Author: gleanernewspaper

Hon. Dr Isata Mahoi, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, used a prominent platform at the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York to make a compelling case for education as the foundation of justice, equality, and empowerment for women and girls. Dr Mahoi addressed global partners and delegates at a side event hosted by Ireland’s Permanent Mission on March 11, 2026, arguing that when girls are educated, they gain the knowledge, confidence, and voice needed to claim their rights, confront injustice, and actively shape the future of their communities.Dr Mahoi…

The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary Community Outreach Department concluded two days of Environmental Days for pupils enrolled in the Tacugama Kids Environmental Education Programme (TKEEP) on 18th and 22nd March 2026. The events brought together primary school children from communities surrounding Tacugama to celebrate environmental learning, test their knowledge and creativity, and spotlight the chimpanzee as Sierra Leone’s newly designated national animal.One of the Environmental Days was hosted at the Regent Community Centre and welcomed pupils from the Rural Education Committee Primary School at Regent, Church of Christ Primary, Mountain Rural, Saio Primary and Logus Academy. The second day featured students…

March, 2026, all ten Paramount Chiefs of Koinadugu District demonstrated unity and commitment to public integrity by attending a high-level engagement with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at the District Council Hall. The meeting was part of ACC People’s Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala’s ongoing “Meet the People Tour,” which aims to enlist traditional authorities as frontline partners in Sierra Leone’s national anti-corruption campaign.Commissioner Kaifala used the occasion to make an impassioned plea to chiefs to “sow, nurture, and guard the seeds of integrity and patriotism” in their chiefdoms. He emphasised that Paramount Chiefs wield unparalleled power in local governance and community…

The Sunday Foundation (SF), a humanitarian organisation based in the Netherlands, has opened the Sunday Foundation School of Health Sciences (SFCHS) in Makeni, providing free tuition and uniforms to enrolled students. The opening of the cutting-edge college in Maboleh, three miles from Makeni in Shebora Chiefdom, Bombali District, has been widely praised by students, community leaders, and education stakeholders, who see the initiative as a significant contribution to Sierra Leone’s human capital development.The new institution, located on a five-acre site, is intended to provide students with modern facilities and hands-on training in a variety of health and community-related disciplines. The…

Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay ……………………..Convicted Drug Trafficker Jos “Bolle Jos” Leijdekkers. According to AD and Follow the Money’s reconstruction of events, the Netherlands has quietly escalated an international diplomatic campaign to pressure Sierra Leone for the extradition of convicted drug trafficker Jos “Bolle Jos” Leijdekkers. What started as a routine legal request has turned into a long-running, high-stakes diplomatic operation that reveals the limits of formal cooperation with Freetown—as well as the broader geopolitical tensions that complicate efforts to bring a major cocaine kingpin to justice. Leijdekkers, a Dutch national linked to large-scale cocaine shipments to Europe, is said to…

March 2026 — As part of Pillar One of the government’s “Feed Salone” agenda, Chief Minister Dr David Moinina Sengeh convened a strategic inter-ministerial meeting aimed at rapidly increasing local rice production and directing that supply into institutional feeding programs. Dr Sengeh described the talks as “very successful,” saying he briefed His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio on the results and tasked agencies with concrete follow-up actions.The meeting looked at practical ways to incorporate locally produced rice into public institution food supply chains, with a particular emphasis on the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and the Sierra Leone Correctional…

Freetown Terminal Limited (FTL) commemorated its 15th anniversary on March 13, 2026, with a gathering that highlighted the company’s consistent growth and the critical role employees played in transforming the terminal into a key hub for Sierra Leone maritime trade. The General Manager, Maroun Abi Aad, used the occasion to praise the workforce, describe the achievement as a testament to teamwork, and call for continued unity as the company enters its next phase of development.Abi Aad thanked staff at the anniversary event for their years of hard work and resilience in shaping the terminal’s progress. He framed the anniversary not…

Africell Sierra Leone and Freetown Polytechnic have signed a strategic partnership at the Polytechnic’s Jui Campus in Freetown, taking a significant step toward modernising the institution’s digital infrastructure and creating a technology-driven learning environment. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organisations demonstrates a shared commitment to replacing traditional lecture-centric practices with more dynamic, digitally enabled educational approaches, as well as to transitioning the campus to a cashless model.Representatives from both institutions attended the event, which marked the formalisation of a collaboration aimed at increasing access to digital learning tools, strengthening administrative systems, and providing students…

The Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Mohamed Rahman Swarray, has urged the newly appointed chairperson of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) Board and the Trust’s management to move quickly on implementing the Sierra Leone Informal Sector Pension Scheme so that social security coverage can be extended to workers in the informal economy. Minister Swarray delivered the appeal at the swearing-in ceremony for the new NASSIT Board Chairperson, Madam Isata Marrah, and two newly appointed trustees on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at NASSIT House in Freetown. He described the development of the informal sector pension product…

Conakry, March 2026 — Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone’s presidents met in Conakry on Monday and pledged to strengthen cooperation on peace, security, and development along their common borders. Guinea’s Mamadi Doumbouya, Liberia’s Joseph Nyuma Boakai, and Sierra Leone’s Julius Maada Bio attended the tripartite summit, with Côte d’Ivoire as an observer. The discussions centred on easing recent tensions in border communities and reviving cooperation within the Mano River Union (MRU).During the meeting, the three heads of state reviewed the security landscape along their common borders, emphasising the importance of ongoing dialogue and coordinated action in preventing future incidents. In…