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24 October 2023

Orange Sierra Leone, the undisputed leader in the telecoms industry of Sierra Leone, on Thursday 28th September, 2023 officially commissioned the newly Beamay Nursery and Preparatory School at the Wilberforce Military Barracks in Freetown.

This was part of the US$1.5million pledge Orange made to complement Government’s Free Quality School Education (FQSE) in different forms of educational support.

Speaking at the commissioning, Orange (SL) Chief Executive Officer, Sekou Amadu Bah, said they were happy that the refurbished school with seven classrooms would host about 280 pupils with better facilities for an effective learning environment that would nurture the leaders of the future.

“As a company we understand the essence of giving back to the communities in which we operate, giving back to the communities in which we operate. That is why we did not hesitate to provide the philanthropic support required to this local community school to create a positive impact on children’s lives and to foster educational sustainability,” he averred.

The CEO added that Orange will continue to play a key role in the ‘Five Big Game Changers’ of the Government through their Corporate Social Responsibility and Foundation Project to drive Human Capital Development and youth empowerment to contribute effectively to His Excellency, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s vision for the country.

“When we received the request from the Armed Forces Wives Association to support with renovation of the school, we were compelled to take action to refurbish the school due to the deplorable state of its building that made it unfit for learning because we recognize that good facilities and infrastructures are important for producing good school outcomes,” CEO noted.

The CEO of Sonatel, Sekou Drame, said the project was a reflection of Sonatel and Orange Group’s commitment towards fostering sustainable development in education to build seeds for the future.

According to him, the objective of their group’s corporate social responsibility policy is to deploy sustainable development goals at the heart of all their affiliates across Africa and the Middle East that will be imbedded in four explicit areas: well-being of communities in which they operate; good governance; growth and economic development through investment; and preservation of the environment.

He said Orange is the first telecoms company to launch a partnership with government and that through their Foundation they have built five ultra-modern early learning development schools within three years in Port Loko, Kambia, Pujehun, Moyamba and Bonthe districts respectively.

Giving the keynote address, the First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio, averred that education is the first pillar in President Bio’s agenda and he prioritized education because he wanted Sierra Leone to be part of the new Millennium.

She further expressed her profound thanks and appreciation to Orange and Sonatel for their support in helping the Armed Forces Wives Association to refurbish the school.

The First Lady underscored the importance of teachers and described them as precious people in moving society forward.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General P.K. Lavahun, said Beamay Nursery and Preparatory school is one of the oldest nursery and preparatory facilities across the Armed Forces.

He recalled that the Armed Forces Wives Association four decades ago conceived the idea of establishing the school that provide basic conducive learning environment for kids of serving personnel in Wilberforce barracks.
The Army Boss expressed gratitude to Orange Sierra Leone for its time CSR intervention to support the refurbishment of the school.

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18 October 2023

Employees of Standard Chartered Bank gathered outside the bank’s headquarters yesterday Thursday 14th October, 2023 in Freetown, to stage a protest demanding their long-awaited terminal benefits.

The protest comes in the wake of a recent court ruling that ordered the bank to pay a substantial sum of US5.5 million (NLE 124,018,730.55) to its former employees.

It could be recalled that on 6th October, 2023, the High Court of Sierra Leone, with Justice Hannah Bonnie presiding, issued an order mandating Standard Chartered Bank to disburse the substantial sum within a seven-day timeframe.

The court’s decision was met with a mixture of relief and jubilation by the bank’s former employees, who had been waiting for their terminal benefits for a considerable period.

However, the Standard Chartered Bank is not taking the court’s ruling lightly. In response, the bank has sought leave to appeal the order, with their case being heard by Justice Jamesina King.

The matter has been adjourned to Wednesday 18th October, 2023, for further proceedings, leaving both the bank and its former employees in a state of uncertainty.

The legal battle has captured the attention of many, not only within the financial sector but also in Sierra Leone as a whole. The outcome of the appeal will have significant implications for the bank’s former employees, as well as set a precedent for similar cases in the country.

As the legal saga continues, employees remain determined in their quest for the much-needed terminal benefits, while Standard Chartered Bank’s legal team strategizes its appeal, ensuring that this case remains in Sierra Leone’s financial and legal circles.

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18 October 2023

By Yusufu Sesay
The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) in the ongoing bilateral budget discussions at Ministry of Finance Technical Committee one last Friday 13th October,2023 has estimated revenue generation of the Authority for the Financial Year 2024 amounting to Le306,555,170 ( Three Hundred and Six Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand One Hundred and Seventy Leones ).
The aforesaid revenue projection is expected from the Authority’s revenue streams including Birth & Death Certificates, Adoption of Marriage and Divorce Certificates, Identity Services and verification System.
The disclosure was made by NCRA Director General, Mohamed M. Massaquoi in the budget hearings held at the ministry conference room at Treasury Building on George Street in Freetown.
Speaking at the ongoing budget hearings, the Director General of NCRA underscored the importance of his Authority in revenue generation as they generate huge revenue from various sources for services provided to the public.
According to him, NCRA revenue generation gives a big boost not only in financing its budget proposals but support national budget expenditures.
The DG further upbeat that NCRA saved government on annual bases a huge sum of money by tracking and reporting ghost workers, the deceased and enhancing payroll integrity by verifying the details of new employees.
NCRA Boss added that the authority has helped government savings of over Le28B through the payroll verification exercise which unearthed 1,450 ghost workers found on payroll in 2019.
Mr. Massaquoi made appealing case to the committee on the need to increase its FY2024 budget ceiling of Le5B TO Le56B so that they could be execute their mandate effectively and generate more revenue for government in FY2024 budget.
The DG said the services of NCRA have gone nationwide covering all 16 administrative districts necessitating increase in resources to enable them facilitate registering of vital events as they occur throughout the country.

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18 October 2023

By Yusufu Sesay
The Ministry of Finance Technical Committee 2 in the ongoing Bilateral Budget Discussions on Thursday 12th October, 2023 unanimously approved the proposed budget of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) for the Financial Year 2024, amounting to NLe139, 009,683 (One Hundred and Thirty-nine Million, Nine Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighty-three Leones).
The approval hearing was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Finance at Treasury Building on George Street in Freetown.
Speaking at the ongoing budget hearings, the Director General of SLRA, Ing. Amara Kanneh, disclosed that the mission of the public institution is to provide a safe, reliable and sustainable national road system for the enhancement of the socio-economic development of the country.
The Director General said the proposed FY2024 budget comprised operation/administrative costs in a bid to improve organizational efficiency for the development and maintenance of all roads and related structures on the national road network.
Ing. Amara Kanneh said government is desirous of developing a sustainable and cost-effective road maintenance strategy with the aim that strategic roads are passable throughout the year.
According to him, government will construct roads that lead to touristic areas in a bid to boost the tourism industry, as well as roads leading to productive agricultural areas.
The Director General said the policy pronouncement on infrastructure was considered during the FY2024 budget preparation for roads development and maintenance management.
He highlighted SLRA’s key deliverables for the construction and maintenance of selected roads, including Tikonko – Mattru, Kambia - Tompari – Kamakwie, Kailahun – Koindu, and township roads in Kenema, Makeni, Port Loko, Bo, Freetown amongst other roads.
Ing. Kanneh further gave assurance to the Technical Committee that the Lumley - Tokeh Road and Hill Bypass Road will be completed this year, noting that if the money requested by the Authority is granted, most of the road maintenance and monitoring would be done.

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18 October 2023

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alpha Ibrahim Sesay, recently engaged the leadership of MUSIAD in Türkiye with the view of exploring more business opportunities for Sierra Leone.
Musaid is one of the Turkish leading business associations of the world that organize Regional Trade Meetings for creating business partnerships and developing business; bringing businessmen together in six specified incentive regions of Türkiye.
As a businessmen association that acts independently and separately both at national and international levels, the mission of the MUSIAD is to increase the number of the members that adopt pre-determined principles and values, develop solidarity among the members and contribute to material and moral development of member states.
The Sierra Leone’s Minister of Trade shared the ‘Big Five’ Priority programmes of His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, saying that Agriculture, ICT, and Infrastructure were areas where he thought Turkish companies would excel in Sierra Leone.
Credit: Sierra Leone Embassy, Ankara, Türkiye