News

By Kemo Cham

Sierra Leone’s preparedness for a Zika virus outbreak has been boosted by the Chinese government with the establishment of the only lab in the country with the capability to test for the virus.

The National Reference Laboratory for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers and National Training Center for Viral Detection and Biosafety, housed within the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biosafety Laboratory in Freetown, is just of one several health interventions announced by the Chinese government for Sierra Leone recently.

By Kemo Cham

The Ministry of Health and partners have kick-started the 2016 national Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS).

The exercise which commenced on Monday involves about 200 health workers who are moving from house to house collecting data relating to the deadly malaria disease.

By Mabinty M Kamara

The Ministry of Education has said government has agreed to meet, by the first week of July, “all the demands” of striking lecturers of polytechnics and teacher training colleges, but they will have none of it.

By Mohamed T Massaquoi

Chairman of the parliamentary oversight committee on transparency and accountability has expressed dissatisfaction over the handling of funds amounting to more than Le 1.4 billion meant for Pujehun District, and threatened some civil servants with a sack.

Claude Kamanda, MP, said the amount had not been accounted for by the ministries of agriculture, education, and gender and children’s affairs. The national library board was also named.

By Mustapha Sesay

Amidst controversy over its rating, Radisson Blu mammy Yoko Hotel has named a General Manager.

Johan Klana, a Swedish national, has replaced Nuno NEVES who has been recalled by the Radisson Blu management. Klana, at a special farewell press conference organized for his predecessor, told reporters that he had spent over 30 years in hotel business. He said seven of those years have been with the global hotel chain, Radisson Blu.

By Kemo Cham

The Independent Media Commission (IMC) of Sierra Leone has been nursing a huge loss after a Freetown High Court ruled against it in a case filed by the popular talk show host David Tam-Baryoh.

The court ruled last week that IMC’s decision to ban Baryoh’s popular weekly radio programme, ‘Monologue’, was ‘unjust’ and ‘hash’.

By Kemo Cham

The newly elected executive of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists is determined to avoid the pitfalls of its predecessor.

Members of the executive last week convened a one-day orientation session designed to ensure individual executive members were acquainted with their roles and responsibilities. The move was also meant to foster cohesion among executive members so that they work together without ill-feeling fanned by lack of collaboration.