In addition to the 757,052.80 Euros grant received for the “Beteh Lan Bok Project” in 2018, the European Union has again disbursed 777,573 EUROS grant transfers to the Administration of the Bo District Council for the year 2019.
This was disclosed to a cross section of the media practitiomers in Bo by the Chairman, Bo District Council during a press conference conveyed at the Council Hall, Falaba Section, Bo.
Chairman, Bo District Council, Joseph Munda Bindi said in his quest to ensuring fulfillment and mandates of accountability and transparency, he together with staff of the Council decided to invite members of the Press, Partners and Civil Society Organizations to update them about progress, successes and challenges faced under his leadership.
Chairman, Joseph Munda Bindi said immediately after his inauguration, knowing fully the demand driven drive of the electorates for change, they developed a theme: “Navigating Change through performance” with a result based management strategy which they are using as a model to propel the work of the Bo District Council.
He said the Bo District Council (BoDC) in partnership with Peoples Development Organization (PDO) secured another grant from the European Union to implement the project titled: “Strengthening and Consolidating Education Service Delivery and Local Governance Process in Bo District”.
The overall objective of the project is to improve local governance processes, access to education and service delivery for overall local development in Bo District.
The 777,573 Euros total cost for the Education and Service Delivery Project courtesy of the European Union he went on, is geared towards promoting education in Bo District.
Chairman, Joseph Munda Bindi averred that amid the untimely transfers of government funds, they as a Council were able to generate revenues collected for 2018 by revenue streams totaling Le 727, 499,866.00.
Chairman Bindi noted major successes scored under the activities undertaken for the “Betteh Lan Bok” which he said included award of prizes to best performing pupils in NPSE, developed a supervision inceptions and monitoring plan for the District Education Office, supported 300 vulnerable pupils in 50 project targeted schools (30 Primary and 20 JSS), on-going construction of Ansarul Islamic Primary among others.
Tracking progress under the Education and Good Governance Project in Bo District, Chairman, Joseph Munda Bindi underscored that after the kick off and official launch of the project, they are pleased to report the following: Actualization of the Baseline survey, revenue mobilization strategy popularization at District and Chiefdom levels, identification, mapping out of the revenue sources and setting up of revenue data base in Bo District, establishment and strengthening of mothers clubs in 50 school communities, support to the training of 25 untrained and unqualified teachers in project targeted schools in Bo District, weekly radio discussions and regular field monitoring of project activities.
He used the opportunity to catalogue major challenges and impediments for development which among others include: poor revenue generation, late and untimely disbursement of funds by Government, poor conditions of service for local council staff, Chairmen and Mayors.
Regional Chairman SLAJ South, Richard Lahai Ngevao lauded the move of the Bo District Council for their timely and prompt disclosure of funds received and cash expended describing it as plausible.
Parliamentary Representative for Constituency 088 in Bo City, Hon. Keikura C. Vandy lauded the Council for their open data and transparent leadership adding that he believes in the uprightness and fortitude of Chairman Joseph Munda Bindi
Similar sentiments were shared by the ACC Regional Manager, PRO Civil Society Forum, Manager, Action Aid, South among others.

PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wellington, Freetown; 1st February, 2019 – Sierra Leone Brewery Limited today announced another major step in the improvement of its facilities, in the journey of reaching state of the art status. SLBL will conduct a massive overhaul and extensive maintenance of their machines based on planned schedule, manufacturers’ recommendations and international standards. The company has employed the services of Krones, a German firm that specializes in the supply and modernization of plants, together with a large team of SLBL’s locally trained Sierra Leonean engineers, to conduct the process which aims to be completed in the first week of February.
“Maintenance and high standards are an important part of our company’s culture. The objective is to renew the packaging equipment based upon international best practice and manufacturing excellence principles. With this, the upgraded bottling line will be able to be more efficient and capable of producing more of our products with the same high international standards in the upcoming years which our revered consumers will continue to be proud of,” Daaf van Tilburg, Managing Director of Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, said.
Earlier, the brewery has been on a large scale investment programmme which started since 2015 to expand capacity, maintain high quality and ensure environmental safety which saw the investments in brand new massive Fermentation Storage Tanks (FST), waste water treatment plant, mash filter equipment, CO2 and Cooling plants and the most recent canning line introduction which is the first in Sierra Leone. These are investments into the future of Sierra Leone.
It is noted however that the temporal halt in bottled drinks production as a result of the overhaul might create a slight shortage of our bottled products in a few areas for a few days. Consequently we wish to assure you that our brand new canning packaging line that was recently commissioned is in perfect working order and stocks from the canning line will fill any shortage that may arise during this period. SLBL would like to ensure all, that both its portfolio of bottled and canned products will be freely available shortly after this overhaul.
Once the overhaul is fully completed, our bottling plant will have the refreshed capacity and efficiency to produce high quality products for the upcoming years. We will continue to distribute all of our award-winning quality products to satisfy current and future consumer demand in the country and contribute to government efforts to support and boost local investments and manufacturing, said van Tilburg, SLBL Managing Director.
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ABOUT THE COMPANY
Sierra Leone Brewery Limited planted its roots in the field of manufacturing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to consumers over 57 years ago. Our establishment has continuously expanded its product range through innovation to meet customer satisfaction at all levels. Our endeavour is to establish not just a contractual relationship with our stakeholders but to build relationships which are lasting and rewarding to the country and to contribute to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product GDP.
All our products are certified and following all the regulations as per approved local and international standards. We manufacture Star Beer, Mutzig Premium Beer, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Salone beer, Trenk Energy Drink and Maltina Non-Alcoholic. We also market Heineken Beer, Strong Bow Cider, Fayrouz malt none alcoholic drink, Royal Club range of soft drinks and Climax Energy Drink.
………………………………………………
For In-depth information kindly contact:
The Corporate Affairs Department
Sierra Leone Brewery Limited
Wellington Industrial Estate
+23276 603 185 / +23278 920 214
albert.collier@heineken.com
unisa.conteh@heineken.com

Prof. Foday Moriba Jaward, who is the Executive Chairman of the Environment Protection Agency, Sierra Leone has held discussions with officials of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in a move to establish a strong partnership between the two institutions. The meeting took place in the third regional office of the United States Environment Protection Agency in Philadelphia. The idea behind such a plausible venture was to seek international support in the area of capacity building to address some of the many challenges facing the EPA-SL.
Prof. Jaward used the occasion to make a stunning presentation on the environmental governance framework in Sierra Leone and possible areas of intervention. The Executive Chairman gave an overview of the important strides the government of Sierra Leone is making to improve on environmental protection and management in the country. Furthermore, Prof. Jaward informed his US counterparts that Sierra Leone’s environmental protection was saddled with enormous challenges and that the government of His Excellency the President, Rtd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio was working hard to ameliorate these challenges. Prof. Jaward went on to state that his institution was in dire need of staff capacity building in the form of training and equipment particularly in the area of air, water, waste management and pesticide control. He further intimated the US EPA that training materials were inadequate for which urgent attention was required. The Chairman added that further training was required on key environmental issues at the local level so that the public would be better positioned to contribute meaningfully to sound environmental management in the country. Professor Jaward further noted that, given the high rate of illiteracy in the country, environmental education and awareness would form a key priority during his tenure as head of the EPA-SL. He stated that His Excellency the President’s unwavering commitment to ensuring quality education for all Sierra Leoneans was an important step towards sustainable environmental management in Sierra Leone.
Responding to Prof. Jaward’s presentation, Mr. John Armstead of the US Environmental Protection Agency Region 3 gave an overview of the structural and legal framework of the US EPA, noting that the US EPA’s mission was to “protect public health and environment”. Mr. Armstead went on to state that the US EPA was created in 1970 and that the institution had ten regional offices across the country that mirrored its headquarters in Washington. Furthermore, Mr. John Armstead stated that the US Congress had given USEPA the authority to implement environmental laws and to provide its funding for the implementation of those laws. He further intimated the Chairman that the US-EPA worked with state governments to implement its
programmes across the United States. Mr. John Armstead added that US EPA had conducted training programmes at international level and that their focus was on programmes like waste management, air and water. Mr. John Armstead also noted that “heightening awareness without having capacity will be failure”, adding that “ there should be equal investment in public education and capacity building in the same area, so that there is a response (on the part of the public) as the awareness increases”.
An official of the US EPA Headquarters, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, Ms. Theresa Kuklinski, promised to avail the EPA-SL a “public participation toolkit” that would be very instrumental in promoting public cooperation and awareness. Ms. Theresa Kuklinski admonished the Executive Chairman to involve Peace Corp volunteers in Sierra Leone in EPA-SL projects since Peace Corps have established strong ties with local communities in the country. Ms. Theresa Kuklinski also intimated the Chairman that US EPA currently has projects in major cities in some African countries including Ethiopia and Ghana.
A partnership with such a leading environmental institution in the US would no doubt be beneficial to the EPA-SL and to the country as a whole which Prof. Jaward is poised to achieve.
Since he took over as Executive Chairman of the EPA-SL, Prof. Jaward has engaged several of our development partners including multilateral environmental agencies with a view to foster cooperation and improve Sierra Leone’s environmental landscape, a move that is germane to development and the promotion of the objectives of the New Direction.

From an in-depth investigation conducted by this medium it came out clearly that many Sierra Leoneans are eagerly looking forward to watch the forthcoming Big Brother TV reality show that will be organized by the African Young Voices alongside with Africell telecommunications company. Currently, the writing is on the wall indicating that Big Brother 2019 is going to turn out to be an intriguing social event which is going to be the first in the entertainment landscape of this country. What is notable is that free voting is steadily ongoing that will determine the successful and deserving competitors who will emerge to move to the final stage. Already 40 of these competitors have been shortlisted but after the ongoing public voting 20 comprising 10 male and 10 female will qualify to enter the House on Valentine’s Day,14 February 2019.
It is indeed worthy to note that for transparency sake, the organisers of this Big Brother TV Reality Show decided to avail the general public the opportunity to participate in the selection of the 20 contestants who should enter the House by voting through the Africell Sierra Leone TOLL FREE LINE – 5500.
It is important to note that voting, via 5500, is absolutely free.

Interestingly, despite the name, Big Brother,, there is going to be a combination of ten male and ten female contestants in the House who are expected to display their talents on a variety of issues.
Each housemate will receive Le100, 000 for every day he or she stays in the House with the exception of the winner but the criterion for staying in the House depends on the amount of votes a housemate bags.

For now housemates are encouraged to convince their fans and supporters to be in readiness to cast their votes for them if they fall in the number of the 20 housemates selected to be in the House.

The competition is going to be very captivating and interesting especially after Sierra Leoneans have enjoyed a successful Big Sister Salone and saw the handing over of the star prize to the eventual winner.

The show is another opportunity for the Africa Young Voices Media Empire (AYV), one of the organisers, to not only entertain, but to empower young people to showcase their talents and at the same time create new millionaires among Sierra Leoneans.

After the just concluded auditions, the Judges of the Housemates Salone 2019 Television Reality Show released the list of Top 40 contestants.

Here are the names of the 40 contestants already shortlisted out of which 20 will be finally selected to enter the House:.
1. Abu Turay
2. Affise Odubella
3. Alusine Kamara
4. Amina Konneh
5. Aruna Lamin
6. Bintu Kaba
7. Derick Kelvin
8. Diana Decker
9. Dwight Smith
10. Dyllis George
11. Emmanuel Coker
12. Enid Boston-Jones
13. Fatmata Sankoh
14. George Wyndham
15. Habbi Jalloh
16. Hassan Hallowell
17. Henry Fonah
18. Monica Yeani Ghaliwa
19. Ibrahim Shuhab
20. Ibrahim Sorie Barrie
21. Isata Marion Musa
22. Ishmael Mauzi
23. Jalikatu Conteh
24. Jennifer Jabba
25. Jonathan Fitz John
26. Kenchine Palmer
27. Kariatu Mansaray
28. Magdalene T Williams
29. Marvina MK Davies
30. Mohamed Alie Jalloh
31. Moriana Walker
32. Precious Kamara
33. RaIford Rollings-Bull
34. Rashid Dyfan
35. Regina B Jombo
36. Saheed Komkanda Bangura
37. Salamatu Kargbo
38. Salim Sahid Kamara
39. Sebatu Bright
40. Suad Koroma

It is the view of Prince Jacob Macauley who is regarded as one of Sierra Leone’s finest economists and programmer that the SLPP led Government under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio is on the right track in terms of enhancing economic, infrastructural, institutional and social growth in Sierra Leone.
He furthered that the Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance are doing well in trying to restore once again Sierra Leone’s credibility within the international community and in the eyes of donor partners. “I want Government to concentrate on state owned entities to boost the economy and also help reduce the Forex rate as well as to enable the Leone appreciate against the dollar and sterling,” he stated .
He argued that since 2014 the Sierra Leone economy was hit by paralysis adding that the fraudulent activities of African Minerals owners and stakeholders, major employers at the time, resulted in the London stock market relegating them to junk status. He again noted how the fall in the price of iron ore in the world market and the Ebola outbreak caused a serious shutdown strangulated the whole country’s economy.
Prince Jacob pointed out that the biggest risk facing the country’s economy is the external debt the Sierra Leone Government has incurred.
“As an economist I am still calling on the Government to look at the various contracts that were awarded by the previous Government to the Chinese Government and some Chinese companies operating in the country,” he maintained.
He said the “New Direction” free quality education, the Government’s Flagship programme introduced last year after the SLPP first four months in office, is a laudable initiative. He concluded that thorough and inclusive consultations need to be undertaken and a roadmap designed for the next ten years.

I have watched the debate among various actors on Nick Wood/Krio Borbor and his stay in Sierra Leone. The reaction of many Sierra Leoneans stemmed from the BBC Africa video of this former Mormon missionary. There might be UNRECOGNIZED elements of white supremacy in the approach of Krio Borbor, but the POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES outweigh these negative assertions. Here are the few I weaved from this conversation:

1. Krio Borbor recognizes his privilege by making himself vulnerable. In a video he shared on January 21, 2019, Krio Borbor used words with metaphors of neo-colonialism and white privilege. However, in that same video, Krio Borbor made it clear ‘he just don’t know what’ he might do to make a difference. Which means – he is not in this country with an agenda to exploit or impose his views on us. Krio Borbor might be naive to some of his white savior complexities, but he is able to recognize them with vulnerability.

2. Krio Borbor views on Sierra Leone are from a strength perspective. I have scanned through his pictures and videos; they tend to portray the positive image of our country. His posts energize people to get involved with our country in different ways. He is in NO WAY negatively appropriating our CULTURE, but selling our COUNTRY in a positive dimension. A good number of our western-based NGOs are busy showing the negative side of our country – and this man is reversing the conversation.

3. Krio Borbor has shown humility to understand our context. The guy (Krio Borbor) has taken his genuine obsession of our country on another stretch. He has learned the language, eaten our food, hang out with our people and plug into our complicated country. He has done this with a heart of humility. You can sense his love for our place, people and patterns. He is for real!!!

Krio Borbor might be struggling with elements of white privilege (which he might not recognize), but his positives surpass the negatives. He has done a good job by staying away from our politics and pop culture. He is using social and mainstream media to develop a ‘tourism brand’ for our nation. This is something we have not done well as a people. We might disagree or agree – but don’t take one thing away from the man – he loves our country.

The West Africa Logistics Solution Ltd SL (WALS) has declared bankruptcy as conditions in the mining industry deteriorate and their sole customer remains out of business operations.

WALS is a clearing company in Sierra Leone and does most of the clearing for Shandong Steel in their Tonkolili Iron Ore mining project. Shandong Steel stopped all mining operations in November 2017.

That resulted in WALS not receiving any income but continue to support their local staff for five months until the company ran out of funds. In March 2018, the board of directors of WALS decided to close their sole office at 20 Siaka Stevens Street in Freetown, Sierra Leone due to lack of funds to run the day-to-day operations of the office.

Since the company was not in operations for over a year and not generating any income, that combined with accumulating interest on debt legally secured with their financial institution the company has no option, but to file for bankruptcy liquidation.

The company will dilute all shareholders, dissolve the board and discharged all debts. WALS was one of the leading logistics company in Sierra Leone with over 60 employees. The company went above and beyond expectations to keep the business solvent.

However, a drop in the price of Iron Ore in the financial market led the shutdown of mining operations of their sole customer Shandong Steel, which had a negative and devastating effect on WALS that resulted into bankruptcy due to insolvency.

The decision by the First Lady to lead the important campaign of “hands off our girls” is a momentous one. Rape and Sexual Abuse of women and girls in Sierra Leone is now of epidemic proportion.
Only a collective effort by the Police, Doctors, Lawyers, Social Welfares Officers and the Judiciary can crush this Malady in our society.
Our laws against Sexual Offences have to be amended so that severe and maximum punishment have to be inflicted on sexual predators or miscreants that prowl our villages, towns, streets and houses, looking for victims.
Life imprisonment sentences or very long years in prison should be regularly imposed on those found guilty of these terrible offences.
The long years in prison should serve as a deterrent to possible future offenders.
Sierra Leone needs a State of the Art and Modern Forensic Laboratory. To carry out a variety of tests for blood, urine, semen and other tests related to sexual crimes.
Another major problem in Sierra Leone is that we have no Laboratory to undergo DNA Tests
A private laboratory in Freetown assists in getting “DNA TEST” sent to other African countries for such tests to be carried out. In any case Sierra Leone needs a LAB or centre where DNA tests can be carried out in the country. This LAB will greatly help investigations as quickly as possible to fast track prosecutions and eventual trial of suspects and offenders.
The Medical School should train Sierra Leoneans in modern laboratory technology and methods to tackle sexual diseases such as AIDS, sexual transmitted diseases, syphilis, hepatitis A, B, C & D and other venereal diseases.
A good and modern LAB will greatly assist in the fight against Sexual and Rape offences.
Hospitals and clinics should stop requesting for money from victims of Rape and Sexual offences. This corruption should stop now. Victims of sexual abuse should not pay a cent for medical reports from medical centres. The reports should be free and Doctors should not withhold these reports from victims. This practice should change also now.
A lot of sensitization should be done to educate and explain to some of our men that it is wrong, immoral and illegal to have sex with young girls and babies for cultural, tribal cult or ritual reasons.
These outdated myths should now be considered dead and buried; and men who rape and violate young girls for these reasons should be prosecuted and locked up for a very long time to isolate them from society at large.
Finally, we should train more pathologists or encourage those abroad to return home.
I don’t know whether we have a Sierra Leonean Venerologist to help our Doctors with specialized knowledge in venereal diseases, but this a Specialty that needs to be encouraged.
The sooner some of these reforms are addressed, the better the situation for women in Sierra Leone.

Madam Fatmata Abe-Osagie, who is the Acting General Manager of the National Tourist Board (NTB), last week updated journalists on their activities at her Head Office, Aberdeen in Freetown.
According to her tourism is the movement of people from one cultural, economic, social destination to another within the same country or from one country to another for different proposes.
She informed that they have reviewed a lot of policies within the tourism sector and the Tourism Acts to match present tourism developments and that they have a lot of activities outlined for 2019 which would soon be implemented.
She furthered that to align with the vision of the New Direction Agenda, the Ministry of Tourism, NTB and partners prepared a five-year strategic plan which contains all the activities to be implemented, assuring that Sierra Leone is ready for business.
Madam Abe-Osagie disclosed that they have done a lot of structural reviews which include tourism infrastructural reviews, marketing and re-branding, capacity and products development classification reviews.
She underscored that in the area of product development, the National Tourist Board and the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs were able to launch the Adopted Booth geared towards community development and to also promote Eco-tourism development in the country.
To ensure effective tourism in the country, she said the National Tourist Board and it supervising Ministry have done a lot of engagements with other line Ministries. “Tourism cannot stand on its own; that is why we are collaborating with all MDAs and also the private sector,” she pointed out.
She informed that in the area of environment protection, NTB, in collaboration with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), has recently launched the Smart City Campaign which aims to sensitize communities that are touristic attraction areas on the impact of climate change and what they can do to ensure that they protect the environment and how to make good use of the products they have in their communities.
She urged all hotel owners in the country to comply with the EPA Act on the protection of the environment and to also pay their EPA licences.
She noted that there has been regularization along the beaches regarding policy implementation that would bring sanity in all the beaches in the country.
Madam Abe-Osagie made it cleared that NTB is an important institution with the core mandate to promote, market and brand Sierra Leone tourism, emphasising that a lot of promotions and marketing have been made in both national and international platforms to attract more tourists to come to Sierra Leone and invest.
As part of their 2019 activities, she disclosed that the institution has linked up with huge tourism destinations like The Gambia and Kenya to make sure that Sierra Leone tourism develops, adding that they would continue to attract other tourist operators to come to Sierra Leone.
‘Sierra Leone tourism must boom,’ she noted, reiterating that Sierra Leone is ready for business, urging all to market and promote Sierra Leone’s tourism both at national and international levels.
She further called on people to invest in Eco- villages which is to promote tourism investment in the country.

Hussein and Faisal Antar, two hardworking and serious businessmen, who have been doing legal business in Sierra Leone for over 40 years, now have become the latest victims of outright calumny for no justifiable reason rather than only one bordering on outright and wicked blackmailing. These two fine gentlemen, according to thorough investigations conducted, have very good track records earning them good reputations. They have never been found wanting for any wrong doing, not even at any point in time named for involvement in shady or dubious deals and activities.
It must be highlighted that because of their outstanding performances, certain unscrupulous business rivals have gone to the extreme extent of paying or hiring some unprofessional journalists to churn out unsubstantiated stories, full of fabrications, about Hussein and Faisal Antar just to tarnish their hard-won reputations, but such a diabolical plan will surely boomerang.
Contrary to what the haters concocted or painted that Hussein and Faisal were, in the past, awarded contracts by past Governments, our fact findings confirmed and ascertained that never had such transpired. To put it simplistically, these two successful businessmen have never being awarded Government contracts, nor had they ever bid for one in the past. Rather, they have purely concentrated on their business activities. As a matter of fact, they have been paying hefty income taxes to Governments. Besides, they have provided job opportunities for Sierra Leoneans who were previously unemployed thereby paving the way for them to live improved standards of living.
It is totally erroneous and misleading to mention that these two successful personalities will face the Commissions of Inquiry for alleged corruption and siphoning of State funds during the period that the deadly Ebola virus was claiming innocent lives. It must be strongly stated that their business entity was never awarded a contract during the Ebola Outbreak. It must be reiterated that never did that transpire.
To claim that these two businessmen are using ill-gotten wealth accumulated through fraudulent means to live luxurious life styles here or in Lebanon is far, far away from the truth, a wicked fabrication. This is a calculated lie borne out of malice, jealousy and a deadly ploy to dent their image and credibility.
It is advisable that media practitioners refrain from being manipulated by ill-motivated persons to dent the personalities of credible people in society. Such is bad journalism which will be seriously frowned at. Let us be fair, objective rather than being unprofessional.
Hussein & Faisal Antar are highly respected and far above reproach. Their good image remains intact.