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Sierra Leone President Receives New Haven City Mayor’s Award

By Thaimu Thullah

His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has commemorated 180 years of Amistad Slave revolt, during slavery, in the New Haven City, Connecticut, where he was also decorated with the Mayor’s Key award for outstanding leadership.

The said revolution of many Africans on the Spanish slave ship, La Amistad on 2 July 1839, was led by Sengbe Pieh, a Sierra Leonean of the Mende people and had important political and legal repercussions in the American abolition movement.

While welcoming President Bio, Mayor Toni N. Harp said that the respective histories of New Haven and Sierra Leone had been interlaced for centuries, citing his outstanding contributions towards the restoration of democracy and the attainment of peace in Sierra Leone.

“From the time of the Amistad Revolt and prolonged legal struggle to the Ebola tragedy of just a few years ago, the people of our two jurisdictions have enjoyed friendship, camaraderie, and respect – and these things that bind us have only drawn us closer over time,” Mayor Harp said.

In a short statement, President Bio thanked Mayor Toni N. Harp and officials from New Haven’s Amistad Committee and the New Haven Sister Cities Committee for not only providing a home to Sengbe Pieh and others but also for their support to Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak.

He told the audience that New Haven and Sierra Leone had been brought together by history and added: “This is a great story and you are a great people. Just like you did for Sengbe Pieh and others, your city has been generous to us. You have always believed in the dignity of the human being”.

He assured that he was also going to strengthen the relationship between Sierra Leone and New Haven City.

Later the Mayor led the President and entourage outside the city hall to a sculpture which served as a memorial to the 1839 Amistad revolt and its leader, Sengbe Pieh for the bravery and courage to emancipate themselves from the bondage of slavery.

To further commemorate this year’s Amistad revolt, the President also laid a wreath at the gravesite in remembrance of those Amistad captives who survived the voyage but became gravely ill and could not return to Sierra Leone with their compatriots in September 1841. At the gravesite, he also dedicated a tree in honour of Sengbe Pieh and other slaves and all those who helped them to regain their freedom.

 

Over Escape of CPT Kamara’s Escape… 7 Military Officers Disciplined, 1 Exonerated in Sierra Leone

By Amin Kef Sesay

During a Press Conference held at the conference room of the Ministry of Defence on Tower Hill in Freetown on Thursday 26th September 2019, Staff Officer Grade 2 of the Defence Public Relations/Information unit, Major Yayah Brima told journalists that disciplinary action has been taken against seven military officers for their role in the escape of Captain Patrick Kamara from the main custodial centre at Wilberforce Barracks on 21st May 2019.

Reading a press release to the media, Major Brima recalled that the fugitive was standing trial at a Court Martial in respect of some missing ammunition together with some two other officers when he escaped. Whilst surprised at this act, the military then took swift action to determine how the captain could have escaped without detection.

During their investigations, 8 officers were detained for questioning by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and in the course of their investigations seven out of the eight were found to be culpable with the exception of RSLAF 18169779 Sergeant Tucker, who was exonerated for lack of any evidence to tie him to the crime. It was further disclosed that the CID report dated 12th June 2019 was directed to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for Legal advice.

The DPP’s legal advice dated 2nd July directed the RSLAF to institute disciplinary action against the said officers with the exemption of Sergeant Tucker, who was set free.

The Ministry of Defence Press Release further stated that the 7 officers were given the following disciplinary actions:

  • RSLAF 18180047 Sergeant Sidia Turay, who is said to have facilitated the escape of Captain Kamara, was compulsorily discharged from the military,
  • Major TH Sandy (SL 1068), believed to have contributed in a large part to the escape of the captain, was recommended for compulsory retirement subject to the approval of the Defence Council,
  • Major SN Luseni (SL1172), who was also alleged to have contributed in a large part to the fugitive’s escape, was punished with two year forfeiture of seniority and posted out of the JPU,
  • RSLAF 18165090 Staff Sergeant William Kamara was demoted to the rank of Corporal and posted out of the JPU,
  • RSLAF 18182699 Lance Corporal Amara Kargbo was awarded 28 days imprisonment with hard labour and posted out of the JPU,
  • RSLAF 18182688 Lance Corporal Ishmail Simbo was also awarded 28 days imprisonment with hard labour and posted out of the JPU
  • Lance Corporal Tamba Tengbeh RSLAF 18182089 was exonerated for lack of evidence.

These are believed to have failed to adhere to Standard Operating Procedures at the Custodian Centre.

The press conference further dealt with other media related matters in which they debunked publications in the Salone Times newspaper about some missing Le100 million.

This, they maintained, is false and baseless, as the officer quoted by the paper to have produced statement of account to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, was not in that meeting in the first place and no statement of account was presented to the committee, nor was he in any way connected with any financial transaction at the 34 hospital. They further requested that the paper do a retraction of the said publication.

Light was thrown on another matter raised by one Beneta Kargbo; a mother who gave birth to a kid and lost him shortly after delivery, but after 14 months accused 4 medical officers at the hospital of stealing her baby. According to the press release, the MOD explained that the lady came to the hospital in pain and after delivery, the baby developed a breathing problem and after several attempts at resuscitating him to no avail, a death certificate was then issued to the mother on her discharge from the hospital.

The MOD further stated that on legal opinion of the DPP, after thorough investigations, the mother was said not to have any case against the said officials and they were released.

Other issues included the establishment of a new brigade in Eastern Sierra Leone and recruitment of more female officers into the army and deployment of other female officers on peace keeping missions.

 

SDG 5, Women and Achieving the SDGs in Sierra Leone

=COMMENTARY=

By Amin Kef Sesay

Gender equality is a right. Fulfilling this right is the best chance we have in meeting some of the most pressing challenges of our time—from economic crisis and lack of health care, to climate change, violence against women and escalating conflicts.

Women are not only more affected by these problems, but also possess ideas and leadership to solve them. The gender discrimination still holding too many women back and holds our world back too.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015, embody a roadmap for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind.

Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals. Only by ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the goals will we get to justice and inclusion, economies that work for all, and sustaining our shared environment now and for future generations.

Women and girls, everywhere, must have equal rights and opportunity, and be able to live free of violence and discrimination. Women’s equality and empowerment is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but also integral to all dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development. In short, all the SDGs depend on the achievement of Goal 5.

49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence.

SGD 5 Targets:

An end to all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere

Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.

Gender equality by 2030 requires urgent action to eliminate the many root causes of discrimination that still curtail women’s rights in private and public spheres. For example, discriminatory laws need to change and legislation adopted to proactively advance equality. Yet 49 countries still lack laws protecting women from domestic violence, while 39 bar equal inheritance rights for daughters and sons.

Eliminating gender-based violence is a priority, given that this is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world today. Based on data from 87 countries, 1 in 5 women and girls under the age of 50 will have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner within the last 12 months. Harmful practices, such as child marriage, steal the childhood of 15 million girls under age 18 every year.

Women do 2.6 times more unpaid care and domestic work than men. While families, societies and economies depend on this work, for women, it leads lower earnings and less time to engage in non-work activities. In addition to equal distribution of economic resources, which is not only a right, but accelerates development in multiple areas, there needs to be a fair balance of responsibility for unpaid care work between men and women.

Sexual and reproductive rights are critical in their own right. Shortfalls in these multiply other forms of discrimination, depriving women of education and decent work, for example. Yet only 52 per cent of women married or in a union freely make their own decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care.

While more women have entered political positions in recent years, including through the use of special quotas, they still hold a mere 23.7 per cent of parliamentary seats, far short of parity. The situation is not much better in the private sector, where women globally occupy less than a third of senior and middle management positions.

Urgent Need to Enact Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Policy in Sierra Leone

Dr. Fatou Taqi

By Amin Kef Sesay

The Sierra Leone Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill, which if passed into law by the House of Parliament would require the government to draw up an accompanying policy which is yet to be passed.

On the legal basis for the GEWE Policy, the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone provides the foundation for the principles of gender equality. Article 15 states that:

“—— every person in Sierra Leone is entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, has the right, whatever his race, tribe, place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex,——–”

Additionally, Article 8(2)(a, b and c) demands that:

(2) a. “ —– every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations, and opportunities before the law, and the State shall   ensure that every citizen has an equal right and access to all opportunities and benefits based on merit;”

  1. “——the State shall recognise, maintain and enhance the sanctity of the human person and human dignity; “and
  2. “——-the Government shall secure and maintain the independence, impartiality and integrity of courts of law and unfettered access thereto, and to this end shall ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity, and that opportunities for securing justice are not denied any citizen by reason of economic or other disability.”

The above mentioned constitutional provisions compel the government of Sierra Leone to improve the status of women everywhere in the country, eradicate the injustices they have suffered in the past and continue to suffer and put measures in place for the implementation and promotion of social and economic justice for women, girls, men and boys.

According to the 2015 Population and Housing Census of Sierra Leone, women account for 50.8% of the country’s population. In spite of this, they remain significantly absent in decision-making and leadership positions in public and private spheres. Women also continue to experience gender-based violence including rape and other forms of sexual violence, wife beating and unequal access to production resources like land, financial services and education and training. For Sierra Leone’s strive for sustainable peace to be achieved, women have to be active and effective players in all spheres and their economic empowerment must go together with the country’s economic growth and development.

Under the APC Government headed by former President Ernest Bai Koroma, the former Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Mustapha Bai Attila disclosed that the gender equality and women’s empowerment bill would be tabled in Parliament.

The former Deputy Gender Minister promised that the Government will ensure that the 30% quota for women in political and public spaces is enacted, stating that it is very important in the development of the country. He added that empowerment of women should not be limited to political appointment but also economically. The recommendations include governance- 30% quota; energy, infrastructure and transport, security and justice, education, training and ICT, agriculture, employment, private sector and industry, water, sanitation and health and land and property.

To push the process of tabling the bill forward, different women solidarity groups were assembled into technical committees to look into issues to be included in the gender equality and women’s empowerment bill, with the Ministry of Social Welfare together with the Advocacy Movement Network (AMNet) and the Human Rights Commission highlighting over ten recommendations.

The first Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Policy was drafted in 2014, but was not presented to Cabinet before the exit of the previous Government. With the entrance of a new administration, emerging, national, regional and global issues and concerns, among others, necessitated a review of the policy before it can be presented to Parliament.

Key among them are the priorities of the Government which includes access to free and quality education, job creation, women and youth development and health care; the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and mud slide of 2014 and 2017 respectively; increasing rate of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country, human trafficking and the quest for technological innovations.

The GEWE Policy as a lawful reference point for addressing gender inequalities by all stakeholders at national and community levels and family units throughout the country. The policy seeks to empower women to make choices at all sectors of the development paradigm and calls for equal access for women and men to opportunities across all areas of the economy.

Furthermore, it clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the institutions that comprise the Gender Management Structure. It also ensures that gender perspective is considered in national development plans, sectoral policies and strategies supported by monitoring and evaluation indicators that are designed to benchmark the performance of stakeholders on gender equality and equity. In addition, the policy emphasises the need for gender responsive budgeting in the public and in private sectors.

The GEWE Policy calls on the President of Sierra Leone to take full leadership for gender equality and women’s empowerment by outlining key steps that can be taken at the highest level of Government to ensure that the fundamental principles of gender equality and women’s empowerment cascade down to all facets of society right through to the local communities. The GEWE policy is designed to follow a multi-sectoral approach in implementation to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The priority areas of the GEWE policy for Sierra Leone are as follow:

  • Gender, education and training
  • Gender, rural development and social protection
  • Gender-based violence
  • Gender, decision-making and political leadership
  • Gender, health, cancer, sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS
  • Gender, trade, employment and economic development
  • Gender, the environment and disaster management
  • Gender, media and access to information, communication technology and innovation
  • Gender, disabilities and other forms of social inequities
  • Gender, legal justice and human rights
  • Gender, Culture and Family
  • Gender, peace-building and conflict resolution
  • Gender responsive budgeting

The overall goal of the GEWE policy is to create a framework that promotes equal rights for women and men in Sierra Leone, as a precedent to legislation that ensures gender equality and women’s empowerment. The policy will ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed and promoted as a pertinent element to sustainable economic development. This will greatly depend on the meaningful and timely allocation of resources and the efficient use of those resources to create a society in which women and men have equal access to basic services and enjoy the same rights and opportunities in enabling environments.

The Government of Sierra Leone has also adopted National Policy Frameworks to promote gender mainstreaming that it is obligated to make good on, on moral grounds which include:

  • National Policy on Gender Mainstreaming (2000)
  • National Policy on the Advancement of Women (2000)
  • National Referral Protocol on Gender-Based Violence (2012)
  • National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence (2012)
  • Sierra Leone National Action Plan for Full Implementation of United Nations Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) (SILNAP), 2010-2014
  • Implementation Plan on the Sexual Offences Act 2015
  • The Child Rights Acts (2007)
  • Domestic Violence Act (2007)
  • Devolution of Estate Act (2007)
  • Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act (2009)
  • Sexual Offences Act (2012)
  • The Agenda for Prosperity (2013-2018)
  • National Gender Strategic Plan: (2018-2023)

At the regional and international levels, Sierra Leone has adopted, signed and or ratified a number of key regional and international instruments, laws and agreements that conform to the principles of gender equality such as:

Thus, given the immense contribution of women to governance and peace-building efforts, the call for the enactment of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy, should be seen by the Government as part of the different instruments guaranteeing women’s peace and security in Sierra Leone.

The campaign to disseminate different instruments on women’s peace and security; capture and showcase women’s contribution to governance and peace building efforts was implemented by the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) and its constituents members WIMSAL (Women in the Media Sierra Leone) and IRN (Independent Radio Network) with support from UNDP (United Nations Development Programme).

 

 

 

Bollore Sierra Leone Gives Succor to the Physically Impaired

By Alim Jalloh

Bollore Transport and Logistics, which controls the Freetown Terminal at the Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday 25th September 2019 demonstrated its humanitarian posture by donating food and non-food items as well as a 20,000 litre Milla water tank facility to the Milton Margai School for the Blind and the National School for the Deaf and Dumb at Wilkinson Road in Freetown.

The donation of such items brought smiles to the faces of the pupils and staff of both schools. Items that were donated included bags of rice, onions, bundles of zinc, chocolates and candy placed in packs for each and every pupil.

The two schools received the items by surprise, expressing how timely these gestures arrived to help salvage their constraints giving them happiness as they will help in addressing their pressing needs.

In his statement, Bollore’s Country Manager in Sierra Leone, Captain Fabianjanko Kokan, expressed his company’s position in serving humanity, which he said is part of their policy. He added that though the donation will help them overcome some of the hardship the pupils and by extension the institutions have been bedevilled with.  ’This donation is just like a drop in the ocean. The schools need more and this is not a question of corporate social responsibility but that of serving humanity,’’ Kokan pointed out.

‘The schools need help,’ he said and further appealed to other entities to come to the aid of the two schools by addressing some of their needs. He recognized CTC and Milla Group as their partners and officially handed over the items.

Several speakers from the two schools expressed appreciation and praised the company for their humanitarian gesture. They offered special prayers for the company to gain higher height in their operations.

Speaking on behalf of the Milton Margai School for the Blind, Sallieu Turay, the Principal, said, Bollore’s visit to them was not by mistake but by God’s will. He said the Milton Margai School for the Blind has been in operation for 63 years and is the first blind institution in the country. The school, he said, has produced many personalities of which some have served as Ministers, Commissioners in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies.  He expressed special thanks and appreciation on behalf of the school to the Management and staff of Bollore for what he described as a special gift from God.

Turay added that the bags of rice donated will be of great help to them, considering that the children are entitled to three square meals a day.  ‘’Here we cook a bag of rice a day and if you calculate that within the year, it will amount to 365 bags of rice. This clearly tells you how appreciative we are for this donation.  Also, if I tell you how grateful we are for the water tank, you won’t understand. With these 20,000 litres of water tank, our problem of water shortage has been finally addressed. Our children will no longer go out in search of where to fetch water.”

 

DNA Sequencing to Commence in Sierra Leone

By Jonathan Hindolo Kurabu

In the wake of the spiral and alarming hike in reported cases of rape and other despicable forms of sexual abuse meted out to girls below the age of 18 by mostly men who are old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers, there is need to clampdown on these alleged rapists.

Sadly though, the cumbersome processes in our Judiciary heightened by unnecessary court adjournments during the Preliminary investigation at the Magistrate Courts before committal to the High Court most often than not, leave the victims in agony.

Out of sheer ignorance, the victims most times destroy the evidence even before reporting the cases and often further worsened by some police officers who have shallow knowledge in evidence gathering and protection of incontrovertible evidence which could be classically admissible in the court of law.

Even against the backdrop of a State of Emergency slammed by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio months ago with a punishment of life imprisonment upon conviction; the situation remains far worse and seemingly unabated.

For lack of evidence, the alleged perpetrators are discharged and left to roam freely while their alleged victims suffer in silence. With strides made so far by President Bio, plans are now rife for Sierra Leone to commence DNA sequencing for rape and all forensic cases involving ritual murder, murder.

This was disclosed to a cross-section of dignitaries drawn from Njala University, SLARi, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Environmental Protection Agency, Detective Officers from the Sierra Leone, Directorate of Science Technology and Innovation to name but a few.

Team Lead from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Iain Macharen-Lee said the DNA sequencing can be used across a multitude of different fields. He underscored that the technology is a new way of reading DNA which he said is fundamentally different from previous technologies and furthered that the MinION Sequencer is a small device, portable and simple device which can be deployed anywhere and can be used by anybody with the requisite skills.

According to Iain Macharen-Le, the MinION MKC1 has developed a method for passing DNA through a pore which protracts an electrical current and it can be interpreted as electrons of genetic code which can fetch the required answer in minutes.  For forensic purposes, it requires a picture sample which can be simply prepared by isolating DNA from the sample, prepared and put on the DNA sequencer which can get the results within few minutes. Using the third generation of DNA sequencing, perpetrators of rape and other crimes can be detected in minutes and will constitute the evidence in court for proceedings.

The MinION MKC1 DNA Sequencer was first handled by President Bio upon their first engagement in Sierra Leone.  According to the Team Lead from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, President Julius Maada Bio is the Third President in the World and the First President in Africa to have had a feel and grip on this modern technology which he referred to as the third generation of DNA Sequencer.

The delegation was lured to come over to Sierra Leone by President Bio during his ‘TED TOK’ in Vancouver courtesy of the Dr. David Monina Senge, Chief Innovator and Director, Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation, DSTI.

 

 

Action to Heal Foundation Sierra Leone Boosts Bombali Vulnerable Children

By Alusine Rehme Wilson

As part of their continued efforts to providing for, standing by and advocating for vulnerable children in the country, Action to Heal Foundation Sierra Leone – (A2HF-SL), has donated school items to 28 vulnerable children in Bombali District.

The donation ceremony which took place on Friday, September 20, 2019 at A2HF-SL’s head office on 21 Conteh Street in Makeni was chaired by Miata Saffa Jalloh, the organization’s Secretary. She disclosed that the day’s event is in fulfilment of A2HF-SL’s “Back to School Donation” for the 2019/2020 academic year.

Yusuf Sow, the CEO II of A2HF-SL, a non-governmental organization, welcomed all to the event and admonished them that the “Back to School Donation” is solely sponsored by members of the organization and that among the many children in the district, A2HF-SL thought it wise to rationally select the most vulnerable school going pupils to benefit from this project.

Madam Mariatu Sesay, a single parent, who also doubles as the Chairlady for Bombali District Disable Association expressed thanks and appreciation to Action to Heal Foundation Sierra Leone for providing their children with the various school materials.

She assured the donors on behalf of other beneficiary parents of robust parenting and monitoring of their children’s schooling to ensure that they become leaders when they shall have completed schooling in the near future.

“Among the 28 beneficiaries, we also donated some cash amount of Le 150,000 each to two of the beneficiaries, Mustapha I. Jalloh and Hawa Kamara all in JSS I, since their parents are blind baggers’ the amount was given to them to cover their school colours cost, an amount they can use cover their school expenses for the whole 2019/2020 academic year”, said Madam Zainab Mummy Tholley, the founder and CEO I of the organization.

She added that ‘at A2HF-SL, we believe in wiping tears from the eyes of physically challenged children and vulnerable persons, which is why we have  donated to 28 vulnerable children in Bombali District school items such as books, pens, raffia bags, mathematical sets, eraser, sharpeners and some cash to the most vulnerable children, out of the 50 physically children the organization have selected to responsible for, as parts of our timely step to support the Free Quality Education in the country.’

“The doors of our office are always widely open for partnership with INGOs and more and I am therefore, calling on other well-wishers, philanthropists and all to donate through the organization’s Rokel Commercial Bank Account: Name & Number: Action To Heal Foundation Sierra Leone – 125502866 to help complement our efforts in providing for and fighting against vulnerable and physically children dropping out of school due to last of support Madam Zainab Mummy Tholley concludes in an interview with this medium after the donation.

 

 

Ex-Master & Registrar, Four Others in Sierra Leone ACC Net

Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala

By Alim Jalloh

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a second indictment against Stephen Yayah Mansaray, former Master and Registrar of the High Court of Sierra Leone; Richie Edwin Asgil, former Principal Accountant in the Judiciary; Adele Faya, former Account Clerk of the Judiciary; and Clarence Solomon Will, a Legal Assistant at a Law Firm in Freetown.

They are charged on various counts of Misappropriation of Public Funds, contrary to Section 36 (1); and Conspiracy to Commit a Corruption Offence, contrary to Section 128(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008, respectively.

According to the ACC, Stephen Yayah Mansaray and Richie Edwin Asgil were the signatories to the Judiciary’s Master and Registrar’s account domiciled at the Bank of Sierra Leone.

A press release by the ACC states that on diverse dates, between June 2014 and May 2018, both accused men, conspired with others to sign a number of cheques through which they authorized the withdrawal of funds from the aforementioned account for their personal benefit or for other unjustified purposes.

“Similarly, Adele Faya, former Account Clerk of the Judiciary, also instructed the encashment of various cheques from the same account, and misappropriated these monies,” the ACC release stated.

The ACC release further stated that Clarence Solomon Will, a Legal Assistant at Bah & Co., a law firm in Freetown, on diverse dates between 25th April, 2018, and 14th March, 2019, conspired with unknown persons, to misappropriate public funds by illegally facilitating the encashment of cheques from the Judiciary’s account.

“All four accused persons misappropriated the total sum of Four Hundred and Sixty Million, Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand, and Two Hundred Leones (Le460, 268,200/00) from the Judiciary’s Master & Registrar Account domiciled at the Bank of Sierra Leone,” the release stated.

All accused persons are expected to appear in the High Court holden at Freetown on Monday 30th September, 2019.

IMF Commends Sierra Leone Government Performance

By Prince Jacob Macauley

Fruitful discussions on economic developments and structural reforms help pave the way for a visit to review progress under the IMF‑supported program slated for later this year.

With good progress in reconciling the stock of domestic payment arrears, the priority will be to finalize an arrears clearance plan consistent with maintaining debt sustainability.

The 2-day workshop with authorities provided an excellent platform to exchange views and enhance economic modelling techniques.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Karen Ongley, visited Freetown during September 18 to 24, 2019, to discuss recent economic developments and progress toward structural reforms.

At the end of the visit, Ms. Ongley issued the following statement:

“We concluded a week of useful technical discussions in Freetown. Our discussions with stakeholders included an update on economic developments and engagement on the structural reform agenda ahead of the next visit to discuss the second review under the Enhanced Credit Facility (ECF) slated for later this year:

“Economic performance in the first half of 2019 has been broadly in line with projections at the time of the first review under the ECF, according to preliminary data. Budget developments and credit to the government appear to have been within target, thanks to robust revenue collection and continued, although easing, under‑spending. Gross international reserves increased to almost US $517 million at end‑June (about 3½ months of imports).

“Discussions centered on the government’s progress in developing a strategy to clear a stock of domestic arrears. The government is finalizing the reconciliation of domestic payment arrears and discussed with IMF staff possible options to clear arrears consistent with debt sustainability and supported by reforms to strengthen public financial management.

“A joint two-day workshop facilitated technical exchange. During this workshop with staff from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Bank of Sierra Leone, National Revenue Authority, Statistics Sierra Leone, and the IMF discussed empirical modelling techniques for ongoing economic research projects.

“The team also held productive discussions with senior government officials, including from the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Sierra Leone, Audit Service Sierra Leone, as well as banking sector representatives and development partners. The team thanks all counterparts for the productive discussions, excellent cooperation, and warm hospitality.

Mercury International Sierra Leone: Unmatched In Support to Education, Sports & Entertainment

Managing Director Mercury International, Martin Micheal

By Amin Kef Sesay

Mercury International, Sierra Leone’s leading Premier Sports Betting and Lottery Company’s contribution to Education, Sports, Entertainment, CSR and other humanitarian ventures are unmatched with any other in the country.

The Management of the company has always been akin to align their company’s aspirations with that of the Government and People of Sierra Leone.

They have always been around even in the most trying times of the country. From the Ebola period to that of the mudslide, Mercury has always been around to support Government and other partners in their response.

Mercury International has contributed to every facet of human endeavour since its establishment in the country.
In the sports arena, the company is a household name in supporting the country’s prestigious premier league.

The company has severally rescued the country’s national team, Leone Stars, the Sports Writers’ Association (SWASAL) and many other sporting disciplines in the country, especially with regards meeting their commitment to international competitions.

They have also been involved to get SWASAL to provide commentaries on international matches, especially away matches.
Mercury was the first company in 2014 to commit hundreds of millions of Leones to support former President Ernest Bai Koroma’s Government when the dreadful Ebola struck the country.

On the entertainment front, their footprints are also on the sands of time as they have supported several if not almost all major entertainment events hosted in the country since they started operations in the country.

Their support has not known political colours, party affiliations, regional or ethnic considerations.

They have proved beyond all reasonable doubt that their loyalty is to the people of Sierra Leone, especially their esteemed customers.
Despite their resounding support to almost all sectors in the country, they have also remained hugely compliant to the tax and labour laws of the country.

The disclaimer around the age of consent with regards accessing the ‘RED BOX’ has always been emphatic within the company’s media strategy.

Mercury has always supported strides to get the Sierra Leonean child educated.

Their massive scholarships across all levels in the country’s educational system, is also immeasurable.

Sierra Leonean people always run to Mercury International whenever they are deeply constrained.

The company has always been supportive in collaborating with other partners to rescue children in need of critical surgical operations abroad.
Mercury has remained a sustainable avenue to respond to critical situations in the country. Their offices and doors are always open to respond to critical situations in the country.

When President Bio introduced the Free Quality Education in August, 2018 Mercury International was the first to approach the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education with a proposal to invest USD1.5 million dollars towards the construction of eighty (80) classrooms.

The Management of the company while announcing the package, noted that its support for education in Sierra Leone in the past has mainly focused largely on providing scholarships for qualified Sierra Leoneans to pursue professional courses overseas and the payment of school fees for over one thousand primary, secondary, tertiary and university students every year.

Mercury International also noted that supporting education was a right step towards nation building.

The support to the Free Quality Education will involve the building of 80 single classrooms in four (4) phases of twenty (20) classrooms each.

The first phase runs through October 2018 to September, 2019.
Mercury International has also been supportive to the media in Sierra Leone.

Their footprints towards providing support to newspaper houses and radio stations to get them up and running against a very low subscription rate, is very glaring.

This is why they have remained a household name to the youth in Sierra Leone who continues to enjoy from hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in the country.

 

 

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