The National Elections Watch (NEW) is now being operated by only one woman, according to some members of the coalition. They have called on the feckless leadership of the coalition to be transparent and accountable in the use of donor funds received for its activities. Following the coalition’s outburst in its politically- motivated statement of 2nd June, 2022, some prominent …

His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has addressed lawmakers from across Africa, meeting as a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA, and used the occasion to congratulate Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on her Platinum Jubilee. “I must add that the strengths of our democracies in the Commonwealth have endured, thanks to the role of Parliaments. You debate, modify, …

𝑩𝒚 𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒂 On 31st May 2022, Statistics Sierra Leone published the provisional results of the December 2021 Mid-Term Population and Housing Census with Kenema topping the list followed by Bo. The country’s population has risen to 7,541,641 a little over 500,000 since the last Population and Housing Census was conducted in 2015. It has to be said that even …

His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has pledged US$500,000 to the Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference at the opening session of the 16th Extraordinary Conference of the African Union Summit. The summit deliberated efforts by African leaders to address the current humanitarian challenges in the continent, that were now being exacerbated by the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 …

𝐁𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐚. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓”, Niccolo Machiavelli. Before the May 25, 1997 military coup, the SLPP had lost the power to influence public opinion. Several media houses had been set up by opposition supporters to undermine the SLPP government of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. The few civil society organizations …

On the occasion of the State Opening of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone on Tuesday, 19th May, 2022, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio said, “In developing the Compact for the Millennium Challenge Corporation after being declared compact eligible, my Government identified the lack of adequate energy as a binding constraint on development. We …

Fellow citizens: Asalamualaikum warahamatu-ilahi ta allah wa barakatuhu May this Holy month of Ramadan strengthen our taqwa. May Allah subhanahu wattahallah bestow on us peace, abundance, and blessings. Our country, like all countries around the world, has continued to wrestle with the immense global economic crises and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global supply chains have been disrupted …

By Sorie Fofana. The appointment of John Benjamin as Senior Adviser to the President and Ambassador-At-Large did not come as a surprise to some of us. At the SLPP National Delegates’ Conference held in Bo in December last year, John Benjamin and President Julius Maada Bio exchanged warm, friendly smiles. The President’s intent to bring JOB into his government was …

By Sorie Fofana. Since my arrival in the United Kingdom on Saturday, 26th March, 2022, I have been meeting and talking to hard-pressed families and friends who continue to bemoan the soaring cost-of-living in this country. Some families told me that they now prefer to eat than to heat and light their homes because of the high energy prices. This …

A high-power delegation comprising the Director General (DG) of SLRA, Chief Engineer of SLRA together with three (3) of their senior Directors, Seon (Contractor in charge of Bagbe Bridge), Pavifort (Contractor in charge of Makakura/Yiffin Road) and the National Secretary General of the SLPP who doubles as Deputy Minister of Justice last Friday made a conducted tour of various sites …