News

By Septimus Senessie in Kono

With the theme “Healthy family, healthy future”, the District Health Management Team (DHMT) in collaboration with UNICEF on 24 January launched a children vaccination week otherwise called “Mammy en pikin well body week” at the Koidu city hall, Kono District.

By Crispina Cummings

The Director General-designate of the National Mineral Agency says the agency will introduce international best practices for the environment in Sierra Leone.

Sahr Wonday was speaking to the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments where some MPs raised some concerns.

The Deputy Committee chairman who doubles as deputy majority leader of the House, Ibrahim Bundu, had expressed concerns over the environment.

By Crispina Cummings

Minister of energy and power Oluniyi Robin Coker Monday told the committee on appointment in Parliament that the country’s main power supply grid, Bumbuna hydroelectric dam, was down to 8 from 25 megawatts.

He said the dam was being powered by 2 turbine machines to supply electricity in mainly Freetown and Makeni before one of the engines broke down, bringing total output to 8 megawatts.

President Ernest Bai Koroma has appointed the long serving Secretary General of the ruling All Peoples Congress party, Victor Bockarie Foh as Sierra Leone’s ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.

A State House press release also announced the re-assignment of Ambassador Abubakarr Multi Kamara from China to the United Nations as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and permanent representative, taking over from Lawyer Sheku Toure.

By Aminata Phidelia Allie

National publicity secretary of the embattled United Democratic Movement (UDM), Editayo George Temple has said that the Political Parties’ Regulation Commission was so weak that it compromised their case against the party leader.

He called on government to “offload” the commission’s leadership for leaking confidential documents tendered as evidence to the commission in a matter that was brought before it by the executive of the party against “our rouge leader, Mohamed Bangura.”

Final appeal arguments in the case of The Prosecutor versus Charles Ghankay Taylor, the former Liberian President indicted on 7 March 2003,are scheduled for Wednesday, 23 January 2013 at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Between April and May 2012 Charles Taylor was found guilty on all 11 counts and sentenced to a prison term of 50 years.

A press statement from the Special Court in Freetown Monday says this is the last time that lawyers for the prosecution and the defence will argue a case before the Court.

The cash book for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) new and renewal registrations, collections, bank statements and pay slips were not brought into accounts and therefore not submitted for audit, according to Audit Service Sierra Leone.

The final report on public accounts for the year ended 31 December, 2011, tabled in parliament on 18 January this year by the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Chernor Maju Bah, MP,alleged that record keeping at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) was generally bad.