By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Foday Rado Yoki has been sacked. No reasons were given in a State House press release which announced his replacement, but it had been for days.
In the release, President Julius Maada Bio appointed petroleum engineering expert, Musa Timothy Kabba, to head the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources.
Yoki is a staunch ally of the president. Analysts have tied his removal to recent developments within the Mines and Minerals sector, notably the row with US miner, SL Mining, which ended disastrously for the government in an international court.
Until recently Sierra Leone’s economy depended mostly on the mineral sector. A string of events, starting with the 2014-2016 West African Ebola epidemic and the collapse in the global commodity prices, led to the near closure of the sector. Almost all the major mining companies shut down operations.
The government has been working on reviving the sector by attracting more investors. This task is now Kabba’s when he is approved by parliament.
The State House release also named Mrs Ann Marie Baby Harding as the new Deputy Minister after the death last year of the former holder of that position.
A third appointment of the day was Mr David Nyamakoro Borbor, who was named as the new Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, replacing Mohamed Konneh who is now the head of the National Electoral Commission.
All three appointments are subject to parliamentary approval, notes the statement from the presidency, which was signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr Julius F. Sandy.
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