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Stats SL & Advisory Committee Strategize for 2021 Mid-Term Census

By Amin Kef Sesay

On the 3rd November, 2020, Statistics Sierra Leone convened a meeting with the Advisory Committee on the 2021 Mid-Term Population and Housing Census (MTPHC).

Various presentations were made during the significant meeting to the Advisory Committee comprising representatives from all political parties, the Development Secretary Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Paramount Chiefs, the 50-50 women’s group, Committee Clerk in Parliament etc. on outcomes of the Technical and Publicity Committees meetings for their advice and recommendations.

Statistician General of Stats SL, Prof. Osman Sankoh (Mallam O), while welcoming representatives, stated that the Committee is made up of different people from all walks of life saying he feels blessed to have them on-board to help advice Stats SL on the planning of the 2021 Mid-Term Census for its successful implementation.

He furthered by giving a clear justification for conducting the 2021 MTPHC which he says is mainly due to the fact that the institution cannot provide disaggregated population figures for type 3 localities which is a collection of small towns and villages to form an enumeration area and which he says is the case for 59% of the country

Chairman of the event, Mr. Moses Williams who is also the Council Chairman of Stats SL, said that the Advisory committee is the highest committee for the 2021 MTPHC, so he believes with their advice the time lines will be achievable. He also underlined the fact that the Mid-Term Census is not in any way connected to politics and that everyone present at the meeting should work hard towards a successful outcome of the 2021 MTPHC by looking at the entire process as a national event.

Speaking on the tasks accomplished, the Deputy Statistician General, Andrew Bob Johnny said that since the proclamation of a census by HE President Brigadier Rtd. Dr. Julius Maada Bio, Stats SL has succeeded in achieving major milestones like securing funding for the census from both the Government and other donor partners including the World Bank which is the lead funder, procuring digital materials to be used for the census, establishment of committees, and signing of MOU’s with other countries amongst others. He concluded by saying there are however remaining tasks to be accomplished by Stats SL which he hope will be completed very soon.

The meeting concluded with a presentation on the outcome of the Technical and Publicity Committees by the Census Programme Manager, James Medo and the Director of Communications, Samuel Ansumana respectively.

The Advisory Committee duly tendered in their advice and a way forward was sought

Why Many People Do Not Respect The Media In Salone…

By Amin Kef Sesay

Should the media be held responsible for the dissemination of incorrect or biased information? There are many people who I have heard say that they do not buy or read newspapers because, according to them, the Salone media has largely become a propaganda machine not news outlet.

I have also heard many people say that the media has been maligned or falsely accused of corruption or some other social evil say, I hate the media, I don’t believe a f***ing word. According to them, the media would love nothing more than our country to burn to the ground. . . F**k THE MEDIA.

For the media to be taken seriously by the people that it aims to serve, the practitioners must know at all times that the media has a job. To inform, entertain and persuade. And it is up to us to set our own beliefs and ethics, in what we think is right or wrong.

Opinions are one thing but news reporting should be just “report the news” don’t make the news. Freedom of the Press does not mean that the Press opinion should be the news of the day. It should only be reporting the facts that can be substantiated.

The Press should report facts not make news. A journalist must know at all times that, “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.”

As such, many educated people who follow the news do not want their children to grow up in a world where they are told what to think. The media should have a responsibility to provide facts to allow people to independently make up their minds on issues.

Thus, if Salone should be a well-informed society, our news outlets cannot allow themselves to be controlled by any political party or corporations bent on moving their agendas forward.

In all other professions, such as law, engineering, health, construction, farming, etc, people are held responsible for the products they create and that is because poor products or services can badly affect people.

Why should journalists be different? Why can a journalist use a headline that in no way actually represents the facts of the story but justifies it by saying that headlines grab attention or sex sells?

Why can a journalist criticize a food product about false details yet a journalist can provide false facts or half-truths to support their stories? So, just like all other professionals, the media must be ethically and morally responsible.

Journalists to be respected and influential as society change makers should hold themselves at a higher moral and ethical standard than the rest of society because of the influence they have on the public.

They should not be seen as biased and always pushing their own agenda and political views.

This is on the basis that the public holds the opinion that the Media feeds lies and biases to its audience; acts very irresponsibly by slander and distort and omit facts.

Another gripe the public has against the media is that they do not give the same amount of time retracting/correcting a false story that they gave to spreading it.

They state that many times, when the media reports on something that is in line with their ideology, they report on it for days. But when something turns out to be falsified about their initial report, the retraction is often a quick, one-time blurb. Those the media has maliciously and unfoundedly offended maintain that the media should give the same attention to their mistake that they gave to the incorrect information that they published.

APC Stoutly Opposes Government’s Move to Halt Auditing of   COVID-19 Funds

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In a statement issued by the All People’s Congress (APC) on the2nd November, 2020 the political party maintained that it is disturbed by a letter issued by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and addressed to the Auditor General, the contents therein stating outright refusal to allow the audit of CoVID-19 funds expended by Government since the beginning of our country’s response to the pandemic.

The APC states that it views the reason advanced for such refusal, viz the existence of a State of Public Emergency that conferred on the President extraordinary powers as Chairman of the National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre (NaCOVERC) to do whatever he deems expedient to prevent or control the pandemic as an uncanny pretext to veil corruption.

It was iterated that no law insulates the President or Government officials from financial audits of their activities as public officials even if such activities were carried out in calamitous circumstances.

The purport of a State of Emergency and the special powers conferred on the President, the statement entails, is to enable the seamless performance of specific processes without the usual bureaucracies that occasion them.

According to the, APC, it is not a blank cheque for non-accountability.

“We are minded to lay this distinction bare to further highlight travesties that have characterized the operations of this Government since its inception in 2018,” it was pointed out.

The party stated that Sierra Leone has over the years since the end of the war acquired the reputation of operating sound state institutions that have great democratic compass.

Such a blatant resistance, it was also indicated, to financial audit is therefore an anathema to the good governance credentials that have made us the envy of many nations in the world.

The APC said at this point they may wish to oblige this Government with an exemplary anecdote of Ernest Bai Koroma’s presidency.

It highlighted that under the scourge of a ravaging Ebola pandemic a State of Emergency was invoked that gave President Koroma the same powers conferred on the current President.

The statement furthered how as Chairman of the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC), the former Head of State, imbued with high sense of duty to his countrymen allowed a real-time audit of funds used to fight the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

“Audit Service Sierra Leone enjoyed absolute independence and had complete freedom to look into every aspect of Ebola financing,” the APC stated adding that their findings were held sacrosanct by Government and in record time Parliament acted on the contents of the report.

It continued that President Koroma further expressed his support for the probe and reminded all of his earlier warning to public officials.

“Interestingly, despite such demonstration of financial propriety by Ernest Koroma, the 2012 presidential candidate of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Rtd. Brigadier Maada Bio, now the incumbent President felt the urge to write an open letter to him requesting further audit on the management of Ebola funds,” the statement reads.

According to the APC, ironically SLPP supporters took the umbrage to stage protests at home and abroad in a bid to begrudge President Koroma’s efforts in ensuring transparency and accountability in public service.

It therefore eludes, the APC bemoaned, reasoning that President Julius Maada Bio and his SLPP Government should now have the audacity to publicly dismiss an audit into funds used and entrusted to them for the good of all Sierra Leoneans.

The APC said they need not over-state that in the abundance of legislations that provide for accountability of public servants there is none to the contrary that precludes any official or MDA, including one Chaired by the President from accounting for Funds entrusted to them.

It was underscored that the Public Financial Management ACT, 2016; Public Procurement Act, 2016; Fiscal Management and Control Act, 2017 et al which provide for special circumstances for procurement or fiscal administration do not expressly or implicitly denounce auditing of public funds.  Furthermore, there is no regulation before the Parliament endorsing the Attorney General’s flagrant refusal of audit of COVID-19 funds.

The APC stated that the Attorney General’s letter is only an action replay of this Government’s blatant attempt to table before Parliament an instrument providing for non-accountable imprest of President Bio’s numerous travels and, from the onset, the futile push to introduce a regulation that expressly kicks against accountability of COVID-19 funds. Therefore there is a pattern of abuse of due process that is glaringly obvious to even the most inattentive Sierra Leonean.

The main opposition party expressed the hope that the country’s democratic institutions of the State, non-state actors, members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corp, development partners, the international community and Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad are alive to yet another sad rejoinder to the spate of financial impropriety, abuse of due processes and the speedy erosion of the country’s democratic credentials since President Maada Bio assumed power in 2018.

It stated that in denouncing a President and Government that have shown visible signs of not respecting the people they govern they the All People’s Congress will remain steadfast.

 

Rokel Bank Takes Banking to another Level in Kambia

Managing Director, Walton Dayoh Gilpin & Deputy Managing Director, Emmanuel Borbor

By Amin Kef Sesay

Aggressive marketing has been the cornerstone for the major leap in the expansion and growth of Sierra Leone’s premier bank, the Rokel Commercial Bank. The quest to expand its market share has caused almost every category of staff including top management traversing the length and breadth and of the country to engage and woo potential customers.

A management team led by the Managing Director, Walton Dayoh Gilpin and Deputy Managing Director, Emmanuel Borbor was in the Sierra Leone/Guinea border town of Kambia  to witness the formalization of mining agreements between Supreme Minerals, a Bauxite mining company and stakeholders of Kambia District.

Residents have described the move by Sierra Leone’s fastest growing bank as reassuring and timely since dependable banking services in that part of the country has been difficult to come by over the years irrespective of the huge commercial activities in the district.

Rokel Commercial Bank will not only become the major banker for Supreme Minerals but will also seek to establish itself firmly in Kambia and its environs as well as determine other banking requirements for the company.

The involvement of the bank in such an operation has been labelled as another giant step towards promoting economic activities in the District. Consequently, the move is clearly an indication of the bank’s resolve to remain the undisputed champion for financial inclusion in Sierra Leone.

“ Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you, People of  Kambia are now ready to push together with Supreme Minerals and RCbank.” remarked RCbank Managing Director, Dr Dayo Gilpin.  The Deputy Managing Director, Emmanuel Borbor, also assured the people of Kambia of Government’s commitment to improve their livelihoods through meaningful and sustainable financial interventions in the district.

The ceremony in Kambia attracted a galaxy of notable personalities including the Paramount Chief, PC Bai Farma Tas Bubu Ngbak, officials from the National Minerals Agency, the Member of Parliament for the area, section chiefs and Rokel Commercial Bank Staff.

Pst. Mambu Enjoins Sierra Leoneans to Repent

Pastor Francis A. M. Mambu, National Coordinator of Great Redemption Crusade

By Amin Kef Sesay

On the 1st November 2020, people from various walks of life converged at the center of the country’s capital city to grace the historic prophetic revelation, blowing of trumpets- positioned in the four cardinal points and reversal of evil proclamations, rituals and incantations believed to be spiritually responsible for the country’s development setback.

Several items believed to be dangerous occult and witchcraft instruments were displayed in the presence of curious onlookers and invited guests including Members of Parliament from various political parties, the Mayor of Freetown, Cabinet Ministers, Church and Traditional Leaders as well as ordinary Sierra Leoneans.

The spiritual event, which was led by Pastor Francis A. M. Mambu, National Coordinator of Great Redemption Crusade, was carried out by the Revival Labour Prayer Group alongside the Body of Christ-Sierra Leone, following thirty-one days of intensive national prayer and fasting declared on October 1st and ended on October 31st 2020.

The repentance prayer was done by Pastor Francis A. M. Mambu in collaboration with a Member of Parliament who represented the nation’s politicians, a representative of traditional leaders, a pastor – on behalf of the missionaries in Sierra Leone, twelve (12) virgins and twelve (12) mothers – dressed in white garments “because of the sins of our ancestors and forefathers, against a missionary and virgins killed for ritual purposes” declared Pastor Mambu.

An object believed to be a witchcraft pot – wrapped with the national flag, a live crab, a mirror with a piece of paper bearing Sierra Leone’s initial twelve districts, popular surnames from various tribes, twelve (12) needles, some quantity of sand believed to have been gathered from the initial twelve districts of Sierra Leone, a concoction of what’s believed to be the blood of twelve (12) virgins dipped in twelve (12) cow-sized horns plus what appeared to be a human heart; all were amazingly displayed in the presence of curious onlookers at the Cotton Tree, located in the centre of Freetown.

Pastor Mambu said the occult items believed to be responsible for the stagnation of the nation’s development had been buried since 1977 during a local political fight known as ‘hindo-hindo’ and were periodically renewed with blood – as sacrifice – by past and present political and spiritual leaders, in the country “on which Sierra Leone’s problems hung barely four decades ago.”

“It is a mystery for a nation that is blessed with over forty (40) different kinds of minerals including arable land and favourable weather condition to be tagged ‘underdeveloped’ and its citizens ironically have nothing to show for its wealth”, exclaimed the fearless Man of God who explained how he got instructed by God to do what he referred to as “spiritual cleansing and redemption of the land” after a confinement for two about hundred days – praying and fasting, “and it was while I continued praying that God revealed to me that I should give audience to the occult master who wanted to opt out.”

The historic spiritual event which many Sierra Leoneans described as “Redemption Day for Sierra Leone” went along with deliverance prayers meant to break curses and covenants and undo demonic sieges, burning of the unearth ‘jujus’ and prayers for the minerals of the land etc. It was climaxed by thunderous shouting and singing of a song: “Sierra Leone has been saved! If you believe and I believe, and we together pray, the Holy Spirit has come down and Sierra Leone has been saved…” by all with the hope and belief that God has answered the prayers of Sierra Leone which he instructed in 2Chronicles 7:14!” ‘Redemption day for Sierra Leone.’

NP-SL Is an Epitome of Success in West Africa

By Amin Kef Sesay

The National Petroleum-Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is currently a very reliable source of drawing inspiration by indigenes that have big dreams of coming together to establish a company which they may want to see grow exponentially into becoming a towering business entity. Without any gainsaying, there are many useful lessons that aspiring entrepreneurs could learn from NP-SL which would definitely serve as a roadmap to navigate through the business landscape in order to crystallize their dreams into reality.

The company was founded decades ago by thirty-five Sierra Leoneans who were erstwhile employees of the British Petroleum Company which decided to fold up and sell its shares to the Government of Sierra Leone. Based on technical advice, the Government also decided to sell its shares and the 35 former workers bought those shares to set up what became known as the National Petroleum-SL Ltd. It must be highlighted at this juncture that the company is a private-owned business entity and the Government has no hands in it, does not decide how it is operated and grappling with challenges.

One of the underlying factors that have been noted for the meteoric rise of the company could be attributed to the selflessness of its shareholders. These ambitious Sierra Leoneans were so dedicated to the cause of catapulting their “baby” to higher height to such an extent that they put all their best initiatives into play that culminated into the company becoming a formidable force to reckon with.

These fine business initiatives were well implemented to the letter which led to the realization of fruitful dividends. Selflessness, in this context, could mean putting aside ego, working with a collective sense of purpose, brushing aside deceit, greed and ready to give as well as take. This could be Lesson No.1.

The next lesson borders around enhancing customer care with the avowed objective of giving optimum satisfaction. The Shareholders and various Management teams harnessed this so well to an extent that they have succeeded in broadening their customer base. As far as they are concerned it is the interests of customers which are paramount and therefore everything must be done to ensure that those interests are given due consideration whenever decisions are taken to push the company forward.

It is in this regard that the shareholders decided to go in for modern calibrated pumping machines which are capable of churning out the right quantity of fuel that a buyer puts in for as well as displaying the price. These machines make fuel transactions become very transparent, thereby giving customers satisfaction and confidence that they are deriving their monies worth.

Within that realm, the Shareholders also thought it prudent to introduce NP Smart Card which is now in vogue. This Smart Card can be used to purchase fuel, petrol and diesel, with ease avoiding the hassle of having to be rushing to the banks to re intermittently withdrawing monies for the purpose of purchasing fuel. The card could be credited with a certain amount of money and whenever transaction transpires the amount utilized is debited. Its greatest advantage is that it avails the holder of the Smart Card the opportunity to programme or budget him or herself to purchase fuel on a periodic basis.

NP Gas is now going like hot cakes on the market. It is a cooker which has been proven to be very effective in terms of performance. Manufactured in different cylinder sizes it has been attested to be environmentally friendly in terms of less gaseous emissions that could pose health risks. NP Gas can be secured at all the leading Filing Stations of the company and its authorized dealers.

With all these attractive offers, there is a lesson that enhancing customer care, is very key to the growth of any business enterprise. Aspiring entrepreneurs could learn from this.

What also has been identified as a good business initiative which the company has mastered so effectively has to do with promoting the country’s Local Content Policy. The intent of this policy is geared towards ensuring that we make proper use of our local resources, human as well as material, in the production chain.  It is against such a backdrop that the company limits employment opportunities to qualified Sierra Leoneans instead of bringing over expatriates to perform tasks that could be better done by indigenes. Knowing that they are employed by an indigenous company such gives the employees the sense of ownership and the extra motivation to give their best to the company.

Another Lesson: Make use of local resources which could be cost effective instead of spending much to use expatriates just for the sake of showing off. Besides, monies, in the forms of salaries and end of service benefits are retained and not taken out of the country. It gives any company operating with such a policy a nationalistic flavour.

To give back to society, in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility, brings with it respectability and integrity. It is very important to be in a position to always assist residents in communities where a business entity operates or to the country as a whole.

NP-SL Ltd has been very consistent in that regard as it recently manifested when the company donated One Billion Leones to the Government of Sierra Leone as a complementary move to assist the latter in its strides to combat COVID-19. Apart from this, the company has been supporting various humanitarian causes as long as such assistances will cascade to impact meaningfully on the less privileged in society.

From all what have been said so far, it could be seen that NP-SL Ltd has valuable lessons which aspiring entrepreneurs could imbibe and infuse in their activities if fruitful dividends must be realized. Indeed, NP-SL Ltd is really a source of inspiration and a reservoir of good business initiatives.

Mercury International Donates Le500 M to Support Free Quality Education

By Amin Kef Sesay

On Thursday 5 November 2020, The management of Mercury International has presented a cheque of Le 500 million to His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio to support the construction of a multi-storey classroom building for the St. Joseph’s Convent Secondary School in Freetown.

Managing Director of the Sports Betting and Lottery Company, Lawyer Martin Michael, said they were working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, MBSSE, to provide 25 percent of the total cost for the construction of the building.

“On behalf of the Board Chairman, Mercury International wishes the ex-pupils of Saint Joseph’s Convent luck in their project. We look forward to the launch of the completed building in the shortest possible time. God bless you all and God bless Sierra Leone,” said Mr. Michael.

President of the St. Joseph’s Secondary School Ex-pupils Association, Mrs. Emerica King, disclosed that history was being made for their school. She thanked the government of President Bio and Mercury International for the eight-classroom multi-storey building that would help eliminate the two shifts system in the school.

“Your Excellency Sir, the ex-pupils are solidly behind you on your Free Quality Education drive and we are committed to doing all we can to support and move it forward,” she assured.

Minister of MBSSE, Dr Moinina David Sengeh, thanked Mercury International for their partnership with the ministry and said that the Basic Education Commission had introduced a shift index in readiness of the school to return to the single shift system.

He noted that the Commission was charged with the responsibility of ensuring quality education for every child in the country and achieving a low rate of illiteracy in the country.

Delivering the keynote address, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio expressed gratitude to the company for what he said was their continued manifestation of commitment to the education sector. He urged other institutions to emulate the contributions of Mercury International in national development.

“Our commitment to education is genuine. It is intentional and purposeful and the benefit of this intention, and what we are all undertaking, is not going to be felt today. It may not fetch me more votes, because those who are going to benefit are not yet qualified to vote, but I know that I am making a solid foundation for the development of our nation. The land that we love that was once the Athens of West Africa,” he stated.

President Bio further stated that no nation would achieve sustainable development without a sound educational system and, therefore, encouraged parents to support their children in school and at home.

“There is no shortcut to quality education. One has to burn the midnight candle. I want to plead with the citizens of this country to understand that I am only leading a process. The success of education depends on us all. The best investment is in human beings. There is beauty in education,” he emphasized.

Six (6) Housemates Couples Up for Possible Eviction this Week

By Amin Kef Sesay

As Housemates Salone has now captured the minds of many in and out of Sierra Leone, as recent surveys in different parts of the country have clearly manifested, it is mooted that six (6) couples are up for possible eviction this week. However, what is certain for now is that people are really enjoying the episodes as they keep on unfolding and as a matter of fact even learning from them.

The interesting young participants in the on-going Reality TV Show are currently busy interacting and performing various tasks, gossiping, playing games and courting friendships all providing room for varying discussions in many public circles.

Indeed, what is uppermost in the minds of the various Housemates is bagging the staggering prize of Two Hundred and Fifty Million Leones (Le250M) plus undertaking a round trip to Dubai. Interestingly, apart from bagging the Star Prize, all participants are now entitled to their daily allowances of Le100, 000 each whilst they still remain in the House and accumulatively given to them whenever eviction takes place.

As the show progresses, based on the percentages of votes scored by each and every Housemate will surely determine whether he or she will be either evicted from the House or make it to the grand finale.

The organizers of the Reality TV Show, AYV and Africell, have ensured that all the necessary preparations have been put in place to bring exciting episodes from this popular entertainment show.

As they are now in the House, the Housemates are  appearing sexy and displaying  some form of nudity which must not come as any big surprise as the show is tailored in that way.

Again, seeing them talking strongly is simply because they are supposed to be intermittently using strong language and be humorous.

Manifesting and portraying these traits well are what is really making the Reality TV Show very interesting to watch and in one way or the other providing comic relief for viewers and serving as a therapy to reduce stress.

The main rationale for organizing Housemates Salone Season 2 is to promote youth empowerment

Put contextually, Housemates Salone provides the unique opportunity for the participants to perform various assignments, learn new skills that would definitely mould their characters to an extent that after the show they would be transformed personalities set to give back to society.

As it now stands, the Housemates are presently benefitting from widespread exposure as the Show is watched near and far. Talents are spotted and vistas of opportunities await some of the Housemates who could be contracted to become, advertisers, Brand Ambassadors, movie artists, models etc.

They are also gaining a lot from motivational lectures, socializing, learning how to play different games, how to speak fluently etc.

It is the expectation that the ultimate winner will embark on the implementation of a sound project, in the post-Housemates period, that will positively impact the lives of young people in the country.

Financially empowering these Housemates provides an important channel to make the future prospective for them. Each day spent in the House earns a Housemate Le100, 000. The winner will have to bag the covetous prize of Le250, 000,000.

As the show is now in progress it is streamed live online at Africa Young Voices Media Empire Facebook page, AYV entertainment TV, Africell Sierra Leone Facebook page and on website at www.ayvnews.com.

Make use of this opportunity now by sending SMS messages or vote the number of any of the Housemates to: 5500 or Dial *5500#. For International voting, call: +23299005500.

Housemates Salone Season 2, from all indications, is really exuding fun, entertainment as well as educative episodes.

Orange Money Partners with Ecobank to Enhance Financial Inclusion

By Mary Kabay

On Thursday 5th November, 2020 Orange Money Sierra Leone launched an E- Wallet Service with Ecobank at the Bank’s head office on Lightfoot Boston Street in Freetown.

The Orange Money Bank to Wallet service and Wallet to Bank is a simple and easy means for valid customers of Ecobank and Orange Money to send and receive money at ease even within their respective comfort zones in their homes, offices or in shopping malls.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Orange Money Sierra Leone, David Mansaray, narrated testimonies of how Orange Money has aided people in their daily dealings and make work easier and shorter for members of the working and business classes.

He stated that one of the key roles of Orange Money is bridging the gap in order to achieve financial inclusion saying such forms part of President Bio’s agenda messages for the nation. He laid emphasis on the service saying it is not only good for Orange Money customers but also for those at Ecobank as they have a strong working relationship ending up by thanking the Orange Money team and the Ecobank team for their relentless support.

Aina Moore, Managing Director of Ecobank Sierra Leone, gave a synopsis of the bank stating how they have been doing well since the inception of Airtel money before it was changed to Orange.

She disclosed that the two institutions have been working together and still maintain a good relationship adding how banking does not mean where one goes but how one does it as technology has made it simple, easier for them and their customers to make mobile money services become accessible.

She went further to explain how collaboration is important in operationalizing the service. According to her their bank cannot reach to the farthest parts of the country but with the help of Orange Money outlets in various villages they are of the strong conviction that the bank has reached them using the E-Banking system and reduce the cost of opening banks in the interior.  She expressed appreciation and thanked Orange Money for partnering with them and assured their customers that there are more services that their bank can offer that does not exist in other banks.

This service works only for Orange Money and Ecobank customers, which means that one must have an Orange Money account as well as an Ecobank account to be a valid user of the service.

An individual can register free of charge and understand that the service works for owners of smart phones as well as other less sophisticated phones. The minimum for sending or receiving money is ten thousand Leones and the maximum is fifteen million per day. The minimum cost is five hundred Leones and the maximum is twenty-seven thousand Leones which is much reasonable compared to paying transport fares to the interior which costs more.

To use the service an individual should not forget to dial #144# and follow the instructions which will lead one to choose the bank of his or her choice and enter a password and the amount a person wants to send or withdraw. With such simple steps transaction is done easily.

Stats-SL Holds Confab on the 2021 Mid Term Population & Housing Census

By Foday Moriba Conteh

On Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th October 2020, Stats –SL held a consultative meeting with the technical and publicity committees on the 2021 Mid Term Population and Housing Census (MTPHC).

During the meetings, they did a comprehensive explanation on the time line of events, mapping and Data collection methodology, questionnaire validation, composition of the publicity and communication committee, review and adoption of census messages, and presentation of the 2021 Midterm Population and Housing Census communication strategy.

Giving a synopsis on the 2021 MTPHC at the Technical committee meeting on Tuesday 27th October 2020, the Statistician General of Stats SL, Prof Osman Sankoh, started by welcoming representatives from different institutions and encouraged them to continue their support towards the whole process.

He mentioned that from the time of proclamation of the Census on July 21st 2020 by HE the President Brigadier Rtd. Dr. Julius Maada Bio, on to the press release published on the postponement of the census on 20th October 2020, the whole process was done through a consultative process, for which the Council Chairman, Deputy Statistician General of Stats SL and the Minister of Planning and Economic Development were all part and parcel of the process.

Perusing through the time line of activities and giving the importance of conducting the 2021 Mid Term Census on the 19th of April 2021, the Deputy Statistician General, Andrew Bob Johnny, said that this census is dubbed “The People’s Census” and its importance is to help fix major challenges faced with the 2015 population and housing census and also update base maps and delineate EA’s, which is a key justification of conducting the Mid Term Census.

He furthered that it is important to show where development is lacking in order to help government and donor partners plan very well, thus it is a big project for which they were having sleepless nights. He further made a presentation on the time line, where he started by saying that the finalization of census projection document began in September together with the finalization of census tools including the cartographic manual and questionnaire and also recruitment of cartographic field staff.

He also stated that training of trainers and cartographic field staff training had started in October and will continue till November; pilot cartography and cartographic field data collection begins in November; delineating and finalizing EA maps will begin in December on to March 2021; electronic questionnaire design and uploading into tablets begins December to March 2021; pilot census will begin in February; recruitment and training of enumerators begins January to March; deployment and field data collection starts April; post enumeration survey begins May; data analysis and report writing starts June and ends July 2021; preliminary report is expected in August and printing and dissemination of final report will be in September 2021. With this timeline, he concluded that the task ahead was huge and expectations are high, he encouraged everyone to put in their tireless efforts in ensuring a successful outcome of the project.

Giving his key note address in the communication and publicity committee meeting on the 28th October 2020, the Council chairman of Stats SL, Moses Williams, started by welcoming everyone present at the meeting and emphasized that Stats SL is not discrediting the 2015 Housing and population census. He went on to say that he had worked for the institution for a very long time before his appointment as Council Chairman, so he is not there as a politically motivated person but rather in the interest of the country. He further explained the reasons for conducting the 2021 MTPHC by indicating the percentage of data that cannot be accounted for which consist of 59% especially for the locality type 3, which is made up of several villages put together to form one EA, which he said, is the foremost reason for conducting the Mid-Term Population and Housing Census.

The meeting concluded with discussions around the communications Strategy which was presented by the Communications Director of Stats SL, Samuel Ansumana.

Recommendations and key points from both the Technical and Publicity Committee meetings will be presented for endorsement to the Advisory committee which met on Tuesday 3rd November 2020.

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