Author: gleanernewspaper

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…

On June 5, 2026, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio attended the Mercy Ships Partners’ Thank You Event. The event marked the end of Mercy Ships’ three-year mission in Sierra Leone and celebrated the Government and Mercy Ships’ commitment to strengthening the country’s health sector. The partnership provided life-changing surgical care, professional training, and health system support to thousands of Sierra Leoneans. The meeting established a framework for future collaboration.Mercy Ships Managing Director Matt Murray kicked off the event by thanking President Bio for his “visionary leadership and steadfast support,” which he said created the enabling environment for Mercy…

President Dr Julius Maada Bio hosted a farewell lunch for Sierra Leonean crew members and volunteers from the Global Mercy ship, using the occasion to reaffirm his administration’s commitment to improving collaboration between Mercy Ships and the Sierra Leone government. The event marked the conclusion of a three-year field service that government officials and Mercy Ships leaders described as transformative for the country’s surgical care, workforce development, and institutional capacity. Mercy Ships leaders, Sierra Leonean volunteers who served on board, senior government officials, and health sector representatives attended the event. Mr Matthew Murray, speaking on behalf of the Mercy Ships…

The world celebrates World Environment Day 2026 with the theme “Inspired by Nature. For Climate.” For Our Future,” Sierra Leone faces a stark reminder that nature’s health is essential to human survival, particularly the forests and watersheds that sustain Freetown and its surrounding communities. A recent assessment conducted by the Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC) between December 4, 2025 and January 8, 2026, revealed alarming levels of deforestation, settlement encroachment, and unsanitary human activity across critical catchments in the Western Area — trends that jeopardise the city’s water security.For over sixty years, GVWC has been the primary source of potable…

The Klymax Breed Foundation presented food supplies valued at approximately Le25 million to the Milton Margai School for the Blind on Wilkinson Road in Freetown. The donation was made in response to the school’s appeal and is intended to help with the students’ daily needs.Ten bags of 50-kilogram rice, sachets of drinking water, three bags of onions, powdered milk, lunch meat, and tinned tomatoes were among the items distributed. The foundation described the quantity and mix of staples as sufficient to meet immediate needs while also supplementing the school’s feeding program.Klymax Breed Foundation Program Manager Akiwumi Benjamin presented the donation,…

By Manon Demarie EUROPE’S most wanted drug trafficker, ‘Bolle Jos,’ has once again come under fire after investigators linked his Dutch criminal network to Spain’s largest cocaine seizure. Investigators believe the shipment was part of Joseph Johannes Leijdekkers’ international trafficking network, which allegedly used Spain to transport massive amounts of cocaine to Europe.  The case has also rekindled interest in his long-standing presence on the Costa del Sol, where luxury apartments, expensive cars, and secret meetings with international gangs helped to establish Marbella as one of the feared Dutch fugitive’s key bases. Leijdekkers allegedly first purchased a luxury apartment in Puerto Banus…

The official groundbreaking of the Waterloo Innovent Power Park Project in Waterloo marked a significant step in Sierra Leone’s energy transformation, according to the Ministry of Energy. Hon. Cyril A. Grant, Minister of Energy, presided over the ceremony, which brought together government officials, project developers, traditional authorities, and members of the host community to witness the start of construction on a facility aimed at improving electricity supply in the Western Area and promoting local agricultural development. Minister Grant thanked President Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio for prioritising energy on the national agenda during his keynote address. “Under His Excellency’s leadership,…