Author: gleanernewspaper
The Fiscal Decentralisation Division at the Ministry of Finance organised the meeting on Thursday, 29th February 2024, with Mayors/Chairpersons and Chief Administrators of Local Councils to discuss challenges regarding collecting home source revenue in local councils. In the meeting, Chairpersons/Mayors and Chief Administrators highlighted several challenges regarding revenue collection at the council level. These challenges range from staff capacity and motivation, lack of coordination and cooperation from stakeholders, chiefdom authorities and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the legal framework, and outdated cadastral systems to political interference. In his statement, Financial Secretary, Matthew Dingie, stated the importance of revenue collection…
More than 250 prominent jurists, diplomats, legal scholars, students, civil society activists, members of the RSCSL Oversight Committee, and other stakeholders from Sierra Leone and abroad, met in the Sierra Leonean capital this week to examine the Special Court’s legacy, to share experiences and insights, and to chart a way forward for international justice. The conference was organized by the Residual Special Court and its partners. Keynote speakers were Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Mr. Stephen Mathias. Speaking at the conference, VP Jalloh said the old Special Court compound would…
On Thursday, February 29, 2024, at the esteemed Grand Metro Park Hotel in Beijing, His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio opened the inaugural Sierra Leone Investment Forum. Hundreds of Chinese investors and multimillion-dollar companies came together for this historic event. The occasion demonstrated the enormous potential for profitable partnerships and represented a critical turning point in Sierra Leone and China’s economic relationship. In his keynote address, President Bio emphasised that three key factors—Sierra Leone’s business-friendly climate, youthful population, and abundance of natural resources—make the country an attractive destination for foreign investment. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to creating an…
In the Koinadugu District of Kabala, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and its agencies recently launched their Tourism for All Campaign. The delegation, headed by Minister Nabeela Farida Tunis, spent two days touring the ecotourism location at Wara Wara mountain and the cultural village of Yagala. The visit’s main objectives were to establish collaborations for the creation and marketing of tourist destinations and to highlight the district’s rich cultural diversity. Plans were also made to train the tour guides in the district to enhance the quality of the tourist experience. The Minister and her group paid the Paramount…
The Sierra Leone Athletics Association (SLAA) president, Martin Momoh Bangura, visited the Police Field training facility recently to assess athletes who were invited to train ahead of the All-African Championship in Ghana. While he was there, President Bangura called the athletes’ efforts a “national service” and commended them for their dedication. The importance of performance and preparedness for selection was emphasised by him. Even though not all of the athletes will be able to represent Sierra Leone in the forthcoming competition, President Bangura emphasised the importance of the athletes sticking together. He announced that training would be relocated to Bo…
Justice Paula da Conceição Machatine Honwana was sworn in as a Judge of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL). In a ceremony held in Freetown before the opening of the Plenary of Judges, Justice Machatine Honwana made a solemn declaration before the RSCSL Vice President Justice Emmanuel E. Roberts to “without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, serve as a Judge of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone honestly, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously.” She subscribed to the solemn declaration before Justice Pierre Boutet, and in front of witnesses representing the two parties to the RSCSL Agreement. Stephen…
By Shadrach Aziz Kamara The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) recently wrapped up a two-day Legacy Conference with the theme “Raising Awareness of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in International Justice, Peace, and Security.” A wide range of people attended the event, which was hosted at the Bintumani Conference Centre in Freetown. These included academics from universities, representatives from NGOs, international experts, legal experts, war victims, and leaders of Communities. During the conference, the Vice President of the RSCSL, Justice Emmanuel Ekundayo Roberts, emphasised the importance of the Special Court’s legacy in promoting justice, accountability, and peace.…
By Juliana Vandy StratCom Adviser MoICE After a two-week-long intensive study in migration management at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra Ghana, I have come to realize the importance of community relations, and civic and public education in migration management. From my professional lens, during the course, it was clear that a good number of the challenges migrants face during their journey are centred on a lack of adequate information. The inadequate information on the processes of migration is not only limited to the migrants but also the officials involved in the process of migration as well as…
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed F. Bangura, is at present in China as part of an advanced team for President Julius Maada Bio’s upcoming State visit to China. The Minister has already begun engaging key financial institutions, including the China Development Bank, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the People’s Bank of China, the China Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and others for potential economic cooperation between Sierra Leone and China. The meetings were also aimed at carving out cooperation in infrastructural development and other investment opportunities. President Bio is scheduled to visit China at the end of February…
A decree announced on national television on Tuesday announced the appointment of economist and former opposition leader Mamadou Oury Bah to the position of Prime Minister in junta-led Guinea. Amid an indefinite general strike that was initiated this week, due to severe economic hardships and the military authorities’ purportedly oppressive policies, the veteran politician faces a difficult task in forming a government. In a video seen on television, Bah took the oath of office in front of Mamady Doumbouya, the acting President. Doumbouya is the Commander of Special Forces who overthrew Alpha Conde in a coup in 2021. Since the…