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During an Emergency Phase…  ASSL Enlightens How Public Funds Must Be Utilized

By Amin Kef Sesay

In Freetown on the  8th April, 2020 as part of its public education and information drive, the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL)  inform the general public about the procedures in the use of public funds under a national emergency situation including the manner in which imprest funds should be accessed and retired.

According to ASSL, in order to ensure the prudent use of public funds under a national emergency situation,  users of public funds are required to  be mindful of public financial management and procurement rules and regulations when carrying out activities using public monies.

It furthered that there should be clearly communicated and documented authority and approvals for all transactions. Also the institution stated that all funds spent must be properly tracked and accurately reported including appropriations and all other sources of public funds for managing the emergency situation.

The ASSL went on to state that  for Items not usually part of normal public spending, MDAs  need to be clear on whether or not such spending is an appropriate use of public money

“Section 40 of the 2006 Procurement Regulations spells out the procedures to be followed under an emergency procurement, and Section 117 highlights the approval arrangements to be followed for emergency procurement,” it highlighted.

The institution underscored that Part 10 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2018 deals exclusively with the establishment, utilization and retirement of imprests.

Adding that Section 117(1) of the Public Financial Management Regulations 2018 states that an imprest fund shall be established for making payments of petty expenditure that cannot be made through the ordinary payment process required under the Act and these Regulations without undue inconvenience.

In line with the above section, an imprest can be defined as a fund disbursed to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for small items of expenditure and restored to a fixed amount periodically. An imprest can also be referred to as an amount disbursed to an MDA to undertake a specific activity. Imprests, the ASSL continued  are paid into the accounts of the MDAs in advance, and the MDAs are required to retire imprest disbursed in full.

The institution said there are two types of imprest:

A Standing Imprest  imprest fund which is an amount allocated/disbursed to an MDA for the payment of small items of expenditure and utilized amount of which can be replenished upon retirement and request. Standing imprest is maintained throughout a financial year.

Another which is a Special Imprest is established for making specific payments in respect of specific activities or events. A special imprest is not replenished, and must be fully retired 30 days after the completion of the activity.

The audit institution further elucidated that Section 119(2) of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone mandates the Auditor-General to audit the public accounts of Sierra Leone and all public offices. It further states that the Auditor-General shall have access to all books, records, returns and other documents relating or relevant to those accounts. The MDAs expenditure relating to imprests are part of the records, returns and documents submitted to auditors for audit purpose.

Imprest holders are therefore expected to FULLY comply with the provisions in Sections 117 to 124 of the Public Financial Management Regulations 2018, in the management of all forms of imprest given out from public funds for both emergency and non-emergency use.

The ASSL will continue to carry out its mandate of being the guardian of Sierra Leone’s Economic Security.

 

ACC Convicts Two Former Public Servants

By Foday Moriba Conteh

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has informed the general public that the High Court of Sierra Leone Holden in Freetown, presided over by the Hon Justice Miatta M. Samba, has on 8th April, 2020, convicted Mohamed Sheriff, former Managing Director of Sierra Leone Cable Network (SALCAB) and Paul Sandi, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications on One (1) count and Three (3) counts of corruption offences respectively.

Hon Justice Miatta M. Samba ruled that Paul Sandi pays a fine of One Hundred and Twenty Million Leones (Le120, 000, 000) on all three counts, and Mohamed Sheriff is to pay a fine of Sixty Million Leones (Le60, 000, 000) on the one count. The fines are to be paid immediately before their release or serve a jail term of three (3) years. Mr. Idrissa Yillah, on the other hand was acquitted and discharged on all three counts he was charged.

Paul Sandi, Mohamed Sheriff and Mr. Idrissa Yillah,were standing trial for various corruption offences, including, Misappropriation of Public Funds; contrary to section 36(1), Failure to Comply with Applicable Rules and Guidelines Relating to the Management of Public Funds; contrary to section 48(2)(b), and Conspiracy to Commit a Corruption Offence; contrary to section 128(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, No 12 of 2008. The three persons were accused of misappropriating public funds amounting to $300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).

On another note, the High Court of Sierra Leone presided over by Justice Miatta M. Samba  in another judgment acquitted and discharged Alie Badara Mansaray, former Commissioner, National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), on fifteen (15) counts of various corruption offences.

The Commission reassures the people of Sierra Leone of its relentless commitment in curbing impunity in public services

 

President Bio Enjoins Citizens to be very Vigilant

Julius Maada Bio

By Amin Kef Sesay

On Wednesday 8 April 2020 President Bio encouraged Sierra Leoneans to help with the increased surveillance at community levels and called for more citizens’ participation in the fight against the Coronavirus, COVID-19.

“Let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Sierra Leoneans for their sacrifice in complying with advice from our healthcare experts. You have demonstrated that we all care deeply about our collective health and the future of this nation. I thank citizens, communities, our healthcare professionals, service men and women, SLAJ, CSOs, corporate groups and more, for their outstanding cooperation.

“The threat of the highly infectious and deadly Coronavirus is real and it is with us. As this morning, we have identified seven positive cases so far these are difficult times for those persons and their loved ones. Let us pray with them and stand with them as a nation. Let us practice empathy and let us desist from all actions that may lead to stigma for the patients,” he told a press conference at State House.

President Bio also said that the lockdown was a necessary public health intervention to scale up surveillance, contact tracing and testing for all known cases, for possible new cases, to detect, isolate, and quarantine those persons, to map out the possible spread of COV-19 in Sierra Leone.

He noted that the lockdown was also to re-assess and strengthen their COVID-19 pillars and institutions, re-align agenda and goal-setting across Government and with development partners and deploy additional expertise and resources to fight the pandemic.

Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, said that the issue of fake news was posing serious challenges and was undermining Government’s efforts in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. He encouraged Sierra Leoneans to listen to the Ministries of Health and Sanitation and Information and Communications as the only credible sources of Government information on the virus.

 

Residents of Lungi Extend Gratitude to Westminster for Lockdown Support

Disable Community at Lungi receiving their own gifts from Westminster

By Fatmata Jengbe

The people of Lungi Community have commended the Westminster Group for the food support they received before the lockdown. In an online message from the Chief Executive Officer, Peter Fowler, in London he said the Westminster Group wishes to extend their sincere thoughts and prayers to the people and the Government of Sierra Leone as they begin the fight against the Coronavirus Pandemic, which has affected so many countries around the world.

“As a company we have been operating in Sierra Leone providing security at the airport for the past 8 years and I know the resilience and determination of the Sierra Leonean people and that you will triumph over this challenge. We are committed to the country and its people and we stand ready to play our part and do what we can to support the Government, our employees and our communities, just as we did during the Ebola crisis.”

Fowler said despite the temporary closure of the Freetown International Airport, which will have a severe impact on their business they have taken a Management decision to retain all their local employees on full pay for as long as possible. This, he said, will lessen the economic burden on families in that community.

In addition, before the lockdown on Friday 3rd April 2020 they donated 100 bags of rice, 100 bags of sugar and packs of water to the community they are operating. These commodities, the CEO said, will be used to help support vulnerable homes during the lockdown.

“We pray that the challenges we all face with this pandemic will be over soon and that life can return back to normal for everyone, here in Sierra Leone and the rest of the world.”

The Disable Community in Lungi was one such group that benefitted from the Westminster gift and they said they were happy for the gift as it came at the right time when they were in need of food.

They said Westminster has been working at the airport for the past eight years and they have been supporting the Lungi community. Most of their staff are employed from the community and they are very happy that they have not let down the community.

The Community elders were happy that Westminster did not forget them as they say the food supply came at the right time when they are going into lockdown as they will have enough to eat. They thanked Westminster and pray for them to continue to work in the airport as since they started working there their relationship has been very cordial and they have employed many of their children.

The Operations Director of Westminster, Musayeroh Barrie, said they are happy that the CEO has thought of all the staff at this time and she is very pleased that most of the gifts given were well accepted by the people and they gave them the food together with instructions on how they should stay safe during the lock down and they must make sure that what happened during the Ebola outbreak do not repeat.

She thanked the Westminster for their valuable support and said the staffs are happy as they are still having their salaries and their jobs as they are hoping that very soon the virus will be a thing of the past.

Miss Barrie averred that there are still emergency flights coming in and they are making sure they have all the necessary support and they hope that the strides Government is making will see very limited cases in the country.

Trippies Clothing Company Donates Reusable Masks to SLMDA

By Alhaji Tamba -Sowa

The first Sierra Leonean fashion brand design entity that has started to produce indigenously made masks is Trippies Clothing Company. The Company is situated on 73 Campbell Street in Freetown.  As a way of contributing to the containment of the spread of the corona virus the Management of the company on the  8 April 2020 donated 250 reusable masks to the Sierra Leone Dental and Medical Association(SLDMA).

According to the Proprietor of Trippies Company, Denise King , she decided to make the donation to doctors because they are the frontline workers in the fight against the deadly virus. ‘They are doing a tremendous job at this critical moment and so they deserve all the humanitarian supports individuals institutions and businesses could offer,” she underscored.

Receiving the donated masks on behalf of the Association, Dr Delwin M. Findlay , President of the Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association congratulated the Proprietress for what he described as a brilliant initiative saying the masks are well designed and qualitative. “They are fit for use,” he praised adding that at this crucial moment no gesture is too small as we are facing very challenging times . He called on other well-meaning Sierra Leoneans to emulate the good initiative of Trippies Clothing Company.

Dr Findlay also used the opportunity to call on all to strictly adhere to the protective measures that are now in place including frequent hand washing, social distancing etc.

Trippies Clothing is a Sierra Leonean fashion brand that designs and produces contemporary African Wears using vibrant African prints. The Company also produces handmade leather goods and accessories, all ethically handcrafted in Africa.

SLPP Leader Appoints Hon. Bashiru Silikie as Deputy Leader of Govt. Business

Hon Bashiru Silikie

By Alhaji Tamba -Sowa

The dynamic and pragmatic Member of Parliament representing Constituency 082 has been appointed last week by the Leader and Chairman of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Dr. Prince Harding, to become the latest Deputy Leader of Government Business. Prior to his appointment he was very instrumental in making salient contributions during debates to such an extent that his popularity grew exponentially and he became a household name.

According to Parliamentary history he has been the youngest MP ever to be appointed as Deputy Leader of Government Business.

Hon Bashiru Silikie holds a Master of Public Admin(MPA) Degree from Njala University , a Bachelor of Arts(Linguistics) Degree from the same University.

He first became a Member of Parliament in 2012 representing Constituency 082 in the Baoma Chiefdom, Bo district and since then he has maintained that position to date.

Hon. Silkie was Deputy Leader of Delegation to the Pan Africa Parliament, Chairman of the Committee of Works and Public Assets, a  Member of  the Appointments and Public Order Committee as well as a Member of the Transport, Mines, Information and Communications Committees.

Born in Yamandu in the Baoma Chiefdom, he started his primary  school education at ICS primary School Yamandu in the Boama Chiefdom and later proceeded to  the Police Primary School in Kissy .Later he attended the Bo School and St Edwards Secondary Schools.

The charismatic MP has won a lot of awards for his development drives in his Constituency and the country as whole.

He was re-elected as MP because of his pro-activeness in Parliament. It has been established that he and Hon. Paran Tarawally were the strongest voices of then SLPP in Parliament when the now main opposition APC was in Governance.

He submissions are those one  cannot question. Many see him as a real mixer in Parliament who cuts across all political party members. Many have attested that the SLPP leadership took a wise decision to appoint such an Honourable at this time when the country  need such kinds of people in the leadership of SLPP in Parliament.

In an exclusive interview with this medium Hon. Bashiru Silikie stated that as Deputy Leader of Government Business he believes he will be in a better position to represent the interests of his party and find common grounds with opposition parties.

Kaningo Community Receives Goodwill Gesture from Mahmoud ‘Nice Guy’

Mahmoud Kamara

By Alhaji Tamba -Sowa

On the April 4 2020, Mahmoud Kamara, popularly known as “De Nice Guy” once again demonstrated his innate God-given ability to reach out to others during good and bad times with the main aim of creating positive impacts that will change lives for the better.

A day before the 3 Day Lockdown the “small time philanthropist” donated 100 bundles of water, 10 bags of rice, 18 Veronica buckets, hand washing soaps and tissues among other items in a bid to cushion the economic effects that the lockdown will have on residents of the Kaningo Community, within Lumley in the West End of Freetown, amidst the intense fight against the deadly coronavirus. The donation was also meant for the people who benefitted to have access to basic items for consumption during the three day and at the same time to be used to prevent themselves from contracting the virus.

Receiving the items on behalf of the community, Madam Mariama Sesay and Nurse Daborh expressed profound thanks and appreciation to Nice Guy for what they described as a true humanitarian gesture during a critical moment when the whole world is grappling with the pandemic.

Nurse Daborh of the Kaningo Community Health Centre stated that they are in need of such items and advised the people to respect the health precautionary measures in order to protect community residents against the dreadful virus.

“You have proven to us today that indeed you are a true patriot who means well for the residents of this community. We do appreciate the gesture and pray that Allah will continue to bless you and provide for you so that you will do more for residents of this community,” Madam Sesay expressed gratitude. All those present including the Youth Leader voiced similar sentiments of appreciation.

Mahmoud Kamara aka Nice Guy revealed  that he will continue to support the community in order to fight the corona virus in the country but however cautioned young people to stay home and obey the regulations that the  Government and health specialists have put in place to stop the spread of the virus. He said he always feels good to render assistances maintaining that as a fervent Muslim he believes in helping individuals whenever it is possible for him to do so.

It could be recalled that on the 15 February 2020 he donated football kits which include a full set of jerseys, two (2) set of beeps and three standard  footballs all worth millions of Leones to the Kaningo Community Football team.

Blaming Weak COVID-19 Response, Head of EU’s Top Science Panel Quits

By Edward Vamboi

In a new development,  the head of the European Union’s top science organization has resigned in frustration at the height of the coronavirus crisis. Mauro Ferrari had only become President of the European Research Council on Jan. 1, but EU Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke said that “Professor Ferrari resigned,” effective immediately.

The sudden resignation of Ferrari and his stinging criticism was bound to add pressure on EU institutions, which have been accused of not working together to battle the global pandemic.

His resignation came based on a statement by Ferrari to a news outlet, saying he had “been extremely disappointed by the European response” to the pandemic. He complained about running into institutional and political obstacles as he sought to swiftly set up a scientific program to combat the virus. “I have seen enough of both the governance of science, and the political operations at the European Union,” he wrote. “I have lost faith in the system itself.”

The European Commission defended its record in combating the crisis and said 18 research and development projects had already been picked at short notice to fight the coronavirus crisis. It said another 50 European Research Council projects were contributing in the EU-wide effort. “The European Union has the most comprehensive package of measures combating the coronavirus and it is deploying different instruments in order to have the biggest impact for solving the crisis,” the EU’s Executive Commission said.

As the coronavirus spread from China to Italy, Austria, Spain and other EU nations, the bloc was criticized for not acting forcefully enough to set up a coordinated response even though health issues are still primarily the responsibility of the bloc’s 27 individual nations.

Over the past month, EU nations have been trying to work closer together and EU leaders have committed to better coordination to try to alleviate the human and economic suffering from the global pandemic that has upended the daily lives of billions and dealt a huge blow to the economies around the world.

But it remains an uphill struggle. On the economic and financial front, Ministers from the 19 nations that use the euro currency failed to get a breakthrough on how and to what extent to use its financial clout to improve solidarity between the richer and poorer member States.

 

COVID-19 Vis-à-Vis Sierra Leone’s Open Data, SDG3

Institute Creates Special app to Self-Test for Coronavirus

By Theresa Vamboi

Sierra Leone is among West African countries with low number of cases of COVID-19 that has been spreading across the globe like a wildfire. Amid the Coronavirus outbreak, the country has activated the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) established during the 2014 Ebola outbreak that claimed over 4,000 lives. Almost 100 percent of Ebola deaths (about 11,000 died in West Africa) were recorded in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

“We have been training staffs for various pillars. We activated the emergency operation center at level two and we have created the pillars to support the center. We have been doing training and deployment of personnel into every pillar and these are the pillars we institute into different functions to enhance the Coronavirus preparedness and response activities,” said Rev. Can. Dr. T. T. Samba, Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

Sierra Leone has banned all flights to the country and deployed its military to help enforce the closure of its borders with Guinea and Liberia in efforts to prevent the virus from spilling over to communities. The activities of many establishments including schools, Mosques and Churches have been suspended indefinitely. President Julius Maada Bio last month declared State of Public Emergency and the country recently observed a nationwide lockdown for three days from April 5-7.

According to a survey conducted from March 18 to 24 by Sanusi Research & Consulting, a newly established local firm, 61 percent of respondents say they are somewhat satisfied with measures being introduced to deal with Coronavirus. 17 percent say they are very satisfied, and 16 percent say they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Only 6 percent say they are somewhat dissatisfied.

The research firm’s daily update on the COVID-19 in West Africa showed on that Sierra Leone has recorded 7 cases of the disease, zero deaths and zero recovered.

The country’s policies on open data and public disclosure have resulted into the passing of the Right to Access Information Act in 2013 and the formation of the Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC) in 2014. “We try as much as possible to make data and information accessible to the public. Not only making it available to the public but in user friendly manner. All reports produced by us or our partners are published on our website for further research purposes,” said Ms. Clementina I. Akran, the Head of Open Data at Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL).

With Prof. Osman Sankoh as Statistician General, Stats SL was the first institution in Sierra Leone to develop a Publication Scheme according to the RAI Act, which resulted in Stats SL winning a gold medal.

Sierra Leone also moved upwards in the 2018/19 Open Data Inventory report (ODIN) from #122 in 2017 to #86 in 2018/19, according to Open Data Watch. However, open data on Sierra Leone shows that the Coronavirus came at a time when the country is ranked 181 out of 189 countries in 2019 by the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI).

The 2019 HDI open data suggests that only 16 percent of Sierra Leoneans use improved sanitation facilities and majority die before their 54th birthday. Incidence of diseases such as Malaria and Tuberculosis is still high. Moreover, the infant and under-five mortality rate is 81 deaths per 1,000 live births and 110 deaths per 1,000 live births respectively. Sierra Leone suffers from one of the world’s highest maternal mortality ratio of 1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births.

“Data can help us understand the causes of these unnecessary deaths and how to prevent them,” says the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD). GPSDD gives an example where satellite and cell phone data has supported the elimination of malaria in Namibia.

Namibia has identified 80,000 people most critical to slowing malaria transmission. The identification allows interventions like “bed net distribution to be optimally targeted to disrupt the infection cycle, reducing the cost of reaching to the whole population” in the Southern African country.

Sierra Leone now collects data for 24 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goal number 3 (SDG3) out of the 27 indicators meant to measure progress in achieving good health and wellbeing by 2030, according to Mr. Salieu Mansaray, a senior Statistician at Stats SL. Moreover, Stats SL says it uses modern technology to collect data on 19 of the SDG3 indicators.

Stats SL, with the support of development partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank, have conducted series of surveys to collect data that measures the health and wellbeing of the population. According to its 2019 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 68 percent of households have at least one insecticide-treated net (ITN).  However, the malaria incident rate in Sierra Leone is 379 per 1,000 people at risk, the HDI shows for 2019.

Moreover, the 2019 DHS findings suggest that 30 percent of children are stunted and only 54 percent of infants under age 6 months were found to be exclusively breastfed. Overall, 2 percent of children under age 5 showed symptoms of acute respiratory infection, 17 percent had a fever, and 7 percent experienced diarrhea.

Sierra Leone scores poorly not only in SDG3 indicators but also in all the 17 SDGS including quality education and no poverty. The expected schooling is 10 years and government expenditure on education is only 4.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while 57.9 percent of the population is in multidimensional poverty in 2019, according to HDI.

Stats SL always complains that widespread poverty and low level of education among the general public makes it difficult or sometimes impossible for them to collect accurate data even when they employ sophisticated technologies such as computer aided personal interview.

As the coronavirus continues to ravage various countries in the world researchers are busy to find ways and means as to how to combat it. Presently, antidotes are being tested to prove their efficacy in terms of treating the disease. It is in this light that an institute in Germany has created a special app which can be used on smartphones, smartwatches or fitness trackers specially designed to follow-up data on COVID-19

The personal data transmitted to the system contains information on a user’s gender, age, weight, height, physical activity and heart rate. The app would also recognise symptoms of rapid heart rate and sleep-wake disorders.

The Robert Koch Institute said that the app would also recognise symptoms of rapid heart rate and sleep-wake disorders. The institute added that the collected data would be used “exclusively for scientific purposes,” and that the app could not replace a diagnostic test for COVID-19.

According to the institute’s data, Germany has confirmed 99,225 COVID-19 cases, including 1,607 deaths. (ANI)

 

FCC Mayor Comes Under Pressure to Go for Covid-19 Testing

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

By Esther Wright

The Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, is presently under immense pressure for her to be tested for the deadly coronavirus – COVID-19. This came in the wake as a result of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rising to 7 after the people of Sierra Leone end their three days lockdown.

It could the Mayor was in London several weeks ago, where she met and shook hands with two people who have since tested positive for the virus – His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Prince Albert of Monaco.

Mayor Aki Sawyerr met the two Princes in London on 10th of March 2020, whilst attending a WaterAid conference where she received an award as Water Champion.

On March 19th Prince Albert announced that he had tested positive for the virus. HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) announced he had tested positive on March 25th.

Critics say that although the Mayor claims that she went into self-isolation at home immediately upon her arrival in Freetown after meeting and shaking hands with the Princes in London, she should have shown good leadership and transparency by taking the COVID-19 test to give confidence to the people of Sierra Leone that she is not carrying the virus without showing symptoms.

Writing on social media, Dr Sylvia Olayinka Blyden, former Minister of Social Welfare said this: “Freetown Mayor, Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, is another official who is going to be deeply blamed. After her ill-advised trip to Corona-ravaged London during which she vainly announced that she had discussions with Prince of Monaco and Prince of Britain (who both later tested positively for Corona Virus), the Freetown Mayor returned to Sierra Leone and did “self-isolation”.

“However, she, as the First Citizen of Freetown, has not been ethical enough to announce to Freetown residents whether she has done the test and reassure Freetown that she is not one of up to 25% of asymptomatic carriers of the Corona Virus.

“Instead, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr was all over the place including, most annoyingly, in my own neighbourhood mingling with my neighbours whilst refusing to practice social distancing! She was not even wearing a mask when she refused to practice social distancing.

“Mayor Aki Sawyerr is a candidate for either asymptomatic or symptomatic carriage and she should have tested herself and publicly announced her status before she came out to mingle with us. Now she may have infected other Freetown residents during the time the Virus was still in her system like the Italian gentleman was doing.”

Speaking on a live TV broadcast in Freetown, Mayor Aki Sawyerr was adamant she will not be taking the test. She said she was advised by the Chief Medical Officer that there is no need to take the test after isolating herself for 7 days and showing no symptoms:

Raising questions about several expatriates and Sierra Leoneans who may have arrived in the country in March with the possibility of carrying the virus without showing any symptoms, Dr Blyden said: “But we cannot blame the Freetown Mayor alone. The main blame goes to the policy makers of the Central Government of President Bio, who are executing policies that are not transparent – enhancing the possible rate of transmission of this deadly virus via undisclosed contacts and asymptomatic virus carriers.

It has been learnt from unconfirmed sources, after several days of rumours and speculation, that the Italian expatriate who is believed to be the sixth confirmed case in Sierra Leone is Riccardo Bunson, who is said to be the Director of Sierra Leone’s Emergency Ambulance Service.

It is understood that Mr Bunson whose identity had been kept secret by the authorities arrived in Freetown via Lungi international airport last month, and was not tested at the time for COVID-19 to ensure that all contacts will be traced and isolated. This failure, many in the country now believe, has placed the lives of hundreds of people at risk of transmitting the virus.

And there are speculations that Mr Bunson may have infected the second confirmed case – Dr Bell, who is now believed to be recovering very well.

So, as pressure mounts on Freetown Mayor – Yvonne Aki Sawyerr to get herself tested for the virus, the country recorded its 7th confirmed case. He is believed to be a Sierra Leonean who arrived in the country last month and had been in quarantine.

The Government is now considering placing the country in a further fourteen days lockdown. But with several public beatings meted out by the police and military on poor citizens in various parts of Freetown, there are calls for the security forces to avoid violation of human rights, while going about the business of enforcing the lockdown to save lives.

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