On 25 November, 2021 samples were obtained from inbound passengers, one of which turned out to be positive by PCR for Covid-19. 2 Sequencing result from the positive case further proved to be positive for the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529)                              3 The passenger in question had travelled from Nigeria to Sierra Leone on 25h November, 2021 4 It could be recalled that on the 26 of November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new variant, B.1.1.529, as a Variant of Concern and termed it OMICRON. 5. Notwithstanding the detection of Omicron, Delta remains the dominant strain in the world. 6 The occurrence of the Omicron variant (B. 1.1.529) further underscores the significance of vaccination uptake and general precautionary measures needed to protect the population against COVID-19. Everyone 18 years and older should get vaccinated immediately. 7. NaCOVERC and MoHS (together with partners) are finalizing plans for a third national vaccine surge to further increase uptake. This surge will help intensify vaccine efforts in the Western Area as well as in the Districts bordering Guinea and Liberia 8. The detection of the first Ormicron case demonstrates our unflinching commitment to testing and surveillance, as well as our country’s genomic sequencing capabilities. 9. NaCOVERC and MoHS will rermain vigilant at points of entry (including the Freetown International Airport). We therefore call on everyone to bear personal responsibility for their health and safety especially at this crucial festive season. We call on everyone to remain calm and report all suspected cases to 117.  mercury Sports Bet… Bike Rider Wins 270M A bike rider in Makeni has collected 270 million Leones from Mercury after making multiple sports bets on mercurybet.com. News of this win comes just a day after Musa set a new payout record. Mohamed Brown (name withheld) used six tickets worth 50,000 Leones to place online sports bets using Mercury International’s online betting platform “This is the biggest win. I have won 50 million, 70 million, and 80 million before, but nothing like this. I’m in heaven.” “I am going to use this money to build a house. If there is anything left, I will buy a taxi, so I can move from being a bike rider to a taxi driver.” Mohamed was paid 20 million in cash and given a cheque of 250 million at the Mercury headquarters in Freetown by Deputy Manager of the Online Games, Octavius Jackson. “It is my pleasure to present this cash prize to today’s online sports betting winner. Our online platform is easy to use. Anyone above 18 can log in to place their bets 24/7. On Monday, a man won over 500 million leones on a single sports betting ticket before tax deductions. He gambled 5,000 leones on 14 teams at his local Redbox Mercury Retailer. This first week of December has seen Mercury pay a total of 718 million leones to winners. To make a sport bet online, head over to www.mercurybet.com. Register for an account with your phone number. Once approved, add money to your account with Afrimoney, Orange Money, or buy a voucher from a Redbox bookie. Mercury’s online betting games include sports, live betting, vegas, boosts, jackpots, super6, and virtuals. Mercury International launched its lottery and sports betting products in 2007. Its products include the 5/90 lottery, sports betting, online betting, Zone, Rapids, and Virtual Rapid games. To celebrate the holiday season, Mercury last week launched a 50 percent bonus promotion on winning bets made each Monday and Friday in December 2021. COPPP rejects mid-term census     6 December 2021 Dear Sir/Madam, 1. The Country Director, World Bank Spur Road, Freetown, Sierra Leone 2. The Country Representative, UNFPA Signal Hill Road, Freetown, Sierra Leone CONCERNS ABOUT THE WORLD BANK ANDUNFPA’S ROLE IN PROMOTING THE 2021 MID-TERM POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS IN SIERRA LEONE I write on behalf of the Consortium of Progressive Political Parties (CoPPP), a platform created by thirteen opposition parties in Sierra Leone that are committed to defend democracy, oppose, reject and condemn bad governance, all violations of the Rule of Law and of the rights of their fellow citizens by using democratic and lawful means. Our organization would like to express serious concerns about the support that the World Bank and UNFPA have presumably been giving to the controversial so-called mid-term census that the Sierra Leone Government is insisting on conducting in this country. This project is fraught with so many irregularities that most opposition parties and civil society organizations have expressed reservations about the timing and true motives behind this census. 1. The decision to conduct a mid-term census was announced in a proclamation made by President Julius Maada Bio on 21″ July 2020. The census which was to have started on 4h December 2020 was postponed to 19h April 2021. But rather than start, it was on that date that it was presented to Parliament for approval amid dramatic scenes of violent clashes between the Government side and the opposition MPs. The latter insist until this day that the Bill was not properly laid before Parliament; however, Government has now declared that the census will effectively begin on 10 December 2021. 2. Interestingly, between the date of proclamation and the introduction of the Bill in Parliament, several actions had apparently been taken such as procurement of materials, using funds sought from and provided by donors, including the World Bank and UNFPA. The World Bank and UNFPA certainly knew, if they did release funding betore the census was approved by Parliament, that they were committing an unconstitutional and illegal act and could be held accountable. It is important for the citzens of Sierra Leone to know the motivation behind such irregular and unprecedented actions taken by these reputable global organizations in support of Government even before the people’s representatives in Parliament could give their consent. 3. The principal aim of the mid-term census according to the Government is to correct anomalies in the 2015 census and provide more reliable data needed for the advancement

The World Bank earmarked financial support to help prepare and implement a mid-term population census in Sierra Leone-under the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa (HISWA) Project (P169265) IDA Grant No. D584-SL-because these data are critical to inform economic development policy, planning and programs, and the 2015 population census exercise resulted in data of insufficient quality to do so. Since September 2020 our task team has been providing technical support to help prepare Statistics Sierra Leone to implement a mid-term population census that would result in good quality data. Much progress was made by Statistics SL in recent months and preparatory efforts further intensified recently. To that end a roadmap laying out the final remaining steps, actions and technical verifications required was prepared and multilaterally agreed (between Statistics SL, UNFPA and the World Bank task team) during the first week of November 2021. To date, while work on most actions points is underway with some completed, several critical action points require further technical work to be satisfactorily addressed including evaluation of the pilot census, the field operation plan for the enumeration, and ensuring enumerators are adequately trained. All these outstanding actions are necessary and must be addressed prior to commencing data collection to minimize the risk of inadequate and poor data quality. There is insufficient time between now and December 10, 2021 to satisfactorily address all pending actions. Therefore, while our technical team remains available to provide continued preparatory support, regretfully we will be unable to provide further technical assistance nor disburse any further funds Hon. Denis K. Vandi                             under IDA Grant No. D584-SL to support the mid-term population census following the announced inception of data collection on December 10, 2021 The undisbursed balance of funds earmarked to support the mid-term population census could be reallocated to other activities supported under the HISWA project following consultations with the task team. Yours sincerely. Orange SL Holds Digital Media  Briefs for journalists  Ms. Feima Sesay                   Orange SL, the leading Telecommunications network in the country has on Thursday, 9 December, 2021 held a digital media engagement with journalists on  their final  activities for 2021.    The event which took place  the Country Lodge Hotel at Hill Station shows that digitalization is at its peak at Orange SL .  Madam Mabel Mason of the Public Relations Department Orange SL In her opening remarks applauded the media on their tremendous support to the growth of their company, adding that the meeting was for the media to rate their performance for the past three years.  The Head of Public Relations Orange SL, Madam  Annie Wonie Katta, in her statement, said they started the journey on media engagement in 2019 because their company has  a good history with Journalists. She further explained that when  Orange took over in 2016, there is what they called  cooperate continuity  and that the company inherited some perception issues, noting that customers were not happy because the network was bad  and customers service was poor. She added that people had no knowledge of their cooperate social responsibility to the nation, and that even the media were grumbling that the company is not working with them. ” It was against this backdrop that we said we have heard as we are a company that listens and that when we listen, we will respond. So in 2019, we formed a Media Press Briefing and started updating the media quarterly on our activities so that you will give legs to our stories”, she stated. She underscored that they want their stories told to those  who  only think  that the reason why Orange SL is in the country is to just  provide quality telecommunications services for the people of Sierra but said the company have move beyond that.  She further stated that another reason why the company is in Sierra Leone is to support the government in social economic development, adding that though they have been doing all of these, but could  not get the stories to the people and that why they have engaged the media. She expressed appreciation to the media for their support to the growth of the company. She pointed out that the media retreat is to change the narrative a bit, noting that the stories are there already  and that they want to understand the perception of the people now that they have done all the hard work.  ” I am happy to say now that we are really close to the Press as they are complaining that the proximity between us was very wide. Today we have managed to close the gap reap the dividends of our hard work’’ she observed. She concluded that the meeting was  for the media to speak to them and rate their work and not the other way round. While describing the media as being very close to the people of Sierra Leone, she assured them of their continuous support to them. Timber Exportation Bio Govt. fails to set up Statutory Timber Agency A press release issued by the Government of Sierra Leone on 9th April, 2018 through the government executive order on revenue mobilisation, stated that the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry and Trade and Industry have been directed to work out the details to set up the Statutory Agency for Cabinet consideration on the exportation of timber in Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, the Committee recommended an interim agent be appointed to carry out the following while a Statutory Agency will be set up in the medium to long term to manage the industry: The press release said that the government has appointed Leadway Trading Company headed by Mr. Babadi Kamara to supervise the exports of the 699 containers in port and 194 containers outside the port that have already been paid for The press release further directed that the agency will also have to verify the payments of in and out of port containers to the National Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and

Members of the recently constituted tribunal to investigate the Auditor General, Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce and her deputy, Tamba Momoh, have taken an oath before His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio as required by law. Chairperson of the tribunal is Honourable Justice Nyawo Finda Matturi-Jones, JSC, a retired Supreme Court Judge, described by her peers as a fine woman with unblemished character, who worked across Sierra Leone right from being a magistrate to serving for many years as High Court Judge in Kenema and eventually became a Supreme Court Judge in 2016.  The other members are Honourable Justice Ansumana Ivan Sesay and Mr. Lahai M. Farma. Justice Matturi-Jones thanked the President for appointing them to take part in what she said was a rare occasion to look into the activities of the Auditor General and her deputy, following their suspension recently. She confirmed that it would deepen democracy and improve on the credentials of the country because it would allow and give the two public servants the opportunity to clear their names and in a transparent and credible manner. She further noted that she and her colleagues on the tribunal were ready, willing, and able to perform the task for which they had been appointed, adding that they were also familiar with the laws and assured that they would use their long years of experience to work diligently in the interest of Sierra Leone. “We are prepared and willing to listen to whatever evidence that is available. We are ready to analyse the situation and apply the laws justly,” she assured. His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio thanked the newly sworn-in members of the tribunal for accepting the challenge, adding that the Tribunal should do their best to investigate the matter that was referred to them. “We are in compliance with the Constitution of Sierra Leone. It is now left with you to investigate the matter and get back to us. I wish you all the best and look forward to the outcome. Thank you,” he concluded. NDMA Concludes Retreat in Bo City The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has concluded a two-day maiden retreat, where key documents that would strengthen the work of the Agency including Strategic Plan, Financial manual, HR manual, Partnership Framework and Communications Plan were discussed. NDMA’s Director-General, Lt. Gen (Rtd) Brima Sesay said, following the enactment and launch of the Agency, the institution has made significant strides towards mitigating and managing disasters in the country, adding that adopting the operational documents will strengthen the work and efficiency of the NDMA. Presidential Adviser and Representative of the Chief Minister at the retreat, Dr. Kawa said the Strategic Plan was a very long process. “We came here as an institution so we can have the framework, the instrument and most of all the content for the Strategic Plan”. The Deputy Director-General, John V Rogers in his presentation, outlined the aim of the retreat, which he said was to explain to participants the core elements that constitute the Strategic Plan; building the contents and framework of a Strategic Plan for the National Disaster Management Agency. The DDG said the retreat presents a platform to provide the justification, mission, vision and goal of the plan. He said the motive was to make clear the guiding principles of the Agency. The retreat provided the scope to look at the implementation of a new strategy, building partnership trust, communication strategy, relief and response, monitoring and the evaluation strategy. Consultations will continue in support of the development of the final draft and validation of the Strategic Plan, and the development of the other operational documents of the Agency. Murder at UNIMAK… Scene of Crime Officer Testifies in Court By Feima Sesay The sixth prosecution witness, Detective Inspector Mathew Samura attached to the Scientific Support Department at the Mena Police Station as Scene of Crime Officer has testified in the on-going murder matter of one Elizabeth Mande Judith Kanu, who was allegedly killed by her colleague, Sonia Mary Thomas at the University of Makeni. The witness said some of his duties including visiting scene of crime, to examine the scene and search for evidence and he also said he took photography of the scene and to preserve exhibit. He continued that he knew the deceased and also knew the accused person. He narrated that he recalled on the 6th September 2021, when he was on duty at the said date 1700 hours, his colleague Detective Police Constable 4569 Conteh S.S told him that a case of an alleged murder was reported to the station by one Rev Father John Turay, adding that upon receipt of the information they later visited the scene of Crime. The witness testified that on the 7th September 2021, himself and DPC 4569 Conteh S.S together with Rev Father Turay they went to Holy Spirit hospital Makama, Makeni to collect the remains of the deceased, he said upon arrival, the corpus of the deceased was handed over to them and they later conveyed it to Government hospital for post-mortem. He further narrated that on the same day they visited the scene of Crime at Fatima hostel campus, UNIMAK and at the scene he was directed to the area were the alleged incident took place where he took photography of the alleged scene. He added that on the same date the corpus of the deceased was later conveyed to Connaught mortuary in Freetown for post-mortem. “On the 8th September 2021, I, DPC 4569 Conteh S.S together with the relatives of the deceased witness the post-mortem examination that was conducted on the remains of the deceased by the government pathologist, Doctor Semion Owizz Koroma and during the process I took photography of the scene” he said. when the witness want to tender the pictures he took during the post-mortem, Lawyer Jessie M. Jengo defending the accused person objected to the tendering of the pictures taken during the post-mortem because the witness did not bring the digital camera that he

Sierra Leone’s Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh is in Accra, Ghana, as head of a high-level delegation, including the Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, to hold experience sharing discussions with Ghana’s Millennium Development Authority, MIDA, with a view to helping Sierra Leone successfully implement its MCC’s Compact Development Programs with specific reference to energy. Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh said the team felt highly honoured and gratified to be in Ghana and was keen on learning from and adopting the Ghanaian model or approach to implementing the Compact Development Programs, noting that the visit would also further strengthen the bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and Ghana. He said Sierra Leone had set its sights on improving the social and productive sectors with specific reference to energy generation, evacuation, distribution and governance. He said the administration of President Julius Maada Bio had increased the energy access rate in the country from 16% in 2018 to 31% in 2021, noting that solar or off grid energy had been used to make that significant improvement. Vice President Jalloh spoke about the critical significance of electricity and catalogued the numerous challenges the country’s energy sector was faced with. He concluded by saying that he was optimistic that the team would learn immensely from the visit and would have something positive to take back home to help the country plan well in the implementation of its Compact Programs in the area of energy. Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, said electricity was a capital intensive sector, adding that governments normally find it very difficult to invest in its generation component. He said there was therefore the need for private sector intervention in the sector. Mr. Sesay noted that his country was impressed with the way Ghana had implemented Compact Programs, stressing that Sierra Leone had drawn inspiration from them and was willing to learn. Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Millennium Development Authority, MIDA, Mr. Martin Benjamin, said his country and MIDA were highly honoured to have such a high-level delegation visiting, adding that MIDA was willing to share whatever positive experiences it had in its locker with the Sierra Leonean delegation. He gave a general overview of MIDA’s work on Compact Programs and the Millennium Challenge purse for Africa. Mr. Martin Benjamin called for the harmonization of efforts of different governments and stakeholders to enable countries maximize the benefits that accrue from the American government’s huge financial and technical investments in Africa through the Millennium Challenge Program. Chief Executive Officer of MCCU in Sierra Leone, Ndeya Koroma, said the team was in Ghana to understand the success rate and challenges of MIDA to help Sierra Leone learn important lessons and to help the country implement its own Compact Program in an efficient manner and to make it eligible for future programs.  We wish our customers marry charismas and a bright and prosperous 2022. Season Greetings The Management and Staff of M.R Distrilleries Situated at the Wellington Industrial Estate, Wish His Excellency the president, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Members of Parliament and the people of Sierra Leone a Merry Christmas a bright and prosperous 2022 Samura Kamara Urges APC Stalwarts to Reject Mid-Term Census The accomplished technocrat Samura Kamara has called on APC party executives, MPs, Mayors, Chairpersons, and Councillors across the country, including the North, North West, Western area, East, and South, to launch a massive public awareness campaign urging people not to participate in the SLPP-led Mid-Term Census, which will begin on December 10, 2021. Dr. Samura Kamara and his colleagues visited Bombali, Kambia, and Karene Districts, respectively, after discovering that no sensitization is taking place to teach people how to reject and not be counted. Similarly, in Sierra Leone’s south east, APC party leaders are failing to reach out to those who should not be counted in the mid-term census.  The leading presidential candidate has urged APC party executives, MPs, Councillors, Mayors, and Chairpersons to beef up their security and begin hosting town hall meetings and loud speaker sensitizations in their various areas and locales. People look to them for helpful and trustworthy information, he said.  Dr. Beareh the chairman of the delegation to Bombali conveyed messages to the residents of Nmango Npolol  of Makeni township on Sunday, advising them not to participate in the mid-term census and to peacefully ask enumerators leave.

Since the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) elected Hawa Foray as the new SLPP Women’s Leader, it has opened up several controversies amongst the leadership of the party. Some of the controversial issues were raised by party supporters of Fatmata Sawaneh, accusing First Lady Fatima Bio of condoning election malpractices in favor of Hawa Foray who was declared winner. Following this accusation, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio addressed the newly-elected SLPP Women’s leadership at State House. The president said as a leader, his business is to provide a level playing field so that the just-concluded election was conducted freely and fairly in the eyes of those who witnessed but might want to accept the results later. The president went on to say that every election contender should always accept defeat and accept whatever the outcome of the result is. He stressed that since the SLPP Women had provide their own leader and leadership, he advised them to always support the new leader for her to succeed. He added that there are lots of things that happened, which came to his notice but that he will not discuss these issues in public. He added that his members should desist from using inflammatory statements against the loser as that is not good for the image of the party and country as a whole. He explained that he believes that the election held at Catco Hall on Wilkinson Road was credible, free and fair.. He maintained that members should forget all what has been happened and think of the way forward “because we (SLPP) are in democratic state.)   Our investigations reveal however, that on the previous election held in Kailahun, the election process started peacefully but later, supporters of Fatmata Sawaneh discovered some electoral malpractices in favor of Hawa Foray who is the new contender for the position of SLPP Women’s Leader. They reportedly discovered massive election malpractices such as ballot stuffing, over-voting, violence which happened before and after the polls. It could be recalled that Fatmata Sawaneh has been serving in the capacity of SLPP Women’s Leader since 2017. According to party supporters, Mrs. Fatima Bio, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone threw her support behind Hawa Foray and she has been accused of orchestrating all the electoral malpractice which took place at the time. Some party supporters of Fatmata Sawaneh demonstrated by singing songs against Madam Fatima Bio as she is not the Leader of Sierra Leone but only got married to the President of Sierra Leone. It is also reported that some electoral materials were found in the hands of Hawa Foray’s supporters. Party supporters from the SLPP Grassroots disclosed that Madam Hawa Foray has been in the party structure for more than a decade and that she is currently serving as the Constituency Women’s Leader in one of the constituencies of Kenema City. Some party senior members and stakeholders said the party is much stronger, older and more powerful than the First Lady because the party had produced many First Ladies before she came onboard. Meanwhile, they advised the First Lady that in order for her not to destroy the good name of the party or drag it into disrepute, they would like her to take a back seat in the SLPP’s internal politics and allow the party to structure its executive. In other words, the women are of the view that Fatima Bio must allow the women of SLPP to vote for the candidate of their choice and the right candidate who will provide them with the quality leadership they deserve. Ex–Pres. Koroma Attends Kofi Annan Peace & Security Forum Former President Ernest Bai Koroma has arrived in Accra, Ghana to attend the second edition of the Kofi Annan Peace and security (KAPSII) forum scheduled for 8th to 9th December, 2021. This comes in less than 48 hours after the African Statesman successfully concluded his assignment as Head of the ECOWAS Election Observer Mission in The Gambia. Former president Koroma is in Ghana to once again share his deep experience on democracy, peace and security at a forum established in honour of the Ghanaian-born former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (late). Annan dedicated most part of his life to the cause of Global peace and security.   This year’s KAPS forum will be on the theme: Democracy and governance in the context of complex crises in Africa. This was chosen to coincide with the 20th Anniversary of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of State in December 2001. The forum is jointly organized by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre in Accra and the Kofi Annan Foundation in Geneva. According to the organizers; the two institutions are coming together in view of their shared commitment to the values or the late Mr. Kofi Annan whose understanding of peace was founded on a holistic vision of societies based on good governance democracy and human rights, especially in Africa. Former President Ernest Bai Koroma will join other former African leaders, peace and security experts, diplomats and development experts to discuss the broad themes of peace and democracy consolidation in Africa. Our pursuit for sustainable peace includes creating democratic societies with respect for Human rights and the dignity of everyone. The KAPS forum resides right in heart in the heart of this aspiration, said former president Koroma. On the sideline, president is also expected to hold strategic meetings with his colleagues former president to a coalition of advocate for the establishment of an Africa Peace Engineering Corps (AfPEC). The initiative seeks to have African countries to utilize a portion of their militaries during peace time to address some the continent, infrastructural, social and environmental problems.   Following Alleged Gang Rape… Police Round-up 52 Suspects in Bonthe District By Anthony Vandy Following an alleged gang rape incident on November 19, 2021, along the Gumasaa and Nyandehun highway in the Yawbeko Chiefdom, Bonthe District, which prompted the youths of Talia

Mr Nice Guy interfaced with constituents in constituency 132 at Lumley Freetown. In a well-attended meeting involving all categories of individuals. The people of KANINGO community were in thunderous mood with the approved 2023 Member of Parliament representing the All People’s Congress party in the next elections. Constituency 132 Lumley has been protected and secured by the people for Mamoud Nice Guy. The APC strongman remains committed in building a lasting structure for the APC and determine to restore the missing seat. This exercise will be a continuous follow-up engagement and physical development is on-going which is fully funded by Nice Guy D Right Guy and his popularity from within has grown exponentially Mayor Aki-Sawyerr Speaks At Water Is Life Charity Ball It was a pleasure to deliver the keynote address to over 350 guests at the Rotary Club of Fishers, Indiana “Water Is Life” Charity Ball yesterday evening. Below is what Mayor of Freetown Municipality, Yvonne Aki Sawyerr told her audience: I am humbled by the words on the plaque that was given to me ”Presented to Her Worship Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, You Inspire Us! In honor of your “Service Above Self” to your city, country and around the world and your support of The WaterIsLife Project lead by the Rotary Clubs of Fishers, Indiana and Freetown, Sierra Leone. Your leadership and example is changing lives”. It has been a joy to share this experience with Freetown Rotarians Christo Forster, Adonis Abboud, Saidu Kanu, Adelaide Dworzak and Sallieu Kanu. At last night’s Charity Ball, a lovely couple bid $3,200 for a puppy on the proviso that I would visit them at their house and meet their children! So I had a whistle stop visit with the Guntwein family this morning on my way to the airport. I was excited to learn that they named the puppy Sierra! This morning we also attended a heart-warming inspirational service at the Heartland Church. Heartland Church has been a huge supporter of the Water Is Life Project for the past 12 years and being in their service this morning felt like we were at home.  The over $100,000 raised yesterday evening will contribute towards the building of 1,000 water wells in Sierra Leone, contributing to our #TransformFreetown Water Sector target. Amb. Ishata Thomas Engages Qatar Officials on Recruitment of S/Leoneans Her Excellency Haja Ishata Thomas, Sierra Leone’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the State of Qatar, has engaged the Director of International Labour Relations on the recruitment of skilled and unskilled Sierra Leoneans to work in the State of Qatar. Referring to her previous visit to Doha during the presentation of her Credentials, Ambassador Haja Ishata Thomas recalled her extensive discussion with the Minister of Labour on the recruitment of Sierra Leoneans. She added that Sierra Leone is keen to strengthen bilateral relations with Qatar, especially in the labour sector, and that the Minister of Labour and Social Security has been looking forward to signing the Labour Agreement on the Regulation of Manpower Employment with his Qatari counterpart. “I thank the State of Qatar for providing support to our nationals, particularly the one who was involved in an accident. Sierra Leone has a young and vibrant population willing and ready to provide meaningful support towards development in any country. As a reliable partner, Sierra Leone believes Qatar requires skilled and unskilled workers to actualise its on-going development vision. We, therefore, request for the specific areas that are needed for recruitment to initiate action and kindly appeal to address the issue of residency for some of our nationals currently working in Doha,” Ambassador noted. For her part, the Director of the Department of International Labour, Shaikha Mohammed Al-Khater, stated Qatar desires to enhance relations with African countries in manpower recruitment, emphasising that the current labour policy on recruitment prioritises skilled workers. She added: “We will review the agreement and communicate through the established diplomatic channels a scheduled date for the signing of the agreement and will also look into the issue relating to residency problems for some Sierra Leoneans working in various sectors in Qatar.” Kissy Industry Updates Journalists on Operations & Achievements   The Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Kissy Industry Trading Company Limited, David Emile has updated Journalists on the operations and achievements of the newly established entity at the Queen Elizabeth Street within the Kissy environs, eastern part of Freetown and the newly developed Diamond Premium Butter which he said would soon be launched for public consumption.  Speaking to participants at a well-attended press conference held at the National Stadium Hostel in Freetown on Saturday, 4th December, 2021, the communication expert, Emile maintained that the company have not only been producing one of the highest selling vegetable cooking oils in the markets, “Leo Oil” over the two years period, but also involved in the production of detergents, comprised sachet of foam and packet laundry soap. The PRO said that one of the good sides of Kissy Industry is that, “We buy all our raw material, including palm Kernels and other products from local producers”, he told audience and emphasized on their distributors who are visible across the four cardinal points of Sierra Leone to ensure the commodities produced reaches final consumers. He disclosed that the Kissy Industries manufacturing products are not only sold within the confines of Sierra Leone, but are also exported to neighbouring Guinea and Liberia and spoke about the most sellable Protect Medicated Soap which he described as useful to cure skin irritation is also manufactured in the Kissy Industry. Emile assured colleagues that after premiering or launching, the Diamond Premium Butter would not only be displayed in all leading shops and supermarkets across the country, but the price will also be made reasonable to encourage all their valuable customers. Emile informed listeners about their cordial relationship with residents and stakeholders within their area of operation and disclosed that “We have our central store at Clay Factory, Cline Town in Freetown” and spoke about the street lights and

The World Bank substantive Executive Director for Africa group 1 constituency, Dr. Tafufila Nyamadzabo has on Monday 6th December 2021 in a courtesy visit to the Minister of Finance, Mr. David K. Vandi commits to the Bank’s continued support to the new direction Government. Dr. Nyamadzabo who is on a three-day working visit in Sierra Leone thank the Government of Sierra Leone for the support in electing him into the office and that his visit is aimed at discussing fiduciary i21ssues and getting a proper understanding of the challenges of the Country. The executive director highlighted his five (5) workable key objectives he hopes to achieve, which includes advocating for more resources, involvement of Private sector in more job creations, engagement with member state in implementing programmes/ projects, ensuring that Africans are well represented in the structures of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and capacity building to ensure nations are self-reliant. In his statement, the Minister of Finance Dennis k. Vandi welcomes and congratulates the executive director on his new appointment. He thanked the World Bank for the disbursement of a 100-million-dollar budget in 2020 and the COVID-19 project grant of 16.5 million dollars. He continued that the country is looking forward to further disbursement of budget support for the year 2021 of 75 million dollars, adding that the country is implementing several reforms and automation of its tax systems to increase domestic revenue generation. The Minister of Finance further appraised his guest of the strides 0fr the Bio lead administration in the area of Human Capital development, the Free Quality education Programme, Health, Agriculture, financial management reforms, and the progress so far in the government effort to improve on transparency and accountability, and the fight against corruption.  He thanked the World Bank board for the approval of the Free Quality Education project and seek for further support in the provision of teaching and learning materials on school while the government continues to pay school fees, exams, feeding, and transportation cost. Minister Vandi explained the efforts of the government to improve its Country Policies and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) ratings to move from 3.1% in 2020 to a much higher rating to unlock the potential to access more funds to support the country’s budget. In his response to the issues raised by the Minister, Dr. Tafufila Nyamadzabo commend the government on the FQE programme and assured him of the Bank’s support. He added that suspension of the Auditor General needs to be addressed to ensure transparency in the processes of the Auditor general’s report. He advised that to attract more funds, the project implementation should be timely, procurement procedure, Efficiency in budget implementation and reduce bottle-necks. He advised that priority be given to the suggestion and recommendations made during the recent portfolio review in addressing the challenges of delay in procurement procedures, faster disbursement of funds, improving the PFMU unit, timely approval of management decision and that advised that the resources provided should be utilized. The executive director congratulated the Country on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed the need to rollout more vaccines =FEATURE= Pres. Xi Jing Ping Narrates His Tales of Life As a small child, I was very selfish, always grabbing the best for myself. Slowly, everyone left me and I had no friends. I didn’t think it was my fault and I criticized others. But my father gave me 3 sentences to help me in life. One day, my father cooked 2 bowls of noodles and put them on the table. One had an egg on top while the other bowl had none on top. Then he asked me to choose a bowl of noodles. Because eggs were hard to come by those days, I chose the bowl with egg! I was congratulating myself on my wise choice/decision and decided to wallop the egg. To my surprise, I saw that my father’s bowl of noodles had two eggs at the bottom beneath the noodles! With much regret, I scolded myself for being too hasty in my decision. My father smiled and taught me to remember that what your eyes see may not be true. He added that, If you make a habit of taking advantage of people, you will end up losing. The next day, my father again cooked 2 bowls of noodles: one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. Again, he asked to choose the bowl I wanted. This time, I felt smarter so I chose the bowl without any egg on top. Hmmmmmm to my surprise, there was not even a single egg at the bottom of the bowl! Again, my father smiled and said to me, my child, you must not always rely on experiences because sometimes, life can cheat you or play tricks on you. Never be too annoyed or sad, with situations, just treat experience as learning a lesson that cannot be gotten from any textbooks. The third day, my father again cooked 2 bowls of noodles, one bowl with an egg on top and the other with no egg on top. He asked me to choose the bowl I wanted. But this time, I told my father, Dad, you choose first. You are the head of the family and you contribute the most to the family. My father was very happy and he chose for me. He chose the bowl with one egg on top. But as I ate my bowl of noodles, to my surprise, there were two eggs at the bottom of the bowl. My father smiled at me with love in his eyes. He said, my child, you must remember that when you think for the good of others, good things will always naturally happen to you. I always remember these 3 sentences of my father. As we continue on the remaining journey of 2021, think for the good of others. Don’t be selfish, put others first and your joy will be completed.  Don’t

Despite the negative impacts of the Corona Pandemic on the tiny nation, the people were so civilized to detect that price increase is not caused by President Adama Barrow but is a global Issue affecting everyone, so they demonstrated that in the ballot box thereby sending strong signal to the APC adding up to their frustration Gambian President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission reported on Sunday. The vote was the first in 27 years without former President Yahya Jammeh, who was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea after refusing to accept defeat to Barrow in 2016. The president made some progress but that was heavily hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which damaged their economy that relies heavily on tourism, as well as exports of peanuts and fish. APC think say Sierra Leoneans dem fool for just forget de damage wae dem cause to dis nation. In the run-up to the election, Jammeh had tried to persuade supporters to vote for an opposition coalition in telephoned speeches that were relayed to campaign rallies but he failed to dent Barrow’s following. The president received around 53% of the total votes cast, far outstripping his nearest rival, political veteran Ousainou Darboe, who won about 28%. Millennium Development Authorities host S/Leone Vice President Sierra Leone’s Vice President His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh and members of the Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit, have been hosted by the Millennium Development Authority in Ghana at the Alisa Hotel.. Dr. Jalloh describes the visit and or meeting as an experience sharing one from a sister country that has already implemented two compacts. Since the Unit was placed under the Vice president’s Office it is believed that it has  been passing the scorecard which remains a good thing for Sierra Leone. According to the V.P, Sierra Leone wants to be ahead of time in terms of developing the compact and also implementing it. Welcoming the team to Ghana during the meeting, Martin Eson-Benjamin CEO of Millennium Development Authority applauded the team for  choosing Ghana on such an important fact finding tour, while trusting  that every meaningful outcomes will characterise  deliberations and  the entire visit. Members of the visiting team headed by the Vice President includes the Minister of Energy Alhaji Kanja Sesay, Financial Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Sahr Jusu, National Coordinator of the  Millennium Compact Development  Unit Ndeye Koroma among others, while accompanied also  by High Commissioner Francess Virginia Anderson. Inequality between Economic Development & Income in S/Leone In its preamble, the pending Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the successor to the Millennium Development Goals- states that it represents humanity’s crystallising of its “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.” This plan of action, as is now well known, contains 17 different goals, ranging from poverty reduction and food security to the management of natural resources and building effective institutions – all simultaneously in the pursuit of being sustainable. The breadth and depth of the goals and over 150 associated targets reflect the complexity of forces at play in our understanding of human progress and development in Sierra Leone. Nowhere are these relationships more evident than in the one between economic development and income inequality. Indeed, in Sierra Leone where on average the SDGs are arguably most pertinent- this inequality and economic development nexus are particularly important to understand especially as our authorities and their international denialists continue to bang the drums of self praises on what they considered as achievements on the Millennium Development Goals and see their unwillingness to evenly circulate national wealth. Samura Kamara Urges State Institutions to be Neutral  By Leaf Network                                                                                                                                              The great gateway to prosperity for a nation is very costly but when possessed, it shines brilliantly with mercy and truth.                                                                                                          Nationalism is the deep rooted love for one’s country origin and characterized of readiness to genie the state in order to fulfilled its purpose as one of the fundamental  pillars of progress.                                                                                  Patriotism is sometimes defined as the inexhaustible love for one’s country and zealously, supports, and defending it with unstoppable desire to serve the state. Neutralism is defined as not supporting either side in a dispute, and created a conducive environment of fair play.                                                                                                                                            With the combination of nationalism, neutralism and patriotism, one becomes a patriot always ready to serve his fellow countrymen or institutions and the state. It includes respect for law, order, regulations and bye law of the land. Patriotism, it is very important to have a thorough check and re-oriented of character from negativity to positivity. In trying to be patriotic, neutral and nationalistic, one of the fundamental keys is the willingness to serve the state or institution  and follow human beings as equals to receive the blessing of Almighty God.                                                                                                                                                                                      Therefore, other nations now have free access to Almighty God as the father of all creation. The Holy Quran expressed implicit commitment to Nationalism, Neutralism and Patriotism as one of the indispensable  ingredients  for progress and purity. For example, the President Bio-led government banning a seating Imam because he preached against the closure of churches and mosques, its uncalled for. Some school of thought including the international committee have started to doubt the credibility, sincerity and integrity of the former NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (NEC) Boss Mr. N’Fa Alie Conteh as a deceitful and corrupt man. We all aware that percentage is hundred (100%), this fellow has been misused and misdirected by ORDER FROM ABOVE or EXECUTIVE ORDERS to announce both the National Elections with 103% and the Tonko Limba chiefdom bye-election with 105% respectively. Now we have some bye-election coming up again, how credibility, transparent and sincerity will it be,  especially with this new administration .  Previously, over twenty five (25) comrade members of the APC party were tortured and unlawfully arrested including the deputy Organizing Secretary comrade Karamoh Kabba at Hamilton, Chairman of WARDC Kasho H. Cole, when the party was doing their political rally. Let all state institutions inculcated the spirit of Nationalism,

Special Representative of President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Yang Jiechi, has led a high-level delegation to meet His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, advance cooperation and convey goodwill from Beijing. H.E. Yang, who is the Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, also extended warm regards from his government, saying that Sierra Leone and China continued to support each other in their respective scopes and interests. He cited some of their key interventions in the country’s national development, especially with the recent Coronavirus pandemic that was still ravaging economies of the world. He noted that even in those difficult times, the two countries had built stronger diplomatic and bilateral relations, which were meant to advance cooperation. He said China commended and admired President Julius Maada Bio’s efforts at national developments, despite the devastating effect of the Coronavirus disease, adding that the two countries would fight the disease together in solidarity to achieve economic recovery. “I am here in Sierra Leone at this time to convey the warm goodwill of President Xi Jinping and the people of the People’s Republic of China to Your Excellency President Julius Maada Bio and the people of Sierra Leone and to further advance the work of our bilateral relations. China is ready to further enhance and promote the high level of political trust between our two countries,” he ended. Bai Mahmoud Bangura Predicts APC Victory Digital media interface with voters and development partners is of real essence towards the socio-political environment in the 21st century. It is against this backdrop that the commander in chief of the youths in the All People’s Congress party Hon. Bai Mahmoud Bangura was in attendance in the official launch of the party’s mouthpiece website. The progressive growth in the media management and administration of We Yone Newspaper is excellent across the board. In his words, the soon to be National Organising Secretary of the APC made it abundantly clear that, the publicity component of the party will be strengthen ever than before, because all the social media feeds will be adequately and swiftly utilized in order to produce the result that the party needs now and beyond 2023 general elections. Furthermore, he asserted clearly that, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc will form part of the media engagement tools. The membership of the party at home and abroad must be constant in using these platforms to get themselves abreast with all happenings around the corridors of our internal and external politics. He thanked the leadership of the party for creating the enabling environment for this sequential improvement. The entire We Yone team and All Social Media Groups of the party has been doing fantastically well more so in this trying moment of our democracy in Sierra Leone. He implore them to continue their work, has history will definitely do the needful he concluded. These are all clear indications to show that he is more than ready to serve and promptly deliver as the National Organising Secretary (NOS) of the APC and the grassroots will support him to succeed. June 2022: Deadline for NGOs’ Registration A press release from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoDEP) states that the process of Registration for both National and International Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) for 2022 to 2023 will commence effective 4th January 2022. It adds that in this regard, New and Renewal Registration Forms are now availabie at MoPED for collection It stated that therefore, ail Non-Governmental Organizations (NG0s) operating in Sierra Leone are required to cali at the NGO Coordinating Office of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, 1t Floor, NAO Building. Tower Hill Freetown, between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm daily. The press release stated that reports on operalions for 2020/2021 and signed Service Level Agreements (SLA) with line Ministries are pre-requisites for the issuance of Certicates. It noted that deadiine for Renewal Registration is end of June 2022 and that only Registered NGOs will be gazetted in July 2022. SEE PRESS RELEASE BELOW: Special Representative of President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Yang Jiechi, has led a high-level delegation to meet His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, advance cooperation and convey goodwill from Beijing. H.E. Yang, who is the Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, also extended warm regards from his government, saying that Sierra Leone and China continued to support each other in their respective scopes and interests. He cited some of their key interventions in the country’s national development, especially with the recent Coronavirus pandemic that was still ravaging economies of the world. He noted that even in those difficult times, the two countries had built stronger diplomatic and bilateral relations, which were meant to advance cooperation. He said China commended and admired President Julius Maada Bio’s efforts at national developments, despite the devastating effect of the Coronavirus disease, adding that the two countries would fight the disease together in solidarity to achieve economic recovery. “I am here in Sierra Leone at this time to convey the warm goodwill of President Xi Jinping and the people of the People’s Republic of China to Your Excellency President Julius Maada Bio and the people of Sierra Leone and to further advance the work of our bilateral relations. China is ready to further enhance and promote the high level of political trust between our two countries,” he ended. Bai Mahmoud Bangura Predicts APC Victory Digital media interface with voters and development partners is of real essence towards the socio-political environment in the 21st century. It is against this backdrop that the commander in chief of the youths in the All People’s Congress party Hon. Bai Mahmoud Bangura was in attendance in the official launch of the party’s mouthpiece website. The progressive growth in the media management and administration of We Yone Newspaper is excellent across the board. In his words, the soon to be National Organising Secretary of the APC made it abundantly clear