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06 August 2023

That a team of Chinese Agricultural Experts arrived in Sierra Leone on Tuesday 1st August, 2023 to play a pivotal role in advancing Sierra Leone’s agricultural sector in line with one of the five key thematic areas of the SLPP Manifesto 2023 has demonstrated convincingly that His Excellency President Brig. (Rtd) Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s priority in his second inning is for Sierra Leone to be food self-sufficient.

This key thematic area FEED SALONE, according to the Manifesto, is an initiative to boost agricultural productivity to ensure food security and inclusive economic growth. The next SLPP Government will boost agricultural productivity by increasing investment, which will fuel inclusive economic growth, boost food production, reduce hunger and poverty, create jobs, boost export earnings and build our resilience in the face of climate change.

When launching the SLPP Manifesto 2023 in Freetown, President Bio assured Sierra Leoneans that if re-elected, he would prioritize agriculture in his next Government like he has done to the Free Quality Education (FQE), his flagship programme. So, with the arrival of a team of Chinese Agricultural Experts to play a pivotal role in advancing our agricultural sector, in addition to the early provision of agricultural equipment and other implements worth millions of United States Dollars offered to Sierra Leone by the People’s Republic of China for the establishment of Agricultural Training Centres at Gbere Junction for the Northern Region and in Bo City for the Southern Regions, Sierra Leoneans can now be rest assured of President Bio’s determination to revolutionize the agricultural sector of Sierra Leone with emphasis on high-yield rice and corn breeding, providing local farm training at the two Agricultural Training Centres, and implementing modern farming techniques to enhance productivity and efficiency.

We understand that the Chinese Agricultural Experts are here to help with high-yielding rice and corn breeding, as well as provide local farmers training in those Agricultural Training Centres in the North and South as a way of contributing to the success of FEED SALONE, the President’s initiative.

These are seasoned professionals in agriculture and agribusiness and they will collaborate closely with local farmers and agricultural institutions respectively.

While we commend the President for making tremendous efforts to ensure that FEED SALONE succeeds, he should ensure that his initiative becomes sustainable at any cost for Sierra Leone to once again become food self-sufficient as she had during the early days of our independence, when our country generated enough foreign earnings from agricultural produce like rice, cocoa, coffee, ginger, piassava, you name it. And now that the stage has been set for the full implementation of FEED SALONE initiative, we should be very optimistic as a people that the journey has begun for agricultural transformation and progress towards achieving food security and economic prosperity under the indefatigable leadership of His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio. With the prioritization of FEED SALONE by a much determined and caring President who loves his people and country, we are very certain that only the sky will be his limit in successfully transforming the agricultural landscape of this country through food security and economic prosperity.

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27 December 2022

Had it not been for the grace of Allah and helped from concerted community people, Mohamed Kura Sesay who owned a pharmacy at Brima Laneold would have suffered acute tortured in the hands of some unidentified people who raided him on the night of August 10,2022.

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28 February 2023

The Acting Auditor General, Mr. Abdul Aziz, last Friday 17th February, 2023 entreated the technical female staff of Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) to be committed to their jobs and take advantage of emerging opportunities relating to the audit work during a meeting on the 12th Floor of the Freetown City Council Building.

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24 November 2022

The Managing Director of Sky Bank Sierra Leone, Ikubolaje Nicole has been remanded in custody by Magistrate Marke Ngegba, who preside over Pademba Road Court No. 1 in Freetown, following allegations that he murdered his fiancée.
The police claim that Ikubolaje Nicole, the defendant, planned Sinnah Kai Kargbo’s murder with unidentified individuals on several occasions between October 15 and October 16, 2022, at Leicester Village, Western Area, in Freetown.
The accused, Ikubolaje Nicole, is also accused by the police of killing Sinnah Kai Kargbo on October 16, 2022, in Leicester Village, Western Area, in Freetown. According to police, on October 17, 2022, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) The accused manufactured evidence with the intention of tainting the court system.
As a result, police filed three counts of charges for murder without a license, perverting the course of justice without a license, and conspiracy to murder in violation of Section 4 of the Offences Against Persons Act 1816.
After the charges were read to him and explained to him, the accused did not enter a plea because it was a felony. The prosecuting team was made up of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Easmond N. B Ngagui, and six state attorneys, whilst the accused did not have legal representation in court.
However, the defendant revealed that Roland Wright will represent him.
Director of Public Prosecution, who also serves as Lead Prosecutor (DPP), Easmond N. B. Ngagui told the Bench that their witness was not present in court. He therefore requested for an adjournment date.
Magistrate Marke Ngegba remanded the accused and he adjourned the matter to the 30th November 2022.

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09 January 2023

The Japanese Government through the Office of the Honorary Consul General of Japan in Sierra Leone yesterday Tuesday 20th December, 2022 provided US$89,880 (Eighty Nine Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty United States Dollars) to Self Help and Development Everywhere (SHADE- Sierra Leone) for the construction of a primary school and sanitation facilities in Kargbulor Village, Magbema Chiefdom, Kambia District under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGHSP).

Speaking at the signing ceremony of the grant contract between the Japanese Embassy and the local NGO SHADE - Sierra Leone at the Embassy in Freetown, the Ambassador of the Republic of Japan to Sierra Leone, H. E. Mochizuki Hisanobu said an important reason for providing funds for the project is to complement the Government of Sierra Leone’s efforts in the implementation of its Free Quality School Education (FQSE) flagship program.

Ambassador Mochizuki said providing FQSE and creating a conducive environment for learning are also consistent with Japan's ODA policy to facilitate sustainable and self-reliant development of the partnering with countries through educational and human resources assistance.

He said the Government of Japan has been supporting rural communities in Sierra Leone through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects for many years.

Ambassador Mochizuki said the GGHSP aims at responding directly to the requests for small-scale development projects from the local communities and Non-Governmental Organizations.

According to him, the Japanese Government remains committed to continuously providing livelihood support to Sierra Leoneans by addressing the needs of the rural communities, noting that the signing of the grant contract for the project is a testament to such a continued commitment.

Executive Director of SHADE-SL, Madam Christiana Y. Khanu said “with the resilience of SHADE-Sierra Leone and the financial intervention from the people of Japan through its Embassy, today, Kargbulor will have an ultra-modern school building with funds from the great people of Japan.”

The project will comprise six-school building, an office for the head teacher, furniture, a latrine with a wash station, and a borehole well.