During four years, the Premier League became almost dead as a result of misunderstandings among key stakeholders, leaving the bulk of football fans to turn attention to watching European leagues. However, things recently took a different and dramatic dimension when the game was once more resuscitated, brought to life to the delight of majority of the citizenry.
The Sierra Leone Premier League Board was given the sole mandate to ensure that the national league is properly constituted and managed to ensure it turns out to be a success story. Under the capable and astute leadership of its Chairman, the charismatic Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, the league gained vibrancy as the Premier League Board successful put all the necessary modalities in place to kick start the first phase of the league with support from the SLPP led- Government headed by President Julius Maada Bio and other stakeholders.
Thirteen teams, coming from Freetown and the Provinces, actively participated in the first phase of the competition, which by all estimation was truly interesting and well organised with little skirmishes.
Surprisingly, the League quickly drew a lot of interest from Sierra Leoneans who regularly turned out in large numbers to render support to their favourite teams depicting that many people in this country are very fond of watching football matches.
The first rounds of the League commenced from the 27th January 2019 and ended on the 10th April 2019.
According to Chairman Saffa Abdulai the resuscitation of the Premier league has helped in providing sources of earning income for many young people who hitherto were idle and prone to get involved in committing certain offences. “As a matter of fact we were informed by the Police that the crime rate has reduced drastically because most of our young people have turned their attention to the league,” he highlighted.
Saffa Abdulai has been widely praised for his accomplishment at the end of the first rounds simply because the following figures show cumulative proceeds for all seventy-eight (78) matches played by 13 teams across the country.
During that first phase the following were achieved:
Tickets sold amounted to
Le: 2, 568,300,00

Expenditure Le: 316,171,200

Net sales Le: 2,252,128,800

Clubs 80% Le: 1,801,715,040

SLFA 10% Le: 226,629,800

District FA’s 5% Le: 113,314,890

PLB 5% Le: 113,314,890

What also has been applauded is how the Board exhibited accountability through the display of proceeds generated from matches played which shows a high sense of patriotism on the part of the Chairman.

“We continue to encourage all host teams to immediately provide information to the Board as to proceeds generated during matches,” he enjoined.
He disclosed that the second rounds of the league will commence on the 1st of May 2019 and they will ensure that it becomes super well organized and very much interesting.

The Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire in close collaboration with Africell, the leading GSM operator in the country has on Tuesday 16th April 2019 presented cheques of One Hundred Million Leones to Kenchine Palmar winner of the 2019 Salone Housemate TV Reality show, Fifty Million Leones to Monica who won the second position. The two institutions also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Media Evangelism Drama Ministry from Nigeria.
Speaking during the event, Dr. Duramani Ezikel Lakoh Managing Director AYV Media Empire congratulated the 22 housemates. “It was a very long journey that started with over 1,500 young people and now here you are. Our objective was not only to make money, but we also created the platform for young people to excel and expand. “We have signed various MOUs and implemented them not to make money but rather want to build the reputation of our institution and bring up a social enterprise in Sierra Leone to empower young people,” he further disclosed.
He stated that AYV is a hub of young talented people underscoring that they have been airing different live programs live including one of which was Housemates Salone.
“Converging here today to sign another MOU with MEDM should not come as a big surprise because it is the dream and aspiration of the CEO Ambassador Antony Junior Navo to continue with the empowerment,”
In his brief address, Ambassador Antony Junior Navo welcomed the stars from Nigeria and Ghana and congratulated the Management of AYV and Africell as well as Sierra Leoneans for the just concluded Housemates Salone Show. “When I started the AYV I told Sierra Leoneans that I will use my little resource to help develop this country in my own way especially in the direction of empowering the youth. I took a loan 1.2 Million from GT Bank and today I am proud to say AYV has employed over 500 staff nationwide,” he stated furthering how they have signed over 200 MOUs and the latest one is with the BBC.
According to him the MOU will enable the Media Evangelism Drama Ministry from Nigeria benefit from their facilities and Infrastructure as well as airing of t 52 drama series assuring them that they will get the best from them. Ambassador Navo however called on all to put their differences aside and work in the best interest of the nation so it can become the Singapore of Africa.
Making his statement Africell’s Managing Director, Shady Jarjudia, said the Housemate s Salone 2019 Reality TV show was project for Africell and AYV disclosing that it was very challenging to meet with the demand of the public, especially in the technical area, making sure that becomes interesting. He informed how they have now started to work on the next coming event for move improvement.
He stated that Africell is committed to give back to this nation and we are ready to work with everyone.
He thanked Sierra Leoneans for the confidence reposed in the two institutions.
Pastor John, CEO Media Evangelism Drama Production said they are highly motivated to work with AYV and the people of this country. He disclosed that the 52 drama series concept will be around Rape, sexual violence, and violence against women and youth empowerment.
“I am a reformer of the movie industry. I have done that in Gabon and Togo and I hope to do the same here,” he said with pride.
Zack Orji said he was very much happy to be part of the historic event Housemates Salone which according to him has helped change the narrative of the entertainment industry in Sierra Leone. The 52 drama series concept will be around Rape, sexual violence, and violence against women and youth empowerment.
Zack however encouraged the former housemates to make use of the opportunity offered to them by AYV and Africell.
Emmanuel Ayalogu is a Film Producer , Director and Marketer in both Nigeria and Ghana. He congratulated AYV and Africell for being part of development in the country hailing what AYV is doing for the rebranding of the country saying it is a land of courageous and brave people even though it went through War, Ebola, Mudslide but you still you are still strong.
He however encouraged the Media Evangelism Drama Production to include some of the Housemates to be part of the project.

On Saturday 13th April 2019, Children Assurance Program, an advocacy organization that was established in order to promote education in the Jui community opened a community library and resource centre.
Speaking during the launching ceremony, the Executive Director of CHILDREN ASSURANCE PROGRAM SIERRA LEONE (CAP-SL), Baimba O Sheriff, disclosed that the organization was born out of the vision to promote education within the community.
The launching of the library in the Jui community is a stepping stone in achieving this vision, he said. He further disclosed that the library is not only going to benefit the Jui community but also Hastings, Kossoh town and Grafton communities and will promote education. Sheriff added that their focus is to complement the free quality education of the President and government of Sierra Leone. He disclosed that CAP-SL is self-sponsored with help from well-meaning people both within and outside the country.
He concluded by saying that the facilities will promote the skills and expertise of young people and ensures that the library will enhance their reading ability.
Abubakarr, a representative of CAP-SL in the diaspora, also spoke on the activities of CAP-SL in the diaspora. He said that the organization is not only going to stop at the Jui community, but will help other communities with such facilities. According to him, the library is not only the project they are planning to implement, they are also looking forward to work on other projects like providing Milla Water Tanks etc.
Mohamed Dukuray, Supervisor of schools, Western Area Rural District in the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) thanked CAP-SL for the great gesture, adding that material things have clouded our vision effectively taking away the country’s glory as ‘the Athens of West Africa’. He also spoke about sustainability, which he said is the very key to development. He encouraged CAP-SL to ensure that the project is sustainable and called on parents present to ensure that they encourage their kids to make good use of the facilities.
He said that as a Ministry they will ensure that they support them with library books, especially when supplying library books to other libraries within the country. He said that most kids are engaged in negative things, because there is no platform for them where they can engage themselves on any meaningful endeavour, but with this library in the community, a change for the better is expected.
Councillor Santigie Sesay of Ward 382 and chairman for Education Committee Western Area Rural District Council, who represented the Council, said they are committed to complement the efforts and dream of other people including CAP-SL because they believe in the empowerment of young people through education.
Elaborating on the importance of the library in the Jui community, he said that as a council they are devoted to the realization of the dream of the President. As a Council with little resources, he added, they have renovated a school at the Adonkia community.
He concluded by emphasising on the importance of library and called on the community to make good use of the facilities and thanked the organization for the gesture.
Mr. Abdul Bah, National President of Sella Development for Education and Progress (SEDEP) also thanked CAP-SL for the gesture and called on the community to see it as their property. He also called on humanitarian organisations to support the project. In that respect; he donated one hundred dollars. Mr. Alimu Jalloh also donated 10 bags of cement to pave the frontage of the library and called on others to give their support towards the sustainability of the library.

A delegation of potential investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in Sierra Leone as part of a fact finding mission.
The delegation headed by the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs, Sultan Al Shamsi, has been holding talks with government officials, including President Julius Maada Bio. A statement from the Presidency in Freetown said the visit was a follow-up to President Bio’s visit to the Gulf State last month.
In March President Bio led a delegation of Government Ministers on a state visit and held talks with officials, including the Emir, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A State House release quoted President Bio as saying that his meeting with the Emir resulted to the visit.
“When we last visited the UAE in search of investment opportunities, Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE assured me that he would send a delegation to Sierra Leone for this said purpose. I didn’t expect it to happen so soon,” Bio said, noting that Sierra Leone was looking for credible investors who would explore the many opportunities of the country through their various interests and assured of their protection.
Chief Minister Professor David Francis also told the delegation that Sierra Leone is an emerging destination of choice for Africa and other developed countries, noting that under the leadership of President Bio the Government would ensure that all investors and their investments were protected.
According to Al Shamsi, key areas of interest for his delegation were agriculture, education, energy, health, women’s empowerment through job creation and the empowerment of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“It is very promising and important coming here to Sierra Leone to partner with the Government and find ways the two countries can make investment better. One thing that is important and fundamental here is the commitment by the Government to protect investors and their
investments,” he said.

Sierra Leone on Thursday 12th April 2019 bade farewell to 160 troops which departed Freetown on Sunday, April 14, for Somalia.
The men and women constitute the second contingent of the reform peacekeeping operation system since Sierra Leone began participating in international peacekeeping, officials said.
Superintendent John Tumbay, Head of the Department of Peacekeeping at the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), said until now the country had been sending individual police officers in peacekeeping operations.
He said the new system now means they will be deploying ‘Formed Police Unit,’ which comprises a contingent of armed personnel with medical units, including nurses and doctors and the use of armoured vehicles.
Sierra Leonean police officers are currently deployed in three security hotspots: 22 in Darfur as part of the United Nations and African Union Hybrid Operation – UNAMID; 12 in South Sudan under UNMISS; and a total of 192 officers, including 33 individual officers in Somalia under the African Union mission called AMISOM.
The new contingent which is set to depart this Sunday will be replacing the 159 troops who are expected back home on April 17, after serving a year in the restive Horn of Africa country.

A veteran Nollywood actor and former Chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Mr. Zack Orji and Emma Oyilogu paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swarray at his Youyi Building office in Freetown.
The purpose of the visit according to the Director of Next Movie Star, Sierra Leone Limited (NMS) Mr. Mohamed James Kamara is to enhance the campaign and awareness raising effort of government through movie on the eradication of rape and sexual violence against girls and women in the country.
Welcoming the film stars on behalf of Government and the people of Sierra Leone the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swarray underscored the long-standing bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and the Federal Republic of Nigeria paying tribute for the numerous assistances rendered by Nigeria in the good and bad times of the country’s history including the civil war, Ebola and Mud-slide among other issues. The support to Sierra Leone by the veteran Nollywood Film Stars will serve as a platform for mentoring and coaching of the numerous Sierra Leonean talents in the film industry. This will create an enabling environment for them to realize their full potentials, he added.
The Minister assured the veteran Nollywood film stars of his Ministry’s fullest support to their shooting venture in Sierra Leone.
According to Mr. Zack Orji, they are in Sierra Leone to work with the Next Movie Star, Sierra Leone Limited (NMS) to produce a 52 Episodic Movie – ‘Who You Are’ a serial movie to enhance the campaign against poetic justice, sexual assault and to protect women and girls from being raped.
Present were the Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Solomon Jamiru Esq; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Augustine S. Sheku and other officers from the Ministry.

On April 10, 2019, a grand ceremony was held in Xiamen to mark the delivery of 50 Golden Dragon buses to Sierra Leone. The 50 buses, including 15 units of 7-meter city buses, 25 units of 8-meter city buses and 10 units of 9-meter city buses, are equipped with advanced technologies and more customized features, fully meeting the local operation requirements.
Sadiq Silla, Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation, Paul Tucker, Deputy General Manager of Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation, Huang Chun, President of Fujian Automobile Industry Group, Qiu Zhixiang, King Long Moror Group, Peng Dongqing, Xiamen Golden Dragon Van Co., Ltd., together with a number of other distinguished guests witnessed the historic ceremony.
According to Golden Dragon, it signed a sales agreement of 200 buses with Sierra Leone in Xiamen in late August, 2018, just a few days before China-Africa Cooperation Forum.
After the delivery of the first batch of 50 buses, the rest of 150 units Golden Dragon buses will soon be delivered to the country for operation. After their arrival in Sierra Leone, they will be put into operation in Freetown.
Powered by diesel engines, the 50 Golden Dragon buses are equipped with advanced transmission gearboxes and front and rear axles. During the designing and manufacturing process, the bus maker took Freetown’s road and weather conditions into full consideration, such as optimizing the vehicles’ structures, increasing their chassis height, improving their anti-corrosive performance, etc.
In addition, a number of travel amenities are available on board, providing more travel comforts for passengers.
To ensure the smooth operation of all Golden Dragon buses, the bus maker will send a team of service engineers to Sierra Leone to provide training sessions and after-sales services for the local bus operator.

Sunday 14th April, 2019 was the grand finale of the most-watched and talked about Housemates Sierra Leone 2019 TV Reality Show organized by Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire and Sierra Leone’s biggest telecom provider Africell. The event which was held at the prestigious Bintumani Hotel conference hall was graced by eminent personalities including the First Lady Fatima Bio, actors from Nigeria, Ghana and elsewhere among many other personalities.
At the end of the exciting episode full of celebration, stage performance, drama and lots more, Kenchine Palmer and Monica Yeani Ghaliwa emerged the last standing couple of Housemates S/Leone 2019.
Kenchine Palmer was crowned the winner with 26.29% of the votes cast, while Monica Yeani Ghaliwa scored 22.81% to emerge second. Ibrahim Shehab got 21.15%, Dylis George 13.73%, Suad Kamara 9.66%, and Henry Fornah 6.35%.
Housemates Salone is without dispute the most watched television reality show ever in the history of Sierra Leone as it generated millions of fans from across the world. The show was staged with the purpose of unearthing youthful potentials in a process of learning and also empowering them through entertainment.
Kenchine who is nicknamed ‘Dizzy West’ is popularly known for being a rapper which he demonstrated two years ago on the AYV Cypher Uncensored, representing Team One Heart Nation. He is also from the streets and at an early stage in his life he lost both parents. But regardless of the unfortunate situation he kept pushing for greener pastures.
Monica was presented with a cheque of Le50,000,000 as runner-up of Housemates Sierra Leone.
All the Housemates did their best individually to capture the attention of members of the public to get their votes but only one has emerged the lucky winner.
The organizers of the 2019 Housemates Salone Contest, Africa Young Voices (AYV) Empire and Africell have both made their mark in staging such a spectacular TV Reality show. Both have once more demonstrated the strong commitment to provide a platform to unlock and tap the potentials of young talents across the country.
Ambassador Anthony Navo Junior, Chief Executive Officer of AYV is held in high esteem for continuing to raise the bar high for youth from all walks of life. Incontestably, he is an icon in his own right which is why he continues to bag prestigious awards in and out of the country.
Africell, the leading telecommunication company in the country has been supporting youthful initiatives and is poised to continue in that direction.

In his brief remarks, Ambassador Navo told his massive audience that without any doubt AYV and Africell delivered the biggest reality TV show in the country’s history. He said: ‘It is about bringing people together in the spirit of a united Sierra Leone and it is also about engaging and empowering role models.’

DHL has launched an e-commerce app called DHL Africa eShop for global retailers to sell goods to Africa’s consumer markets.
The platform went live recently and brings more than 200 U.S. and U.K. retailers — from Neiman Marcus to Carters — online in 11 African markets: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Malawi, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
DHL Africa eShop will operate using start-up Mall for Africa.com’s white label service, Link Commerce. Payment methods will include local fintech options, such as Nigeria’s Paga and Kenya’s M-Pesa.
The announcement comes as e-commerce in Africa has seen some ups and downs — with online sales start-up Jumia announcing an IPO, while several Africa digital retail ventures have recently faltered.
DHL Africa eShop takes advantage of the shipping giant’s existing delivery structure on the continent, able to get goods to doorsteps near and far through its DHL Express shipping, tracking and courier service.
DHL’s partner for the new app, Mall for Africa, has experience collaborating with DHL and a number of big-name retailers, including Macy’s and Best Buy. Backed by Helios Investment Partners, MFA was founded in 2011 to solve challenges global consumer goods companies face when entering Africa.
Mall for Africa’s payment and delivery system serves as a digital broker and logistics manager for U.S. retailers that come online with the start-up to sell their goods to African consumers.
DHL has been a Mall for Africa logistics partner since 2015, and in 2018, the two teamed up to launch MarketPlaceAfrica.com — an e-commerce site for select African artisans to sell their goods in any of DHL’s 220 delivery countries.
For DHL Africa eShop, Mall for Africa’s Link Commerce service will facilitate local payments, procurement and delivery, Mall for Africa CEO Chris Folayan said.
“That’s what our service does. It takes care of that whole ecosystem to enable global e-commerce to exist, no matter what country you’re in,” he added.
In a statement, DHL Express CEO for Sub-Saharan Africa referred to the DHL Africa eShop app as something that “provides convenience, speed, and access to connect African consumers with exciting brands.” The DHL Africa app is also intended to fill a commercial void, according to DHL, as many U.S. and U.K. retailers do not ship to Africa.
E-commerce ventures, particularly in Nigeria, have captured the attention of VC investors looking to tap into Africa’s growing consumer markets. McKinsey & Company projects consumer spending on the continent to reach $2.1 trillion by 2025, with African e-commerce accounting for up to 10 percent of retail sales.
As mentioned, Africa’s e-commerce startup landscape has seen its own ups and downs. Pan-African e-commerce start-up Jumia’s recent IPO filing on the NYSE is a first for any start-up from Africa. Mall for Africa has also continued to expand into new countries, now operating in 17, with partners, such as DHL.
On the flip side, the distressed acquisition of Nigerian e-commerce hopeful Konga.com, backed by roughly $100 million in VC, created losses for investors. And in late 2018, Nigerian online sales platform DealDey shut down.
On a B2C level, DHL Africa eShop brings distinct advantages on a transaction cost basis (i.e. the cost of delivery) given it is connected to one of the world’s logistics masters, DHL.
Another component of DHL and Mall for Africa’s partnership is the market for offering e-commerce fulfilment services through Mall for Africa’s white label Link Commerce service.
This could put the duo on a footing to compete with (or work with) big e-commerce names entering Africa and adds another layer of competition with Jumia, which offers its own fulfilment services vertical in Africa.
As for the big global names, Alibaba has talked about Africa expansion, but for the moment has not entered in full.
Amazon offers limited e-commerce sales on the continent, but more notably, has started offering AWS services in Africa.
It could certainly serve as a new player in African e-commerce phase 2.0, now that the sector has shaken out some failures, produced an IPO and drawn the attention of big global names.