Minister of Information and Communication Mr. Mohamed Rado Swarray
The Minister of Information and Communication Mr. Mohamed Rado Swarray has revealed that Western countries especially the United Kingdom and Canada launched the Global Media Defence Fund last week in London to act as a solidarity financial fund to sponsor journalists who may be trapped by the laws of their respective countries presumably to muzzle the media in defence of their rights.
The minister made this statement at the usual weekly press briefing organized by the information ministry. The minister who returned home last week after attending the Global Media Defence Fund conference hosted by the Foreign Office said it saw delegates from the world-over who discussed the lamentable state journalists are living especially journalists in Asian countries which saw the death of 99 journalists world over, he said the conference was a platform for delegates to express their views with particular focus in the media in their various counties of origin and both the UK. The Canadian government kick-started the fund with a huge undisclosed amount.
Back home, the minister said the New Direction government of President Bio holds high esteem for the media as a partner in development and as such view freedom of speech as a fundamental Human Rights stipulated in the Rule of Law. As such, he revealed that President Bio will revoke the criminal law of 1965, before the coming UK August meeting where he would be proud to report to the world the position of his government regarding the freedom of the media in Sierra Leone which has handicap its operations since 1965.
The minister however appealed to members of the Fourth Estate to be always be professional; as some strings will be attacked; as logically speaking, it is never too safe to be free.
On the 19th July, 2019 the Manager of Hawish Beauty Parlour & Saloon, Emmanuel Dawo, officially opened the facility, which is situated at Bai Bureh Road, Texaco Junction in Eastern Freetown.
Speaking at the ceremony Emmanuel Dawo that they have young talented tutors who are qualified to lecture students on cosmetology, adding that his staff at the well-furnished Hawish Beauty Parlour have a wealth of experienced to handle any type of Hair Style. Services provided in the facility are Medicure, pedicure and all types of hair styles.
He disclosed that the salon is placed in an easily accessible area and can be reached by anyone. With space to accommodate over 50 students at a time and latest equipment to enhance training in their respective fields, plus fully air-conditioned room, customers as well as students will enjoy an atmosphere of tranquility and a touch of class and excellence. They intend to admit interested students on a first come first serve basis, with an important criterion being the ability to read and write. He added that they intend to expand the structure in order to admit more students.
Hawanatu Sesay, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), in an interview with this writer said that opening a school of cosmetology in Sierra Leone had always been her dream and a way of giving back to society and empowering young girls in Sierra Leone
She maintained that she had promised to return to Sierra Leone after several years of work in the field of cosmetology in the USA, adding that the knowledge, skills, and experience she had gained, will not be limited to her, but will be taught to other young sierra Leoneans so as to empower them and make them self-reliant. The school will be run at a cost affordable to all aspiring candidates.
Sierra Leonean born and US based medical student, Khadijah Kamara last week empowered school going girls in four government schools in the Western Area namely: Government Model Secondary School, E B Williams Municipal School, Dr. S M Broderick Municipal School and the Fatarahman Municipal School, with lectures on reproductive care and distributed sanitary pads to them.
In an exclusive interview with this writer, Khadija Kamara said that her aim is to see that the girl child is always in school, adding that menstruation should not keep them away from classes. This monthly experience by all women of child bearing age is not a bad even in their lives, but rather is an indication that they are healthy and can produce children.
She encouraged the girls to handle the sanitary pads with care, intimating that the supply will last them for 4 years and also save them money, which would otherwise have been ploughed into the purchase of those items. She further warned them against sharing these items with family members in their respective homes.
Madam Khadija Kamara further disclosed that she has been engaged in this venture in other schools, especially among deprived communities like the Kroo Bay. There she provided school going materials, sanitary pads and other items.
On the need for the education of the girl child, Madam Kamara pointed out that if a girl is educated she will help to bring change to her community. She stressed the importance of girls to know how to ake care of themselves. She expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Health and school authorities for the assistance given to her in the distribution of the items and warned the girls to avoid sex and concentrate on their school work.
The Deputy Publicity Secretary of the All People’s Congress (APC) party, Mr. Sidi Yaya Tunis in a reported T.V. interview said that the constitutional review team of the party will soon make public the new APC constitution.
He added that this has been the bane of disagreement amidst protests and condemnation of the National Reform Movement (NRM) within the APC which sees the selection clause adopted by the party in major representations has brought more division within the party then harmony amongst comrades. The secretary revealed that one entry in the former constitution which brought a lot of debate amongst the party’s hierarchy was the selection clause of which the election clause will now be adopted at requires and national elations of their party heads. Meaning, delegates at a national level will now host candidates contesting for various positions with confidence that no directives will come from to above to nullify and change it to selection as usual.
NRM authorities say they are concern with references made by Tunis over the position of chairman EBK in which he gave an example of the dominant role former President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana and former President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria in their respective parties.
NRM added that Tunis, by saying ‘if you are a time loyalist of a political party and have no intention of being a supreme leader, you can give up your position by equally going to an election and let others have a say.’
NRM further said that franchise of delegates to have a democratic consideration over votes of their choice is all what they have been longing for. NRM also stated that the Publicity Secretary should know that the NRM would not make an apology to anyone, and mentioned that once their conditions of protests are clearly defined in their pending constitution.
President Julius Maada Bio has and his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta
President Julius Maada Bio has met with his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta at the State House in Nairobi to discuss issues bordering on tourism and trade.
At the meeting between President Kenyatta and President Bio, the two leaders discussed ways of promoting tourism and boosting trade between Kenya and Sierra Leone.
President Kenyatta commended his Sierra Leone counterpart, who was in Kenya together with his family for vacation, for choosing Kenya as a holiday destination.
The Kenya President encouraged other African leaders to pick Kenya as holiday destination of choice saying the country has a well-developed tourism and hospitality sector with so much to offer its visitors.
The two leaders agreed that time had come for the continent to join hands to improve intra-Africa trade so as to augment the continent’s economic bargaining power at the global arena.
President Kenyatta invited President Bio for a State visit so that the two countries could explore more areas of cooperation to boost their economic and people-to-people ties.
At the meeting with acting President Vyapoory of Mauritius who was in Kenya for the 21st COMESA International Trade Fair and High Level Business Summit, President Kenyatta praised the enhanced bilateral ties between Kenya and Mauritius.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction that implementation of the agreements signed between Kenya and Mauritius to boost trade and other areas of cooperation including tourism was progressing well.
The agreements were signed in April when President Kenyatta was in Mauritius for a State visit.
President Vyapoory commended Kenya for hosting a successful COMESA summit saying such meetings help in consolidating the region’s economic fortunes.
NASSIT has ended a three-day retreat for management, Board of Trustees and the Investment Committee. The retreat took place at the Golden Tulip Kimbima Essential Hotel from Thursday, 18th to Saturday, 20th July, 2019.
The three-day event was designed to apprise members of the Board on the various activities of the Trust, particularly its current investment portfolio.
Speaking to the participants, the Director General welcomed them to the retreat, saying that it is very pivotal to the very existence of the Trust.
According to him, the retreat laid a platform to school new entrants into the governance structure of the Trust, especially the Board Investment Committee members, and the Trustees’ role as supervisors that superintend the affairs of the Trust.
Mr. Mohamed F. Daboh went on to say that the retreat would hope to review the current investment portfolio of the Trust for proper monitoring and implementation.
The Director General drew the attention of members to Section 7 of the NASSIT Act (Act No. 5 of July 2001) which empowers NASSIT to invest surplus funds to complement benefit payment.
According him, there are critical provisions of the Section which give guidelines as to how the Trust’s investment portfolio should be carried out. He said Management would lead members into the issues that they would be challenged with as a Committee in the dispensation of their duty and to also inform new entrants about the entire portfolio of the Trust’s investment in other to enable they make sound judgement in their future deliberations. He concluded by registering his Management’s commitment to support the decision of the Board and to cooperate in the execution of the mandate of the Act.
On his part, the Chairman Board of Trustees, Prof. Joseph Lawrence Kamara joined the Director General in welcoming members to the retreat. He used the opportunity to congratulate the Investment Committee members on their appointment as it was the first time he was meeting them.
He expressed his gratitude to the Committee for the zest and zeal they had demonstrated in the short time of their appointment. He called on them to be faithful and committed to their national call as the future of the scheme rests on the decision of the Board. Presentations and discussion will be made in the next two days of the retreat.
It could be recalled that a Sierra Leonean woman, Memunatu Warne who was founder and principal of LICCSAL Business College in Freetown, was killed on September 6th 2018.
She was 46 years and a mother of two and she was due to fly home after a family visit in Woolwhich, London when her home was lit by arsons.
Two men have now been sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, 19 July having previously being found guilty for their role in the death of 46-year-old Memunatu Warne.
She was visiting family in Woolwich when the convicts set fire to her front door in a drug dealers’ row – on the day she was due to fly home.
William (Billy) Smith, 26, of no fixed address was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 32 years for murder; 12 years each for two counts of GBH, to run concurrently; and five years for perverting the course of justice, also to run concurrently.
Elliott Robinson, 22, of no fixed address, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 31 years and 12 years each for two counts of GBH, to run concurrently.
The court had previously heard how Mrs Warne, who lived in Sierra Leone, was visiting her cousins at their home in Woolwich.
She was due to travel home on 6 September 2018, but never made that journey.
In the early hours of the morning on that same day, a fire erupted at her cousins’ home in Centurion Square on Berber Parade.
That fire was deliberately started with petrol from outside, at the front door of her home. Mrs Warne was sleeping downstairs and alerted the family to the fire.
Both her cousins, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s, who were sleeping upstairs tried to reach her, but the smoke was too thick. They had to jump from an upstairs window and suffered serious injuries as a result.
The fire spread quickly from the front and upwards, and thick black smoke soon filled the house. Despite emergency services attending the scene they were unable to save Mrs Warne. Her body was found in the front bedroom on the first floor.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that she had died from inhalation of fumes from the fire.
Police were called to the fire at 1.30am and officers quickly realised they were dealing with a deliberate arson.
The fire was started by someone who had arrived and left Centurion Square, as the pillion passenger on a motorbike. Witnesses saw him get back onto the motorbike, and saw the bike speed off out of the square.
Homicide detectives began an immediate investigation. As a result of extensive enquires they discovered that the fire was probably organised by Smith. The motive for the attack appears to have been a drugs dispute with a family member of Mrs Warne’s cousins.
However all those who were caught up in the fire were completely innocent of any criminality.
Smith was arrested on 30 October 2018 in Dartford after running onto the railway track to try to avoid arrest. As he did so he threw away a false passport that he had been using.
The person who set the fire was believed to be Elliott Robinson.
Robinson was arrested on 2 November 2018 in a chicken shop on Kimmeridge Road in Mottingham.
Detective Chief Inspector John Massey, from Specialist Crime, said: “Smith and Robinson planned and carried out deliberate arson that took the life of a wholly innocent woman.
“The motive was probably a drugs dispute, but their wanton viciousness led to Mrs Warne’s tragic death.
“I am glad that these two reckless criminals have been brought to account and they now begin lengthy prison sentences for their actions.”
Four men who had been charged with murder and arson – Kurtis Freeman age 21, Matthew John, age 20, Kye Kendall, age 19, and Martin McCardle, age 29 – were all acquitted during the trial.
Sierra Leone’s leading mobile operator Africell has informed the general public to insure their lives with Africell. The company has further informed the general public that it has a whole range of promotions and arrangements that are of benefit to its subscribers.
The latest intervention by Africell towards its contributions to complement government in improving the standard of education in line with the free quality education programme initiated by President Bio. In line with the above, Africell will be hosting free coding boot camp for one hundred and eighty (180) students from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in August 2019.
Confirming the news to this medium over the weekend, the head of Afri Radio, John Konteh said the objective of the exercise is to bring together students who are currently excelling in Mathematics, Statistics and other related subjects. He said they are also targeting students who are interested in pursuing a career in computer programming.
Mr. Konteh said the Africell Coding Boot Camp will consist of two weeks intensive training exercise for the students that will finally meet the set criteria. He pointed out that candidates who will be making through the Desk screening will further undergo a one to one interview before the final selection of 180 students, 60 each from Primary to Secondary and Tertiary Institutions across the country will be selected.
He disclosed that customers can access the application form from any Africell Customer Care outlet nationwide or register on their website www.africell.sl.
He added that July 31st is the closing date for receipt of all applications and called on students to make good use of the opportunity Africell is offering.
This is not the first time Africell is coming to the aid of students. It could be recalled that in April this year, Africell donated over ten thousand Mathematical sets to pupils across the country that sat the 2019 National Primary School Examination (NPSE).
According to recent research on the viability and sustainability of oil marketing companies in Sierra Leone, it was found that the operations of the National Petroleum – Sierra Leone is the most viable and sustainable; apart from it being an internationally approved service deliverer.
The research included tests on the standard and quality of the National Petroleum-SL products which customers say they have never had cause to grumble about.
It should be noted that customer care is one key element to the success of the National Petroleum Sierra Leone (NP-SL).
Another most important feature of NP-SL is its smart cards which customers can use to make transactions very easy and convenient.
The public’s recognition of the invaluable contributions of NP both to its numerous customers across the country and to national development has seen it bag meritorious awards from different national and international organisations.
NP is a company worth its salt and the company has received many awards; the latest being: “Best Company of the Year” that was received on 6th July 2019 during the National Business Award 2018/2019 held in Sierra Leone at the prestigious Bintumani Hotel.
Being Sierra Leone’s leading and longest serving oil marketing company, the National Petroleum (NP) SL Limited continues to weather the storm gallantly as it endeavours to give optimum satisfaction to millions of customers across the country. NP-SL is also well anchored in neighbouring Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast and The Gambia where it operates as a truly multinational Sierra Leone company.
Since its establishment, NP has been meaningfully contributing to economic growth through payment of taxes and rolling out meaningful interventions in the discharge of Corporate Social Responsibility that are transforming lives and improving communities.
The company always ensures that petroleum products are always available, thereby preventing shortages that could create shocks in many quarters. The level of confidence which overseas business partners have reposed in the company has made it possible for it to enter into payment agreements thereby keeping the demand and supply chain open and running.
The company has gained international reputation for offering a variety of managerial and technical jobs to Sierra Leoneans and other individuals throughout the countries it operates.
NP-SL by giving preference to employing Sierra Leoneans is a clear indication that it adheres to the country’s Local Content Policy. Utilizing local talents make it possible for indigenes to acquire useful knowledge and skills through training courses that could be applicable in other places.
In addition, the company sells the best cooking gas that is available in hundreds of outlets across the country, thereby contributing to creating cleaner environments, thus aiding the work of EPA.
In this digital age, moving away from the traditional way of transacting business has now become the norm. As such, NP introduced the use of smart cards with which customers can procure any quantity of petroleum products easily.
On Saturday 20th July 2019, Monarch Beverages officially launched “Planet Beverages” in Sierra Leone at their head office on Percival Street in Freetown.
The launch came after a big partnership with the organizers of the Miss Fourah Bay College 2019.
Speaking at the event, Adeyemi Paul, Communications Director of Planet Beverages disclosed that Monarch Beverages has been in existence since 1919 in Atlanta Georgia, United States of America adding that Monarch Beverages is a diversified, international beverage company operating in over 50 countries and offering over 200 products spanning traditional carbonated soft drinks and new age categories such as Reaktor energy drinks, Planet Orange, Planet Cocktail, Planet Red mix, Planet Bubble Up Lemon, Planet Bubble Up Tonic, Planet American Cola and Planet Mango etc.
He said that over its 30- year’s history, the American Cole brand has grown from a premium quality cola to many highly customized flavors. The one constant factor has been that American Cole beverages offer excellent taste and superior value to customers.
He went further to say planet brand encompasses a premium quality of cola and an ever increasing list of innovative flavors. The brand was initially developed for the South African market but has found a loyal following in other countries like Sierra Leone.
Adeyemi Paul said that Reaktor energy is a classic energy drink packaged in PET bottles for more affordability and practicality (resalable). Reaktor energy’s packaging was specifically adapted for PET in order to deliver value: efficient & top notch ingredients, great taste, attractive packaging, and more content at a price accessible to everyone.
He ended by saying planet beverages are here to stay and they are ready to give their support to any other event as a way of fulfilling the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility.
Jacob Mansaray, organizer Miss Fourah Bay College 2019, thanked Planet Beverages for their partnership, sponsorship during their event which he said was not only important but timely adding that this partnership is just a start as they have big events to partner with them.
Mansaray, on behalf of the Miss FBC team, presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the entire Management of Planet Beverages Sierra Leone for their partnership.
He called on other companies to copy the footprints of Planet Beverages adding that they will continue to work in unison.
