A notable public figure who has held various positions in the past, Kawusu Kebbay, formerly attached at DACO, Ministry of Finance and now Director of Planning, Ministry of Economic & Development Planning, has been clearly exposed over his direct involvement in the purchase of twenty ambulances on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone in Dubai in August 2014 at a time when the deadly Ebola scourge was consuming a huge chunk of lives indiscriminately.
During that period it could be recalled that, Mr. Kawusu Kebbay was formerly reassigned to the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Ministry of Health, together with Alpha Umaru Jalloh to manage the day-to-day operations of the Ebola response program.
The then Minister of Finance, Dr. Kaifala Marah, and Minister of Health and Sanitation, Madam Miatta Kargbo, selected Mr. Kebbay to travel to Dubai and negotiate with two companies-Uniworld Trading Services and Kingdom Security Logistics- for the subsequent purchase of ten ambulances.
This medium is privy documents to ascertain that Mr. Kebbay had indeed travelled out of Sierra Leone between the 18th and 22nd August,2014 and negotiated for 20 ambulances.
The documents contain that Mr. Kebbay was so desperate that, upon his arrival in Dubai, he single handedly negotiated for 20 ambulances instead of the 10 that was agreed upon by the Ministry before his departure to Dubai.
He stated in one of his correspondences dated 18th August,2014 to other concerned Ministry officials in Sierra Leone at the time, that his negotiations for the twenty ambulances had succeeded in securing over USD50,000 for Sierra Leone.
It also became apparent that, due to the arrangements Mr. Kebbay already made with the two suppliers, after meeting with them in Dubai as stated in his correspondence, the then Minister of Health, Miatta Kargbo, had to wire a part payment of USD 708,000 to UNIWORLD Trading Services via the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank.
Even though the contract terms had provided for twenty ambulances only sixteen were supplied to the Government of Sierra Leone.

On the 14th February 2019 the final eviction of 20 out of 40 contestants that were shortlisted took place at the Atlantic Hotel in the West End of Freetown starting at 7:00 pm. The atmosphere was charged with emotion, suspense was created by the announcer and the contestants were noticeable nervous. However, there was fanfare, full of fun with an audience drawn from people from different backgrounds depicting a truly entertainment ambience.
After the usual statements and entertainment performances, the bomb was finally dropped, with rippling effects here and there when the announcer started calling the names of the contestants who have failed to make it in the Housemates Salone 2019 TV Reality Show. Nearly all of the unfortunate losers burst into tears, bodily shaking manifesting that it was indeed a nightmarish moment in their lives. After receiving Le1 million Leones each provided by AYV and other consolation prizes offered by Africell they were paired according to the number of votes they had inter alia scored and systematically evicted from the competition some reluctantly not wanting to budge.
For those who were fortunate to emerge successful it was all cheers, smiles, wishes of good luck and thumps up, some cat walking and dancing all the way. It was rumoured that they will be later blindfolded and taken away to the Big Brother House with the intension of them not knowing the location of the House.

From henceforth these 20 Housemates, who will be in the House for six weeks, are expected to exceptionally exhibit and display their God-given talents in a number of ways, including nudity, humour, interaction, creativity, how to cope with stress etc,in order to convince members of the public here and in the Diaspora to vote for them via an Africell Number or the internet.

How they are going to be performing, which will be aired live on AYV Television Channel 34 on a daily basis, for the public to vote will definitely determine those Housemates who will stay in the House when the elimination period starts and those that will be periodically evicted until the competition reaches its climax leading to the ultimate winner who will then bag the covetous prize of One Hundred Million Leones (Le 100,000,000).
Many entertainment fans have really commended the Africa Young Voices and Africell for organizing such a TV Reality Show which has been taking place in countries like Nigeria and South Africa for a couple of years now. In this first of its kind show in this country there will be 10 male and 10 female Housemates battling it out.
According to what was stated at the Atlantic wHotel by those who made short statements the primary focus and objective of the organizers of this TV Reality Show, first of its kind in this country, it is geared towards fostering or enhancing Youth Empowerment, and provide the platform for young people to showcase what they can do naturally as well as uniquely.

To show how serious and dedicated the organizers, AYV and Africell, are to thrill the public both at home and abroad the country- wide, the previous country-wide held auditions were so well planned and executed by reputable personalities who served as Judges to such an extent that there was no single complaint of manipulation, intimidation or favouritism . Those auditions were rather lively and very interesting as some of the contestants thrilled viewers out of the funny ways the participants responded to questions posed to them by the Judges; some out of ignorance, nervousness and others comically. Other competitors displayed brilliance by responding intelligently to the questions they were asked.
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Indisputably, Sierra Leoneans in-country and overseas, are definitely going to stay glued to AYV Channel 34 to watch the six weeks series of performances by the Housemates and they will definitely be excited to vote via the Africell.

It is important to reiterate that Big Brother is highly competitive and is an elimination contest with the determinant factor having to do with the number of votes that a particular Housemate pulls. However, for each day a housemate stays in the House he or she is entitled to the sum of One Hundred Thousand Leones (Le100, 000).

It is obvious that in the finally analysis the successful winner will be expected to serve as a role model in society who could champion a project to improve an aspect of the standard of living of young people in the country and may even serve as an entertainment ambassador to represent the country in such social competitions overseas.

The Housemates Salone TV Reality Show is now in full gear , though the tempo is slowly developing ,however it will reach crescendo, as the weeks roll . It is all going to be packed with suspense, fun, tense moments, display of creativity, humour and natural instincts. Sierra Leone is really trying to catch up with modern trends and is steadily making progress though the challenges are daunting. Thanks to the African Young Voices and Africell, ICAN TV .The one million dollar question now on the lips of Sierra Leoneans is who is going to be the lucky Housemate to meritoriously clinch the mouth-watering Le100, 000,000 after one month two weeks stay in the Big Brother House.
Wishing a successful Housemate Salone!

The Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th February 2019 held a refresher program of all stakeholders and welcomed new members to its group. Present at the meeting were the Deputy Minister of Heath and Sanitation Dr.Anthony Sandy , the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Health Hon. Moses Baimba Jorkie, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Hon. Francis Kaisamba and other stakeholders, including CSOs.
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, Executive Director of FOCUS 100 and Chairman of the CCM said that malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS are major killer diseases which have the tendencies to reverse the gains of Government. He stressed on the effects of malaria on the working population and how it will impact negatively on the development strides of the Government. Global fund, he went on, is designed to support Government to fight the 3 diseases, which affect all sectors of the society. “Malaria contributes in bringing down the development of the country,” he underscored.
Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Sanitation, Hon Jorkie, in his statement said that the overall goal of the Global Fund in Sierra Leone is to scale up response to the eradication of the 3 diseases. He however recognized that the 3 diseases pose major global health threats that can cause negative impact on nations. He further disclosed that inadequate human resources, absence of facilities, poor laboratory infrastructure are the major challenges of the health system. “To achieve the goal set there is need for all hands to be on deck, including Parliament,” he went on. He pledged the support of parliament in the fight against the diseases and that they will provide advocacy, resource mobilization and community sensitization to support the fight.
Chair of the Finance Oversight Committee in Parliament, Hon. Francis Kaisamba, commended the Global Fund for their support and the Government for the counterpart funding of 5% to the Fund. He stressed that the worrying fact is the absorptive capacity for the utilization of such funds. He called for the timely presentation of applications to the Finance Ministry to facilitate early and prompt disbursement. The Committee, he pledged, will ensure timely oversight to ensure proper utilization and implementation of the projects.
Delivering the Keynote address, the Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Sandy, apologized for the absence of the Minister, whom he said was engaged in another State function and expressed appreciation to the Global Fund for their support.
“To achieve the goal set in the fight against the 3 major killer diseases, there is the need for team work, as it is the only way to achieve the desired result,” he suggested. He hoped for specific proposals for the achievement of the goal set. He added that the Government is committed to fight these diseases as demonstrated by its financial support. He hoped for a fruitful deliberation to address all bottlenecks.
In an exclusive interview with this medium Dr. Jalloh maintained that the Global Fund is geared towards the fight against Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. Thus it offers funds to countries where the diseases are prevalent. For this process to come to reality, Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) should be put in place. The Global Fund does not have offices in any country across the world and through the CCM, mobilizes resources and ensure effective implementation. His organization ensures that all funds sent to fight the 3 diseases, are used judiciously and for the intended purpose.
All stakeholders then went into a workshop session in their bid to identify bottlenecks and chart a way forward to make the fight against the diseases more effective.

At a Press Conference held on Thursday 14th February 2019, at its Charlotte Street Offices in Central Freetown, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) officially launched its latest product, the POS CASHBACK system. This system will avail customers the opportunity to withdraw cash from agents across the country, other than the ATM.
Speaking on the new product, Country Treasurer, Clement Yeboah, sitting in for the Managing Director said that POS means POINT OF SALE. This product, he said is “{bringing banking to your doorstep”. This process of banking, he stressed, removes the limitations of the ATM, which is mainly the problems faced with technology often rendering the server unavailable. With this new product, the customer will be able to cash money from any of the bank’s agents across the country. UBA, he stressed, is the leader in all innovative banking systems in the country.
Explaining the process involve in withdrawal of money from this system, David Musa, Head of Digital Banking, said that customers can withdraw from their accounts from agents of the bank, adding that the said agents are in all major supermarkets and hotels in the country. To access this service, customers should have a POS card which has an agreed limit between the customers and the bank. This card can then be inserted into a POS machine (a portable machine to facilitate payment) found in any of the agents’ offices. They will then select from the menu what they want to do and enter the amount of money they want to withdraw plus their Personal Identification Number (PIN). After approval by the machine, a receipt is then supplied by the machine, which should be signed by the customer and a copy given to the agent. The customer can easily walk home with whatever amount he had requested. He will therefore have no need to be in any queue or visit any ATM machine for this transaction.
Furthermore, it was disclosed that the service will be available in every part of the country where their customers operate. There does not necessarily need to be any presence of the bank for the transaction to take place. The bank is presently extending its services to other areas in the country as it gets more agents.

It could be recalled that whilst poor innocent Sierra Leoneans were dying in the hundreds every day during the Ebola outbreak, Government officials entrusted with funds for managing the emergency health crisis were playing fast and loose with the funds that were vital for containing the spread of the deadly virus.
What was amazing but deplorable to a majority of Sierra Leoneans was when the Parliamentary Accounts Committee took a lackadaisical attitude towards the adverse report on the gross mismanagement and misuse of the funds that was presented to it.
Now with the matter of misuse of funds during the reign of the former Government a subject of investigations by three judge led Commissions, the former Procurement Officer in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ibrahim Brima Swaray, the former Permanent Secretary, Sadiq Kapuwa, the Ministers at the time, Miatta Kargbo and Dr.Abu Bakarr Fofanah as well as some other Ministry officials have become the subjects of intense grueling by the Commission.
Alongside the above named to answer to, among other investigations, how ambulances were bought and Le14 billion unaccounted for are Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofanah, Madina Rahman, Dr. Bash Taqi, Alfred Palo Conteh and Kawusu Kebbie from the Ministry of Finance. Also expected to be questioned is the Ministry’s former Permanent Secretary, Sadiq Kapuwa.
Grilling of the former Procurement Officer for the Ministry of Health started on Monday and continued yesterday Tuesday relating mainly to the fraudulent overpriced purchase of ambulances to help fight the Ebola outbreak.
Evidence presented by the Office of the Attorney General is from a real time audit that was conducted between November 2014 and April 2015.
What emerged clearly from the questioning by the judge was that all the named health Ministry officials responsible for handling of funds were if not criminally culpable, grossly negligent in their monitoring roles; with the former Procurement Officer denying that he knew little or nothing about how the Ministry did procurement and issued contracts for fighting the Ebola outbreak.
In another related development at the Commissions, as the inquiry unfolded, evidence was also presented to the Commission about the fraudulent manner in which fertilizers were purchased by the Ministry of Agriculture and poorly distributed, to the disadvantage of farmers and achievement of the Government’s much vaunted quest for food security.
The State alleges that about $16 million allocated for fertilizer was mismanaged.
Meanwhile, the ACC Archivist has tendered the asset declaration forms of 338 officials that served in the former Government from 2009 to 2018 as Ministers, Deputies and Heads of MDAs.
What is gradually emerging from the evidences being presented before the Commissions is that the former APC Government is being haunted by its Parliament and Executive’s failure to follow up stringently on the adverse findings made every year by the Auditor General during their eleven years in power and failing to take the appropriate institutional and legal remedial and punitive actions that were needed to curb wastage and mismanagement of public funds and to importantly deter the greedy, selfish and unpatriotic public officials that were entrusted with those funds from continuing to mismanage and waste them willfully with impunity.
The inquiries continue and The Calabash will keep the public informed with the juiciest information from the three Commissions.

For quite a considerable period of time in this country public vehicles have been misused by those to whom they were assigned to, to such an extent that the amount of monies that are expended on these vehicles alone are so colossal which otherwise could help improve the standards of living of the vast majority of the citizenry.
In a latest disclosure the SLPP Government headed by President Julius Maada Bio has come out with a policy to address the huge spending of public funds on public vehicles. The policy, which officials say is under final review, is also billed to save millions in spending on fuel and spare parts, the Minister of Transport and Aviation, Kabineh Kallon revealed.
Mr. Kallon presided over the launching of the draft document on recently in Freetown, where he said the new policy seeks to institute discipline in the overall management of Government vehicles right across the chain, from procurement, maintenance, and allocation for disposal.
The Transport Minister intimated that in 2017 the Government spent nearly Le11billion (US$1.3million) on vehicle maintenance alone, and between Le25billion and Le30billion (overUS$3million) on fuel and lubricants alone.
“That is worrying and we cannot continue with the status quo,” he said.
The drafting of a new vehicle fleet policy came on the backdrop of debate around the lack of a proper mechanism to monitor government vehicles, which was blamed for the many vehicles thought to have gone missing in the aftermath of the 2018 political transition.
The New Direction Government accused former public officials of failing to account for official vehicles allocated to them.
According to an audit done by a Presidential Taskforce (Government Vehicle Recovery Committee) set up to take stock of such vehicles, over 4000 vehicles, out of a total of 8000, were unaccounted for.
The Chairman of that Committee, former MP Rado Yokie, said at the time that reports indicated that over 400 of the missing vehicles had been crossed over to neighboring Guinea, while over 200 were parked at unknown locations with their registration plates removed.
There were even reports of vehicles been discovered hidden in bushes, covered with grass. At least one former Cabinet Minister was indicted for converting an official vehicle into personal use. Former Deputy Works Minister, Kadijatu Sesay, was charged with converting a Toyota Jeep valued at $75,000.
Officials say the new policy provides to prevent misuse through the provision of data on government vehicles.

What seemed to be a long time coming is now just one day ahead to commence full time. How time flies! Thursday, the 14th February 2019, St Valentine’s Day, widely considered to be Lovers’ Day, is the slated day for the 40 shortlisted contestants to enter the Big Brother House but on that same day 20 will be evicted for failing to make it to the final round. Those to be evicted will be paired according to the number of votes they pulled.
The balance 20 remaining henceforth will be known as Housemates all expected to exhibit and display their God-given talents in a variety of ways as stipulated by the organizers of the competition for six weeks. How they perform will be rated by a competent panel of Judges but what will also be very unique about the whole, first of its kind TV Reality Show in Sierra Leone, is that members of the public will have the freedom to vote for their favourite Housemates via an Africell number which definitely is going to determine those to stay in the House and those that will be evicted until the competition reaches its climax leading to the ultimate winner who will bag the covetous prize of One Hundred Million Leones (Le 100,000,000). Already the stage is set and final preparations have been completed for the world to witness a tantalizing entertainment show.
Many have really acclaimed the Africa Young Voices and Africell for injecting another new episode in the country’s entertainment industry that comes in the wake of the previous successfully rated Big Sister Show. This time round it is going to be 10 male and 10 female Housemates who will battle it out.

From what this medium understood the primary focus and objective of the organizers of this TV Reality Show is to foster Youth Empowerment and provide the platform for young people to become millionaires.

To show how committed the organizers, AYV and Africell, are to thrill the public both at home and abroad the country- wide auditions were so were well organized and there was no complaint of hitches or foul-play.
By every estimation they were lively and very interesting as some of the contestants held viewers spellbound, laughing their sides out because of the funny ways they responded to questions, some out of ignorance, nervousness and others comically. Other competitors displayed brilliance by responding intelligently to the questions posed by the Judges even having a blind girl in Makeni who through the way she carried herself impressed many.

Those interesting aspects of the auditions have now whetted the appetite of fans or viewers to really see how their favourite Housemates will convincingly display their God-given talents.

Public voting via Africell Toll Number 5500, totally free, for the 20 out of the 40 shortlisted names (10 male & 10 female) to enter the House ends Wednesday 13th February 2019 at 11:59 pm.

Sierra Leoneans in-country and overseas, who will be fortunate to tune in to AYV Television are definitely going to stay glued to their TV sets to watch the six weeks series of performances by the Housemates who are expected to impressively display their natural talents in different ways to fit into the stipulated criteria that the Judges will be looking forward to in order to make their assessments.

It is important to note that Big Brother is highly competitive and is an elimination contest with the determinant factor having to do with the number of votes that a particular Housemate pulls. However, for each day a housemate stays in the House he or she is entitled to the sum of One Hundred Thousand Leones (Le100, 000).

It was further disclosed that on the same 14th February 2019 – St. Valentine’s Day the first eviction will be done and this will be the 20 unlucky aspirants out of the 40 shortlisted contestants that the public had voted for, who were unable to poll the votes to qualify. They will receive Le 1 million each and other prizes like data, phones etc. The Le20 million was set aside by the AYV, whilst the other prizes will be offered by Africell.
On Saturday 9th February 2019 a float parade was organized in which the contestants actively participated and ended at the National Stadium which was part of a seven day calendar that started on Wednesday 6th February 2019 and will end today Wednesday 13th February 2019 during which there will be a Pick up Point & Checking at 5 pm to finally enter the House.
Reiterating, the 20 who failed to poll the votes polled by the other 20 aspirants will then be evicted and handed their packages. The contestants will be paired and the first pair will be evicted based on the number of votes scooped.
The stage is now well set and expectations are running high. The big question that will be on the lips of viewers is who is going to clinch the Le100, 000,000 after one month two weeks of staying in the House.

During a formal ceremony held at the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCE&T), Congo Cross campus of the polytechnic on Saturday 9th February 2019, the Acting Principal, Dr. Philip John Kanu, stated that his administration has received positive assurances from Government that the college would soon be given a University status quoting the Chief Minister, Professor David Francis, a pronouncement he asserted has reinvigorated his administration’s commitment to do more.
He further affirmed that he would use all his contacts for the college to be transformed to a University maintaining that he believes in the students to fulfill their potentials and thanked the Chief Minister for revealing that Government is actively considering upgrading the college to a University for which they would not let him down.
The Principal also urged the students to uphold the standards and quality of the college, warned them not to attend a planned matriculation party on the same day at the beach insisting that there is no free party in the world but only a ploy to initiate them into secret societies, encouraged them to take advantage of the opportunity to learn now that Government has prioritized education underscoring that the New Direction administration is determined to provide and support human development to advance Sierra Leone.
Dr. Philip John Kanu further articulated that education unlocks the potentials of citizens, that no nation can develop without education, that with education, Sierra Leone would become a great nation again, that the college is an excellent place to acquire knowledge, pledged to do more, underscored that Government is on the trajectory of change to transform the country and acclaimed Government for his appointment.
Dr. Philip John Kanu highlighted his three priorities for the college that includes transforming the college to a University, infrastructural development underscoring that there would be no more fake grades for which he encouraged the students to study hard and that his administration is working audaciously to achieve his priorities.
Earlier in his welcome statement, the Dean of the Congo Cross campus, Engineer David M. Geggai acclaimed President Julius Maada Bio for declaring war on corruption, indiscipline and poverty that would see Sierra Leone great again asserting that Dr. Philip John Kanu is emulating the sterling example of the President to make the college great again and appealed to parents to ensure that their children are punctual in college.
Engineer David M. Geggai also commended the Chief Minister, Professor David Francis for recently revealing that Government is actively considering the transformation of the college to a University.
The Vice Principal and Director of Studies, Dr. M.A. Jalloh welcomed all the new students enlightening that the ceremony is to formally accept them into the college after taking the oath when they would be recognized as bonifide students disclosing that this year’s matriculation is exceptional due to the large number of applicants stressing that the students are the best and lucky few as a lot of applicants were unsuccessful.
Dr. M.A. Jalloh continued that matriculation ceremonies are important worldwide, that the students have fulfilled all the requirements of the college but warned them to maintain law and order, respect their colleagues and authorities, protect the college property, keep the hostels clean, avoid examination malpractices, cultism other nefarious activities and social vices concluding that the students did not make a mistake in choosing the college as they would make history and have a pleasant and memorable stay.
The Dean of the Faculty of Education, Ms. Elizabeth Taylor-Morgan administered the oath to the students while Mrs. Alima Jumu welcomed the students to the college and world of academia, reminded them to make good use of the opportunity, be studious, avoid cultism and comport themselves in and out of the college that would make the institution proud.
Highlights of the ceremony were the procession of matriculants, Deans of Faculties, Heads of Departments and Senior Administration Staff, the Acting Principal, the Vice, other dignitaries and special guests from the Methodist Girls High School to the college led by the Warden of Students and the College Marshall respectively, the oath taking and sample signing of the College Matriculation Register.
The vote of thanks was rendered by Nancy Sesay, pursuing Bachelor in Education, Public Health.

The Rokel Commercial Bank has held its 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Becceles Davies Hall on Gloucester Street in Freetown. The AGM provided an opportunity for both minority and majority shareholders of the bank to ratify new board members, consider and adopt minutes of the previous AGM and discuss the Audited Financial Statements of the bank for the years 2016 and 2017.
Throughout the deliberations, it was evident that the shareholders who were quite pleased with news that the bank is now profitable were also desirous to eat the fruits of their investments through payment of dividend and bonusses. Therefore, when some assurances of an imminent dividend payment came from no less a person than the Managing Director, Dr Walton Gilpin, nerves were calmed, and the business of the day continued with the adoption of the 2016 and 2107 financial statements. Gilpin also implored the shareholders to be patient and collaborate with bank to ensure more profitability and growth. “We are hungry for profit, we are hungry to start paying dividend…. We want to develop a bank that will go along with innovation, creativity…. we need collaboration to rise up” he averred.
Concerns raised about non-compliance to the Bank of Sierra Leone’s prudential guidelines on single and aggregate obligor lending thresholds were effectively handled by the Managing Director and the KPMG representative who both posited that such a situation no longer obtains and that the auditor’s report which referred to the anomaly would always follow international standards in reporting the financials of their clients. He assured all that the Bank will remain compliant to the country’s banking laws and is on a positive growth trajectory as evidenced by an upward trend in its profit margins in recent times.
Earlier, the Financial Secretary Sahr Jusu who is also a member of the RCBank’s Board reiterated government’s commitment to working with the bank in realizing the aspirations of the shareholders as well as the general public.
Representing the Chairman of the National Commission for Privatisation, Umaru Napoleon Koroma, the Executive Secretary, Mohamed Alie Sesay said proper management structures have been put in place to reposition the bank and make it a forward-looking institution.
Representing the minority shareholders, revered banker and business mogul, Dr Sanpha Koroma commended government over the appointment of Walton Gilpin whom he said has done extremely well to turn around the fortunes of the bank. He said he had held several negotiations with relevant stakeholders that has ensured the inclusion of three representatives into the Bank’s Board.
Rokel Commercial Bank is a state owned bank with 65% shares by the government and 35% shares owned by private citizens.