News

By Mabinty M. Kamara

Human rights campaigners have welcomed government’s decision to lift the ban on a 10-year policy they say discriminated against girls by prohibiting those who were pregnant from attending schools.

In a joint statement by four leading campaign groups, they praised the move by government, saying it recognized the place of girls in society.

One of the groups, Equality Now, an international human rights watchdog, described it as a new beginning for girls.

By Kemo Cham

Awareness about the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is high among Sierra Leoneans, a survey on preparedness among the public has revealed.

The survey which was conducted by a newly established local research firm randomly sampled 203 adults who live in the country to measure perception, opinion and behavior towards preparedness for response to the pandemic.

By Kemo Cham

President Julius Maada Bio has appointed Brig. (Rtd) Kellie Hassan Conteh as the Interim National Coordinator of the government’s Covid-19 response effort.

Conteh, who is the Minister of Defense, was named on Monday in a statement released by the Office of the President.

By Kemo Cham

Freetown mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, was among 45 mayors and heads of city councils across the world who shared their experiences dealing with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

The city leaders from over 30 countries participated in the mayoral webinar on March 27 which offered those presiding over cities with less impact of the disease to learn from those experiencing the brunt of the epidemic.

By Kemo Cham

An innovative project designed to improve on service delivery and accountability in governance in Sierra Leone officially came to an end on Tuesday, March 31, amidst praises for its impact.

The Strengthening Accountability Building Inclusion (SABI), a four-year British-funded project, sought to bridge a perennial gap between public service providers and users, creating awareness among citizens to enable them demand for services they are entitled to.

By Francis H. Murray

Amidst growing concern over the effect of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Sierra Leone’s economy, the country’s media has already taken a major hit, with news of the shutting down of a major source of revenue.

The leading sport-betting company in the country, Mercury International, said last week that it would put on hold adverts worth hundreds of millions of leones to newspapers due to the fall in its revenue as a result of the effect of the global pandemic on the football leagues in the world.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that was submitted to President Julius Maada Bio last week singled out the Ministry of Education under Dr. Minkailu Bah as the most corrupt ministry over the course of the Ernest Bai Koroma presidency.

The report states that more than Le 44 billion was unaccounted for in the ministry.