President Bio Launches the 2022-2026 National Education Sector Plan

September 12, 2022

By Abubakarr Harding

President Julius Maada Bio,on the 8^th September, 2022 launched the National Education Sector Plan 2022-2026 at the Freetown International Centre on Aberdeen under the theme, “Transforming Education for All”, noting that although transforming education is not cheap, his Government is making gains.

“I am truly elated that we are gathered here to formally present a full-bodied plan of our vision for education in Sierra Leone over the next five years…This is the fourth education sector plan developed in Sierra Leone since 2007. But this one is firmly situated within the vision we established in the New Direction manifesto for transforming education in Sierra Leone and is anchored in the work of the last four years. This one is developed by us, for us, and our national development,” he assured.

The President recalled that his Government had provided substantial funding to meet their objectives on education and used the occasion to recognize other generous interventions from the Global Partnership for Education and other development partners, including ‘Leh Wi Lan’, the World Bank and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“As I have argued, transforming education is not cheap. Providing accessible and equitable education with improved learning outcomes has not been cheap and will not get cheaper, given our aspirations. But we are confident that it is an investment worth making now to make the quality of education in Sierra Leone globally competitive.

“We already know the impact of education as a cross-cutting driver for inclusive and sustainable development. Nations that have achieved rapid and sustainable economic growth have done so by developing the most productive resource in any nation: human capital. That is why we have predicated our development agenda on delivering human capital development, free quality education, affordable and quality healthcare, and food security,” he said.

The President also emphasized that the greatest blight in any nation would be a lack of access to quality education, adding that the lack of access to quality education was the root of all the evil that could ever befall a nation.

“A nation of uncritical thinkers, a nation that cannot participate in global technological and scientific advancements, a nation that cannot develop entrepreneurship and local manufacturing or attract global investors seeking unique skills, is indeed a nation that is assured of cycles of poor living conditions and intergenerational poverty,” he stated.

President Bio made reference to the fact that his Government, since 2018, had re-established and staffed a new curriculum and research department, which had created a new Early Childhood Development curriculum, Basic and Senior Secondary curriculum, and developed learning materials between 2018 and 2022.

“We have recruited, promoted and replaced more teachers than ever before in the history of this country and there are now more female teachers and a higher proportion of female teachers than ever before. There are also more special education teachers. My Government has paid teachers more than any Government has in the history of this country. Despite financial constraints, my Government was one of the very few in the entire world to increase teacher salaries even in the middle of COVID-19.

“With partners, including the European Union, British Government, the US Government through the USDA, Qatar, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, Global Partnership in Education, the World Bank, and contributors to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, we have raised substantial funds to support our work on transforming education in Sierra Leone. There is a significant funding gap, and we are hopeful that our development partners can work with us to close that gap,” he stated.

Country Representative for UNICEF, Dr Suleiman Braimoh, on behalf of international partners and all the United Nations systems working on the education sector in Sierra Leone, said: “The National Education Sector Plan has been designed as an important accelerator for Sierra Leone’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4, targeting access to quality education and to fulfill the Government’s vision of high-quality education for all girls and boys”.

Head of Development, Irish Aid, Carol Hannon, stated that: “Sierra Leone is playing a leadership role on the global education stage through numerous avenues. Sierra Leone has also led by example in making commitments and adopting policies that aim to transform education to be more decent and gender transformative”.

Representatives from the Council of Paramount Chiefs, students, community leaders, the Sierra Leone Teachers Union, and Civil Society Organizations all made meaningful contributions on their roles to the successful implementation of the 5-year education plan.

Sierra Leone: Jamboree Consult Launches Campaign To Help News Media Go Digital

September 12, 2022

By Abubakarr Harding

Jamboree Consult, an Information Technology, and Media Marketing company is currently helping news media in Sierra Leone to harness the power of digital media. The Sierra Leone-based company has helped several newspapers and radio stations with their online presence, thereby making their contents accessible to millions of readers worldwide.

Jamboree Consult is the first to introduce live streaming for radio stations in Sierra Leone, when it live stream Radio Democracy’s “Good Morning Sierra Leone” program. It also helped the AYV Media Empire’s radio station live stream its programme for the first time.

Jamboree Consult also made history on May 29th, 2009, when it launched the first news website, www.salonejamboree.com, in Sierra Leone.

Managing Director of Jamboree Consult, Murtala Mohamed Kamara said: “in this digital era, media houses must innovate or they will be forced to die.” Kamara encourages media houses to take advantage of the immense opportunities that are available online by having online presence.”

Jamboree Consult has developed several news websites, including the regional news portal: Mano Reporters: https://manoreporters.com/ and the first arts and entertainment newspaper https://salonejambore.com/. Among a long list of other websites it has created are: https://thetimessierraleone.com/, https://forumnewssl.com/, https://nightwatchsl.com/.

Jamboree Consult has also developed several e-commerce websites and websites for corporate bodies. The company has also developed websites for radio stations with live streaming capabilities, podcasting and radio garden presence.

Jamboree Consult has rolled out this campaign to develop websites for newspapers at an affordable cost. The company offers to develop websites for newspapers and radio stations for an affordable amount and on installment payment basis. Its management says the package include the domain name registration, website design, customized email addresses, setting up of social media pages like Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, as well as linking them with the website. The package also includes hands-on training on website updates and social media management.

The Independent Observer newspaper is the latest media house to benefit from the scheme. Please visit their website here: https://independentobserver-sl.com/

This promotional offer will last till the end of September 2022.

For further enquiries, contact sales@jamboreeconsult.com or Tel: +232 78 510579/99-735865.

SLEY is Set to Award Successful Youth Entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone

September 12, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

In a Press Release dated 9^th September 2022 and issued by the Project Manager of SLEY Awards, Bullz Kamara, it was stated the Organizing Committee of a respected national youthful group, the Successful Leading Entrepreneurial Youth (SLEY) Awards Group was set up in respect of the great works of active Sierra Leonean youths.

It continued that after a long-time research on successful businesses owned by Sierra Leoneans nationwide and abroad, aimed at discovering the most valuable Governmental national partners in building a peaceful nation, they have finally discovered the great qualities in Sierra Leone youths encompassing their patriotism and contributions in dedicating their personal resources to nation building, creating peaceful communities through livelihood and job opportunities made available by them to their fellow youth within their reach.

The Project Manager furthered that the SLEY Awards is targeting different districts within Sierra Leone maintaining that it is a credible award put together by successful creative serious-minded professionals from all walks of life aimed at identifying, recognizing and projecting successful youth, who have been doing tremendous work to ensure that job opportunities are been given to the youths in their communities aimed at supporting Government’s efforts at creating jobs.

He said they believe that majority of youths taking after the leaders that believe in businesses and local investments have successfully changed their communities through business ideologies by providing goods and services and making life easy for others.

“ This program is aimed at creating platforms for both the old and young entrepreneurs to meet on a common ground and see the potentials in our young successful Sierra Leonean youth and elevate their businesses through loans and partnership opportunities and more entrepreneurial knowledge that can enlarge their business networks, create more job opportunities for young people and as well standard jobs for the youths,” he stated, adding how they believe that when linked up through the program it will attract national and international investors to invest in the identified SLEY Awardees and create more job opportunities.

He pointed out that while the successful youths are being celebrated, appreciated and connected to the greater heights for doing their best at serving the nation through personal business investments, they believe more youths would love to join the trend of investing their money and time in various money-back businesses that will reduce unemployment, boost the economy, and help build a better African continent.

Bullz Kamara stated that Awards nomination and promotion are presently ongoing and open for successful young people who meet the requirements revealing how the date, venue and dress code for the event will be communicated soon saying for now they are welcoming enquiries and sponsorship.

Orange Money Launches New App Non-Orange Subscribers Can Use

September 12, 2022

By Mary Kabay

A new Orange Money App, tagged “Orange Money for all”, was launched on the 9th September 2022 at the Orange Sierra Leone Head Office in Freetown. This new app comes with amazing features that make mobile money transactions easy and comfortable.

However, it must be noted that the most innovative and astonishing aspect of the app is the ability of Non-Orange mobile customers/users to use the Orange Money platform through the app.

What this means is that people using other mobile operators sim cards, can now use the Orange Money platform without using an Orange SL sim card, through the app.

Prior to the introduction of the Orange Money App, only users or holders of Orange SL sim cards could be able to use the Orange Money platform, but with the new app, everyone can use the platform as the individual is using a valid mobile sim card of any mobile company in Sierra Leone.

The Orange Money App is now available on Play Store and Apple Store. New Orange Money users can download the app and open a new account to receive and send money and also pay bills.

Orange sim card holders can also perform more functions and benefit from other Orange Money services.

For instance, an Orange sim card holder can use the Orange Money lending service (Orange Lajor), which allows a user to borrow up to Le 700 from the platform.

An Orange sim card holder can also buy top-up and data using Orange Money. These are the limitations or facilities a Non-Orange sim card holder cannot benefit from, but they can perform any other services like sending and receiving money and pay bills.

Speaking on the importance of the app, the Orange Money Manager, David Mansaray, stated, “the app is to break the barriers between the existing Orange sim card holders and the Non-Orange sim card holders to be able to use the Orange Money platform, without swapping or changing their Sims or mobile operators.”

He further spoke on the importance of mobile money banking, which among others, are the comfort it provides doing transactions, ease of sending and receiving money, without queuing at the bank.

The Orange Money Manager also said that Orange Money now allows users to access their bank accounts to perform any transactions. Users can also receive money from abroad, through Western Union, Afro International, etc, to their Orange Money accounts.

Launching the official Orange Money App, the CEO of Orange Sierra Leone, Shekou Amadu Bah assured the public that Orange will continue to bring more innovations for their customers, including Orange Money users. “No matter which sim you’re using, you can use Orange Money with the Orange Money App,” he intimated.

Madam Alimatou Mbaye Commercial Director of Orange Sierra Leone congratulated the team and express that her team will also do their part to market the service.

The Chief Marketing Officer, Abdoulaye Dia explained that Orange believes in invention and innovation as the Orange Money team is working tirelessly to support digitalization and access to mobile money.

Head of Marketing, Strategy and Partnership, Abibatu Baxter, took the audience through the App Demo on how to access it on one’s smartphone and she explained what is required for whosoever that may want to use the App.
She started by advising the audience to first download the app and use it on any other Sim.

Explaining how it works, she recommended getting the app on one’s phone by downloading Orange Money Africa which applies for both android and I phone users.
She said by opening the app it asks for one’s number to check if one is registered or not.
According to her, it will command one to read the terms and conditions, after which it ask for details which includes full name and Identification Number, then it will send a summary of personal details been entered for confirmation and change the password from default to one an individual is comfortable of using.
Climaxing the launching was a question and answer session which was moderated by Madam Baxter and the Head of Direct Sales, Bollor T Sesay, gave the closing courtesies emphasizing that the influencers should make the message go viral.

NP’s Desire to Enhance Customers’ Satisfaction forms Part of its DNA

September 12, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

It is strongly incontestable that the leading petroleum marketing company in the country, NP-Sierra Leone Limited, is well known to stand tall within the realm of enhancing customer care by making it a key objective in its modus operandi. This is indisputable when thorough cognizance is taken of how Management is very keen in optimizing customer satisfaction in its service delivery on different fronts.

Members of staff of the company are very mindful of the fact that it is the customer that comes first and therefore needs the utmost attention always ensuring that transactions are conducted under a congenial atmosphere that result into a win-win situation. For this brilliant and managerial initiative the company has been making positive headways positioning to stand tall among other business entities in this part of the world.

With a capable and result-oriented ‘Team NP’, working collaboratively and assiduously, where even the cleaner is regarded as highly relevant there is bound to be positive outcomes and the company has mastered this by ensuring that synergy is enhanced.

One admirable quality that NP-SL Ltd possesses is working tirelessly and effectively using its contacts with oil producing countries in order to ensure that there is timely purchase and delivery of petroleum products to avoid shortages.

It goes without saying that fuel, for example, could be a political commodity in the sense that fluctuation in its price would make a Government likeable or unpopular. When the price goes up then people blame the Government for that but if it goes down it is kudos for the political administration.

Its timely importation of petroleum products has earned NP high commendations from various quarters simply because it helps to cushion unrest and other forms of disadvantageous effects one of which is increase in transport fares, increase in the prices of certain commodities. The pro-activeness of the company invariably has a direct impact on poverty reduction in variable ways.

Some who may not be aware of the fact that NP-SL Ltd is wholly owned by Sierra Leoneans vis-à-vis the visibility of the company and how it is remarkably striving could find it hard to believe that it a truly indigenous company.
However, that remains the plain truth when it is learnt that it was Sierra Leonean 35 workers formerly working for British Petroleum (BP) who pulled together their end of service benefits to purchase shares which were used to establish NP, which today is a success story of an indigenous company, having branches in various parts of the country and in other four West African countries namely Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast and The Gambia. The company’s operations right across the spectrum is contributing towards revenue generation and job creation for many.

With gas as one its marketable products it was thought wise to be producing gas cookers, popularly known as NP Gas, which could be access at their different filling stations. According to investigation conducted NP Gas is cooking-friendly, safe and long lasting. It is going at an affordable price and many are going for it.

When reference is made to Local Content, which by law is a Policy, then NP-SL Ltd stands tall within that realm as nearly all its members of staff are Sierra Leoneans thereby making use of local talents everywhere they are operating. The Local Content Policy is indeed an engine of growth and NP is making full use of it.
Without any iota of doubt NP-SL Ltd will continue to deliver value for money.

IOM Calls for More Support to ‘Migrants as Messengers”

September 12, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

The International Organization for Migration, an entity known for assisting illegal migrants to get back to their countries of origin, held a one day event at the Bintumani Hotel on the 8^th September 2022, geared towards enlightening the media about the successes and achievements of a Project it has been implementing known as ‘Migrants as Messengers’ (MaM) which will draw to a close in this month.

Speaking during the programme, the Head of IOM Sierra Leone, Christos Christodoulides, stated that believe that safe, orderly migration is beneficial to individuals and communities, this is consistent with the theme of the event, which is: “Impactful Awareness Raising for the Benefit of Young People and Communities”.

He intimated that a generation of migrants is on the move in West Africa, in the hope of finding a better life for themselves, and their families back home adding that based on figures by IOM’s flow monitoring, in 2021, an estimated 146,043 irregular migrants arrived in Europe, the majority over 112,747 by sea and 33,296 by land.

The IOM Head disclosed that a key route is the so-called Western Mediterranean Route (through Morocco and Algeria), for which Libya is an important transit country with an estimated number of 610,000 migrants in the same year.

He said while most migration in West Africa is intraregional, an increasing number of sophisticated smuggling and trafficking networks lure young people into undertaking the dangerous journey northwards and but also to the Middle East.

According to him, Sierra Leone is no exception to that trend as IOM estimate that 8,000 to 10,000 young people are leaving the country irregularly every year.

Christos Christodoulides said for some being stranded in a foreign country the option of voluntary return facilitated by IOM can be an option revealing how they have provided support to 7761 Sierra Leoneans since 2017, out of which 1474 in 2022.

Among these 7760 individuals, he continued, were protection cases 93 minors, 241 victims of trafficking and 41 persons facing serious health conditions.

He said when it comes to figures IOM has assisted nearly 50,000 migrants to voluntarily return to their country of origin in 2021.

The Head of IOM in the country maintained that Global Migration, which had decreased by approximately 27 per cent during the COVID –19 pandemic, has begun to rebound to pre-pandemic levels.

He said in 2021, IOM assisted 49,795 migrants return to their countries of origin, representing an increase of 18 per cent from the previous year.

“IOM’s doing their best to meet an increasing demand by migrants for safe and dignified returns as well as to support their reintegration into the countries of origin following the lifting of many travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic,” he pointed out.

Christos Christodoulides, said Niger, Mali and Mauritania remain the top three African countries of return to Sierra Leone in the past years and Lebanon, Kuwait and Oman for the Middle East and Germany for Europe.

He told the audience that the business of smuggling people has been going on for generations but, however, recently expanded access to mobile technology and messaging apps is making it significantly easier for smugglers to connect with and capture the attention and imagination of unemployed or underemployed youth in West Africa.

Christos Christodoulides informed that Migrants traveling along the Central Mediterranean route are vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation, might face inhumane detention practices and even risk death.

He stated that IOM country missions are regularly approached by migrants, eager to tell their stories in the hope of protecting their “brothers and sisters” from the same risks they were faced with adding that having experienced the irregular route personally, they are best positioned to describe the reality of irregular migration.

According to him, a growing body of research suggests that potential migrants are generally distrustful of information campaigns on irregular migration and that they are more likely to believe information obtained through trusted sources.

He said the project, Migrants as Messengers (MaM), addresses that distrust by encouraging youth in migration-prone communities in West Africa, including Sierra Leone, to adopt new attitudes and behaviors on migration through peer-to-peer messaging.

Christos Christodoulides said with support from the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (BZ), the first phase of Migrants as Messengers project started in November 2017 and ended in March 2019, covering three target countries: Senegal, Guinea and Nigeria.

He stated that Phase two of the project began in November 2019 with the addition of four countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and the Gambia adding that the project will close in the seven countries in September this year.

The Head of IOM in Sierra Leone said one of the concepts of MaM project is that activities should be volunteer led, to the extent possible maintaining that MaM Phase 1 showed that building up the capacity of volunteers took time and investment, and therefore the amount of skills training and capacity building was considerably increased in Phase 2.

He said the objective of the event is to share with participants the results they have achieved in Sierra Leone and want to grasp the opportunity to ‘market’ the migrants’ associations to partners to rally support for them.

“The migrants’ led-associations, Women and Girl Child against Irregular Migration (WAG-CAIM) and Advocacy Network against Irregular Migration (ANAIM) have been pivotal in helping us achieved the outcomes of the project,” he stated.

The Head of IOM in Sierra Leone said successful and sustainable peer-to-peer awareness raising requires a considerable investment in training and capacity building.

He said a wide range of relevant trainings were made available to the MaM Volunteers, taking into account the communication and technical skills required for successful awareness raising, as well as their psychosocial needs to enable them perform those tasks.

According to him, the objective of the strategy was to continue working on awareness raising and the mobilization of support for volunteers in collaborating with partners.

He said they did not assume that the problems of irregular migration and human trafficking will disappear overnight, that the associations at the center stage here are in the position expected of sound and effective organizations.

Christos Christodoulides stated that in fact, they have conducted a detailed assessment of the internal governance structures of both associations, the results of the assessment shows that significant support is still required to bring the associations to levels that will enable them to be strong and effective but said they remain optimistic and confident that such is achievable.

Concluding, he said it is important to build on the processes that they together with their partners, have set in motion. He claimed that finding durable solutions to minimize the risks of irregular migration require all to work in tandem, to mobilize resources and improve on what has already been done.

He, on behalf of the International Organization for Migration, thanked the Government of Sierra Leone for its unwavering support to the project and other interventions being put in place by their Mission.

He said the event is a speed date, in other words an opportunity for people to quickly meet a large number of people to potentially interact with in the future.

“I encourage you all to meet and discuss with the migrant volunteers to hear about the amazing work they have done and build partnerships that will help to discourage irregular migration and human trafficking and make migration safe and beneficial for all of us,” he enjoined.

Assistant Director of Youth Affairs in the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Cyrus Ngegba, commended the organization for the great work they are doing and for complementing the Ministry’s agenda for young people in the country.

He pleaded for the extension of the project as there are more young illegal immigrants out there that need help to return home further assuring them that they, as a Ministry, will put hands together with the aforementioned organization to raise the awareness on the dangers of illegal travelling.

Brima Bendu, MaM National Focal Person, IOM-SL, outlined the key activities that were undertaken under the project which included digital content creation, capacity building, community engagements, group meetings and media engagements.

The performance of skits and showing of documentaries depicted the dangers of illegal migration and the need for young people to focus on alternative livelihood engagements instead of embarking on illegal travelling.

As father dead through political intimidations, Dauda Kabia denied his return

September 12, 2022

By Karifa Thoronka

Twenty-two years old Dauda Kabia a young Sierra Leonean has vowed never to return to Sierra Leone to avoid death from political intimidations, Dauda revealed this during a phone conversations with one of his close friend who informed him that police are searching for him in the Country.

However, according to a reliable source a group of police and military officers attacked Dauda’s Dad noting that he was involved in the August riot in Freetown. They arrested four family members including Dauda for putting up resistance and took them to the station for questioning, after spending few nights at the station they was released with the condition to report every morning at the station till further notice. During this period, he travelled out of the Country thinking that he will be safe from further intimidations.

Whiles narrating the story to the press in tears, one of the close relative added that in the early hour of Friday 12 August 2023 full loaded truck of police appeared in Dauda father’s house in Freetown harassing him noting that he was part of the August 10 unrest in the Country, he later pass away through stress.

In the last six years Government officers at both the national and local levels deployed an array of tactics to intimidate and obstruct the opposition political party members noting that they are under minding the good work of the running Government.

Some relatives of Dauda Kabia think that the return of Dauda in Sierra Leone is a big risk, he might lost his life or he stays in prison forever.

Two-Day High Level Symposium on China-Africa Relations Ends

September 12, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

A high level symposium on China-Africa Relations, with the theme, “China and Africa: Past, Present and Future”, was organized by the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire from the 8^th to the 9^th September, 2022.

Held at the AYV Media Empire Conference Room on Tower Hill in Freetown, the symposium was moderated by the Samuel Wyse-Bangura, AYV’s Director of Communications and Operations and it was graced by staff of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone including the Ambassador, H.E. Hu Zhangliang, Charles Onunaiju, Director of the Centre for China Studies in Nigeria, Professor Zhang Chun, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations, Yunnan University, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr Sidie Mohamed Tunis, the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, his Deputy, Solomon Jamiru, Ambassador Anani Demuyakor from Ghana. Honorable Member of Parliament-Unpha Koroma, Abraham John-Director of Middle East and Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ,Executive Members of China-Sierra Leone Friendship Organizations, public officials and personalities from various walks of life.

In his keynote address, H.E. Ambassador Hu Zhangliang thanked AYV Media Empire for organizing the event and all for attending further maintaining that currently, the world is undergoing profound changes and still suffering from a pandemic unseen in a century.

He stated that hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, with economic globalization facing headwinds as the implementation of the UN 2030 SDG is confronted with unprecedented challenges and the future of mankind is at crossroads.

The Ambassador underscored how the international community sincerely wishes there will be lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, real multilateralism, mutual respect, open economy and enhanced representation and saying of developing countries in global affairs.

He noted that China, as the largest developing country, and Africa, as the continent with the largest number of developing countries, have long been sincere friends and have made important contributions to the building of a better world adding that under the new circumstances, China and Africa shoulder more and bigger international responsibilities.

Ambassador Hu Zhangliang traced the relationship between China and Africa to 2,000 years ago, when there were exchanges between China and Africa.

He said 600 years ago, Zheng He, a great Chinese navigator of the Ming Dynasty, led the largest fleet of that time to visit the east coast of Africa four times and contributed to the building of China-Africa friendship.

The Ambassador pointed out that in the 1950s and 1960s and later on, the Chinese Government and People provided firm support to African countries and peoples in the latter’s arduous struggle against colonial rule and strive for national independence.

He talked about how in 1971 friendly countries, including a handsome number of African countries, assisted the People’s Republic of China to restore its legitimate seat in the United Nations highlighting how Sierra Leone was one of the sponsors of the relevant UNGA resolution.

According to him, in 2000 the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established and ushered in a new stage of China-Africa relations.

He pointed out that high-level exchanges and political trust between China and Africa has been constantly enhanced revealing how the China-Africa relationship has been elevated from “a new type of partnership” to “a new type of strategic partnership” and then to “a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”.

He dilated on the impressive achievements in China-Africa cooperation since the establishment of FOCAC furthering that by 2021, direct Chinese investment stock in Africa reached US$43.4 billion, up by nearly 100 times from the year 2000.

“China-Africa trade reached US$254.2 billion, more than 20 times the size of 2000,” he stated adding that China has become Africa’s largest trading partner and the major external driving force for Africa’s economic growth for quite some years.

The Ambassador intimated that H.E. President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the development of China-Africa relations adding that he personally laid down principles guiding China’s Africa policy, which stresses sincerity, real results, amity, good faith, and pursuing the greater good and shared interests.

“President Xi leads by example together with his African counterparts in promoting the building of a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future in the era,” he stated.

He talked about the 2015 and 2018 FOCAC summits, the 2020 Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19, the November 2021 8th Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC held in Dakar adding how for 32 years consecutively, Chinese Foreign Ministers have made Africa the destination of their first visit abroad in a new year.

The Ambassador informed that China and Africa have developed and implemented series of cooperation blueprints such as the Ten Cooperation Plans, the Eight Major Initiatives and the Nine Programs for China-Africa cooperation, covering all major areas of development such as people’s livelihood, social and economic progress, innovation, environmental protection, capacity building, and peace and security etc..

He said the China-Sierra Leone relationship is the epitome of China-Africa relations.

“Over the past 51 years, through the joint efforts of our two Governments and peoples, China-Sierra Leone friendly relations have grown robustly and yielded notable results to the satisfaction and pride of both sides,” he said with pride adding that the two countries have established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Ambassador Hu Zhangliang mentioned the tangible benefits of that relationship and the similarities between the two countries

He said China and Africa should continue to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.

He mentioned that one of the prominent challenges of the China-Africa cooperation is the external interference and sabotage but said fortunately, the Governments and people of African countries know clearly who their true friends are maintaining that history and facts have repeatedly proved that regardless of international vicissitudes and other adversities, China-Africa traditional friendship remains as firm and stable as mountains.

He enjoined all to rise above any obstacle and redouble efforts to promote the China-Africa friendly cooperation to a new high.

In his statement, the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray said the relationship between China and Africa has been very mutual and beneficial over the years. He recounted the numerous supports that have been rendered so far to African countries by China adding that the Government of Sierra Leone is indeed grateful for the timely gestures offered especially during trying moments in the nation’s history underscoring that they resonate with the saying that a friend in need is a friend indeed. He assured of the Government’s continued support of the bi-lateral ties between the two countries expressing hope that the relationship will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Other speakers like Dr Sidie Mohamed Tunis, Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Charles Onunaiju, Prof. Zhang Chun, Ambassador Anani Demuyakor from Ghana. Honorable Member of Parliament-Unpha Koroma,Abraham John-Director of Middle East and Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation made salient contributions bordering on the significance of ties between China and Africa and more especially how that relationship could be well tailored to bring more benefits to the two sides.

Working Group discussions were held on, “Opportunities, Challenges & Recommendations for China and Africa Cooperation” facilitated by Rev Fr. Dr. Leonard O Bangura, Head of Political Science, FBC, on “Economy and Trade Relations” facilitated by Ibrahim Kebe, Lecturer-IPAM, on “People to People Exchange & Sustainable Development” by Alhaji Javombo, President of the Sino-Sierra Leone Alumni Association, on “Peace and Security” facilitated by Hawa Sally Samai, Executive Secretary –Peace and National Cohesion Commission.

The outcome of the group sessions were reported followed by recommendations and new ideas of enhancing a mutually beneficial relationship between China and Africa including Sierra Leone. These were then factored into the various group reports.

Ambassador Anthony Navo, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the AYV Media Empire gave the vote of thanks marking the end of the two-day conference.

“Yumvita for U Better Pikin” Project Launched

September 12, 2022

By Foday Moriba Conteh

As part of their efforts towards offering quality education and food products (Yumvita) to lactating as well as children from six months to lower primary school in the country, Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd, a food distribution company that operates as an agent for Promasidor, a leading supplier of quality food products to more than 30 African countries, including Sierra Leone has on Friday 9th September, 2022 launched the, “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project. The project was launched at the Aberdeen Women’s Centre on Aberdeen in Freetown.

In her welcome address, the Country Director of the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, Margret Aluzane, commended Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd for the launching of the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project which she described as a laudable effort towards reducing malnutrition in the country.

The Country Director encouraged lactating mothers with children from six months old and above to make good use of the opportunity.

Delivering a keynote address, the Export Manager at Promasidor Business Development, Joseph Ashong, expressed appreciation to the Aberdeen Women’s Centre for hosting the launch of the Project which he said will benefit lactating mothers as well as children across the country.

He informed the gathering that Promasidor is the leading provider of high-quality food products across various regions in Africa and that their products are affordable, delicious and good for all.

The Export Manager revealed that as of date they are feeding over 850 million Africans from 30 countries with their products.

He pointed out that as a result of poor nutrition and starvation, nearly one-third of children younger than five years suffer from stunted growth that can permanently damage cognition and overall physical health and that it is against that backdrop that Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd, as a responsible company that is into the marketing and distribution of quality food products, deemed it fit to collaborate with key stakeholders to offer the company’s contribution towards the solution of the above challenge in the country.

Joseph Ashong maintained that Yumvita is a cereal product enriched with NUTRI-V; a unique blend of 16 vitamins and minerals, to help boost immunity and healthy growth and that the cereal is available in both single portion sachets and larger economical pack sizes which are recommended for lactating mothers to give to their children above six months after 6 months exclusive breast feeding.

He encouraged all to go in for the company’s products especially the Yumvita which he said is of high quality and when consumed will help to boost immunity and healthy growth of babies.

Launching the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project, the Director of Gender Affairs at the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Charles Vandi, applauded Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd for the launch.

He said that a couple of weeks ago UNICEF supported Statistics Sierra Leone to do a child poverty analysis survey, furthering that there are many indicators that reveal child poverty, one of which he said is malnutrition.

The Director of Gender Affairs stated that the launch of the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project is a move in the right direction towards addressing the issue of malnutrition among children in the country of which he urged lactating mothers present to make good of the opportunity by giving their children Yumvita products.

He also encouraged lactating mothers to give their babies 6 months exclusive breast feeding and after which they can now give them food of which he recommend Yumvita which he said has all the nutrients for the proper growth of their babies.

Charles Vandi admonished the company to extend the kind gesture to other lactating mothers in the provinces as a way of leaving no one behind.

On behalf of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs the Director of Gender Affairs officially launched the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project.

Kadiatu Kamara, a lactating mother commended the Premium Divine Trading Limited for the launch of the product.

“At the time when my son turned 6 months I was struggling with food to give him because all of the food I have been giving him do not seem to be suitable for him but since I started giving him Yumvita it has boosted his immunity and he is growing healthy and active,” she disclosed.

She called on all lactating mothers that after 6 months of exclusive breast feeding they should give their babies Yumvita because it has all the nutrients for the proper growth of their babies.

Closing the launch was the distribution of exercise books, Yumvita T-Shirts and dry sachets of the Yumvita products to lactating mothers present at the ceremony.

“Yumvita for U Better Pikin” Project Launched

Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor Recommends Use of Biometric Registration System

September 12, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor of the Republic of Liberia is very keen on using the Biometric System of registration to be used in the electioneering period which will ultimately culminate in the . General Elections, when the President and other political officials will be elected.

In an exclusive interview with the Vice President, she intimated that as the elections are not far away she prefers the use of the Biometric registration voting saying it is the most accurate one, as thumb prints or facial recognition cannot be duplicated adding that paper work for elections that can be duplicated with a huge possibility for something to go wrong.

She maintained further that Biometric technology is very useful for ID verification in other countries including Government organizations, banks and financial institutions, and high security areas maintaining that it is capable of recognizing people swiftly, consistently, and reliably.

“ Indeed one of the main advantages associated with biometric technology is high individual identification accuracy,” she reiterated adding that biometrics relies on the use unique physical traits, such as a fingerprint, an iris pattern, or facial characteristics rendering biometric technology a very accurate technique of authenticating end users. Superior accuracy is why a lot of companies use biometrics for their security purposes.

According to her, since biometric characteristics cannot be conjectured or stolen, biometric systems present a superior level of security than usual means of authentication.

She furthered that it is less exposed to damage and sudden changes adding that the behavioral and physical elements accessed for biometric verification like iris/retina, voice, pulse, DNA, vein, etc. are less in danger to damage and sudden changes.

The Vice President stated that it is less time consuming, dependable, user friendly, hard to falsify, requires negligible training, is inexpensive and accesses distinctive recognition features of individuals resulting in accurate verification.

Vice Jewel Howard-Taylor, disclosed that she will be running again with President Weah as his running mate in the 2023 elections furthering how they have done what is humanly possible considering the two years of COVID.

According to her, like any other country Liberia has its own challenges adding that they have focused on the gains they have made, and how they would continue to make more gains as they go into the 2023 elections.

She affirmed that President Weah is the most popular President within the last fifteen (15) years also affirming that all of the young people still have hope in his ability, and how the young people are the majority in their population, and they are trying their best to cater for some of the needs that they have.

“No Government is free of challenges or criticisms, but I think President Weah is focus on the job ‘I can’, building roads, making sure our health system are improved, making sure our educational system are also improved to ensure better learning options for our children. And I think that what he is interested in doing,” Vice President Howard-Taylor said.

She said politics is dynamic and it is changing, continuing that they will continue to grow, develop and change, and how they still carry the name National Patriotic Party and it is a grass root organization and how they will continue to work for the good of the people.

She revealed that the motto of their party is “Above all Else the People” and how it is not about the few but about the many maintaining that in 2023 they will do their best to ensure President Weah get elected for the second time.

She disclosed that she has been in politics for the past twenty(20) years, stating how all her work has been on women and children, providing scholarships from the Elementary school to the University, been a spokesperson for Gender Based Violence, mentoring young and according to her it is her passion.

She pointed out that all the work she has done made her the Howard-Taylor that she is adding that she will continue to talk about issues that are important, making sure that she can input them in changing the dynamics.

The Vice President said as a Senator she worked on some laws to create a level playing field for women and children, and also laws on Sexual Gender Base Violence.

She said President Weah appointed her because of the good work she has been doing for women and children, and how they are also his heartbeat.

Howard-Taylor disclosed that they are working on a Corruption Court, continuing that the issue of corruption is prosecution, revealing how they think they need a court to handle corruption court faster.

She furthered that they have done an amendment in the Liberia Anti Corruption Bill, disclosing how they have given the Anti Corruption Commission the right to go directly to court in instances where they have enough evidence.

She maintained that the Government of the United States of America has come up with punishments for the members of Government who are indicted for corruption to be punished if found guilty.