Author: gleanernewspaper

Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) has unveiled a refreshed brand identity, including a new logo, marking a significant step forward in its transformation into a fully-fledged Multilateral Development Bank focused on accelerating housing and urban development across Africa. The new visual identity was revealed at the Bank’s 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Rabat, Morocco, which was presided over by Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Ms Nadia Fettah. The rebrand is presented as more than a cosmetic change. According to Thierno-Habib Hann, Managing Director and CEO of Shelter Afrique Development Bank, the new identity reflects a larger institutional transformation:…

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay, and the House of Parliament have formally ratified two major international instruments aimed at bolstering Sierra Leone’s justice sector reforms, expanding peaceful dispute resolution options, and reaffirming the country’s human rights obligations. Parliament approved the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) (2020) and the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly under Resolution 44/128 on December 15, 1989. Attorney General Sesay presented the…

President Dr Julius Maada Bio has officially commissioned two landmark solar power plants: a 30-megawatt facility with a 15-megawatt-hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Newton and a 10-megawatt facility with a 6-megawatt-hour BESS in Lungi. The installations are the single largest addition to renewable generation capacity in Sierra Leone’s history. The projects were created as part of the Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention (RESPITE) Project, which received World Bank funding. During the commissioning, President Bio described the plants as a watershed moment in the country’s efforts to achieve energy security, accelerate economic transformation, and promote sustainable development. He emphasised…

Dr David Sengeh, junior secondary students in Port Loko District Seven years after Dr. David Moinina Sengeh developed Sierra Leone’s National Innovation and Digital Strategy (NIDS) 2019-2029, which is based on the principle “Digitisation for All,” a randomised controlled trial demonstrates that advanced AI can meaningfully support classroom learning without replacing teachers. Google DeepMind tested Gemini’s “Guided Learning” in an eight-week study of 1,763 junior secondary students from 12 schools in Port Loko District, in collaboration with Fab AI and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education. The trial examined whether an AI that focuses on conceptual understanding and scaffolding could improve outcomes while keeping teachers…

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…