News

By Saio Marrah

A Social Protection Bill developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) that will see abjectly poor and vulnerable people being taken care of by the government is at an advanced stage.

For further input into the new bill, the ministry and partners held a consultative meeting with key stakeholders at the Family Kingdom Resort in Freetown on Thursday 6^th October 2022, after a similar engagement in the provinces.

By Abass Jalloh

Magistrate Mark Ngegba of Pademba Road Court No. 1 in Freetown has sentenced Abu Bakarr Conteh, Hassan Bangura, James Kamara, Saidu Kamara, Haja Kadiatu Kalokoh, and Hassanatu Carew to 18 months in prison and fined NLe 1,500 (one thousand five hundred Leones) after being found guilty of committing two public order offences during the August 10 anti-government protest in Sierra Leone.

All sentences and fines are to run concurrently, the magistrate stated yesterday October 11 while delivering his ruling.

By Alpha Abu

Representatives of some key financial institutions in Sierra Leone are participating in a two-day training on how to capacitate Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The training which began yesterday at the Brookfields hotel in Freetown is organised by UNIDO in collaboration with International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDA).

By Nasratu Kargbo

As CLSG completes work on the Kono sub-station line, President Julius Maada Bio has promised uninterrupted electricity for residents of Kono District, starting the 10^th of October this year; the diamondiferous district joining other places such as  Kenema and Bo that have since been powered by the grid.

Bio made this commitment on the 4^th of October 2022 during a nationwide tour.

He said lighting up Kono is part of his government’s commitment to electrify all district headquarter towns.

By Alpha Abu

Three foreign nationals suspected of involvement in a cocaine trafficking ring in Liberia have been arrested along the border with Sierra Leone.

A statement from the Office of National Security (ONS), says a Guinean, Liberian, and Lebanese were believed to have been members of a drug cartel linked to 520 kilograms of cocaine that was recently seized by Liberia’s Drug Enforcement Agency.

Nasratu Kargbo

The additional two days awarded by the Electoral Commission Sierra Leone for voter registration in centres that were opened during the first phase commences today. The Director of Media and Communications at the ECSL Raymond George stated that the two days are compensation for the challenges faced during the first phase of the registration exercise.

“The extended period will be limited to all the one thousand eight hundred and fifteen registration centres of the first phase,” said George.

By Abass Jalloh

A slight majority of Sierra Leoneans trust the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and the Electoral Commission Sierra Leone (ECSL), while the least trusted are the Police and the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), according to a survey conducted by the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) on elections management.