Home Blog Page 1151

Lands Minister says he is Unperturbed

Minister of Land, Dr. Denis Sandy

By Foday Moriba Conteh

Following the widespread condemnation spewed against the Minister of Land, Dr. Denis Sandy, in his strides to execute his responsibilities that fall under his mandate this medium became so interested in the ongoing hue and cry relating to land issues and so therefore decided to engage the Minister in order to sound his reactions.

In an exclusive interview, the Minister intimated how he is the type of personality that could be best described as a hands-on Minister as he involves himself in even delegated responsibilities just to make sure that they are done.

“Since I was appointed Minister of Lands and Country Planning, I have not got time to sit and relax a bit because of the headaches that I found in this Ministry,” he intimated revealing how he works up to night hours as he tries to address the problems of land and land grabbing in the country.
He said despite the sterling efforts he has been taking to address the land problems in the country they seem not to be going away because of the dubious acts of certain civil servants in the Ministry.

Asked whether he is perturbed by the various criticisms bordering around his overzealousness to reclaim State land with some saying he is too aggressive the Lands Minister told our reporter that whatever action he is taking is supported by evidence and statutory authority of the Ministry. He said that some families are claiming historical ownership to 80 to 100 acres of land without proper documentation; there are some people with documents but no land; and non-citizens acquiring huge portions of land to the disadvantage of citizens.

He underscored how everybody wants land saying it is a whole industry that is challenging, chaotic and dirty.

“The land space in the Western Area has been squeezed over time. Our approach has been aggressive. Sometimes we have to behave abnormally for the benefit of the country and its citizens,” Dr. Sandy underscored adding that under his leadership there is not going to be business as usual.

From an in-depth investigation undertaken by this medium, in the Ministry of Lands there are surveyors and there are land guards who are civil servants and who are supposed to protect the interests of Government but this Press discovered to its horror that these very surveyors and land guards are allegedly the root causes of the problems in that Ministry while at the same time they themselves are the problems.

The work of land guards, according to findings, is to identify all Government owned lands all over the country and after that identification then the surveyors come in to survey those pieces of land.
It again came out glaringly that land disputes forms the highest number of cases in the courts as the alleged dishonesty between land guards and surveyors become more pronounced.

This Press has found that the problems start right from the identification stage. Land Guards will leave spaces in the pie charts and then report the remaining pieces of land to Government.
The areas left out will not be surveyed by Government surveyors who will then conspire with the land guards to sell those pieces of land that have been erased from the pie charts.
It is evidently clear then that when Government tries to regain its own property then the clashes will arise and cause problems.
A top official of the Ministry stated how they have made requests to the relevant Ministries to transfer those civil servants who have complicated things in his Ministry.

Aggrieved SLFA Congress Delegates Cry Foul

President Sierra Leone Football Association Isha Johansen

By Amin Kef Sesay

Majority of concerned delegates from different football associations and Premier League clubs who were slated to participate in the Sierra Leone Football Association Congress in Kenema on 31st January and 1st February 2020 but was aborted, convened a Press Conference on Friday 7th February 2020 at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist Hall on Campbell Street in Freetown to make known to members of the Fourth Estate and other relevant stakeholders certain burning concerns and frustration over what they referred to as illegalities on the part of the Sierra Leone Football Association that culminated into not having a successful Congress.

 Highlighting their dissatisfaction they mentioned how the legitimate appointed delegates were rejected entry into the hall on weak and illogical pretexts by the General Secretary who used Policemen and specially hired thugs to intimidate the said delegates.

It was also pointed out that the budget presented did not comply with the requirements of Article 41.2 of the Statutes, as the Finance Committee is not in existence, and as such could not have been approved for presentation to the FA Secretariat and Executive Committee for examination which prompted them to reject it.

“However, in a manipulative move a skewed hand count was done in favour or not in favour of adopting it and it was endorsed by the FIFA representative Solomon Medege who by all intent and purpose was to observe the process,” they underscored furthering that the General Secretary counted observers as delegates but could still not achieve the 500/0+1 simple majority.

They again expressed disappointment that the said budget was scanty and without budget notes and it also lacked details thereby depriving members the opportunity to deliberate and scrutinize specific items of the budget noting that the budget was flawed in many areas, for example, the P.A.Y.E. TAX, which is automatically deducted from the employee’s salary, under the laws of Sierra Leone, was a separate budgetary item. They stated that similarly budget items like accounting software, player’s data base software, and hired vehicles all have bloated prices looking at the prevailing market prices.

They also noted that the new constitution was never deliberated during the Port Loko Congress and as such could not have been approved at any level. “But however, it was only presented during the Kenema Congress proceedings and when properly scrutinized there were grey areas and conflicting articles such as Articles 12.c and 12.g,” they intimated adding that the list of nominees was also tampered with as the Agenda and documentations were circulated only days before the Congress and is in violation of Article 28.

The concerned delegates pointed out how the Executive Committee and the FA Secretariat handpicked the nominees in violation of Article 12.c which clearly dictates that the right to nominate/propose is the exclusive responsibility of the members/association but it was done in a shady manner.

“To crown it all, Article 34 which clearly defines  the powers of the Executive Committee does not mandate that Committee any privilege or power to nominate members to the Judicial and Independent bodies. The nominations of such members fall within the purview of the membership as enshrined in Article 12c,” they continued revealing that in protest on the grounds of illegality and unconstitutionality that was rejected in an uncompromising way by the Chairperson of the Congress (President Isha Johansen).

They again noted how the voting process was again falsified with observers voting as delegates amidst protests that a good number of nominees on the list were not qualified on the grounds of belonging to clubs, working for Government institutions, facing Commissions of Inquiry and for corruption matters, which raised questions about their integrity.

They strongly maintained that known legal representatives of Isha Johansen and members of the hitherto FIFA Task Force were all on the list and other nominees for the chairmanship of certain committees do not meet the criteria of being lawyers and as such their nominations were invalidated.

Against that backdrop they are calling on FIFA to nullify the entire process with immediate effect stating that the budget must not be considered as approved and the list of nominees must also be disregarded.

In addition, they would like to officially express their disappointment over the conduct of the FIFA representative, Solomon Medege, whom they say inadvertently or deliberately, got involved in domestic football politics in several ways during the process.

They again maintained that they are no longer comfortable with representatives of FIFA registering how Madam Johansen is a committee member and as such is very influential and for these representatives coming to resolve issues in Sierra Leone, where Isha is a clear key player defeat the principles of “fair play”.

They recommended that more independent and fairer individuals be sent who would ensure a levelled playing field.

“Our potential actions could lead to the withdrawal of all clubs from all leagues, an injunction to halt the mismanagement of the association and a legal process to CAS, but it is our intent that your office will act within the shortest possible time to review or investigate the entire process,” they said was part of a communication to FIFA.

We Yone Child Foundation & SOL Foundation Launch Sport and Social Change Project

Handing over School items to the Beneficiaries

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In order to support less privileged children in Sierra Leone, We Yone Child Foundation, with support from SOL Foundation, has on Friday 8th February, 2020 launched a two year Sport for Social Change Project for schools in Kroo Bay and George Brook communities. The event took place at the Kroo Bay Community Centre in Freetown.

During which school items and sport kits worth millions of Leones were donated to school-going pupils in six primary schools within Kroo Bay and George Brook communities.

Speaking to this medium in an interview, Founder/Executive Director, of We Yone Child Foundation, Santigie Bayo Dumbuya, expressed profound appreciation to SOL Foundation for supporting the project, adding that the Foundation is using the power of sport on their mission to provide sustainable education and care to underprivileged children in Kroo Bay and George Brook Communities in Sierra Leone. The project, he said, is a sport based programme using football, boxing or martial arts which in an upgraded version will benefit people in the communities.

He noted that this project is designed to benefit 1,900 direct beneficiaries, aged 8-18 years, 50% girls and 50% boys who are at risk of dropping out of school and prone to teenage pregnancy/rape within the two slum communities of Kroo Bay and George Brook. He added that as part of the project beneficiaries, 100 teenage girls will be trained in Boxing and Martial Art skills as a self-defense strategy against sexual abuses.

Giving a brief background about the Foundation, he said, We Yone Child Foundation was founded in 2009 and since then they have been impacting the lives of young people in Sierra Leone underscoring how they have welcomed new staff and volunteers, introduced new social development programs, trained teachers and other staff, created a plan to guide their projects and nourished long-lasting partnerships.

He stated that complementary to running their schools, WYCF has also successfully created community outreach projects such as Sport for Social Change, which uses football to spread key messages concerning sex education and child protection, and has featured 1,600+ pupils from 10 Primary Schools in central Freetown.

“We are so thankful to be working with loving and caring staff, volunteers and partners. Our great success is the communities’ success,” he maintained.

Teacher, Methodist City Mission Primary School, Nathaniel G Williams, expressed his deepest appreciation to the organization for launching the two year sport for social change project for schools in Kroo Bay and George Brook communities, adding that such a gesture is really helping them and their children.

He assured the organization of their commitment as a teacher to ensure that they monitor their children and promised that they will make good use of this available opportunity.

He called on other humanitarian organizations to support We Yone Foundation as many other children in slum communities are really challenged in terms of accessing school items, sport kits.

Mariama Koroma, a pupil of the We Yone Foundation primary school, who was also a beneficiary, applauded the Foundation for the donations, adding that such a gesture is really helping them as children.

She urged other beneficiaries to take their studies serious and make good use of the opportunity in order to enhance their development as children.

Cross section of Beneficiaries with their school items been donated to them

Competent Managerial Synergy Continues to take NP-SL to Higher Heights  

By Amin Kef Sesay

It has come out very clearly that for any business venture to thrive there must be a convergence of good initiatives bordering on brain storming, strategizing and thorough implementation of sound policies which will finally culminate in tangible realities on the ground. In Sierra Leone, the National Petroleum Limited has cautiously tread along that pathway with its shareholders recruiting managers with the requisite qualifications devoid of favouritism and sentimentality who have been applying the right managerial skills and leadership that today have helped catapulted the company to one of the most dominant entities in the business landscape of the country.

The shareholders of the company has maintained that stance over the years and one thing they placed premium on is keeping the company as an indigenous business stressing that majority ,if not all , of its staff must be Sierra Leoneans. Ensuring that members of staff are highly motivated, the company is getting the best out of their performances with the cascading effect of excellent outputs.

Besides having employees that are highly motivated, the company also ensures that they benefit from different forms of training programs in order to improve on their competencies. When this is looked at within the context of human capital development then it is considered apt and in the best interest of the country’s development trajectory.

If today much emphasis is placed on human capital development, for NP-SL Ltd it has been part of the DNA of the company and from what this medium learnt, the company has produced seasoned individuals with requisite skills, some after leaving setting up successful business ventures or are now excelling in other institutions.

Having the right brains in the right offices has placed the company at a vantage position to always bargain with its business partners when negotiating petroleum deals. Undoubtedly, the company is the leading petroleum marketing company in the country with its branches located in various parts of the city and provinces. Because of effective service delivery and rated as 1st For Customer Care, NP-SL Ltd has become very endearing to many in and out of the country. One important thing that the shareholders of the company have seriously guarded against is to avoid a situation where its customers and members of the public will express bitter dissatisfaction about the quality of the products it is marketing and the services it renders.

Against such a backdrop, the company has a customer care unit that primarily interface between the company and members of the public. Concerns and recommendations channelled through it are raised in certain management meetings, discussed and the way forward mapped out.

Regarding their customers as priceless jewels, NP-SL Ltd ensured that to give them optimal satisfaction value must be derived from their monies spent. It was thinking along that line which prompted the shareholders of the company to replace their old fashioned pumping machines to calibrated pumping machines of high standard which transparently pump the requisite quantity of petrol or diesel demanded for. Confidence is now high among its customers that they getting exactly what they are paying for.

Still within the ambit of optimising customer care, the company introduced both NP Gas and NP Smart Card. The former is a cooking gadget, which is now in vogue, going like hot cakes because it has been proven to be very effective in terms of performance, cost and non-hazardous to human health. The latter is a card that has a memory chip and could be credited with money. This NP Smart Card is used to purchase fuel without carrying physical cash and it is very advantageous for personal safety and accountability purpose because the balance remaining on it, after using it, will determine how much was used during a given transaction.

With regards rolling out its Corporate Social Responsibility, it has been doing so in ways that had been and are positively contributing to the socio-economic development of the nation. Though the shareholders and Management are not averse to making news about such gestures yet they are not too keen about bragging about them because, according to them, they are doing such for the sake of humanity.

With sound brains at the helm of affairs of the company, many are getting the best of petroleum products as well as services for which it has bagged so many accolades.

 

USAID and the United Bank for Africa Sign Memorandum of Understanding

By Amin Kef Sesay

In the bid to advance the two-way trade and investment goals to prosper Africa, U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Prosper Africa initiative is partnering with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and the nations of Africa.   This partnership ensures businesses are equipped with the technical and financial tools they need to enter into new trading and investment relationships in Africa and the United States.

USAID will provide technical assistance and advisory services to prospective businesses through its Trade and Investment Hubs, and will connect UBA with African Diaspora business groups working across the United States.  The MOU enables UBA, the only sub-Saharan African bank licensed to operate in the United States, to expand access its reach and extend financing to American companies in the United States looking to do business with African nations.

Recognizing tremendous growth opportunities, USAID and UBA are collaborating to advance Prosper Africa’s goal of substantially increasing two-way trade between Africa and the United States. By working together, they will extend financing and technical assistance to businesses that willstrengthen the American economy, grow African economies, and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

The two institutions entered into this agreement as part of the opening ceremony of the Tunisia Prosper Africa Conference, co-organized by the U.S. Embassy in Tunis and the American Chamber of Commerce of Tunisia. The event facilitated U.S. and African business-to-business connections and featured remarks by key representatives from the U.S. Government and the U.S. and African private sector.

South African Mines Experts, Legislators and Financiers Engaged by Pres. Bio

By Alim Jalloh

 In Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday 5 February 2020 His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio concluded another important meeting at the Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town, officially initiating engagements with 10 highly technical experts, legislators and mines development financiers in South Africa.

In the company of Minister of Mines and Minerals Resources, Foday Rado Yokie and Director-General of National Minerals Agency, Julius Mattai, the President referenced the many mentions of technology in mining and disclosed that he had already set up a Directorate of Science Technology and Innovation in his office to support a research-based approach to governance.

“Now, all decisions we make as a government are informed by data and we are very deliberate. We are just nearly two years into office and we don’t want to start off on the wrong footing. First we need to know what we have, the business around it and before we sell,” he said, in reference to his plans to sustainably manage Sierra Leone’s minerals wealth to benefit its citizens and support the government’s free quality education initiative.

He told the meeting that the country, rich in minerals deposit, had just completed a nationwide airborne geophysical survey with very high-resolution datasets that would eventually inform government’s strategic plans for the mines and extractives industry.

“We want to have a sovereign wealth fund,” which is usually owned by the state to manage national savings for the purposes of investment, “to finance our long term flagship projects around human capital development,” he said. He also noted that he valued the conversation they had because it would help his government organise the mining sector.

Bridgette Motsepe Radebe, a South African businesswoman and Ambassador of Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, told President Bio that there was money to invest in Sierra Leone.

“As soon as we have done exploration, identified where the ore body is, we start building the mines then we go to the banks. There is a lot of money that you can get from the banks as long as your ore body is good, the resource analysis is good and your financial models speak to what the funder wants to see.

“You are a very rich country. If you look at your minerals, based on the audit of the resources and reserves by your National Minerals Agency, reflecting your balance sheet, you already have a collateral,” she said adding that they were very experienced to create a committee of various skills to support the proper implementation of the country’s strategic minerals.

“Your ownership model must also be indigenised. We need to see how much stake you own as a country. I can’t come to a country with 10% ownership. Your people must own more. Also as chairperson of the South Africa-Russian business forum in BRICS, I will speak to my counterparts,” she stated.

The meeting was a result of President Bio’s keynote address at the world’s largest mining investment event taking place in South Africa, where he emphasised the need for trustworthy mining partners.

Gov’t Pays over US$255,201 Student Allowance

Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone, in Beijing, China

By Joseph S. Margai

Government of Sierra Leone, through the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone in China, has paid a whopping sum of two hundred and fifty-five thousand, two hundred and one (US$255,201) United States Dollars as supplementary allowances to Sierra Leonean students, who are pursuing various academic courses in China and Pakistan.

This was disclosed exclusively by Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone, in Beijing, China, in an interview on Saturday, 1st February, 2020.

“The government of Sierra Leone has ordered the payment of supplementary allowances, amounting to US$255,201 to all beneficiaries of the Sierra Leone government scholarship residing in the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” Ambassador Ndomahina said.

He said beneficiary students should forward the details of their bank accounts to the Students’ Union Executive, for onward submission to Mrs. Josephine Isatu Bangura, who is the Students’ Secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone in China.

He said due to the strict compliance with China’s counter epidemic measures, there was no banking operations in the country.

However, he noted that there would be an effective disbursement of these allowances to beneficiary students on Monday, 3rd February, 2020, when normal banking transactions were expected to resume.

“The Embassy, on behalf of the entire students’ body in China and Pakistan, wishes to express its sincere thanks and appreciation to President Julius Maada Bio and the ‘New Direction’ administration for the support to the human capital development and humanity,” he expressed his gratitude.

In recent weeks, the People’s Republic of China has been plagued by the Corona viral disease, thereby leading to global concern.

However, Ambassador Ndohamina firstly commended the government of the People’s Republic of China for its unprecedented and resilient measures in curbing the spread of the deadly virus.

“On behalf of President Julius Maada Bio and the people of Sierra Leone, the Embassy wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to all bereaved families of the outbreak. We express our unflinching support to President Xi Jinping and the people of China in the fight against this deadly virus,” he stated.

Ambassador Ndomahina called on all Sierra Leoneans residing in China to continuously follow the preventive and control measures of this deadly disease outlined by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

 

“Moving Karene HQ town to Batkanu is for political gains…” – Citizens aver

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Tamba Lamina

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In an interview on Radio Democracy 98.1 Good Salone Program  on Wednesday 5th February 2020 the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Tamba Lamina, disclosed that the Ministry will be coming out with a white paper to be presented to the Cabinet on their findings for either the District Headquarter Town of Karene District should remain in Kamakwie or moved to Batkanu which many citizens consider as a move by the New Direction to score political gains and not in the interest of the people of this country.

During the interview the Minister said that stakeholders in Batkanu requested for him to visit them in order to listen to their submissions on the said issue, adding that some of the submissions put before him by stakeholders of Batkanu were that if the name Karene District is changed to another name they should not have asked for Batkanu to be the Headquarter Town but because when it remains Karene the Headquarter Town must be Batkanu because it has been so during the colonial era rather than Kamakwie.

Basically, many see their submission as baseless and have no concrete evidence for the District Head Quarter Town to be moved to Batkanu.

In a snap interview with residents of Karene District they disclosed that the action to move Karene District Headquarter to Batkanu is clear that the New Direction doesn’t want to practice decentralization or to develop that part of the country. They maintained that it was clearly manifested during the President’s Thank You Tour when he visited all district Headquarter Towns leaving Kamakwie as the Headquarter Town for Karene District as if it is not part of Sierra Leone. Residents further disclosed that the First Lady also launched the Hands Off our Girls Campaign in all the other districts also leaving Karene District out of her campaign.

They claimed that besides the marginalization and discrimination now they want to move Karene District Headquarter from Kamakwie to Batkanu which in return has the tendency to create division within the District.

They believe that the choice of Kamakwie over Batkanu might have been politically motivated and that Batkanu deserves the status of a headquarter town more than Kamakwie given the fact that Batkanu had once been the headquarter town of the Karene District of colonial times. They say they have colonial relics in Batkanu to substantiate their claim.

In could be recalled that throughout history capitals of the world have changed depending on their relevance during the relevant period under review. It was all Rome in the first century but it shifted to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the fifth century as the population of that city reached a million people.

Baghdad grabbed that position in the tenth century. At the end of the fifteenth century Aztec’s Tenochtitlan ruled and of course London was thriving as the world’s most important city in the nineteenth century as it was the first city to reach five million people.

In Ancient Egypt where historical relics of relevance (not tombstones of rogue colonial administrators) are not in short supply, cities have been moved, the historical relics notwithstanding. The first capital of Ancient Egypt was Thinis. Some of the later capitals include Memphis, Thebes, Avaris, Akhetaken, Tanis, Sais and Alexandria.

A renounced historian told this medium that for the sake of argument the British administered the Protectorate in order to put into perspective the claim that Batkanu was the headquarter town of the then Karene District. In 1900, he said the Protectorate was divided into districts: Bandajuma District with Bandajuma Town as it’s headquarter town, Karene District with Karene Town (not Batkanu) as its headquarter town, Koinadugu District with Falaba Town as its headquarter town, and Panguma District with Panguma Town as its headquarter town. In 1901, the headquarter town of Karene District was moved from Karene Town to Batkanu because it was realized that Batkanu had become economically viable and more centrally located, adding that the boundaries of the Karene District of colonial times are never the same as the boundaries of the new Karene District and that the new Karene District is made up of parts of Port Loko and Bombali Districts.

He said on the map the new Karene District is 9.070855- 12.847177 making it one of the longest districts in the country.  Because of the difference in boundaries, Batkanu is no longer the central location of the new Karene District as the new district stretches onto the Guinean border in the north.

“To say that the choice of Kamakwie by the past Government might have been politically motivated is a demonstration of narrow- mindedness. It is this kind of argument that Socrates, in his wisdom, had in contemplation when he said, “When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.” Kamakwie is geopolitically, strategically placed and its central location in the new district gives it an edge over any other town. Its multi-ethnic character is an ace. The town is well positioned as it stands astride the trade routes between Kambia, Falaba, Koinadugu, Bombali and Port Loko Districts,” he enlightened.

Many believe that Kamakwie offers better educational and healthcare facilities with five secondary schools (two senior and three junior) and a vocational institute. The town have one of the best hospitals in the country, the Kamakwie Wesleyan Hospital founded in 1959 by  Wesleyan missionaries and this hospital has not supported the people of Karene District only but the entire country compared to Batkanu that doesn’t have all these facilities to become the Headquarter town for Karene District and that Kamakwie has been completely transformed by rapid changing economic and social developments as a result of its proximity to Guinea

“There cannot be a greater mischief to the country and its people than propagating wrong notions concerning the country’s colonial past. Many reject with all their might the bold attempt to mislead the country and take the greatest exception to any calculated attempt by a selected few who think they can overtly exploit political affiliations to rewrite the history of the country in order to give life to their unpatriotic whims and aspirations,” residents lamented.

CGG urges Government to Address Spate of Violence

Executive Director Campaign for Good Governance (CGG)

By Amin Kef Sesay

The Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) on the 5th February 2020 released a statement in which it maintained that Authorities in Sierra Leone must take urgent, lawful and thorough steps to curb the rising level of violence in the country.

It continues by stating how recent spates of violence in Freetown and in Bonthe have sent shock reminders of how lawlessness can lead to a breakdown of law and order.

“We have monitored and documented with dismay, the several reported incidences of violence across the country, but we are concerned that just in January 2020 to date four critical incidents of violence have been recorded,” it continued outlining  how on Saturday 11th January, 2020 at Motuo village Kpanda –Kemo Chiefdom Bonthe District, a female Paramount Chief’s residence was attacked by a large crowd of men who were members of the Poro Society, they reigned insults and threatening remarks against her. The door and windows of the Chief’s house were damaged as a result of the incident.

The statement pointed out that according to Human Rights Commission for Sierra Leone findings, she spent 7 hours under siege. In the same incident, an elderly woman was gang raped by fifteen unidentified members allegedly of the Poro Society during their initiation ceremony.

It again revealed that on Tuesday 14th January, 2020 during a funeral procession of a former Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) member, violence erupted along Hannah Benka-Coker Street and Syke Street by the All People’s Congress (APC) party office which resulted to pelting of stones and unrest of citizens along this area. Disturbing image of a man stabbed several times on the head went viral.

The CGG pointed out that on Sunday 26th January, 2020 there was also a public disorder incident along Wallace Johnson and ECOWAS Streets in Freetown. The incident resulted in several injuries and malicious damage to vehicles and buildings causing public unrest in the vicinities.

It stated that on Saturday 1st February, 2020 there was a confrontation at the residence of the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs which led to the shooting of a young man by one of the State Security Officers attached to the Deputy Minister. Footage of this young man on the ground in front of the Deputy Minister’s gate, stained with blood and crying for help went viral.

“In light of these incidents and other previous occurrences, we therefore urge the Government to examine the root causes of this latest rise in public disorder and violence, with a view to instituting sustainable measures that will prevent recurrence,” the statement reads.
CGG says they are particularly disturbed by the often high-handed and unprofessional conduct by some personnel of the Sierra Leone Police and they are calling on the authorities to ensure that the principles of fair policing, Rule of Law and proportionality are adhered to under all circumstances. CGG is therefore calling on the Sierra Leone Police to step up on its constitutional mandate to protect lives and properties of everyone within the country.

“The number of wounded people, the frequency of and regularity in which lethal and non-lethal weapons have been used by some police officers seem to indicate that the use of force has sometimes been excessive and violated the requirements of necessity and proportionality,” the organization stated.

It continued by saying while they condemn in the strongest possible terms, violence perpetrated by groups and individuals, they firmly believe that the Government of Sierra Leone has an obligation not only to respect Human Rights but to protect people against violent acts committed by private individuals.

It says they are encouraging the authorities to therefore isolate those who resort to violence, while guaranteeing that everyone in the country can enjoy their rights to live in peace, safety and security. Accountability on this issue is of essence and they are therefore calling for speedy investigation and prosecution of those found wanton so as to guarantee justice for all victims.

Finally, CGG notes with concern that the repeated acts of violence and vandalism has left Sierra Leoneans in and out of the country in fear and with a mentality of emergency to address the issue. The Government needs to therefore address certain long-standing grievances and other socio-economic concerns of the populace to ensure confidence of stability and social cohesion.

Government Repositions its Trade for the AfCFTA

Dr Edward Hinga Sandy, Minister of Trade and Industry

By Foday Moriba Conteh

On the 4 February 2020 the Government of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) are holding a validation workshop on Sierra Leone’s National Trade Strategy: Repositioning Trade for the African Continental Free Trade Area. Experts from the public and private sector, representing Government, civil society, young people, women and academia will meet on 4 February 2020 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The National Trade Strategy of Sierra Leone is anchored around implementing the AfCFTA as a means for repositioning Sierra Leone’s trade away from an overdependence on iron and other mining products, towards more diversified goods and services. The strategy has four components: 1) AfCFTA, 2) Trade support, 3) Industry development, and 4) Institutional capacity building.

H.E Dr Edward Hinga Sandy, Minister of Trade and Industry, said in his opening speech: “The government of Sierra Leone attaches extreme importance to trade and recognises that a strong private sector, industrialisation, and an enabling environment is critical.”

Mr. David Luke, Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre of ECA, on his part said: “The entire economy of Sierra Leone amounts to $3.7 billion. And yet, as part of ECOWAS, Sierra Leone is on the doorstep of more than a $700 billion economy with 350 million people. And within Africa, it has access to an economy of 1.3 billion people worth $2.5 trillion in GDP.” Mr. Luke further stated that for Sierra Leone to take advantage of these markets, among many others, the regulatory framework needs greater predictability, better mechanisms for dialogue with the private sector should be in place and trade-related infrastructure needs to be improved.

Mr. Luke concluded by saying: “With the launch of trading under the AfCFTA set to commence in July 2020, we have at hand a tremendous opportunity to reposition Sierra Leone’s trade for a new era in African trade integration.”

The work in Sierra Leone on implementing the AfCFTA is part of a comprehensive project aimed at deepening Africa’s trade integration through effective implementation of the AfCFTA. Financially supported by the European Union, ECA has been working with its partners including the African Union Commission (AUC), International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and a selection of independent trade experts to ensure effective AfCFTA implementation strategies.

1...1,1501,1511,152...1,359Page 1,151 of 1,359