News

By Kemo Cham

The Sierra Leone government has declared wearing a facemask mandatory for everyone in public spaces.

The move announced on Tuesday, April 14, is meant as a preventive measure against Covid-19, amidst rising levels of community transmission of the virus in the country, officials said.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has defended the legitimacy of its contact tracing, amidst emerging concern that it could be faulty.

A spokesman for the center told Politico that they employed a scientific process in reaching every conclusion in contact tracing. 

By Francis H. Murray

Amidst increasing evidence of community transmission of Covid-19, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has emphasized on the use of facemasks as protection against the virus.

Opinions are split on the efficacy of the mask, but many believe that its use is an important precautionary measure.

By Kemo Cham

In a move to prevent misappropriation of funds meant for the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Sierra Leone has called for transparency in the handling of all public funds acquired in the name of the country.

The ACC in a statement warned that it would prosecute anyone found wanting for the misuse of public funds in relation to the pandemic, and it called on all individuals and institutions involved with the response to make public all monies they received in this regard.

By Francis H. Murray

Magistrate Abdulai Sheriff of the Pademba Road Magistrate’s Court No 3 has remanded one Yusuf Turay alias ‘‘Ceford’’ who appeared before him on a two count charge of allegedly “conspiring with other persons unknown” to steal goods worth over seven hundred million Leones in February this year.

By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo

The head of the Bike Riders Union in Bo, Augustine Sama, has told Politico that they have handed over four of their members to the police for investigation in connection to an attack on the offices of the Sierra Leone Roads Safety Authority (SLRSA) and its staff last week Thursday.

Several riders stormed the SLRSA facility in the city in protest against alleged extortion and harassment by its road safety corps and traffic police.

By Kemo Cham

The Sierra Leone government should consider tax waiver on customs duties for essential goods as part of efforts to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on the local economy, two unions representing workers and employers have said.

The Sierra Leone Employers Federation and the Sierra Leone Labor Congress made the call in a joint statement, raising concern over the impact of the global health crisis on the country’s economy and proffered several suggestions to minimize it.