One Abubakarr Barrie, a lead Human Rights Activists and Youth Campaigner on harmful drugs is currently on the run for his life.
The disappearance of Abubakarr Barrie was due to his community engagements to sensitize people on various aspects of human rights and on drugs abuse.
Abubakarr Barrie is a popular human rights activist particular in Freetown and Sierra Leone in general, leading on a number of issues affecting the society and the well-being of youth, particularly ghetto youth and the rights of the marginalized.
Abubakarr is currently faced with serious death threats by a set of young people who alleged that Barrie is an agent of the Western culture trying to impose or sensitize communities on the rights of the LGTB/Homosexuality which according to many community members can never be tolerated in their communities. Also according to some people who alleged that Barrie is an agent of the 2018 defeated All People’s Congress (APC) political party now main opposition party in the country from which he had collected a weeping sum to bring them over.
These young people who are apparently supporters of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) said they are ready to do anything humanly possible to keep their party in governance.
Sierra Leone is a widely divided nation when it comes to politics especially now that the local council elections and multitier-elections are fast approaching.
According to some of them, their life-style and livelihood hinged on drugs as politicians most often hire their services and so they cannot compromise with anybody trying to destroy that opportunity. The history of Human Rights defenders facing various challenges or threats to them and their families while doing their work is something the government is slow to address.
Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone H.E. Hu Zhangliang
By Amin Kef Sesay
In a Media Dialogue on China’s development and China –Sierra Leone Friendship held on the 31st March 2021, Ambassador Anthony Navo Junior, CEO of the AYV Media Empire and Asmaa James, who is also the Station Manager of FM 98.1, engaged the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone H.E. Hu Zhangliang.
Ambassador Anthony Navo Junior asked him to take them through China’s “Two Sessions”(the Fourth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Fourth Session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)) concluded successfully.
In his response, Ambassador Hu said yes he is right saying the “Two Sessions” he mentioned are major events in China’s political life. He furthered that every year, the “Two Sessions” will review and adopt important policy decisions on the political, economic, social and cultural development of China adding that this year, the “Two Sessions” were held earlier this month.
Going further the CEO of AYV asked what are the important outcomes of this year’s “Two Sessions” to which the Chinese Ambassador answered that, “You know that this year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), so it’s a year of great significance.
“It is also the first year for China to implement the building of a modern socialist country in all respects.
“This year’s “Two Sessions” fully recognized the historic achievements made by the Chinese Government and people under the staunch leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.”
Ambassador Navo said he wanted to know if the “Two Sessions” set out any development plan for the year of 2021.
Ambassador Hu in his response pointed out that the “Two Sessions” this year reviewed and adopted the Report on the Work of the Government made by H.E. Premier Li Keqiang, adopted the Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of NPC, the Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of Committee of CPPCC.
He said it also adopted the Outline for the 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035. Also, the “Two Sessions” approved the NPC’s Decision on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
He highlighted that it also reviewed and adopted the National Budgetary Report as well as other issues adding that all items on the agenda of the “Two Sessions” were completed successfully, laying a solid foundation for China’s development in the new era.
Dilating on the targets for China’s development in 2021, the Chinese Ambassador mentioned that their target is that in 2021, the GDP will grow above 6 percent.
“We are going to create over 11 million new urban jobs and we will control the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 percent,” he said adding that they are going to ensure that the grain output will stand at 650 million tonnes and they will keep the CPI increase at around 3 percent.
“We’re also going to improve China’s foreign trade, balance of payments, personal income, environment protection, scientific and technological R&D and food security,” he continued noting how they foresee another year of rapid progress for China although not without challenges.
He said recently, a report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projected that China’s economic growth in 2021 will be at about 8.1%, above what they set for the development goal in their Government report saying it reflects the International Community’s confidence in China’s economic development.
On her part Asmaa James asked the Ambassador, if he could please throw light on what kind of development achievements China has made in the period of the “13th Five-Year Plan”.
Ambassador Hu said since 1953, China has been formulating and implementing five year development plans maintaining that it is one of the important measures to achieve desired, fast and sustained national development.
“During the “13th Five-Year” plan period from 2016 to 2020, China made great achievements in socio-economic development.
“The GDP reached 101trillion RMB, which is over 15 trillion U.S. dollars.
“Now China’s GDP accounts for 17% of the world’s total and China succeeded, during the “13th Five-Year” period, in eradicating abject poverty, achieving the UN SDG on poverty reduction 10 years ahead of schedule.
“China’s annual grain output remained above 650 million tonnes for five consecutive years, which ensured China’s food security and self-sufficiency,” the Ambassador stated.
He said China succeeded in building the largest social security network in the world revealing how the basic medical insurance covered 1.3 billion people and the basic old-age insurance covered nearly 1 billion people.
The development or advancement in science and technology, he pointed out, also achieved great breakthroughs underscoring how those are the major achievements during the “13th Five-Year” plan period.
Asmaa James quizzed about the development achievements for the year of 2020.
Ambassador Hu responded that in the year of 2020, the whole world was severely taken by the COVID-19 pandemic furthering how China is the same and they are also facing a deep global economic recession.
He continued that the Chinese people, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with H.E. General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core, reacted with firm resolve and profound tenacity.
According to him China achieved major strategic success in containing COVID-19 and China was the world’s only major economy which achieved positive GDP growth (2.3 percent).
He revealed that the registered urban unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% and China attained a complete victory in the fight against poverty.
The Ambassador said new strides were made in China’s opening up to the outside world, giving an instance of the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.
He said that agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world, in which China played an important role adding that in 2020, a stream of scientific and technological breakthroughs were also made, also giving an instance of the explorations of the Mars, of the moon and of the deep-sea etc..
“H.E. President Xi Jinping and other State leaders hosted or attended several major diplomatic events, including the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19. China has been very firm in upholding the UN centered international system, safeguarding multilateralism, and promoting international anti-COVID-19 pandemic cooperation.
“China was actively promoting and advocating for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and a community of health for all,” he informed.
On the Sierra Leone-China relationship Asmma James said this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sierra Leone. No doubt China’s help is everywhere as you can see. And the two sides, I believe, are planning for the celebrations. So what is the plan for the celebrations?
In response Ambassador Hu stated that since the establishment of the diplomatic relations on July 29, 1971, China and Sierra Leone have treated each other as brothers and sisters.
“Our two countries enjoy genuine friendship, mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual support.
“Allow me to quote the words of H.E. President Julius Maada Bio. He said “China and Sierra Leone are reliable friends”. Reliable means whatever the situation is we are always together.
“From Youyi Building to the National Stadium, from the Sierra Leone Foreign Service Academy under construction to the newly completed Freetown 3.2km Ring Road, numerous tangible projects have been witnesses to the ever-growing friendship between our two countries.
“You may also recall that whenever there were severe challenges, for instance the outbreak of Ebola and the Mudslide Disaster, China came to Sierra Leone’s assistance swiftly. Now, China is actively helping Sierra Leone in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over the years, the Chinese side has provided opportunities under the Government scholarships programs for over 1000 Sierra Leone students to study in China.
“China has invited over 5000 Sierra Leoneans to go to China for short-term training courses and other exchanges. China has sent 21 medical groups, 13 agricultural technical assistance group, 4 military expert groups and several CDC expert groups to Sierra Leone.
“The bilateral trade and investment between our two countries have also expanded, which has helped promote our common development.
“Also, the support is mutual. Sierra Leone has been firm in providing political and moral support to China on issues involving China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, dignity and security. We will never forget that Sierra Leone is one of the friendly countries that supported the restoration of the legitimate seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations.
“The 50 years of profound friendship and fruitful cooperation have been in the big interests of our two countries and two peoples. Our two sides are in close communication on organizing activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relationship.
“I wish that Sierra Leonean friends from all walks of life will actively join us in this celebration in different ways,” the Ambassador elucidated.
Asked by Asmaa James what is his vision for the China-Sierra Leone cooperation, Ambassador Hu said China will continue to work with Sierra Leone for more fruitful cooperation in all fields.
He furthered that: “At present, China and Sierra Leone are carrying out or in discussion of a series of cooperation projects in agriculture, fishery, health, telecommunication, human resources development, energy development and many other areas, which are of the Sierra Leonean government’s top concerns.
The Chinese side will continue to encourage competent and credible Chinese companies to invest in Sierra Leone.
I can tell that the Sierra Leonean Government and people warmly welcome China-Sierra Leone cooperation. Also I believe that the Sierra Leonean side will continue to provide consistent policies and legal guarantees for this cooperation to reach a new high, and China will do the same.”
It is strongly incontestable that the leading petroleum marketing company in the country, the National Petroleum- 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 is growing taller and taller as time goes by.
In a Press Statement dated the 31st March 2021 the Consortium of Progressive Political Parties (COPPP) dated raised concerns over the conduct of the Postponed ‘Mid-Term’ Census , the Enactment of the new Local Government Policy and the Cybercrime Bill 2020.
It was stated that the undersigned Political Parties are on record either individually or collectively for drawing the attention of all Sierra Leoneans and the international community to the consistent breach of due processes perpetrated by the current Government.
COPPP continued that letters, individual and joint party Press Statements and rejoinders have been issued in several instances pointing out abuses, infractions and infringement of rights, but no heed is paid to such concerns.
According to them the latest in the ever-growing stream of arbitrary actions is the attempt to force upon Sierra Leoneans a Mid-Term Census despite clear indications that Statistics Sierra Leone does not have enough time to conduct a credible and professionally executed nationwide census in less than 5 weeks from now (April 2021).
They said the All Peoples Congress (APC) party has already addressed two letters of concern to development partners stating fact-based reasons why credible census data cannot be obtained amidst the current level of preparedness of Statistics Sierra Leone.
COPPP highlighted that due to its unpreparedness Stats SL has had to defer the census, reschedule the initial date to 19th April 2021 and has only just started to conduct key activities like cartographic mapping, piloting of the questionnaire and submission of report for same, recruitment, training and deployment of over 20,000 enumerators and field staff as well as recruitment of international consultants.
Of primary importance, they say, is the conduct of cartographic mapping, a crucial antecedent to every census program which requires several months of preparation for a successful outcome.
According to them, in order to speed up the process, especially the collection of data, the Statistician General relies on the use of technology.
“To date he is yet to provide proof that Sierra Leone has the infrastructure to support its sophisticated application,” they maintained adding that recent developments around the world have shown that advanced countries in the West are ill at ease applying purely electronically-based technologies to national exercises.
They said the United States, during the elections of 2016, is an eloquent reminder, hence they are in no hurry to dispense with paper-based processes, to avoid the myriad of unforeseen challenges like hacking, data corruption etc.
“For us in Sierra Leone we have to contend with a lot more than hacking to wit inadequate exposure and training as well as poor supply of services like internet and electricity that is worsening by the day,” COPPP pointed out stating how they are making that statement as political parties, bearing in mind that the World Bank, the UN Agencies such as UNFPA and other Development Partners have contributed immensely to Sierra Leone’s progress.
They said ,however, the undersigned Political Parties have learnt with keen interest from Statistics Sierra Leone that the World Bank has approved funding of Six million United States Dollars (UD$ 6,000,000) for the proposed Mid-term Census.
“It will be a blunder of epic proportions if such a huge amount of money is used to prop up a process that is a rushed, high risk-venture leading inexorably to unreliable results ,” they strongly argued adding that the probability of failure by far outweighs the justifications advanced for conducting a census midway instead of waiting for the ten-year cycle to end in 2025.
Apparently, COPPP continued, the decision of the World Bank to fund the mid-term census has emboldened Stats SL to move on with a census exercise that has drawn criticisms from many experts and stakeholders as it lacks the hallmarks of international best practice.
It was highlighted that the recent postponement of the enumeration exercise from December 2020 to April 2021 underscores the deficiencies in the planning of such an exercise, which is arguably the largest statistical activity undertaken in any country.
Moving forward, the organization stated that for the benefit of the general public they wish to state some of their concerns that have already been raised with some development partners and the serious technical failures bordering on the timing, preparedness, and credibility of the proposed Mid-term census process.
The following are key challenges among others which they raised:
Cartographic Mapping: the fieldwork of the cartographic exercise should have been completed at least 3 months to the enumeration exercise to allow for office review and printing of maps for the Enumerators.
Even though Stats SL has commenced field mapping exercises, we do believe that the time to complete such exercise will not be adequate for enumeration to begin as planned. We are informed that Stats SL is relying on Geo-spatial software which the World Bank has promised to purchase under the project. However, such software will never replace the field mapping of the whole country into enumeration areas (EAs); and it will be disastrous if the technology fails us. As we write we are yet to determine whether all 20,000 tablets have been procured, programmed and tested for functionality.
Inadequate Time: we believe that they will need much more time to recruit and train 20,000 enumerators to conduct a credible census. Our concern is that the whole process is being rushed which seems to conceal an ulterior motive of the SLPP Government to interfere with the electoral geography and calendar and also gain undue political advantage over the opposition parties. One indicator of such a motive is the proposal to prolong the tenure of local councils from four to five years as contained in the Government’s new Decentralization Policy which if implemented may be the first step towards extending the life of this SLPP Government. Several attempts on our part appealing to the government and Stats SL to defer this suspicious, wasteful and bound-to-fail census to ensure adequate preparation have fallen on deaf ears. We are therefore left with no option but to educate our membership and supporters on this issue, especially on the reasons why they should not participate in this flawed exercise that is wasteful and designed to ultimately undermine the electoral process and democracy in Sierra Leone.
With regards the Local Government Policy COPPP said they wish to reiterate their position on another policy that the SLPP Government seems to be hell-bent on inflicting on the people of this country basically to perpetuate their dominance and silence or eliminate opposition.
They say in spite of all the cries by stakeholders for Government not to remove political parties from participation in local governance, they have learnt that the proposal to do so has reached an advanced stage of processing and could be forwarded anytime now to Parliament for legislation.
COPPP maintained that the idea of non-partisan local elections is clearly unconstitutional and goes totally against the mandate of political parties to “sponsor candidates for Presidential, Parliamentary or Local Government elections” guaranteed in Section 35 (1) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone.
According to them the very same mandate of sponsoring candidates for “presidential, parliamentary and local Government elections” is given to political parties in the law that established them: Section 11 (1) The Political Parties Act, 2002.
“It is clear that until and unless the Constitution is amended it will be illegal and unconstitutional for political parties to be deprived of their right to contest elections at the local level,” they pointed out adding that any Government that proceeds to do that will be displaying utter contempt for the Constitution to which it owes its existence and thereby projecting the image of one that has no regard for the Rule of Law.
Based on their position, in actual fact, the existing Local Government Act takes into consideration those citizens who may not wish to contest local elections under a political party and therefore provides for independent candidates alongside political party-sponsored candidates.
This arrangement, it was argued, caters for all, and from the point of view of inclusion, disadvantaged groups such as women, youth or disabled can find their way onto the ballot either through sponsorship by political parties or other non-political sources.
In other words, they highlighted, the current system does not in any way prevent “grassroots participation” or “civic dialogue” or “inclusivity”.
“It is therefore concerning and extremely suspicious that Government now wants to remove political parties completely from the picture,” says COPPP.
They furthered that all the arguments advanced for non-partisan local elections and attributed to Local Government Ministry’s “policy consultations” in which political parties were deliberately not included are so spurious and illogical that the real intention behind the idea becomes abundantly clear: the incumbent Government (in this case the SLPP) wants to use its powers, resources and authority to eliminate opposition parties and gain total control of local Government.
The organization maintained that there is no better way for this Government to unfairly prepare for dominance in national elections than by weakening opposition party activity at the local level.
To them there are other problems relating to the required academic qualifications for election into local Government positions.
They say the policy raises the qualification to run as Councillor to a level that is above basic education.
“This qualification seriously undermines the policy’s aim to be inclusive and non-discriminatory,” it was underscored stating that similarly, the qualification for candidacy to the position of Mayor/Chairman is “at least a University degree” but pointed out that interestingly, according to the Constitution of Sierra Leone, to qualify for election as Member of Parliament one only needs to be able “to speak and to read the English Language with a degree of proficiency sufficient to enable him to take an active part in the proceedings of Parliament.” (Section 75 (d), Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991).
COPPP argues that considering the illiteracy rate in Sierra Leone, those qualifications effectively eliminates nearly 75% of the population from political leadership at local levels.
“There is therefore need to consider these qualifications holistically so that they can respond to logic and reason,” it was stressed.
They stated that Political parties cannot sit back and watch a ruling Government openly violating the constitution in such a way and unashamedly uprooting opposition from the democratic process especially at the local Government level which is the traditional training ground for future national leaders.
COPPP vehemently said they cannot accept that this democracy for which so much sacrifice has been made by the citizenry, so much blood shed and so much hope invested should be gradually declining into a one-party system due to this Government’s unquenchable thirst for control and political dominance; an attribute that comes out again in their latest proposal to slaughter the individual rights and freedoms of the citizens of this country commonly known as the 2020 Cybercrime Bill.
Touching on the 2020 Cybercrime Bill they said they the undersigned political parties are still going through the just introduced 2020 Cybercrime bill and must hasten to state as their initial reaction that they join the many voices both locally and internationally to call on the Government to put on hold the 2020 Cybercrime Bill that has been taken to Parliament for enactment into law, to allow for more dialogue, omission and additions where necessary, especially now that so many issues have been raised by citizens and organizations, including political parties.
“We registered this position at a meeting with the Ministry of Information and Communication held on Tuesday 30th March 2021,” it was revealed adding that the political parties have asked for copies of the Bill so that they can individually and collectively make meaningful contributions to strengthen the Bill while ensuring that individual’s rights, privacies and privileges are protected.
They expressed hope that the Ministry will adhere to their request to withdraw the Bill from Parliament until recommendations from political parties, organizations and individuals have been taken into consideration.
In conclusion, it was stated that they believe that both the mid-term census and the new Local Government Policy are not statistical or democratic exercises at all, but rather political undertakings aimed at sacrificing their democratic gains at the altar of parochial partisan interest.
“We also believe that while we all agree that we need strong laws to protect us from Cyber-attacks and abuse of social media, such laws should focus on prevention rather than punishment and that the process of developing such laws that will have an impact on the livelihood, safety and security of all citizens must be inclusive and participatory,” they recommended.
COPPP said they are worried that given the way the census is being rushed, they will end up creating fictitious figures.
“Therefore, funding such an exercise will amount to promoting a political agenda at the detriment of democracy and development in our beloved country,” they strongly maintained stating that for those reasons, they are not in any position to encourage their membership and supporters to participate in the Mid Term census.
The Sierra Leone Football Association, (SLFA),in a Press Release dated 31st March 2021 said it would like to inform the public that Confederation of African Football (CAF) has notified SLFA that the Organizing Committee of the African Cup of Nations has decided to postpone the match between Sierra Leone and Benin in the 2021 AFCON Qualifiers until the next FIFA international window scheduled for June 2021.
It, however, stated that CAF did not state the yardstick used by the Committee to arrive at the said decision.
The SLFA maintained that consequently, and in accordance with Articles 83, 84 and 85 of the AFCON Regulations which adequately address issues around failure to report for a match and/or refusal to play, of which there have been several precedents the Sierra Leone Football Association has resolved to appeal the decision of the AFCON Organizing Committee.
SLFA furthered that it is therefore calling on every Sierra Leonean, especially football loving fans, to stay calm as the matter is currently being pursued in line with the appropriate statutory provisions.
As part of giving support to the victims of Susan’s Bay Fire disaster, especially the Aged, the Dorwontony Organization for the Aged (DOFA), a charitable and non-Governmental Organization that advocates for the needs and rights of the aged, on Tuesday 30th March, 2021 donated relief items, which include clothing, bundles of water, slippers and shoes worth millions of Leones, to the Aged affected by the massive blaze of fire. The donation took place at the Susan’s Bay community in Freetown.
Presenting the items, Founder of Dorwontony Organization for the Aged, Dorren Barrie, extended her heartfelt sympathy to all the old people that were affected by the fire incident, adding that disasters are unimaginable challenges which are also inevitable which is why they felt compelled to make an immediate move to comfort the victims of the fire incident especially the Aged.
She stated that the organization was founded in order to serve as the voice for the needs and rights of the aged across the country, adding that old people should not be considered as liability to society, but rather they should be given the care they deserve, because they are the backbone of any peaceful society.
Dorren Barrie said Susan’s Bay is one of the poorest slum communities in the capital of Freetown and that it was overcome by a massive blaze of fire on Wednesday 24th March 2021 evening, destroying properties and leaving thousands of people deprived.
She maintained that as a responsible organization that seeks the welfare of the Aged they thought it fit to make the donation on behalf friends of Dorwontony and they are doing so with the strong belief that such could be helpful especially at this moment when the fire disaster has destroyed properties and left thousands of people deprived.
Dorren Barrie maintained that her organization cares for every old people in the country including old people living in slum communities including Susan’s Bay and that is why they felt the need to visit them to show support for the victims of the disaster and to offer humanitarian help to them.
Receiving the items, Logistic Officer at the Susan’s Bay Disaster Management Team, Major Prince Sesay, expressed appreciation to the Dorwontony Organization for the Aged (DOFA) for the kind gesture which he described as not only important but very timely.
He assured all that the donated items will be used for the intended purpose and called on the Government and other organizations to come to the aid of the victims especially the Aged as they are currently challenged.
Pa Abdul Conteh, one of the beneficiaries, applauded the Dorwontony Organization for the Aged (DOFA) for considering them at this crucial moment in their lives, adding that the fire disaster destroyed all what they had and they are left with nothing.
He called on other organizations to follow their footprint as residents of Susan’s Bay, especially the Aged, are currently in dire need of food and non-food items considering the damages the fire disaster has caused to their lives.
As part of their support in raising awareness on children living with Autism, Orange Foundation-Sierra Leone has on Wednesday 31st March, 2021 sealed partnership with the Sierra Leone Autistic Society. The event took place at Orange Headquarters at Hill Station in Freetown.
Speaking during the ceremony, Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Autistic Society, Mary Penntimity, expressed appreciation to Orange Foundation for the partnership which ,she said, will push them a long way towards their mandate as an organization.
She revealed that World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day which is recognized on the 2nd of April every year, during which period countries are encouraged to take measures to raise awareness about people with autistic spectrum disorders.
Mary Penntimity noted that her organization has been providing support for autistic children, young people and their families in Sierra Leone since inception, adding that they started with few children but now runs play schemes, have youth groups and support groups, furthering that their activities are providing vital community support and reducing the profound and dangerous isolation of autistic children furthering that they have also succeeded in establishing a school for these children.
The Director of Orange Foundation, Jestina Betts, said that when she took over as Director of the Foundation she had the passion to do something especially with regards addressing issues relating to children in the country saying that children living with Autism need more attention, furthering that growing up she came across children living with Autism and that she has always wanted to help raising the awareness on Autism.
She added that World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day on the 2nd April every year geared towards raising awareness about people with autism and it against that backdrop they decided to partner with the Sierra Leone Autistic Society in order to give their support as a Foundation with the strong conviction that such will be helpful.
The Director noted that they are very committed to see that they render their support to them in order to include them in digital inclusion, furthering that although they have disability they should not be discriminated against but rather should be seen as very important children in society.
The Director of Orange Foundation, Jestina Betts & The Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Autistic Society, Mary Penntimity
As a fire disaster recently left hundreds of residents of the Susan’s Bay Community destitute, the Punjab Trading Center-SL- Chapter based in Kenema on Wednesday 31st March 2021 has donated numerous non-food items to the affected victims as a way of giving them solace.
According to Victoria Bernard, the Manager of Punjab Trading Center-Kenema Branch, as a company they have branches all over the country. She further intimated that when the incident occurred they thought it fit that as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility they must complement the efforts of Government in terms of responding to disaster incidences in order to mitigate the impact on the affected persons ,like the one that occurred at the Susan’s Bay Community, which will demonstrate to Sierra Leoneans that indeed they do care for people who desperately need help.
She disclosed to journalists that the donation they are making falls among the numerous activities that they have undertaken in the country adding that she came along with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Harji Sidhu, in order to officially donate items to the affected victims of the disaster, on behalf of Punjab Trading Company Chapter.
She disclosed that the items they are donating include 50 pair of school bags, 20 pair of school shoes, 1 cartoon of tooth paste, 3 cartoon of laundry soap, 2 bundle baby diaper, 2 cartoon of sanitary pad.
Victoria Bernard also intimated that the total amount of money they spent to procure the items was Five Million Six Hundred and Seventy two thousand Leones (Le5, 672.00) as their own support to give solace to the affected victims of the fire disaster reiterating that it is a way of complementing the efforts of Government in promoting the interests of the people of Sierra Leone.
In his statement, Ibrahim Kargbo, Chairman of the Susan’s Bay Community told journalists that they as community residents are extremely happy for the intervention and the support from Punjab Trading Center.
He underscored that such a gesture directly shows the interest and love that the company has for humanity.
He said it was not the wish of the people to be grossly affected in such a way lamenting how the victims lost all their precious properties while some incurred injuries.
Chairman Ibrahim Kargbo expressed gratitude to Punjab Trading Center for considering them during this difficult moment saying they will always pray for them to do more for the nation as a whole.
Rokel Commercial Bank has on Saturday 27th March 2021 commenced Saturday banking operations at its Wellington, Clock Tower, Wilberforce Street and Juba branches. The branches will be open to the public between 9.30 a.m to 2.30 p.m every Saturday.
It is normal for the Corporate world in developing countries like Sierra Leone to go to sleep on weekends.
Apart from automated banking which is a pretty common feature in today’s banking industry many banks in Sierra Leone would rather go into comatose at the end of every week.
Forgoing two good days at the detriment of the economy and customer’s demand is insensitive, retrogressive and inconsistent with productivity.
Rokel Commercial Bank, which had consistently remained the fastest growing bank in Sierra Leone, had chosen to introduce Saturday Banking as a sure way to increase access to finance and increase customer’s satisfaction.
The Managing Director, Walton Gilpin has already reiterated his commitment to expand the Saturday Banking service to other parts of the country within the shortest possible time.
Several Rokel Commercial Bank customers interviewed including 38 year old Idrissa Kamara – a civil engineer said he was delighted over the news and that he can now go to the Bank on Saturdays to carry out his transactions. “Because of work schedule and pressure, I would always find it hard to leave my work site to go to the bank on weekdays. I am now happy that Rokel Commercial has heeded to our calls for Saturday banking,” he said.
The Saturday banking service will reduce work pressure on staff and Management as the added day can ensure many customers, who would normally have to wait till weekdays are served. This will also essentially reduce overcrowding at banking halls on weekdays.
In another development, the Bank is scaling up its digitalization program with a plethora of digital products that will in the fullness of time be ‘unleashed’ into the market to maximize growth, reliability and quality services. This is in fulfilment with the Managing Director’s earlier commitment to Sierra Leoneans that the bank has adopted a policy of full digitalization this year.
One of such products is the “2U” mobile software that will principally target customers in the diaspora. This product will come on the heels of the Orange Mobile Wallet service launched on the 18th of this month.
Ms. Florence Bangalie, the Director General & Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation recently hosted the Secretary (Economic Relations) In-charge of the African Continent at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Rahul Chhabra, at the Ministry’s conference hall on Tower Hill in Freetown.
The delegation included Sevala Naik, Joint Secretary & Head of Division for Central & West Africa in New Delhi, the resident High Commissioner Rakesh Arora, and Second Secretary Lakshmi Swaminathan.
The delegation was present for the inaugural Foreign Office Consultation between Sierra Leone and India following the MoU signed to this effect in October 2019 during the visit of the Vice President of India.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & IC, detailed discussions were held between the two delegations on issues of mutual interest. They reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral partnership and exchanged views of regional, international, and multilateral issues of interest.
The delegation also called on the President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio during which the Indian delegation, among other things, conveyed the greetings of the Indian Leadership and the desire to further strengthen bilateral relations. The delegation also conveyed gratitude of the Government of India to the Sierra Leonean Leadership for the welfare of the Indian community in Sierra Leone, some of whom were early settlers in Sierra Leone.
India is an important development partner of Sierra Leone having provided loans of US$ 250 million for a number of important infrastructure projects for supporting development of Sierra Leone. India has also been at the forefront of providing scholarships, 175 every year, for pursing Diploma, UG, PG, Ph.D. as well as short-term courses.
India has recently introduced on-line education programme for Sierra Leoneans which enables them to avail scholarships and study while staying in the country. A Learning Centre funded by India will be set up soon at Fourah Bay College which will have computers with internet facilities.
India never lags behind providing humanitarian assistance whenever needed by Sierra Leone. In the recent past, India sent 1000 metric tonnes of rice and a large consignment of medicines to fight against COVID-19.
The delegation called on the Foreign Minister, Nabeela Tunis, on the 26th March 2021.
