ThinkTank

By Umaru Fofana

Any keen observer might be tempted into thinking that by the headline I am bothered by a strange decision of President Ernest Bai Koroma and his government. For some reason the incredible role played by the local media in the fight against Ebola did not get a recognition by the president and his government as manifested in their decision to not even invite the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to the Ebola Awards in December, let alone award the association.

Pro-life women marching to enter Parliament

By Umaru Fofana

By Umaru Fofana

Such is the way of the world these days that one wonders how we used to live our lives before the advent of the mobile phone - or for the sake of this piece, the internet.

My friend and colleague, Tanu Jalloh returned home over the weekend from an overseas trip and had no access to data. Even though he could put calls through he was restless and had to go scouting for data for his internet modem, especially so because the mobile phone operator had awful internet connectivity as is often the case in Sierra Leone.

By Umaru Fofana

Staff morale is at a very low ebb as teachers and pupils compete to see who plays truant more recklessly. There is hardly any effective monitoring of teachers. Classrooms are often ruggedly floored and covered with dusty dinginess. They are overcrowded too, with kids hardly able to write or even breathe properly. The school environment is awful: hardly any water for the kids, or toilets, or napkins.

By Umaru Fofana

By Umaru Fofana

By Umaru Fofana