The Sick Pikin Project Sends 4 Children to India for Specialized Treatments

August 29, 2022

By Mary Kabay

The Sick Pikin Project convened a Press Conference at the Caritas National Office on the 26th August 2022 with the objective of updating the general public about four children it has facilitated for their travelling to India to get specialized medical treatment.

Alice M. Johnson, a staff of The Sick Pikin Project, intimated the audience that four (4) children, alongside their parents, will be traveling to India on the 28^th August 2022 for medical treatment adding that three of them are suffering from heart-related complications and the other with an intestine problem.

She also took the audience through the successes and challenges they have being facing since inception of the project.

Founder and Lead Campaigner of The Sick Pikin Project, Ishmael Alfred Charles, also gave an update of the project since it commenced.

He informed how the Project was established exclusively for charitable and humanitarian purpose, helping poor and sick children by raising money through campaigns and street begging to help them go through needed surgeries in order to make them healthy and strong again.

“The main aim is to cater for sick children within the ages from 0-16 years whose parents are challenged financially and cannot afford to pay the medical bills for their children,” he disclosed maintaining that they deal with children that are having severe medical conditions that cannot be treated here in Sierra Leone and few minor conditions that are treated here in Sierra Leone but from extremely poor families.

He continued that since the inception of the project, it has helped over one hundred and fourteen (114) children intimating how majority of the children are sent to India, and few to Spain and Italy for different surgeries that are delicate highlighting that for those that are not delicate, their surgeries are done in Senegal and here in Sierra Leone.

He continued to explain that the project is a not for profit that has 99% direct cost and that its funds generated from donors, street begging campaigns, monthly donations, the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and its donation boxes that are placed at banks and supermarkets in Freetown.

According to him they deal with various health issues such as Congenital Heart Diseases, Hydrocephalus, imperforated anus, Hodgkin Lymphedema etc.

Dilating on some of the challenges faced he said they have lost recently 2 of their beneficiaries of which they regret to announce because it is not their joy to lose any one.

Ishmael Alfred Charles informed those present that they will be sending four children to New Delhi in India for treatment. He named Mohamed Aloha Tan, a child with two holes in the heart, David Patrick Henry having been sick for 9 years suffering from dropping urine, Nyakeh Charley with a hole in the heart and Baby Yema with three holes in the heart as the children that will depart for India on the 28^th August,2022.

The parents of the beneficiaries thanked the Almighty for giving their children a second chance to live through The Sick Pikin project and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation through the Government of Sierra Leone for sponsoring their children to live happily.

After explaining what they have being through since birth of their children they expressed strong beliefs that God will surely see them through the journey they are about to embark on and provide healing for their children.

NP-SL Epitomizes Fine Entrepreneurial Skills & Selflessness

August 29, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

NP-Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is a very successful petroleum-selling entity that assiduously continues to ascend the slippery ladder within the economic landscape of this country.

The meteoric rise of NP should not come as any big surprise to anyone as it epitomizes the crystallization of determination, hard work and sheer entrepreneurial skills on the part of Sierra Leoneans who formed the company and the capable managerial teams that have been steering the affairs of a 100% indigenously owned outfit. Its continuous ascendancy is indeed a clear manifestation of dogged commitment by all those who are associated with it to succeed.

If there is any one outstanding feature which makes the company quickly identifiable then that could be its innate passion to give maximum care and attention to its numerous customers. The company’s Shareholders and Management do not joke with Customer Care as it is prioritized in all the company’s transactions.

This could sound very simplistic when looked at from the face value but for NP, its thorough and cautious implementation is very close to their heart and indeed such is paying fruitful dividends. Of course it really makes sense that availing customers with qualitative petroleum products, dealing with them respectfully, negotiating win-win deals will all contribute in retaining customers as well as wooing new ones.

With all amount of certainty it could be safely concluded that NP has mastered that business technique, deepening it and is working well to which many have attested.

It has been established by development specialists that proper implementation of the Local Content Policy is indeed a very important cog that should be in the wheel of the engine to thrust growth. One business entity that is strictly adhering to enhance the Local Content Policy in this country is NP.

The shareholders and Management of the company have made it a matter of policy to get in its employ indigenes and even in cases where expatriates are engaged, local members of staff are given the opportunity to understudy them so that at the end of the day they will imbibe the necessary skills to take over. This is very advantageous in the sense that it helps in providing jobs and to develop a crop of competent individuals which the country needs in its development interventions.

Cooking is an inevitable aspect of human life, whether for domestic and commercial purposes. Man depends on food for survival, individuals invest in food businesses and the like. Very mindful of the hazardous effects of depleting the environment, using traditional means of cooking, here specifically talking about making use of wood, and charcoal, the company deemed it prudent to introduce NP-Gas which is very fast to ignite, quick to perform, safe and highly convenient.

NP Gas, which is in different sizable cylinders could be accessed at the company’s filling stations and authorized dealers.

The company has high profiled customers with tight schedules who may have limited time to always wait in queues in order to purchase petroleum products. Besides, some people are not used to have huge cash in their possession but prefer using smart cards.

For these reasons, the company went the extra mile to introduce NP Smart Card which customers, those who can afford it, could use to purchase petroleum products. From what was so far gathered all the customers who are using NP Smart Card are well satisfied doing so saying it is very convenient further praising NP for rolling out that initiative.

The viability of NP could be measured by its expansionist achievements both within the country and in the West African sub-region as is evident with the opening of branches in Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia. For a hundred percent indigenously owned company to go to such a level of spreading its tentacles is actually commendable and worthy of praise.

As far as we know the branches in all those countries are doing extremely well although there are inevitable challenges which it has been surmounting.

One thing which cannot be challenged is the fact that NP, not only here in Sierra Leone but in other places where it is functioning, is greatly contributing to revenue accumulation when we think of its timely payment of taxes which Governments are using to fund various development projects.

Regardless, of all the teething challenges that stand in the way of NP, one of which is the depreciation of the Leone to the Dollar, as the company purchases petroleum products in dollars, yet still the company is navigating its way through murky economic waters.

Without mincing the truth, NP’s ascendancy is really breath-taking and highly impressive.

Rebuttal: ‘Time to Monopolize the Importation of Petroleum Products’

August 29, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

It is an indisputable fact that since the outbreak of the Russia and Ukraine war the supply of and access to petroleum products became disrupted simply because Russia is a main producer and supplier, coupled with the imposition of sanctions on Russia by the West, thereby seriously affecting smooth trading transactions. Sierra Leone, like any developing country, is feeling the crunch, evident in intermittent shortages and changes in the pump price.

In the midst of this quagmire the big question that needs to be answered in response to the expression of a view by a school of thought will be:

Is monopolizing the importation of petroleum products the way to go?

Indeed it will interest many to know that since the days of the Atlantic West African Oil Company in Sierra Leone, which was managed and operated by Paterson Zochonis in 1954, to date, there has never been a situation where any Government of Sierra Leone has been toppled as a result of the lack of petroleum products.

The article written by one of the local tabloids in this country and the references to specific Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Sierra Leone is worrying.

The writer of the said piece raises a lot of issues that should be addressed because almost all of them are incorrect. If our local institutions are to thrive, it is important that assessments made regarding them are fair and not based on assumptions.

To start with we must know that there is no country in which the Government imports petroleum commodities, not even Guinea that the writer alluded to. Countries have long relinquished that responsibility to the private sector. Why should Sierra Leone be different? To be fair with the writer, he posits some arguments on that but it is sad that he was unable to substantiate them.

A concern, he raised, is about inadequate storage facility for OMCs in Sierra Leone. This issue must never arise because, the situation at hand is one in which the total storage available is far more than the country requires, when all the existing companies are put together. So to say that there is inadequate storage facility is totally incorrect. At the moment NP alone has over 20 million US dollars worth of product available and concrete plans are in place to have fuel that will last all through this year uninterrupted. Election year 2023, all the EU, UN and other monitors coming in, who have depended on NP for fuel over the years would be looking up to the institution to make the same provision, and NP has already put strategies in place to meet that demand. NP no to Hand-to-Mot company!

To say that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in SL “lack the financial muscle to keep the downstream petroleum sector alive”, is hasty generalization. That is a serious fallacy! To misplace arguments and pretend to be articulating issues on the basis of patriotism when actually it is a facade to give another entity an edge, is not civil. No writer in this nation can currently boast of having any evidence of the financial and capital status of OMCs in Sierra Leone. If any writer is asked to provide such evidence, one is assured that the individual will be quizzical about it.

In one breath, the writer of the article is saying that the All Petroleum Products (SL) Ltd are finding it very difficult to operate because they lack resources to compete with NP (SL) Limited and Leone Oil (SL) and in another breath he is saying that these same companies; NP and Leone Oil, (two companies that are part of this same OMCs that he had said lacked financial muscle) are well placed financially than APP. So if NP and Leone Oil have the adequate financial muscle (to utilize the writer’s words inversely), why ask Government to “cancel the importation license”? You say d man get d “adequate resources”, why u want for dreb am bo?!

We should stop this unfairness and begin to work towards complementing fellow Sierra Leoneans who are doing well.

NP supports Government institutions and the people of Sierra Leone greatly by giving huge amounts of credits and also subsidizing the price of petroleum products when necessary to maintain stability in the country. When other Multinationals come and go, NP is always around to bear the storm. That is how it has been!

Asking Government to not only “bring in a company that will be solely responsible for the importation of petroleum products in SL,” but to also cancel the importation license of Sierra Leonean companies is not only inimical to the growth of our local companies, but it further begs the question of what will be the guarantee on sustainability of the approach this writer is advocating.

Multinationals have come and gone, what is the guarantee that if Sierra Leone Government monopolizes the importation of fuel the company that comes in will stay?

Sincerely, these sorts of suggestions when made without an iota of consideration of the implications of such an action is worrisome! Do we want all the investments made by Sierra Leoneans and the new facilities and technologies recently developed by especially NP (SL) to be thwarted just like that? Is that what the writer is implying? Is the writer suggesting that the hundreds of Sierra Leoneans employed by OMCs and their families go without jobs? If this Government countenance this suggestion then we finally will conclude that Salone dea far fos!

Basic Education Ministry Launches 2021 Annual School Census

August 26, 2022

By Abubakarr Harding

Madam Mari Shojo, the World Bank Senior Education Specialist has stated that Sierra Leone is the only country in Africa to have digitized the Annual School Census and commended the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education in that direction. She made that statement during the launch of the 2021 Annual School Census (ASC).

The ASC Report was launched on Wednesday 24th August 2022 at the Ministry’s Conference Hall, New England Ville Freetown.

Madam Shojo reaffirmed the World Bank’s support to data collection because the census shows mapping of where schools are located and what the challenges are, noting that the data is very important for local partners and it can be utilized globally.

While launching the ASC Report and also the application that enables the public to interact with the data, the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr Moinina David Sengeh regarded the ASC Report as something he always looks forward to especially as the Chief Innovation Officer.

“Every child counts. While access, equity and completion are the prime metrics of the Government in the FQSE program, more variables need to be monitored and tracked. Our objective is to increase the number of children getting access to school irrespective of location, disability, economic status, cultural practice, etc. building and refurbishing schools; providing teaching and learning materials and furniture; supporting school feeding in pre-primary and primary schools in 14 districts; fees/subsidies paid to schools; and the payment of examination fees for all public exams to the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Government has developed and approved the radical inclusion policy to give access to all including pregnant schoolgirls and children with disabilities,” he said.

The Director of Policy and Planning, Madam Adama Momoh, said the ASC report gives an analysis and interpretation to inform national understanding of trends in school development and enrolment growth, numeracy, retention, literacy, transition and multi-level performance.

She said this also informs the actions to support the free quality school education program in the distribution of teaching and learning materials, furniture, payment of fees/subsidies to schools, providing school feeding and the general growth path.

“This census is conducted in collaboration with professional and technical institutions with proven capacities to handle large scale data collection and processing. Statistics Sierra Leone, the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) and Local Councils played key roles in the data collection process together with the Teaching Service Commission and Civil Society Organizations to ensure credibility in the data production,” she said.

While chairing the event, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Professor Yatta Kanu regarded the ASC report as one of the most important documents coming from the Ministry, noting that it is the most referenced document by MBSSE partners.

According to her, the report is very good for a Ministry that prides itself on radical inclusion, commended the team for putting together the document.

Trend analysis of the ASC between 2018 and 2021 depicts the number of schools having increased by 13 percent from 10,747 schools in 2018 to 12,168 schools in 2021. Number of schools approved to operate as schools increased by 78 percent between 2018 and 2021 from 4,872 to 8,676 schools. Also, public schools receiving financial and material support from the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), increased by 56 percent between 2018 and 2021 from 4,387 to 6,829 schools.

Pupil’s enrolment in schools over the last four years had increased by 37 percent from 1,982,475 pupils to 3,131,440 pupils between 2018 and 2021. Girls’ enrolment in schools has continued to increase at all levels and has almost drawn parity with boys’ enrolment at the senior secondary school level.

Further, the trend of classroom registered teachers in schools between 2018 and 2021 has shown a steady regularization of teacher roll. The number of teachers in classrooms had decreased by 8 percent from 87,625 teachers in 2018 to 80,744 teachers in 2021 due to a direct policy intervention that removed ‘ghost’ teachers from the payroll. At the same time, the number of qualified teachers in schools has increased by 11 percent between 2018 and 2021 from 48,560 to 53,885. The increase in pupils’ enrolment during this period is not linear with the increment in teacher numbers leading to increasing pupils to teacher ratio and also pupils to qualified teacher ratio.

Other key findings of the 2021 ASC: a total of 12,168 schools across the country were enumerated with 3,131,440 pupils enrolled and 80,744 teachers. Out of the 12,168 schools covered in the ASC, more than two thirds of them are public schools 10,124 (83.3%) compared to private schools 2,044 (16.7%). More than half of the schools (7,429) in Sierra Leone, accounting for 61.0% are primary schools, followed by pre-primary schools 1,984 (16.3%), 1,931 Junior Secondary Schools (15.7%) and 824 Senior Secondary schools (6.7%).

Kingho Provides Cash & Farming inputs to Women in Operational Communities

August 26, 2022

By Abubakar Harding

Kingho Mining Company Limited (a subsidiary of Leone Rock Metal Group) through its CDAP project has for the second consecutive raining season launched a full-swing agriculture project to support women farmers in its operational areas. This comes at the time when the communities are undergoing the planting rainy season, an act which has been warmly received by many in the operational communities.

It must be recalled that one of the fundamental pillars of the Community Development Action Plan (CDAP) Projects of the company is geared toward supporting women in agricultural production in the operational communities of Simiria, Dansogoia and Sambaia chiefdoms in Tonkolili District, Northern Province of Sierra Leone.

The Community Affairs team of Kingho Mining Company handed over to the women cash and also items for farming and even goats for animal husbandry. The women were very happy to receive the items and promised to cooperate with Kingho Mining Company and to fully engage in agriculture.

The uniqueness of the 2022 women in agriculture project is that the relocated communities of Foria, Wondugu and Ferengbeya are treated as a separate entity. Hence, they are given their own quota of cash donation.

It is worth noting that Women in Agriculture Project is Kingho Mining Company’s adherence to the content of the CDAP which was approved by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Also worth noting is that the projects in all three chiefdoms were identified by the community themselves to help the women boost their livelihood and sustenance.

In another development, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Kingho Mining Company has undertaken the rehabilitation of the Kemedugu- Sasakala road in Dansogoia Chiefdom. The project seeks to create a safe and road-friendly means of transportation for residents of the remote ends of the mining concession communities. It is also geared toward showcasing that Kingho Mining Company is socially responsible to the general well-being of people in its mining areas.

PPRC Chairman Calls on Political Parties to Fully Participate in Voter Registration Process

August 26, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

In order to make use of their inalienable right to exercise the franchise, the Chairman of the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) Abdulai Masiyambay Bangurah on Wednesday 24th August 2022 admonished the leadership of the seventeen Registered Political Parties in Sierra Leone to engage in robust sensitization on the importance of the 2022 voter registration process.

In his statement during the launching of the 2022 voter registration exercise, the Chairman informed the gathering that the Commission with funds from the Government of Sierra Leone intends to deploy the membership of the All Political Parties Youth Association (APPYA) and the All Political Parties Women’s Association to also encourage Sierra Leoneans of voting age to come out from the 3rd of September to the 4^th of October 2022 to be registered by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL). This he says will contribute enormously to making the process inclusive and transparent.

He advised Political Parties not to engage in any form of campaigning during the exercise as the ECSL is yet to declare the start of the campaign.

He concluded that the Commission will continue its collaboration with the ECSL and that the Commission will also lend its support to the activities of the ECSL.

IMC’s Caution to the Media Well In Place

August 26, 2022

By Ranger

In response to the incendiary messages spread over the media that was said to have inspired the August 10 protesters, the Independent Media Commission deemed it fit to summon publishers, editors and broadcast station managers to an advisory meeting.

This was on the understanding that the media has a very important influence on the public by providing either reliable or tilted information about issues and events.

The Media’s power lies in its ability to shape public opinion. In which regard, it plays a very significant role in political matters. However, some segments of the country’s media stand accused of engaging in sensational reporting and spreading of inflammatory hate messages, as well as making prejudiced presentation of sensitive issues.

The media in this respect has not been entirely impartial and objective in informing the public.

Certain issues are made to look a certain way to influence public opinion. Many people who get their information from that source are so influenced. With particularly the unregulated social media, some people maliciously and deliberately misrepresent news and the fact. Such bias distorts the truth and interferes with the reader, listener or viewer’s ability to truly understand the event or story or view presented by the reporter. In terms of politics, the media is a powerful tool reaching a large number of people.

As such, the media’s true role is to enable democracy through the creation of a well informed citizenry and enlightened voters resulting in more legitimate, accountable Government.

Internal Affairs Ministry Gives Deadline for Identification of Civilian Corpses

August 26, 2022

By Amin Kef (Ranger)

In a Press Statement dated 24th August 2022 and put out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the caption, “Identification of Corpse by Family Members at the Connaught Hospital Mortuary who Lost their lives during the August 10 Riot” it was stated that further to a release dated 19 August 2022, regarding the identification of corpses of civilians at the Connaught hospital mortuary, who lost their lives during the August 10 insurrection, the Ministry wishes to inform designated family members or relatives to contact the following numbers: 076200088 or 076640812, in order to schedule a date and time for the identification of the said deceased persons.

It also stated that the deadline for the above said identification will be on Monday 29 August 2022, at 5:00p.m maintaining that this latest Press Statement supersedes the earlier release

2023 Voter Registration Launched by the ECSL

August 26, 2022

By Abubakarr Harding

The voter registration exercise has been launched by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone on the 24th August 2022 at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown attracting Government Ministers, Members of Parliament, Political Parties Representatives and members of the diplomatic community. The voter registration process will start on the 3^rd September, 2022 and will end on the 3^rd October,2022.

Chairman of the launching program, Dr. Julius Spenser, underscored that voter registration is very important in any electioneering process maintaining how it is a civic responsibility.

Dr. Spenser informed that since 1996 Sierra Leone has conducted five (5) elections that have been accepted as fair noting that citizens should express their will in the ballot box while urging NEC to give the opportunity to people to participate in the process.

The Director General of the National Telecommunications Commission, Daniel Kaitibi stated that the Commission is pleased to partner with ECSL disclosing how they have engaged telecommunications service providers to provide support in sending out information on the registration processes.

Chairman of the Political Parties Registration Commission, Abdulai Masiyambay Bangurah said they will continue to collaborate with ECSL for a smooth election process and called on Political Parties to participate fully in the process.

He reminded political parties that the Electoral Commission has not declared campaign open and should be mindful of that in order to play the game by the rules.

The UNDP Resident Representative said that he was pleased to witness the voter registration launch adding that over the years, Sierra Leoneans have participated in the smooth handing over of power from one Government to another adding that voter registration is the foundation to any successful election further urging that the process must be inclusive by leaving no one behind.

Jacob Jusu Saffa, the Chief Minister, reminded the gathering that months ago, President Bio formally announced June 24 next year as election day in the Republic of Sierra Leone furthering that Government is committed to its responsibility of giving ECSL the required support needed.

He disclosed that Government takes the EU Election Observers recommendations seriously and encouraged Sierra Leoneans to be law abiding in order to ensure that the Electoral Commission carries out its responsibilities.

The Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, speaking at the launch of the voter registration said that registration is very important for citizens adding that his Commission believes in partnership and collaboration with other institutions.

“Today marks a significant day in our electoral circle and since the proclamation of the election date the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone has been working,” he stated.

He expressed delight in the manner the Commission is moving to get the electoral process right stressing how the Commission has a constitutional mandate to register eligible voters and those who will be 18 years old by the 24th June, 2023.

The Chief Electoral Commissioner disclosed that the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone has opened over three thousand centers, recruited ward coordinators and registration staff.

He also informed that the Commission is working with the security sector for a peaceful registration while urging Sierra Leoneans to go out and register.

IMDev& Breakthrough Action Organize One-Day Rabies Sensitization Orientation

August 26, 2022

By Abubakarr Harding

In an effort to deal with the health risk of contracting rabies as a result of the growing number of stray dogs in the country, the Initiatives for Media Development (IMDev), in collaboration with Breakthrough Action, and with funding from US Aid, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, held a one-day orientation for journalists on rabies awareness campaign at the EOC Building at Cockrill Headquarters on Wilkinson Road in Freetown.

According to the Founder and Executive Director of the Initiatives for Media Development, Yeama Sarah Thompson, the orientation is geared towards equipping journalists with the knowledge they need to properly inform the public about the rabies virus, its prevention and how to treat it if a dog bite results into contracting the virus.

She said since journalists are the custodians of information, health professionals cannot function without them because they have limited capabilities for disseminating information.

Yeama called on journalists to assist in educating the public about the threat of rabies or dog bites anticipating that by choosing to devote time for public service announcements, media outlets will create the circumstances for enhancing population health.

According to Fatima Bockarie of Breakthrough Action, it is a countrywide campaign which for the time being is primarily targeting students/pupils, teachers/Lecturers, market women, little traders, farmers, health professionals, office workers, chiefs, Imams, Pastors, women’s representative, youth leaders, Traditional Authorities, Council members and local residents in the Western Area Urban and Rural regions.

The following are the main behaviors that the campaign is trying to promote, according to Fatima Bockarie: Dogs should not be disturbed, especially when they are resting, feeding, or with their young, in order to prevent dog attacks, to be cautious while approaching or entering a home where a dog is present, to avoid dogs who are acting strangely or who appear unwell, and get assistance from an animal health professional, a community health worker or Call 117, that if you are bitten by a dog, you should immediately wash the bite with soap and water 20 times or for at least 15 minutes, next is to head straight for the hospital.

The Programs Officer of Breakthrough Action, John Idrissa Koroma, said over 400 dog bite incidents were recorded nationwide which he said indicates the importance of the issue and the necessity to concentrate on it for the sake of the nation’s health.

He claimed that by exposing journalists to these behaviors, they will be better able to report on some of the problems related to rabies and dog bites as the campaign advances.

One of the facilitators, Mohamed Conteh, said rabies is a fatal illness and it is real claiming many lives but has not received much attention from the general public.

He said it is endemic, contagious and lethal which is spread to humans through the saliva of infected dogs and causes insanity and convulsions.

According to research, rabies claims the lives of about 210,000 individuals each year, making it one of the leading causes of human death worldwide. This equates to three fatalities for every 100,000 people each year.