Author: gleanernewspaper

Dr Austin Demby, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health, launched the country’s first Health Travel Portal at Lungi International Airport on Monday, March 8, 2026. In light of concerns about an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the new digital platform is intended to strengthen border health security, improve disease surveillance, and accelerate responses to potential public health threats.The centralised system uses technology to verify travellers’ health information and travel documents as they enter and exit Sierra Leone. The portal’s requirement for electronic submission of travel history and supporting health documentation 72 hours before departure or arrival aims to…

According to the National Revenue Authority (NRA), the recently completed border post at Jendema is providing measurable improvements in revenue collection, border security, and economic activity along the Sierra Leone-Liberia border. At the National Civic Day Series in Pujehun District, Dr Philip Kargbo, Director of Research, Planning and Monitoring at the NRA, described the modern Jendema facility as a key step forward in the government’s drive to modernise revenue administration and better monitor cross-border movement. He informed attendees that the upgraded infrastructure has allowed the Authority to collect significantly more tax revenue at the border while also improving surveillance and…

The Government Printing Department was officially relaunched on May 29, 2026, at its New England Ville headquarters in Freetown, signalling the beginning of a major restoration and modernisation effort for one of Sierra Leone’s oldest public institutions. Salifu Suma, the Government Printer, described the event as “a new beginning” for an institution that has supported governance and public administration for over 200 years. Founded in 1794 and known as the Royal Gazette since 1801, the department was the first government printing establishment in British West Africa and the second on the African continent, after South Africa. Over the years, it…

Speaking at the recently concluded Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) Plenary and GIABA Ministerial Committee (GMC) session in Abidjan, Sierra Leone’s Honourable Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, issued a stark warning about a shifting and intensifying security environment across the West African sub-region. He urged member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to strengthen regional cooperation and coordinate financial-security measures in response to rising cross-border threats. Minister Bangura described the current security landscape as complex, with multiple interconnected threats that “respect no sovereign borders.” He cited the simultaneous rise…

President Dr Julius Maada Bio conducted a thorough inspection of the ongoing Conference Centre and Presidential Villas development at Lungi, demonstrating his government’s determination to complete a major national infrastructure project ahead of next month’s 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government. The visit was part of the President’s intensified preparations to host the high-level regional summit, and it allowed him to assess progress on one of Sierra Leone’s most ambitious construction projects, according to government officials.The multifunctional complex currently under construction is intended to meet a variety of diplomatic, conference, hospitality, and recreational…

Senior Ministry of Health (MoH) leadership held an interactive engagement with Emergency Hospital staff in Goderich’s conference hall to discuss welfare, professionalism, and operational issues affecting service delivery. The delegation was led by Dr Mustapha S. Kabba, Deputy Chief Medical Officer-Clinical Services, Matron Haja, Director of Hospital and Ambulance Services, Ibrahim Foday-Musa, and the National Coordinator for NEMS, along with other senior Ministry officials.The meeting was called to strengthen collaboration between the Ministry and Emergency Hospital management, to review the implementation of the technical agreement that governs staff operations, and to provide a forum for employees to express concerns about…

Dr David Moinina Sengeh Chief Minister David Moinina Sengeh made history for the Sierra Leonean community in the UK on May 30, 2026, when he gave a powerful keynote speech at the BSL Hall on Anstey Lane in Leicester. Participants called the event historic because it was the first time a senior government minister had interacted directly with residents through an open, questioning forum, going beyond one-sided political declarations to sincere conversation. Chief Minister Sengeh outlined the government’s strategic vision for national transformation before a crowded, multiethnic audience that included members of the Sierra Leonean diaspora. The government’s “Five Big Game…

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio welcomed a delegation from First Bank Group to State House in Freetown to discuss financing for infrastructure and industrial development. Mr Olusegun Alebiosu, First Bank Group’s Group CEO, led the visiting team, which included senior engineering executives and international directors. They met with the President, the Bank’s Sierra Leone Country CEO, the Board Chair, and Sierra Leone’s Finance Minister, Hon. Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura.The discussions focused on innovative financing mechanisms that aim to accelerate investment in priority sectors, particularly roads, electricity, water supply, bridges, and industrial infrastructure. Finance Minister Fantamadi Bangura emphasised the government’s…

On June 3, 2026, Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, the Director General of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), urged strategic collaboration with the Egyptian Embassy in Freetown to expand social security coverage to Sierra Leone’s vast informal sector. Daboh pointed out that nearly 90% of the active labour force consists of small-scale market traders, artisans, drivers, and farmers who do not receive retirement or invalidity benefits.Addressing Ambassador Rasha Soliman Mohi Eldin Soliman, he referred to social security as a fundamental human right and stated that expanding legal safety nets beyond formal employment is critical to Sierra Leone’s long-term economic…

On Monday, June 1, 2026, Chief Medical Examiner Dr Simon Owizz Koroma joined students and environmental advocates to plant 10 non-fruit-bearing trees at his alma mater, the West African Methodist Collegiate Secondary School (WAMCOL), in Freetown, in honour of World Environment Day. The tree-planting event, organised in collaboration with the Media Initiative for Climate Change and the Environment (MICCE), is one of a number of events commemorating the global observance on June 5.Dr Koroma, a proud WAMCOL alumnus and Chief Medical Examiner in the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), believes that planting trees is…