Author: gleanernewspaper

Yankuba Askia Bio, General Manager, Sierra Leone Ports and Harbours Authority (SLPHA) Friends and family are grieving and looking for answers following the June 2, 2024, death of John Julius Conteh, an employee of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). As the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) conduct their investigation, pressure is mounting on the Sierra Leone Ports and Harbours Authority (SLPHA) to make public the CCTV footage of the incident that resulted in his death. John Conteh’s close friends and family are pleading with SLPHA to release the CCTV footage to assist the police investigation. They think the video may offer vital information…

By Aminata Benk- Sankoh Each time that the Day of the African Child is celebrated, it gives us a pause, a moment to reflect on the trials and tribulations, and the prospects and opportunities for children right from the slums of Kibera in Nairobi, the farms in Mongor Sierra Leone, the alleyways of Waterside in Monrovia, the dancing kids gyrating to the sounds of Eddie Kenzo on the streets of Kampala, and those kids at Mukamira born to code at the Rwanda Coding Academy. Let’s forget for a moment the zombie and quite often trance-like state that we now see…

President Dr.Julius Maada Bio, accompanied by his beloved wife, First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, officially commissioned the state-of-the-art Lumley Children’s Hospital “Paediatric Centre of Excellence” at Regent Road, Lumley, in Freetown. The new hospital, named the President Dr. Julius Maada Bio Pediatric Center of Excellence, features 166 beds for children and 46 beds for parents, marking a significant milestone in Sierra Leone’s healthcare infrastructure, particularly in maternal and child health services.In his keynote address, President Bio highlighted the importance of this development in the context of the nation’s broader human capital aspirations. He expressed gratitude to the Japanese International…

His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio and First Lady Fatima Maada Bio have graced this year’s thanksgiving and patronal feast day celebration of St. Anthony of Padua on the theme, “Building a Vibrant Parish,” at a ceremony that brought together #catholic worshippers in reflection of the saint’s life. President Bio described the occasion as a historic moment for him, considering that the parish was his first church before commencing worship at St. Luke. He reminded the gathering of how he never missed any mass at St. Anthony Parish, pointing out that, despite worshipping in another parish, he is happy…

His Excellency Dr Morie Komba Manyeh, accompanied by staff from the Sierra Leone High Commission in London, held a productive meeting at Marlborough House with members of the Commonwealth Living Lands Advisory team led by Maxolisi Sibanda. The discussions focused on the Living Lands Charter, addressing the adverse effects of climate change while looking into specific action points to help tackle challenges such as land degradation, soil impoverishment, and water scarcity. These efforts aim to enhance biodiversity through conservation and land restoration.Mr Sibanda outlined five cross-cutting thematic areas forming the operational focus of the Commonwealth Living Lands Charter Advisory Group: Climate…

On June 7th, 2024, Borup became the first town in Sierra Leone to be electrified with clean energy backed by Sustainable Energy for All’s (SEforALL) results-based financing (RBF) multi-donor fund, the Universal Energy Facility (UEF). This achievement is the culmination of seven months of intensive work carried out by UEF grantee Energicity (SL) Limited (Power Leone). The 27 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) and 85 kWh battery mini-grid will provide 150 electricity connections and will directly benefit 1,300 people, powering households, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and public institutions. “This is a big achievement not only for the Universal Energy Facility…

Specialists in competition and consumer protection from different ECOWAS countries have been in the conclave since Monday 10th June 2024, in Lomé for training focused on case management in consumer protection. Among the participants were the Senior Permanent Secretary of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Trade, Mr Al-Hassan Kondeh, and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Consumer Protection Commission (NCPC), Mr Lawrence Landi Bassie, who shared their experience on the consumer space and briefed the gathering on progress made so far in the development of a Competition Bill to address issues of monopoly in the country. Indeed, Sierra Leone and Togo, like other…

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) Deputy CEO (DCEO) Nisha Biswal attended a groundbreaking ceremony today for the Nant Energy project, which is expected to nearly double Sierra Leone’s energy capacity and strengthen its ability to draw outside investment. Formerly known as the Western Area Power Generation Project, the facility will be Sierra Leone’s first gas-to-power plant. It will address a critical need for the Sierra Leonean people’s access to reliable energy infrastructure. Construction is now beginning and is expected to reach completion in 36 months. Milele Energy, a Nairobi-based independent power-generation company, and energy project developer TCQ Power…

Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Road Safety, Ambassador Jean Todt, has paid a courtesy call to His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, updated on his work and called for collaboration on the campaign to address road accidents. First Lady Fatima Maada Bio, while introducing the Special Envoy, said he was in the country on a special mission to engage different stakeholders, including young people on the importance of road safety in Sierra Leone. She recalled that while in Turkey, she was appointed to serve as the champion of road safety. She revealed at that moment she…

Chief Executive of Leone Rock Metal Group, Gilbert Zhao Sierra Leonean workers at the Leone Rock Mining Company, former Kingho Mining, have been complaining of improper treatment by the Company. They made these complaints pointing at the poor condition of service meted at them, and highlighted long hours at work, and low wages, among other mistreatments. They further maintained that apart from the fact that few Sierra Leoneans are manning top management positions, there is complete discrimination against Sierra Leonean workers as to those of other nationalities, especially the Chinese. Another concern raised by the Sierra Leonean staff is the…