News

By Francis H. Murray

The Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) has lauded the recent 30% salary increment for teachers in government schools across the country, describing it as a fulfillment of government’s promise.

The government had negotiated a 30% salary increment with teachers at the end of the last year, promising it to put it into effect at the end of April.

By Prince J Musa in Kenema

The National Commission for Social Action has distributed up to Le325 million to people living with disability in the Eastern region. A total of 1,300 people in the region benefitted from the cash transfer which came just days ahead of the just concluded nationwide lockdown, although some got their cash during the luck down.

Some 500 people in Kenema benefitted from it, 300 in Kailahun and 500 in Kono. Each person received a sum of Le250, 000. 

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The United Nations in Sierra Leone has urged the government to swiftly investigate the alleged prison break attempt at the maximum security prisons at Pademba Road in Freetown.

Twelve people were killed in the incident that also left properties within the prison facility destroyed.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

At least one person was reported dead after a riot broke out in the Pademba Road Correctional Center on Wednesday.

It was a chaotic scene in and around the prison precinct, as security forces battled with the rioting inmates. Photos and video footages of the scenes showed a huge blaze from within the compound.

Sources told Politico that the dead victim is a prison guard.

There were also several injuries among the prisoners, attributed to the scramble as they tried to find their way out of the skirmish.

By Kemo Cham

Budget transparency is still very low in Sierra Leone, the latest Open Budget Survey has shown.

The Open Budget Survey is part of the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Initiative, a global research and advocacy program to promote public access to budget information and the adoption of accountable budget systems.

By Prince Musa in Kenema

The district coordinator of the Emergency Operations Center in Kenema, Umaru Vandi Kondovoh, has warned against overcrowding in banks. His warning comes as teachers and other civil servants cram in to banks on Tuesday to withdraw their salary.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

Bonthe has joined the growing list of districts in Sierra Leone recording COVID-19 cases, after four people were confirmed positive of the viral disease.

According to updates of the pandemic released by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the early hours of Wednesday, Bonthe becomes seventh of the 16 districts in the country that have recorded cases of the virus.

Bonthe is also the first district in the southern region to record a case in the spiraling pandemic.