News

By Kemo Cham

An innovative project designed to improve on service delivery and accountability in governance in Sierra Leone officially came to an end on Tuesday, March 31, amidst praises for its impact.

The Strengthening Accountability Building Inclusion (SABI), a four-year British-funded project, sought to bridge a perennial gap between public service providers and users, creating awareness among citizens to enable them demand for services they are entitled to.

By Francis H. Murray

Amidst growing concern over the effect of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Sierra Leone’s economy, the country’s media has already taken a major hit, with news of the shutting down of a major source of revenue.

The leading sport-betting company in the country, Mercury International, said last week that it would put on hold adverts worth hundreds of millions of leones to newspapers due to the fall in its revenue as a result of the effect of the global pandemic on the football leagues in the world.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that was submitted to President Julius Maada Bio last week singled out the Ministry of Education under Dr. Minkailu Bah as the most corrupt ministry over the course of the Ernest Bai Koroma presidency.

The report states that more than Le 44 billion was unaccounted for in the ministry.

By Francis H. Murray

President Julius Maada Bio has assured members of the diplomatic and consular corps, as well as development partners of Sierra Leone, that robust response measures were being instituted as part of government’s strides to prevent Covid-19 from entering the country.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

President Julius Maada Bio has appointed Daniel Kaitibie as the new Director General of the National Telecommunication Commission (NATCOM). Kaitibie, who was the deputy director general until his new appointment, replaces Maxwell Massaquoi.

The announcement was made on Thursday in a statement from State House.

It is not clear why Massaquoi was sacked. But he just returned from a month long suspension, amidst murmur about bad blood between him and Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

Petty traders in Freetown have complained about the impact of the city council’s latest ban on night trading, which is part of the response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the traders who depend on night sales told Politico that they feared the ban by the Freetown City Council (FCC) would seriously impact their livelihoods by reducing the “meagre” profits they were making.

By Kemo Cham

President Julius Maada Bio on Friday ordered the closure of all of Sierra Leone’s land borders as part of efforts to keep the Coronavirus disease out of the country.

According to a statement from the State House, the shutdown took effect on midnight Saturday March 28. The statement issued from the office of the Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman added that the measure will last for 90 days, subject to review.