News

By Crispina Cummings

The public accounts committee in parliament yesterday engaged the ministry of health and sanitation in relation to queries made against them in damning the 2012 audit report.

Officials of the ministry were summoned by parliament to answer to questions of several withdrawals made without supporting documents.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon arrives in Sierra Leone next week. According to a UN source in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, he arrives around the 4 March to close down what is left of the UN mission in the country.

A report out today by Save The Children says the rate of child deaths remains high with around 40million women across the world "giving birth without assistance from a skilled healthcare attendant" with figures still high in Sierra Leone.

The report says this leads to the loss of the lives of "millions of infants [whose] lives are lost due to complications that are easily preventable".

It puts Pakistan as having the highest infant mortality rate, with over 40 in every 1,000 babies delivered stillborn or dying within a day of their birth.

Aminata Phidelia Allie and Jenneh Braima

Management and staff of sports betting company, Mercury International, have expressed disappointment in Airtel, one of Sierra Leone’s telecommunications operators, whose GPRS system has been down for 3 days and affecting the betting business.

The company said it had its head office on Siaka Stevens Street crowded yesterday, Monday, February 24, with customers who hoped to be paid their monies after winning their bets.

By Mohamed Vandi in Kenema

A police officer, said to be hard working, attached to the acting principal magistrate in Kenema was reportedly shot in Sandaru in the Kenema District on Saturday night.

Police media officer, Sergeant Prince Kamara, disclosed that Jusu Kallon was killed by a local hunter, Swallo Kallon, who had been arrested and presently under police custody.

He said Jusu left Kenema with a commercial bike rider, known locally as Okada, to arrest a suspect who had refused to obey court order.

Three commercial banks have confirmed to Politico that there is a huge shortage of the United States dollars in the country.

It followed the reintroduction by the central bank of the non-withdrawal of foreign exchange by foreign bank account holders unless they are withdrawing their salaries paid by international organisations or are diamond dealers.

By Crispina Cummings

Director General of Sierra Leone Water Company, the organisation responsible for providing clean drinking water for people living outside Freetown, has expressed disappointmentat the workings of Western Area District Council.

Samuel Bangura said the council should never have allowed deforestation and other forms of human activity to have negative impacts on the capacity of the dam at Waterloo but should ensure sufficient water was stored and distributed to thousands of residents.