News

By Umaru Fofana

After a heated debate lasting several hours, Parliament yesterday approved Mohamed Kenewui Konneh as the head of the National Electoral Commission (NEC).

78 of the parliamentarians present voted to approve his nomination, while 51 voted against.

The main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party said that his appointment was unconstitutional because he had not resigned from public service one year prior.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

The Government of Sierra Leone has launched an insurance scheme to cover all 11, 039 health workers in the country. The Group Life Insurance will be carried out by the state owned National Insurance Company (NIC) for all health care workers who are in the frontline of the COVID-19 fight.

Some 300 healthcare workers are expected to be added to the scheme once they get pin codes from government.

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.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

The Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Mohamed Haji Kella, has told Politico that the government has agreed in principle to allow Muslims in the country to hold congregational prayers on Eid-ul-Adha (Dunkay Sally).

By Kemo Cham

Sierra Leone is set to up its Covid-19 testing capacity from 500 to 1000 tests per day, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO country office announced on Friday that the development was made possible through a collaboration between it and the German government, which is providing a grant of €500,000 though the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ).

The funding will make it possible for Sierra Leone to procure urgently needed laboratory equipment for the diagnosis and confirmation of COVID-19 cases.

By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo

The Bo City Council, in partnership with the Prince's Foundation, a charitable organization, has commenced a tree planting exercise designed to give a facelift to the Bo Reservation.

The exercise, according to officials, is part of the city authorities’ plan to transform Bo to a modern city to match with other cities around the world. Some 2, 000 trees are to be planted under the project.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The Sierra Leone media regulatory body, the Independent Media Commission (IMC) has in a press statement applauded the government of Sierra Leone for fulfilling its promise and repealing Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965 which criminalized libel and defamation.

The IMC also praised the enactment of the new IMC Act, which paved the way for the repeal of the criminal defamation law.