School Pupils of Makorbeh Village Primary School Benefit from Donation by Chinese Philanthropist

January 24, 2020

Francis Guo, celebrating his goodwill gesture with school pupils

By Abu Bakarr Kargbo

A Chinese national working in Sierra Leone, Francis Guo, who has been regarded as a kind person, recently extended a humanitarian support to school pupils of the Makorbeh Village Primary School in the Port Loko District. School pupils in classes 1 and 5 received school bags containing school materials and school fees, which serves as a major boost to their academic work. Francis Guo’s gift sparked great jubilation in the school as pupils, school authorities and parents celebrated the laudable venture, which they said came at the right time when things are extremely difficult in the poor community.

Nice sentiments were expressed by school authorities and parents for what they described as a friendly gesture. They thanked Guo for the support and asked that other Chinese nationals in the country to emulate his good example.

His donation serves as a major step to the education sector, which the Government had placed a premium on because of its importance to the development of the country. He believes that investing in education is the right step to boost development in the country.

The goodwill came at a time when the People’s Republic of China is celebrating the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. The 2020 Chinese New Year falls on January 25, Saturday, and it’s the year of Rat.

In spite of the physical distance, different cultural and historical backgrounds between China and Sierra Leone, both Chinese nationals and Sierra Leoneans enjoy the shared development concepts and goals.

The Chinese believe in giving out red envelopes as gifts to bring luck during important occasions during the Spring Festival. During the Chinese New Year, money is put inside red envelopes which are then handed out to younger generations by parents, grandparents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends. Although he did not hand over the traditional red envelop, Francis Guo’s donation was seen as a move in the right direction.

Tourism Minister & Delegation ‘Sells’ Sierra Leone in Madrid

January 24, 2020

Dr. Memunatu Pratt, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs & Delegations

By Foday Mooriba Conteh

Of late much attention has been placed in developing the Tourism sector which it has been agreed is a prime mover of the country’s economy. Indeed efforts have been made and others are still in progress to revamp a once vibrant but a now moribund sector and it is hoped that all will lead to fruitful dividends.

In less than a month’s time after the country’s Tourism sector returned from the Matka Nordic Travel Fair, Helsinki, Finland, the relentless Hon Minister has led another tourism delegation to make the second impressive appearance in FITUR: International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid.

The country’s tourism team will in the next five days market and promote Sierra Leone’s tourism potentials which objective has been positioned by erecting the third largest stand and space in the African section of the events.

The exhibition will occasion several meetings and business deals and the delegation will discuss core tips to be followed as principles and international best practices recommended by Philip Kotler, the guru in marketing.

The event is a Rift Valley Expedition which is placed as a leading Tour Operator in Spain. It enlisted Sierra Leone as one of the new lead travel destinations in Africa just last year.

The National Tourist Board in its mandate as the marketing and promotional arm of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs see the need to make this impressive appearance in Fitur Spain Markets as an indication of a proactive marketing and rebranding drive. It offers an opportunity to improving and creating more positive reviews in the generating regions.

This year’s Fitur attracted diverse trade and businesses worldwide. It will feature exhibition of goods and services of tourism and hospitality credence.

Sierra Leone is therefore poised to reach, connect, network and position and to strategically place itself as a new player on the list of new destinations to visit, endorsed by Rift Expeditions.

During the five days ahead, the team will strategically assess and interpret Key Performance Indicators (KPI) based on the previous and current events attended.

Sierra Leone’s attendance this year is to also continue the rebranding path as this is the second coming of the team. “The team will diagnose the impact created from our first entry and also measure the Spanish Markets; how best the orientation of the destination is improving, and as well note the readiness of the hubs,” says Dr. Memunatu Pratt, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.

She says the visit will also enable the team calculate the essence of the country’s participation last year. “Our Green, White and Blue flag has been lifted up among other countries of the world.” “This year’s stand happens to be the third largest stand and space in the African section, and the colours speak volume of elegance and zest that send message of vibrant cultures and hospitality, as the general promotional materials speaks volumes of readiness and pro-activeness at all times.”

It could be recalled that the Tourism marketing team, recently concluded participation in the Matka trade fair in Finland Helsinki, where Sierra Leone created immense impact in the marketing and rebrand processes of the destination to Finnish markets and Nordic States in general.

2019 Global Corruption Ranks Sierra Leone 10 Places Up

January 24, 2020

By Brima Sannoh

In a latest release, Sierra Leone is said to have progressed ten (10) places upwards in the Transparency International’s Global Corruption Ranking, moving from 129 in 2018, to 119 out of 180 countries surveyed in the 2019 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (TI-CPI). The country also increased its score from a stagnant thirty (30) points in 2016, 2017, and 2018, to thirty-three (33) in 2019, making a three (3) points gain, scoring above the sub-Saharan average of 32.

The CPI, released on Thursday 23rd January 2020, reveals that for the first time, in more than five years, Sierra Leone is ranked under 120, and the thirty three (33) points scored is the highest the country has ever achieved since its inclusion in the TI index. Sierra Leone now leads sixty one (61) countries in the global campaign against corruption, and more than 28 African countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, Kenya, among others.

This year’s report reveals that “Sub-Saharan Africa’s performance paints a bleak picture of inaction against corruption,” revealing that “a staggering number of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption.” The report also suggests that “more than two-thirds of countries – along with many of the world’s most advanced economies – are stagnating or showing signs of backsliding in their anti-corruption efforts.

The CPI is an annual survey indicator used by TI, the global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption, to assess perceived levels of public sector corruption across the world.

Within the past two years, Sierra Leone has increased its score in the ‘Control of Corruption’ Indicator in the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard, moving from forty-nine percent (49%) in 2017, to seventy-nine (79%) percent in 2019, making thirty percent (30%) upwards. By that report, Sierra Leone is among the top ten performers in our income category.

Similarly, Sierra Leone has also scored high in other global and regional anti-corruption rankings. In the Global Corruption Barometer of 2018*, the country is ranked 3rd out of thirty five (35) African Countries surveyed on “Government’s Effectiveness in the Fight against Corruption.” In the Afro-Barometer 2018, fifty four (54%) of Sierra

Leoneans agreed that the government is performing “very well” in the fight

Lawyer Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara Challenges State Counsel

January 24, 2020

By Foday Moriba Conteh

The lawyer representing former President Ernest Bai Koroma in the on-going Commission of Inquiry presided over by Justice Bankole Thompson, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara has in his final submission said that the Commission was not instituted to fight corruption but to make former President Ernest Bai Koroma a destitute.

He argued that the objective of setting up the Commission is not to fight corruption but to make former President Ernest Bai Koroma a destitute.

“This cycle of political vengeance must stop in this country,” he affirmed.

JFK, as he is popularly known, stated that the purpose of the Commission is to ban his client from holding a public office, confiscate his property and make him destitute, which he considers as vengeance justice.

He said the prosecution has addressed the Commission on the absence of his client, noting that it was the constitutional right of his client to remain silent unless if the prosecution has a strong reason for him to say something to help the investigation.

The Defence Lawyer furthered that as a law abiding citizen, his client complied with the laws of the land by submitting his asset declaration form to the Commission.

He said his client was alleged to have owned half of the property in Freetown, including every powerful building, but that the prosecution did not lead any evidence to the Commission that warrant his client to answer to any of those allegations.

He submitted that the prosecution also took no time to investigate or inform the Commission and the public about the lawfully acquired wealth of his client, noting that his client had over three billion Leones shares at RITCORP Insurance Company and thousands of United States Dollars in other companies before he took office.

He submitted that the prosecution did not investigate what his client had before he took office, but aimed to make sure that his client is ban permanently from politics, noting that his client was financially solvent at the time he took office.

“My lord, my client is not a prolific traveller or a drunkard that spends money in night clubs, but he was a prudent businessman. Now this Commission is seeking to make him destitute,” he said.

He further that the prosecution has presented no document to the Commission to show that he owns any other property rather than those in his asset declaration form and submitted that the case against his client be dismissed.

JFK noted that both witnesses the prosecution presented to testify against his client including one investigator, Dauda Kai Kai and a property valuator named Olu Campbell are incompetent, noting that the property valuator has no academic qualification.

One Christopher Olu Campbell in 2019 testified at the Commission that properties of former President Ernest Bai Koroma worth sixteen million five hundred thirty four thousand and five hundred United States Dollars (USD$16, 534,500).

Pres. Bio Promises to Expunge Dual Citizenship Law

January 24, 2020

By Melvin Tejan Mansaray

It is an established fact the prior to the 2018 Presidential and Parliament elections, political aspirants who were known to hold dual citizenship were prevented to vie for various political positions to the annoyance of many.

Regarded as the two-sim (dual citizenship law) it is a socio-politically divisive issue among ordinary and diasporan Sierra Leoneans.

During a recent Town Hall meeting with the Sierra Leonean diaspora community in the UK, Pres. Bio reiterated his commitment to get this law reviewed assuring its tabling in the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone. The President, however, underscored the need for engagements including Parliament as was done with regards repealing of Part Five of the Criminal Libel Repeal.

When a random opinion sampling was conducted among Legislators in Parliament most of them unequivocally stated that, “we are not going to approve any such proposal from the President to review this law.”

They further added that “it is only MPs who are diasporians that will support the proposed review on the dual citizenship.”

It was noticed that not more than five MPs are in support of the review process of the law.

Those Legislators who are not dual citizens say it will be foolhardy for them to approve the law also maintaining that over ninety percent of MPs in the present Parliament are there because of the law adding that to remove it means opening the doors for their own removal for people who have the resources, expertise and lots of other advantages.

At the moment, Hon. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella Leader NGC party and former UN diplomat and Hon. Wuyatta Songa representing the governing SLPP party (whose CV almost speak British) are the proponents of the citizenship law review and their colleagues say they will not entertain any such proposal from them or even the President.

According to the Public Elections Act 2012, Section 16 paragraph (a); “No person shall be registered as a voter or, having been registered as such, shall be entitled to vote at a public election if the person is – (a) a non-citizen;”

In the Sierra Leone Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2006 (Being an Act to amend the Sierra Leone Citizenship Act, 1973 so as to grant the right of dual citizenship and citizenship by birth directly through the mother), Section (5), Section 10 of the principal Act is repealed and replaced by the following section:– 10. “A citizen of Sierra Leone may hold a citizenship of another country in addition to his citizenship of Sierra Leone.”

In Section 13 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone (Duties of the Citizen), paragraph (B) says ‘Every Citizen shall – “cultivate a sense of nationalism and patriotism so that loyalty to the State shall override sectional, ethnic tribal or other loyalties;”

Legal Aid Board Bags MOTT Foundation Support

January 24, 2020

By Foday Moriba Conteh

To create more impact through their activities, the Legal Aid Board has recruited and deployed thirteen Paralegals around the country geared towards increasing its presence in the remotest parts of the country. These are areas with limited access to the Criminal Justice System and therefore the most disadvantaged in access to justice. People in these areas have access to mostly the Local and Informal/Traditional Courts.

This has been made possible by a two-year grant from Charles Stewart MOTT Foundation, a gesture that is in line with ‘Improving access to justice for people in remote communities through the use of Local and Informal/Traditional Courts’.

Two Paralegals have been deployed in each of the two newly created districts of Karene and Fabala. The Paralegals were resident in the districts prior to their recruitment and moreover have been involved in civil society and human rights activists.

Prior to the deployments, Paralegals from the neighbouring districts of Bombali and Koinadugu had been covering the new districts. “This is a welcome relief to the Board because we have been constrained to provide the much needed primary legal aid services in these parts of the country which have access to mostly Informal/Traditional Courts,” the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles said.

“Our Paralegals in the neighbouring districts of Bombali and Koinadugu have been struggling to cope with the demand for our services especially from traditional leaders and civil society activists who were constantly calling for our intervention in matters,” she continued.

The Board has also deployed two more Paralegals each for Sandor Chiefdom in Kono District, Lower Bambara Chiefdom in Kenema District, Lower Banta in Moyamba District and Bumpe-Gao Chiefdom in Bo District. This has increased the number of Paralegals in each of these districts to four. Moreover, one Paralegal has been deployed in the Lokomassama Chiefdom in Port Loko District in the North-West.

The Legal Aid Board had its first meeting with the Mott Foundation in Freetown in 2018 where the Program Officer: Civil Society in South Africa, Lorenzo Wakefield was briefed on the operations of the Board and the fact that the Board has established a niche internationally in the provision of primary justice services by its Paralegals. Lorenzo noted that Sierra Leone will be among four countries on the continent to benefit from the Foundation in the coming years. The others are: Malawi, Kenya and Rwanda.

MDAs & Development Partners Held Consultative Meeting with MOPED

January 24, 2020

By Edward Vamboi

In a bid to shove up overall national development, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) on Tuesday 21 January, 2020 held a consultative meeting with Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and development partners to discuss the Zero Draft National Public Investment Policy (NPIMP) at the Ministry’s Conference room on Tower Hill in Freetown.

The engagement is geared towards reviewing the draft NPIMP including streamlining the roles and responsibilities of key public investment actors, define the public investment cycle and design appraisal tools to guide public investment decision making. The NPIMP, when developed is expected to be a guide that interfaces with other Government policies to ensure a robust and integrated system in the processing and delivering of public projects.

Welcoming the discussants, the Development Secretary, Peter Sam-Kpakra thanked everyone for their participation; noting that it demonstrates their commitment to ensuring Government addresses challenges that have over the years undermined efficiency in addressing the infrastructural challenges and gaps.

In his statement, the Director of Public Investment Management Department, MoPED, Alpha Bangura noted the importance of the engagement; stating that the preliminary consultative meeting will create the platform for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA’s) to contribute in developing a National Public Investment Policy that will reflect a national perspective on public investments across all sectors.

Mr. Bangura said the process will further foster transparency and accountability of the process, ensuring ownership of the document when developed.

The Lead Consultant, Osman Kamara, who gave an overview of the zero draft presentation, noted that the process will be very participatory and will include valuable inputs and contributions from all relevant stakeholders.

Other representatives in attendance included the IMF, ADB, Office of Presidential Infrastructure Initiative, SLRA, Ministry of Works and Ministry of Finance among many others.

The Public Investment Management Department in partnership with the consultant will conduct nationwide consultations with key stakeholders on the zero draft policy to solicit their views on Public Investment processes. The consultations will be held in all four (4) regions of the country.

NP-SL: Taking the Lead in the Petroleum Business

January 24, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

Without mincing the truth, nobody can contest the indisputable fact that the National Petroleum (NP) Sierra Leone Limited is a success story being a formidable business entity that is greatly contributing to overall national development. It is one of the buoyant business entities that are completely owned by Sierra Leoneans having no foreigner or politician as shareholder which makes it purely an indigenous company.

From its humble beginning in this country, NP can now boast of having branches in Liberia, Ivory and other parts in the West African sub-region. The company has demonstrated to the world that indeed Sierra Leoneans can be efficient entrepreneurs as well as sending the message that this country is a safe haven for investment.

The number of jobs and taxes that NP has offered and is also paying has helped and still continues to help to make development interventions more possible, When we talk of poverty reduction and improving standards of living then the company has been helping directly and indirectly in those directions,

There is no doubt that human existence could not really be comfortable in the absence of petroleum products.

We need fuel to run our vehicles, our generators, there is need for gas to be utilized for cooking purposes, kerosene is used for different purposes, NP SL Ltd is a leading entity that makes easy accessibility to these various petroleum products possible, Management of the company always ensures that these products are readily available in order to prevent occurrence of shortage.

The company really deserves a pat on the back when cognizance is taken of the fact that it is customer friendly as it forms a cardinal part of their mantra in optimizing customer satisfaction,

Talking with a University of Sierra Leone Economics Lecturer , he noted that because of the selflessness and commitment of those who opted to buy the company when the Government decided to sell it 23 years ago, NP has been able to empower more than 350,000 Sierra Leoneans, build 38 stations countrywide as part of the many accomplishments it has registered.

One unique thing about the company is that it is very innovative and matching with latest technology and devices .This characteristic is very evident in NP evident in making use of latest transparent pumping machines, smart cards to purchase fuel, making it convenient for consumers as well as having sound tankers that transport fuel to different parts of the country.

”I am very proud of the National Petroleum Company because it is offering a lot in terms of development, making this country very much attractive,” a Development Consultant remarked adding that other entities should borrow a leaf from the entity,

Certain customers interviewed at a particular Filling station intimated that availing customers the opportunity to purchase basic items in their mini marts is making life comfortable as it minimizes hassling to do so in trying to access shops especially when cognizance is taken of the fact that most times there is overcrowding in towns and parking spaces are limited.

Starting as a small entity and through effective management the National Petroleum Company is growing by leaps and bounds with presence in other parts of West Africa making Sierra Leone standing tall, This a clear testimony of dogged commitment and steadfastness showing that success can be achieved through selflessness.

Rokel Bank Motivates Young People

January 24, 2020

Amin Kef Sesay

The Rokel Commercial Bank has kicked off with its motivational talks series to youths and young adults in Freetown at the Bim D Bam Hall on Wellington Street in Freetown.

The Motivational Talks Series expected to be replicated in the regions of Sierra Leone are ancillary to the Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy drive the bank has undertaken in the last two years, targeting mainly the business community and young people.

The Speakers of the maiden session were the Commissioner of the National Youth Commission, Ngolo Kata and Managing Director of Rokel Bank, Dr Dayo Gilpin. According to the Youth Commissioner, “being a young person goes beyond age but what you can do to harness the opportunities around you.” He therefore encouraged young people to see change as an opportunity to take risks and not a threat.

The RCBank Managing Director who took the youths through a power point presentation on the theme; “Your Attitude Will Determine Your Altitude” underscored the need to adopt positive attitudes towards things that matter in life and encourage young people to be focused in their education as a sure way of making it in life.

“When people see us in air conditioned vehicles today, they never knew what we went through to get where we are today. To all my young people, I want you all to know that when you persevere, the sky is your limit…,” he said.

The motivational talk session attracted pupils from secondary schools and youth groups in the Western Area.

NASSIT Director General On A Working Visit To SSHFC In The Gambia

January 22, 2020

By Theresa Kef

Two high profiled officials of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust- NASSIT, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh and the Chairman Board of Trustees, Prof. Lawrence Kamara are currently on a two-day working visit to the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation -SSHFC in the Gambia to observe progress made by SSHFC in their investment portfolio particularly in the Housing sector and to strengthen bilateral relationship between NASSIT and SSHFC.

In a high powered meeting with the Management of SSHFC, the Managing Director, Mamadu Njiang enumerated the strides made by his organization in the last 38 years to provide effective social protection and housing services for the people of the Gambia.

Addressing the NASSIT team, Mamadu Njiang stated that SSHFC in addition to its core business of administering Social security for the people of the Gambia, the Corporation has a mandate to provide Housing financial service.

According to the Managing Director, the Housing finance is a means through which the Corporation services plots of land with or without small construction loans for the low and middle income Gambians and provide suitable number of completed houses for those in the middle class.

He informed the team that the Corporation is involved in various housing projects such as Brusubi, Bakoteh and Kanifing layouts in which employees are given 75% mortgages and pay off the balance on the property over 15 years.

“The development and administration of housing projects is either carried out independently by the Corporation in partnership with other agencies, ‘ Mr. Njiang concluded.

In his response, the Director General of NASSIT, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh lauded the strides made by SSHFC particularly in the housing sector. He said the Gambian model could be best not only for Sierra Leone but the entire sub- region. He enumerated the successes his administration has scored in a little over one year in office to put NASSIT on the right path.

He called on all Social security institutions in the sub region to collaborate, coordinate and be willing to share ideas for the good of the continent.

On his part, the Chairman Board of Trustees of NASSIT, Prof. Lawrence Kamara, acknowledged that the visit was very fruitful and will help validate the strides they have made back. He said this has shown that NASSIT is in the right trajectory.

Meetings were also held with the Operations and Benefit Divisions of SSHFC to enable the team to assess their processes in comparison with those of NASSIT with a view to implementing best practice back home.

The team also visited some of the investment sites to give opportunity to the visitors to see first-hand the strides made by SSHFC.

This visit is not only good for the Director General and Board Chairman, but will also give the Director General idea on Sub- regional schemes and Corporations in readiness for his new appointment as Vice Chairman for the Technical Commission for the Investment of Social Security Funds.

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