Author: gleanernewspaper

Participants from Sierra Leone’s Tourism and Cultural sectors have concluded a three-week seminar on Tourism Planning and Cultural Construction for Sierra Leone, at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration (CACTA) in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The scholarship, which catered for 25 sector players from the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, the National Tourist Board, the Monuments and Relics Commission, the National Museum, the International Theater Institute, tour operators and travel agencies, community leaders, Councilors, Chef Association, media practitioners and influencers, was facilitated by the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Nabeela Tunis, to enhance the capacity…

President Julius Maada Bio and his Ministers As President Julius Maada Bio’s travelling spree continues in his second term, records from the Annual Financial Statement of the Government of Sierra Leone have shown a huge amount of money spent on overseas travelling by the government of President Bio. The 2023 and 2024 Finance Acts have both seen increases in taxes on essential commodities, while government expenses keep on increasing at an alarming rate. The 2023 Annual Financial Statement revealed that the government of President Bio spent a whooping sum of Le87 billion in 2022 on overseas travel, which is a 20%…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on November 5, 2023 [Reuters/Jonathan Ernst] By Marwan Bishara America’s Middle East diplomacy and Israel’s war on Gaza are two sides of the same coin. Washington’s efforts to shield Israel as it carries out war crimes in Palestine have implicated it in yet another war that threatens to engulf the whole region. Since the Israeli army embarked on its bloody assault on Gaza a month ago, the Biden administration has dispatched its foremost naval strike force, including two aircraft carriers, to…

First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Fatima Maada Bio and Hon. Alusine Kanneh At the 5th Annual National Prestigious Awards and Fund Raising Dinner, the Chief Immigration Officer (CIO), Hon. Alusine Kanneh, received a prestigious award from Womens’Forum Sierra Leone, on the Theme: ‘Making the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act Work for a Better Sierra Leone.’ After receiving the award, the Immigration Boss said he was deeply humbled and honoured to have received this award, adding that it means the world to him to be recognized for his hard work and dedication. “I will continue to strive…

Sierra Leone is among eight countries around the world participating in this year’s three-week course on “The Role of Media in Democratic Countries” organized by the JICA Center in Japan and implemented by the NHK Foundation. The training, which attracted Cote D’Ivoire, Maldives, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Ukraine, is aimed at not only understanding the role of media, especially that of Public Service Broadcasting from its participants but it is also aimed at sharing the Japanese experience with participating countries on institutional building for functional improvement and the human resources development system…

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), in collaboration with the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO) and with support from the Food Systems Resilience Program, convened actors in the rice sector on October 10 and 11, 2023, to develop the National Rice Action Plan draft in line with the Feed Salone program. In his keynote address, Deputy Minister 2 of Agriculture, Sahr Hemore, said that the development of the plan is a sequel to the launch of the National Chapter of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory, called the Sierra Leone Rice Observatory (SLeRO), on February 21 and 22, 2023. He noted…

Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, on Friday 10/11/2023 presented the Bill entitled “The Appropriation Act, 2024”, to Parliament, on the theme, “Restoring Macroeconomic Stability While Protecting the Poor and the Vulnerable”. The event attracted several important personalities including Ministers of Government, international partners, professional heads of Government institutions, the media, and members of the Civil Society Groups. The Bill seeks to authorize expenditure from the consolidated fund for the services of Sierra Leone for the year 2024 and other related matters. Presenting the budget, the Minister said the last two years had been challenging for policymakers around the…

Information Minister, Chernor Bah and Hon. Victor Foh Thousands of people lined the streets of Jimmi Bagbo, Bo District, to welcome home Information Minister, Chernor Bah. The event was held to appreciate President Bio for his appointment as the native of Bagbo Chiefdom to the prestigious position in the cabinet. Paramount chiefs, community leaders, cabinet ministers, friends and well-wishers from Bagbo Chiefdom and the wider Bo District showed up in impressive numbers to support the young minister. In his presentation of the Minister to the People, Hon. Victor Foh, who is an uncle of the Minister, thanked President Bio for appointing…

Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security (MELSS) of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Honourable Mohamed Rahman Swaray has engaged the Minister of Labour of the State of Qatar, Dr. Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri in a bid to provide employment opportunities for skilled Sierra Leoneans to work in Qatar. While thanking his counterpart for the excellent opportunity accorded to him during his working visit, Hon. Mohamed Rahman Swaray acknowledged the numerous contributions of the State of Qatar to support the development programmes of Sierra Leone, adding that the engagement was part of the ongoing efforts to further strengthen relations…

The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) has on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, been granted an additional seventeen million five hundred thousand Euro fund to implement the Pro Poor-Growth for Peace Consolidation and Youth Employment (GPCYE) Project. This is coming as a result of a Financial Cooperation Agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany represented by the German Development Bank (KfW) and NaCSA is the Program Executing Agency (PEA) in Sierra Leone. At the signing, NaCSA was highly commended for successfully implementing the predecessor projects. According to the report, “…NaCSA…