News

By Mohamed T Massaquoi in Pujehun

The ministry of social welfare, gender and children’s affairs in the southern district headquarter town of Pujehun has confirmed to Politico that child labour is on the increase in the whole of that area.

This disclosure by Alieu Francis Finor, the probation officer attached to the ministry, comes after the death of a 7-year-old child in Yonni town, Kpanga Kabondeh chiefdom, whose body was discovered floating in a community water well, some three kilometres from Pujehun town.

By Mustapha Sesay

Members of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Information have again decried Airtel mobile company for poor services provided to customers across the country.

This is not the first time the mobile company, which is considered the biggest in Sierra Leone in terms of customer base and reach, is being criticized by committee members, parliamentarians or the general public.

An opposition Member of Parliament, Paran Tarawally, had even vowed to lead a legal suit against the company.

By Mustapha Sesay

Civil society organizations, local and international nongovernmental organizations have called on the authorities to reverse their decision after government refused to allow pregnant girls take the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and attend regular schools.

In a joint press release of Wednesday 6 May, a group of NGOs expressed concerns about the education ministry’s decision that effectively prevented pregnant girls from attending schools and taking public exams.

By Mohamed T Massaquoi in Pujehun

The ministry of social welfare, gender and children’s affairs in the southern district headquarter town of Pujehun has confirmed to Politico that child labour is on the increase in the whole of that area.

This disclosure by Alieu Francis Finor, the probation officer attached to the ministry, comes after the death of a 7-year-old child in Yonni town, Kpanga Kabondeh chiefdom, whose body was discovered floating in a community water well, some three kilometres from Pujehun town.

By Allieu Sahid Tunkara

Shandong Steel Group(SISG), a leading Chinese company specialized in  iron and steel production, has disclosed plans to resume the Tonkolili iron ore mines after they took over from African Minerals in April, 2015.

The company’s vice chairman, Mr Wu Chu, yesterday told the unveiling ceremony at the Radisson Blu hotel in Freetown that they would focus their attention mainly on the Tonkolili Iron Ore mining project with the largest deposits of iron ore in the country.

By Mustapha Sesay & Mustapha Kamara Jnr

The Secretary General of the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party has described as “illegal” the expulsion of Ambassador Alie Bangura from its ranks.

Sulaiman Banja Tejan-Sie told Politico that the party never gave Bangura a chance to defend himself and there was no enquiry that found him guilty of indiscipline.

He said such an expulsion could only happen if the provisions of the constitution were followed which he said did not happen.

The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists SLAJ has called for an end to the current State of Emergency saying the country’s democratic credentials “are being badly damaged by the selective implementation of the regulations”.

In his annual address marking World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the SLAJ president, Kelvin Lewis said “The fundamental human rights of citizens to free expression, especially the right to hold a different opinion and demonstrate is being denied. This threatens peaceful coexistence and democratic inclusion."