons with Disability issues are no exception.” Mr. Panda-Noah said.

He reaffirmed the government’s and that of the SLRSA’s commitment in solving the current road safety situation in the country and assured that the concerns raised in the petition would be looked into with the utmost seriousness and urgency.

All the heads of institutions petitioned expressed similar sentiments.

The Independent Media Commission on Thursday 9^th May 2019 held a workshop/seminar that was also an instructive interactive session with a cross section of the media.

Relevant tips on how to run and manage a newspaper or radio station profitably and sustainably was dilated on by media guru, Dr. Francis Sowa on the topic: Management Tips for Effective Administration of Media Houses. “we used to have a lot of portfolio NGOs operating in the country before regularization of the sector”, Dr. Sowa noted that the reason why many media houses do not operate effectively is because they lack management structures, organization and pay little attention to staff recruitment, welfare and remuneration, among other deficiencies that contribute to an ineffective media house.

BBC journalist Umaru Fofana was not available to lecture on Auto-Regulation in the Media which was succinctly done by IMC Commissioner Rev. Dr. Victor Suma.

Mustapha Sesay, another IMC Commissioner took the invitees through a detailed instruction of the Media Code of Practice. His co-presenter, Lawyer Ansu Batilo Lansana warned journalists that with the coming repeal of the Criminal Libel Law to be replaced by a civil libel law, aggrieved parties may no longer choose to go to the IMC for redress but straight to the courts where, if a journalist is found wanting for libel or any other professional infringement on the rights of others, the fine could be hefty and failure to pay will lead to imprisonment.

IMC Chief Commissioner, George Khoryama, who lamented that the commission is inundated daily with complaints from the public, stated that under his leadership, the focus of IMC is not to punish journalists but to capacitate them to practice their trade professionally, within the ethics and laws that govern it.

It was within that periscope that Rev. Dr. Victor Kanu asked journalists if they regulate themselves, and whether they guide themselves in the practice of the profession, which he said is very important for holding society accountable to itself.

Assurance was given by the Deputy Minister of Information that the New Direction government will in no way muzzle the press, but will seek to work with it as an active partner in development and as such will work towards capacitating it to function effectively and professionally.

With the entire liberal world in this century taking a refined view of drugs generally and the medicinal value, with the attention focused specifically on the production and manufacturing of medical marijuana, a youth activist group, Social Linkage for Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL) on May 11^th, 2019 at the CCSL Hall, King Harman Road joined the crusade to raise awareness among the public and the government on the need to overhaul the country’s drug policy, hence the laws too.

In a broad context, the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the international drug control regime, assumes that drugs can be utilized for “medical and scientific purposes the production, manufacture, export, import, distribution of, trade in, use and possession of drugs”.

With the interpretation left to the discretion of parties, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) offered some clarity in its 2003 report defined a medical substance as any preparation, synthetic or natural, used, designed or approved for the following purposes:

1. Improving health and well-being;
2. Preventing and treating disease – including the alleviation of symptoms of that disease;
3. Acting as a diagnostic aid;
4. Aiding conception or providing contraception;
5. Providing general anesthesia.

As such, evidence abounds that marijuana has been used as a medicine for thousands of years to treat various illnesses. Its flowers are known to concentrate hundreds of different chemical compounds which produce pleasant reactions, feelings of relief and health improvements for patients suffering from a range of illnesses, when coming in contact with the endocannabinoid system in the human body.

In giving the considerations for legislative reforms to do with narcotic drugs, SLYDL forwards that in the countries that have yielded to the evidence provided that marijuana has efficacious medical uses; there is a wide range of mechanisms available to ensure access to medical marijuana. These include:

1. Special individual licenses to import and use medicinal marijuana, while maintaining overall prohibitions over the plant, but establishing exceptions to the law to ensure patients’ access medicinal cannabis (e.g. Poland).
2. Regulation of supply through the creation of a license system granted to individuals or private entities according to the type of activity they engage in (production, manufacture, export, processing, research, transport or sale), within which the state can play various roles – from central control to mere arbitration through regulatory bodies (e.g., Columbia and Peru).
3. Regulation of demand with mechanisms allowing legal access to medications of herbal cannabis preparations through: self-cultivation, cannabis clubs, postal order, sale in clinics or sale in pharmacies (in Uruguay for recreational and by default medical use).
4. The design and implementation of public policies that regulate access to certain products, in compliance with the regulatory system in place for medicines (e.g., Germany).

As such SLYDCL recommends that government in the light of the overwhelming evidence that use of marijuana has no significant harmful effect on its users and society outlines the following police recommendations for the attention and consideration of the government:

1. Legalise cannabis for medicinal use, as well as medications and therapeutic substances derived from it, for all aliments identified by scientific research, and not only limiting access for a few arbitrarily determined illnesses.
2. Immediately include medications derived from cannabis in the basic range of medicines – that is, without the need for judicial actions requiring the state to do so, and avoiding also the high costs that individual importation of such medication would involve for each specific case.
3. Reform the necessary laws to create and allocate budget to ensure the constant generation of scientific research.
4. Coordinate all relevant agencies to streamline the various technical and sanitary processes that allow new medications to reach the market quickly, while always ensuring the highest possible standards for consumer health protection.
5. Establish the mechanisms necessary to avoid the creation of monopolies or a restriction of the market to a few specific groups who would hold all patents and sale licenses to the detriment of the health and economic welfare of the general population.
6. Implement public education and awareness raising campaigns for the general public and patients on medical marijuana.
7. Every legislative measure should include domestic regulations for production, rather than be limited to the importation of products. The resulting regulatory regimes should also consider all measures necessary to promote the integration of existing small-scale growers, and insofar as possible, do so under conditions equal or favorable to those granted to new permit holders and/or capital intensive foreign industry.
8. Small scale farmers involved in cannabis for subsistence purposes should be involved in decision making processes to enable the incorporation of their needs, and should receive technical assistance so they can participate in the business of medical cannabis.

One of the biggest things suffocating governance in Sierra Leone is conflict of interest. Such is how pervasive it is that most don’t see it as an issue. The normal abnormality! Such is how wrong and retrograde it is that it eats into state resources where such resources should be spent for state advancement.

Such is how bad it is that it makes officials spend more time working for party at a time they should be working for the State.
In office, President Ernest Bai Koroma and his APC party refused to listen to heads who told them that it was wrong for Minkailu Mansaray to be a cabinet minister when he was Deputy Leader of his party, Musa Tarawallie to be Organising Secretary when he was a cabinet minister, Alpha Kanu as Publicity Secretary of the party when he was in cabinet, etc.

If you went to their offices you would see them much busier with party activities than with State matters.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed on that front under the Government of Julius Maada Bio. Among others, the SLPP party National Chairman and Leader, Prince Harding lobbied for and got the coveted post of Chairman of the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) and the party Secretary General, Umaru Napoleon Koroma is head of the National Privatisation Commission.

Where do you draw the line?
How does anyone expect these gentlemen to dedicate time and energy to either the state or their party in equal measure or as they should?! They are either preoccupied with party matters when it is the State that pays them, or they pay attention to the State at the expense of their party which should be an institution and where they are pivotal.

One can understand the arguments some may put up – namely that they don’t get paid by their party in their executive capacities. That may well be so. And this is exactly why they should resign those party positions and get others to do the job there while they get paid in their public jobs.

But it should serve as an opportunity for our political parties to be made into institutions rather than the tribal groupings that they are. They should be run by paid executive members and staff. That way they can dedicate their time and energy to running their party and allow statecraft to be carried out by those who are not distracted by the running of their party.

Imagine the SLPP Chairman or Secretary General was invited to a party function in Koinadugu or Pujehun, wouldn’t they use their official state vehicle, get per diem for themselves and their driver, wear and tear the vehicle, among others? That is a conflict of interest which is an anti-corruption offence.
It is time for the SLPP to stop doing the wrong things all in the name of “the APC did so before us”. That is why they were voted out. Sierra Leoneans deserve better than thins namby-pamby politics.

Since the debate started in Sierra Leone as to whether or not the government should legalize the drug at least for medicinal purposes as is happening in other countries around the world, pressure is being mounted on the President Bio-led government to by pro-medicinal marijuana groups and other parties to legalize the drug in the country at least for medicinal purposes.
Pro-medicinal marijuana supporters argue that Sierra Leone stands to financially gain immensely if only it takes the bold step to legalize medicinal marijuana which is largely needed in different parts of the world as it has been medically proven that it is efficacious in the treatment of certain ailments.
It is not just a mere conjecture, but empirical evidence speaks volumes of how medicinal marijuana has boosted the economies of countries where it has been legalized not for recreational purposes but for cultivation and exportation for medicinal use through which huge financial dividends are derived.
Cannabidiol is a popular natural remedy used for many common ailments.

Better known as CBD, it is one of the 104 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids found in the cannabis or marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa (1).

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, and causes the sensation of getting “high” that’s often associated with marijuana. However, unlike THC, CBD is not psychoactive.

This quality makes CBD an appealing option for those who are looking for relief from pain and other symptoms without the mind-altering effects of marijuana or certain pharmaceutical drugs.

CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.

Its gaining momentum in the health and wellness world, with some scientific studies confirming it may help treat a variety of ailments like chronic pain and anxiety.
Indeed it is understandable that there are myths associated with marijuana bordering on negative perceptions. Some have claimed that it leads users to commit evil deeds without hesitation. Certain religious sects say the herb was cursed by the Almighty Creator and anybody who uses it is an outright sinner.
However, research has proven beyond all reasonable doubts that the marijuana herb is potently very good and relevant when used for the right purpose and not abused. “If countries could allow cigarettes, which are so harmful to the health, to be sold then why not legalize medicinal marijuana which would earn the Government huge sums of money,” Peter Koroma, a Social Commentator pointed out adding that this country, unlike some others, has the arable land for its cultivation.
Countries all over the world are being asked to raise domestic resources, reform policies and find ways to fund their Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has chosen a rather unorthodox approach to help it fulfill its SDG obligations by legalizing medicinal marijuana and working to make it an export crop.
“Everyone is not developing at the same pace. Everyone doesn’t have the same needs, and the mix of financing for development can’t be imposed from above in a one-size-fits-all manner. We have to tailor it to everyone’s specificities,” said Camillo Gonsalves, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, Sustainable Development, and Information Technology.
Like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone in West Africa is also struggling to meet its SDGs and could consider taking the same steps by moving its Parliament to enact a law which would ensure that much is realized from the legal export and use for medicinal purposes of marijuana.
Like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone too could consider setting up a Zero Hunger Trust Fund that is funded by a tax on mobile telephone calls and data usage. The fund supports school lunches, school books, vision tests for children, food support for vulnerable elderly people, job training, and job placement programs. The Government also can set up a national contingencies fund, supported by an extra 1% tax on consumption, which will serve as a response mechanism to natural disasters. If unneeded for several years, the fund could be spent on resilience building.
But now, if we are to look up to marijuana — a crop that has long been cultivated illegally in many parts around the world, it could help solve some of the SDG problems this country and others like it are suffering.
After reviewing public opinion and treaty obligations, St. Vincent and the Grenadines decided to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. Given the small population, the Government knew there wouldn’t be much of a domestic market, so it focused on exporting the crop.
Over the past year, the Government has created an administrative framework that governs the licensing, regulation and cultivation of cannabis and is currently selecting entities that will receive licenses to grow the crop. The country has put a cap on the amount of land that can be under cultivation for medical cannabis and will require all licensee companies to contribute annually to the national Zero Hunger Trust Fund.
“The theory is if you’re planting something that’s not food, you’re going to make a contribution to the food security of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, so there is a specific set aside again to the goal two target of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Gonsalves said, adding that Sierra Leone too can follow these steps and save itself a lot of misery.
From the aforementioned many are now calling on the Maada Bio led Government to fast track the legalization of medicinal marijuana because it will avail us the much needed revenue required to implement or roll out various development projects and catapult the country within the shortest time.

The Regional Director for the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, Mam Sait Jallow, has met with His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio at State House to discuss the launch of ICAO’s Safe Fund Project to strengthen Sierra Leone’s aviation safety compliance.

ICAO is a UN specialised agency, established by states in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation ICAO, work with the Convention’s 193 Member States and industry groups to reach consensus on international civil aviation Standards and Recommended Practices and policies in support of a safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector.

Jallow said the project was geared towards strengthening Sierra Leone Civil Aviation’s capacity to oversee the sector for safety because it was important to have people with the right capacity to oversee the process. He said the project would resolve aviation safety-related problems in a sustainable manner, adding that they had implemented similar projects in other countries whose aviation industry had developed now.

He said helping and supporting aviation was a catalyst for development, adding that he had seen a lot being done by the new administration, especially in the areas of legislation, recruiting of personnel and training.

The ICAO boss further expressed hope that such a trend would continue, adding that their immediate objective is to reorganise Civil Aviation in the country and help develop the institution by building its capacity.

“I want to commend Sierra Leone for adhering to the African Civil Air Transport but there are other prerequisites to meet in terms of compliance with safety in order to be eligible for market assess. We have implemented similar projects in other countries and we have seen progress. Sierra Leone will not be an exception,” he said.

On his part, President Bio thanked ICAO for engaging the country and finding ways to regularise the aviation industry. He said security was very important, so launching a project that would help the country to rise up to the security challenges of modern times, was welcoming.

He said he was pleased Sierra Leone had been able to pay its arrears which meant the country was now eligible to vote and assured the country would try to be current in meeting international obligations and catching up with the rest of the world.

Also in attendance were the Minister and Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation, Kabineh Kallon and Sadiq Silla respectively and the Director General, Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority, Moses Tiffa Baio.

Seven senior police officers in the Sierra Leone Police have been demoted from Inspector to Sergeant and from Sergeant to Constable, according to a memo released recently and signed by the Human Resource Manager in the SLP, Aiah Edward Samadia, Assistant Inspector General (AIG).
The said memo referenced Q5/24 of 27/12/2018 (Promotion to Inspector) of which two police officers; 11060 Majorie I. N. Bangura and 8365 Osman Kamara were reduced from Inspector to Sergeant and five others have been reduced from Sergeant to Constable. Reasons for the above demotion from the Sierra Leone Police were not clearly stated in the memo from the SLP Human Resource Department.
However, usually reliable sources indicate that in the Sierra Leone Police, some of the demoted police officers presented certificates they acquired from colleges not affiliated to the University of Sierra Leone, which goes against the criteria for promotion in the SLP. Another alleged reason for the demotion of the said senior police officers was that they submitted credentials for promotion too early than the date they acquired such credentials, which according to the police source goes against the criteria for promotion in the SLP and some of the disgraced police officers presented fake certificates for promotion.
The police officers that have been reduced from Sergeant to Constable according to the memo are: 17656 Prince Karim Lahai from Eastern Police Division, 16396 Mohamed Bass Kabia from Kissy Division, 16775 Mohamed Minkailu Sesay from Family Support Unit (FSU) Head Quarters, 17788 Amara Kargbo from Central Division and 11399 Rugiatu Kargbo from Jui Health Center.