News

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The Freetown City council last Friday started work to fix the sewage system at the King Jimmy Bridge.

Sewage waste has been oozing from the bridge for a long time, causing discomfort to people who make a living within the vicinity.

Work on the faulty sewage system comes exactly two weeks since Politico published an article on it, revealing longstanding disagreement between the contractor who built the bridge and the city council, who accused each of responsibility for the prolongation of the problem.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

The Government of Sierra Leone is set to roll out the phase two of a US$30 million fiber optic project. The Ministry of Information and Communication say the project is part of government’s effort to further digitize the country.

The fund is a loan that was negotiated by the Julius Maada Bio administration with a 1% interest rate. The fund will be used to support the necessary infrastructure that is needed to roll out the more than 600 kilometers of fiber optic across the country.

By Francis H. Murray

Magistrate Abdul Sheriff of Court Number 3 at Pademba Road has released on bail one Mohamed Samura, who is accused of raping his girlfriend, after the woman’s testimony in the ongoing preliminary investigation.

Samura, who is in his early forties, was admitted to a Le40million bail with a further requirement that “sureties of reputable standing in society” guarantee the bond.

By Kemo Cham

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio praised the country’s healthcare workers for their dedication to the fight against Covid-19 in his independence anniversary speech on Monday.

Bio also singled out other stakeholders in the fight, including local authorities, whom he said were all contributing to efforts to ending the transmission of the virus.

By Kemo Cham

The National Coronavirus (Covid-19) Response Team has introduced a new policy in the management of its pass system to ensure that the right people are allowed to move about during lockdowns and other restrictions.

Effective last week, the passes will now be applied for and issued electronically, the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) said in a statement, noting that the move is meant to improve on the management and efficiency of the system.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

In what constitutes a major test of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 restrictions, the Sierra Leone Police is on the spot for sanctioning one of its officers who refused to allow some “influential persons” to allegedly violate the curfew order.

Inspector John Kargbo, who was the commander in charge of a checkpoint located in Newton the outskirts of Waterloo, said that on Friday 24 April, he received a letter conveying his indefinite suspension from the force on allegations of insubordination.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) announced on Friday evening that the curfew and inter district lockdown has now been extended “indefinitely”.

The measures were first announced by government on the 12^th of April, as part of ways to halt the spread of the Corona virus. But the measure has done little to curb the spread of the virus.

On Saturday the country recorded four more cases, taking the cumulative confirmed cases to 86.