The Parliament of Sierra Leone has approved with unanimity The Second Report of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service, chaired by the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, Hon. Mathew SahrNyuma. According to the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, the presidential nominees were interviewed on issues pertaining to educational backgrounds, experience, track records in public service, asset declarations, tax obligations, and vision for a nationally productive tenure. Seconding the motion, the Deputy Leader of Government Business 1, Hon. BashiruSilikie commended President Bio for appointing well-qualified Sierra Leoneans to serve in high offices of State, and expressed hope that the nominees would contribute to national development. The Deputy Leader admonished appointees to serve in the interest of the nation and reiterated that the policies and agenda of the President must be achieved. The Hon. Deputy Leader outlined the roles and responsibilities of MPs and that of the presidential nominees. He commended the President Bio for appointing young people into positions of trust and advises them to make the President proud in the course of executing their official duties. Zooming on Alex Prince Harding, the Deputy Leader commended him for helping the SLPP party to victory and went on to commend other appointees for their appointments. On his part, Hon. PC Desmond MahyeiKargobai from Bo District commended the appointees and noted that, they will be visiting the appointees, in order to advocate for development in the country.  Hon. Princess KadieDaramy from Western Area admonished the appointees to deliver in the best interest of the nation. Hon. SartieBanya of Kailahun District applauded the President for appointing energetic and qualified nominees to serve, adding that, the President has appointed women into positions of trust. Hon. WuyattaSonga thanked President Bio for allocating appointments to the Kailahun people and went on to underscore the tremendous strides made by some of the appointees during and after the electioneering process. Hon. AlieBayohof  Kenema District extended gratitude to President Bio for appointing young people to positions of trust and admonished them to take their work very seriously. Hon. Amie Moriba from Bo District commended President Bio for appointing qualified Sierra Leoneans to serve and went on to admonish them to work harder for development purposes. Hon. KombaQuee from Kono District acknowledged the role of President Bio in transforming the country. He called on the appointees to execute their duties in the best interest of the nation.  Hon. Mohamed T. Fofanah from Kambai District said Sierra Leoneans are hopeful of the young  dynamic  appointments by the President and called on them to perform with integrity and prove to the President that they can deliver the deliverables. Hon. Rachel Pessima from Port Loko District commended President Bio for appointing young people into positions of trust and extended congratulatory messages to all of them and wished them well in their new offices. Hon. Francis Amara-Kai Samba from Kenema District said the SLPP party has no drought to appointing well-qualified Sierra Leoneans into positions of trust. He called on the newly appointed NRA Commissioner to do the needful for the mobilization of revenues for the development of the nation. He encouraged and congratulated them on their appointments and asked them to deliver. Hon. Ing. Fallah K. Tengbeh from Kailahun District in his contribution to the debate applauded the appointments of the nominees and went on to zoom on certain appointees for their hard work, and wished them them well in their new assignments. Hon. UmuPyne from Moyamba District acknowledged the appointment of the Gender Minister and urged all appointees to deliver. She called on the Minister of Education not to forget about civic education and the interest of teachers.  Hon. HindoloGevao from Kailahun District complimented with passion the appointees from Kailahun District and appreciated President Bio for the confidence he has reposed on his people. He commended the ACC Boss for his reappointment as Commissioner of the Anti Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone. Hon. Massey NgahitehAruna from Bo District admired the appointments of the nominees. She applauded the appointment of the new NRA Boss and went on to refer to him as “a system man”. She congratulated all the female appointees and advised them to serve well. Hon. Musa Fofanah from Kono District referred to the appointees as “a consolidated team”, and went on to call on the Mines Minister to create more opportunities for the youths, and also called on other appointees to do the needful for the development of the State. The Deputy Chief Whip 1, Hon. Veronica KadieSesay submitted her contribution to those politicians who have served the party well. She commended the old members of the party and the new ones that are coming to serve. She encouraged the appointees to be mindful and not be influenced by others in executing their duties. The Deputy Leader of Government Business 2, Hon. Saa Emerson  Lamina called on the appointees to transform their MDAs in line with the President’s Vision and work in the interest of the State and went on to congratulate all the appointees to deliver. Rounding up the debate, the Acting Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Mohamed Bangura said for the past 54 years in the history of the country, compatriots are still thinking of political parties and not the country. He encouraged appointees to work positively and alluded to the fact that former Presidents Kabbah, and Koroma left good legacies for Sierra Leone. He admonished MPs to speak the truth and also send the right messages to the people of Sierra Leone. He also called on the appointees to serve well for the people of Sierra Leone to benefit. He called on the Resident Minister East to be a peacemaker based on his hard work in unifying the people of the Eastern Region just after the elections. He called on the Trade Minister to do the needful in addressing price control and taxation. On sports related issues, he called on the Sports Minister to address all sporting disciplines and asked the

By AlusineFullah Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio has appointed Osman Ibrahim Kanu, Esq. as the new Director of Public Prosecution. This appointment was revealed in a public notice issued on the 31st July, 2023. Meanwhile, the appointment comes as a significant development in the country’s legal system, aiming to strengthen the administration of justice and uphold the rule of law. The public notice states: “The General Public is hereby informed that it has pleased His Excellency the President to announce the appointment of Osman Ibrahim Kanu, Esq., as Director of Public Prosecution.”

By Alusine Fullah The Economic Community of West Africa States has issued a stern seven-day ultimatum to the Niger Republic Military demanding the release and reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum as the legitimate Head of State and Government.Nevertheless, the Niger military swiftly rejected the call and issued a warning to ECOWAS, cautioning against any military intervention. Niger Military stated: “We want to once more remind ECOWAS or any other adventurer of our firm determination to defend our homeland…” they further emphasized the potential consequences of foreign military intervention, warning that it could lead to severe ramifications, including the massacre of the Nigerian population and chaos. The current political crisis in Niger was sparked by the topping president Bazoum last Wednesday by members of the presidential guard, led by Abdourahamane Tiani, who has declared himself the country’s new leader. Prior to the just issued seven-day ultimatum notice, ECOWAS Commission on their statement condemned  the attempted coup d’état in Niger. ECOWAS stated: “ECOWAS has received the news of an attempted coup d’état in Niger with shock and consternation. ECOWAS condemns in the strongest terms the attempted to seize power by force and calls on the coup plotters to free the democratically-elected president of the Republic immediately and without any condition ECOWAS and the international community will hold those involved in the plot responsible for the security and safety of the president, his family members of the government and the general public…” According to the statement of ECOWAS, in the meantime, the following measures are to be applied with immediate effect:

By Mustapha Dumbuya The price of onions has soured in the market due to the shortages of onions in the country. The product is now sold at NLe25 for three small sizes of onions in the market.Sierra Leone iscurrently facing a terrible situation as the scarcity of onions hit the market and causing alarming in various house hold in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has also been experiencing high inflation of commodities food stuff over the five years of president Bio of what his government referred as a global pandemic as the advent of the Russia and Ukraine war. The shortage of onion and the increase of other food stuff in Sierra Leone had created some mix feeling among the people of Sierra Leone. The people had less hope to the current government as to whether they could be able minimized and stabilized the increase of food commodities in Sierra Leone as there was huge economic hardship and inflation of food commodities prices during the past five years. Public Review Newspaper has compared and contrast of prices with the sub-region especially in West Africa countries like Ghana, Liberia, and Guinea to Sierra Leone of the selling price of Kilogram per onion In nexus to the above, the retail price range for onion in Guinea  as of July 2023 is between XOF 650 and XOF 1250 per Kilogram or between OXF 283.45 and 566.89 per pound that is 10 Kilogram cost US 18$ in Conakry.In Ghana the retail price range Cedi for onions is between GHS 10.75 and GHS 21.51 per kilogram or between GHS 4.88 and 9. 75 pound(lb) that is between US$ 1 and US$ 2 per kilogram or between US 0.45 and 0.91 per pound (lb.) in Ghana which is 10kilogram is about 10 to US 15$. In Sierra Leone the retail price range for onion is between SLL15250 and SLL37500 per kilogram or between SLL916.1 and SLL17006.8 per pound (lb) which is 10 kilogram is about 25 to 27.9 US$. Moreover, having compared and contrast amongst the some sub-region countries like Guinea and Ghana, you will found out that Sierra Leone has the highest price as 10 kilogram of onion cost over 25 United State Dollars which is far away from others countries. The skyrocket and shortage of onion in Sierra Leone will not only affect Sierra Leones but it will also course an economic hardship. BarattShukhnani is an Indian Business Man whoimported onion in Sierra Leone stated that there are sufficient onions in Holland where they used to buy but they had increase the price which leads to the shortage. According to him, the business had only left with big business tycoons like the Peecee and Sons, Besto Company and the Sierra Frozen Company Limited who are the largest suppliers of fresh food including onion in Sierra Leone. He also noted that government should also reduce more tax levied on food commodities for business not run in to lost.

By FeimaSesay The Sierra Leone Police on their press released that was released on the 31st July, 2023 have informed the general public thatcertain individuals including senior military officers are undermining the peace and tranquility of the state. The release states: “The general public is hereby informed that the security sector has been following intelligence regarding the activities of certain individuals, including senior military officers working to undermine the peace and tranquility of the state and unleash violence on peaceful citizens of Sierra Leone…” The Sierra Leone mentioned preliminary investigations revealing that these individuals are planning to use purported peaceful protests between 7th to 10 August 2023 as a guide to unleash violent attacks against state institutions and peaceful citizens. In that regard, the Sierra Leone Police stated that several arrests have been made and the suspects are assisting the police with the investigations. The press release further assured the public that the situation is fully under control. In conclusion, the Sierra Leone Police urge the general public to remain calm and go about their normal businesses and encourage them to report any unrest activity…”