TRACE JOENAL

  “There is victory for us There is victory for us In the struggles of APC There is victory for us For us oh yeah  In the struggle of APC There is victory” Hahahahahaha, give me a big clap, hahahahaha. Oh yes folks, this is how we are doing things in this country.  We clap even when things are not nice for us, as long as we survive for the day. Most of the expectations of the people were dashed more especially the voters. Thing are not going the way they were expecting.  Forget about the Ebola excuses because things were not going on well from the onset. TRACE has a distance friend around TRACE resident that use to spend time with TRACE talking more about politics. He normally likes to argue on issues that relate to his All People Congress (APC) party. Gumbays likes APC so much that he can’t stand anybody that want to criticize them. His main source of income is to fetch water for people and they are paying him Le 1,000 for five ga...

“Are you underestimating me? I alone am able to win all the seats in the Western Area,” Moseray Fadika last words to this medium last December. He stated that Sierra Leone does not need people that will come and steal from the poor but Sierra Leone needs people that will help them and that he is the right person to become the President. He continued that he is coming up for the position to help the poor people and that it was these people who told President Koroma during the 50 Anniversary of Sierra Leone Independence that after Koroma is him (Moseray). He explained about his nationwide consultation and how people are spurring him everywhere he went to redeem them from poverty.

As their contribution to ease the stress on some guardians that are taking care of children whose parents died during the Ebola episode in Sierra Leone, the Foundation for Children of Ebola Affected Medical Workers (FOCEM) has distributed Scholarship Packages to some of the affected children. The Bo district Scholarship Award Ceremony which took place in Bo City last week Thursday is one of the series of ceremony that will be held in other districts and cities in the country. Sierra Leone was severely afflicted by the epidemic of Ebola virus disease, along with the neighboring countries of Guinea and Liberia. World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a total number of cases are about 28,637 across six countries. Cases contracted in Sierra Leone was 14,061 as of 25th October 2015 and a death toll of 3, 955.   The epidemic devastated families and communities across the country and disrupted every aspect of life; some people who lost their loved ones are still in a stat...

Contractors and other stakeholders of Mambaridge and Moyiba communities have engaged on road construction as part of their contribution to that community. By MariatuTamba The self-funded road construction started from  TawioChandis Black Hall road Junction ran to Borrow Pit and will end at Phase 2. Residents of that community have welcomed the move taken by the Contractors and other stakeholders. They described it as a step in the right direction. According to some of the road users, the road was in a very bad shape. They described it as one that was very close to a cut off point for them. Some of the car owners explained that they were not able to drive through that road because of the bad road network in that community. They poured showers on praises to the Contractors and other stakeholders for their timely intervention. Youth Coordinator Gibrilla Kamara said they are doing this to complement the effort of the government. He said as Sierra Leoneans they shoul...

H ello guys how are you doing? TRACE took a U-Turn to Freetown after weeks in the provinces looking at activities in the regions. Sierra Leone Minister of Energy  It was amazing to see the Government of Sierra Leone and other stakeholders in the energy sector brainstorming on what should be done to improve access to energy in the country especially in rural areas. In recognition of the fact that access to modern energy is a prerequisite for achieving the development goals in Sierra Leone, the policy objective and ultimate goal of the Government of Sierra Leone is: To ensure the provision of modern energy services for increased productivity, wealth creation and improved quality of life for all Sierra Leoneans. In order to address the problem of limited access to electricity in the country, according to the Ministry of Energy, there is a policy that is geared towards increasing supplies, through a comprehensive reform of the power sector, increasing liberalization of th...

From all indications, the recent letter signed by both the Director General of Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) and the Chairman of the Public Service Commission has exposed the inexperience and lack of managerial skills exhibited   by President Koroma’s   Gender Minister over issues of alleged misconduct and corruption   in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs.  The letter, titled, “RE: RECOMMENDATION FOR THE IMMEDIATE  SUSPENSION OF FOUR OFFICERS OF THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL WELFARE, GENDER AND CHILDREN AFFAIR,” which was a response to Social Welfare Minister’s earlier letter,  revealed that the action of Minister Sylvia Blyden to order the police to arrest civil servant was procedurally wrong. The Letter which was also copied to His Excellency the President for his high attention, referred the Minister to Rule 11.8 which talked about  Procedure to Prove Misconduct  and Rule 11.11 of the Civil Service Code, Re...

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Mayor of Freetown By Abdulrahman Koroma The mayor of Freetown City Council, Franklyn Bode Gibson has called on religious leaders to pray for a nation that might sink in the not too distant future. He made this statement last Monday while talking about the rotten ‘bomeh’ chicken that has flooded the market.  Mayor Gibson blamed the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for any consumption of the rotten chickens dumped at ‘Bommeh’ dumpsite. He stated that they had no knowledge of a 40ft container at the site and that  they were not informed by the Health Ministry neither Massada before dumping the rotten chicken at the Bommeh dust bin. He claimed  that he only knew about the story behind the expired chickens through the social media, and that Masada and the Health Ministry chose the wrong machinery for the process. “ It is an insult to use our dumping site without seeking our consent,” the Mayor of Freetown asserted...

Folks how are you doing? TRACE started pointing out some of the projects that the current government started but are yet to see completion due to reason best known to them. State House Extension Project TRACE first looked at the extension project at State House in last week’s edition. That project which should have been completed long ago is still hanging. In fact the project brought a lot of questions than answers such as in whose interest is   the extension being done? If the citizens were consulted because State House building belongs to the state not APC led government. What is the cost involved for such extension? All of these and many more questions are left unanswered by a government   which prides itself in thriving in transparency. Fiber Optic Project Whenever, TRACE passes around the Lumley beach and set eyes on the Fiber Optic landing site TRACE   always ponders what is really going on in that building. The Fiber Optic project is one of the ...

Amie Dumbuya Campaign Director PfA In a bid to address the energy situation in Sierra Leone, Power for All and the Government of Sierra Leone have ended a day’s workshop to communicate the compact and energy revolution targets as well as design and implement a streamlined product and company registration process.  By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay The event which took place yesterday at the New Brookfield’s hotels in Freetown brought different stakeholders in the energy sectors. In her opening address, Power for All Sierra Leone Campaign Director Amie Dumbuya explained that the Sierra Leone Energy Revolution came into being when the United Kingdom Minister Nick Hurd and Sierra Leone President Koroma signed the agreement on 10 th May 2016 for. “The singing has set the stage for off-grid solutions and specifically household and business solar installations to take in real way, both governments made commitments in the compact to realize this vision,” she said. Accordin...

H mmmm! Indeed this is Sierra Leone, the land that we love. Hi guys, how are you doing? TRACE was looking at how the Sierra Leone people's Party (SLPP) turned from a party of happiness to a party of Paopa. It was on Saturday last week when TRACE was walking around the Victoria Park by Rokel Street to see what was going on in that park. TRACE took a taxi from St. John in the west of Freetown to Regent Road in central Freetown. TRACE was enjoying the view around Rokel Street looking at the SIERRATEL office, Sierra Leone Library Board and Victoria Park. As TRACE was walking slowly, TRACE was also listening to some cool Music. As soon as TRACE approached the Sierra Leone Library, TRACE raised his head. TRACE's eyes were quick to see State House backyard. To TRACE's surprise when TRACE looked at the backyard of State House, TRACE noticed that some kind of extension work was going on. Some time ago TRACE called on State House to check their backyard in one of TRACE'...

By Abdulrahman Koroma As they remain abandoned at Mile 6  in deplorable condition, flood victims are requesting  an explanation of the status of  their bank account.  Sierra Leoneans who were affected by the September 16 flood in Freetown are calling on the government of Sierra Leone to explain what has gone wrong with the Bank Account that was created to solicit funding from philanthropist individuals and organisations.  Morlai Marrah, deputy Youth Chairman at Mile 6 Relocation Site told Salone Times that sometime this year, a Sierra Leonean philanthropist based in England tried to send them money through the flood victims bank account but the account proved dormant.  He said several other attempts were made but the account could not be accessed. They had to resort to getting someone to hand deliver  the money to them at the site through an individual who was travelling into the country. 

“ Countries should raise tobacco prices and taxes – 10% increase reduces tobacco consumption rates by 8%; Minimum ECOWAS 15%.” This was a quote from the World Health Organization who is the leading technical adviser to the Ministry in relation to Tobacco and was delivered by Lansana Conteh, Programme Manager, Health Education Division, Ministry of Health and Sanitation during an orientation of Media Practitioners on Tobacco Prevention and Control.  The Programme Manager, Health Education Division went on to say that tax issue is a serious problem for them to fight against tobacco. He disclosed that they are working on a bill that will be subjected to debate in Parliament to restrict tobacco product in the country.  He said the orientation is to empower the media to have more information on the danger of Tobacco and what are the steps they have taken. According to Mr Conteh this is just a continuation of the lineup activities for this year.

Sierra Leone Law Court Building   By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay The rift between the defunct Help a Needy Child International (HANCI) and parents continues as the parents are still yearning for justice for their alleged trafficked children. The defunct Help a Needy Child International (HANCI) which worked with a U.S-based adoption agency, Main Adoption Placement Services (MAPS) facilitated the adoption process of 29 Sierra Leonean children from Makeni to the United States of America The parents, who the organization alleged willingly gave their children for the adoption, claimed that the organization trafficked their children surreptitiously. To address this, President Ernest Koroma, in 2010, established the Justice Adeliza Showers Commission of Inquiry to examine cases of the purported adoption said to have been facilitated by HANCI and one of its partners in the US Maine Adoption Placement MAPS in 1997. At the end of 2011 after going through the investigation proce...

S ierra Leone finest GSM operator Africell has presented Le 242,265,000 to lucky winners in the on-going “Africell 3G ++ Ramadan Show’’. Subscribers who were excited about the promotion expressed their appreciation to the company for making it possible for them to feel belonged in the company. Four subscribers won the star prize50 Million Leones each while other subscribers won different prizes such as phones, Wingle+MB, Mifi+MB, recharge cards and cash. The presentation of prizes took place yesterday at the Company’s Headquarters in Wilberforce and was witnessed by the press and subscribers. In his address to subscribers and the press, Africell Chief Corporate Affairs Officers, Joe Abass Bangura said “We are also pleased to announce that Wednesday 29 th June, we had another Star Prize of winner of 50 Million by the name of John Kamara from Dworzack. The three other winners of 50 Million Leones were Abdulai Sall a 15 years old boy SSS 1 pupil of Benevolent Secondary Schoo...

H ello folks, last week TRACE gave his view about the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). TRACE is of the view that SLPP would only clearly see when they first take off the log in their eyes otherwise they will be embroiled in more confusion than what is happening presently.  TRACE was sitting with some guys in the city of Kenema in the east of the country. Those guys were in a bitter argument about the current situation of the SLPP and how it was before. On one side of the fence was the argument that Solomon Berewa was never power thirsty which was why he stepped down after losing the elections while the other opined that the only way out for SLPP to come back to power will be a Madda Bio leadership.

By SiLNoRF Communications Unit The commissioner of the Northern Region for the National Democratic Commission (NDC); Bai Conteh on Thursday 23 rd June 2016 said that the Addax Bioethanol Project died at an early infant stage-barely five years after it was born in the Bombali and Tonkolili Districts, Northern Region of Sierra Leone. He made this statement during the official launching ceremony of the 2016 Monitoring Report on the Addax Bioethanol Project organized by the Sierra Leone Network on the Right to Food (SiLNoRF). The launching ceremony attracted several dignitaries from state and non-state institutions like the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL), the National Commission for Democracy, local authorities like host paramount chiefs and reps of the Addax Project, and Namati amongst others. Officially launching the report on behalf of the Chairman of the NCD-Dr.AbubakarrKargbo, BaiContehexplained that Addax Bioethanol Company came into the country five...

Following EPA’s recent suspension of Wilkinson Hills Mining Company; an auxiliary of AMR Gold Company, it is now clear that a SMALL SCALE mining license issued the AMR is in breach of the Mines and Minerals Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the AMR Gold Mining Company, which operates in Sella Limba Chiefdom in the Bombali District, Northern Province, is in violation of sections 23 (1) and 53 (1) of the Environmental Protection Agency Act of 2008 and its amendment in 2010 by operating without a valid environmental impact assessment license consequently posing serious threat to the environment. The release further revealed instances where workers of AMR Gold have been obstructing EPA’s enforcement officers, as they attempt to monitor or halt the operations of the company, intimidating and even threatening to physically assault them, and in some cases pelted stones at the agency’s vehicles and staff. Allegations are that the SMALL SCALE mining license iss...

Hey folks, how are you doing? The news about the cash strapped of the central government made TRACE to think about some of the words of one of Sierra Leone finest musician. Anyway that is not the main topic of today’s TRACE but it is something for you to think about. As usual for TRACE, TRACE is looking at the things that matters in society. The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), the oldest political party in the country is still in dispute. TRACE took a careful looked at the party which was formed by Sir Milton Margai and Co as a social democratic party. SLPP is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with the All People's Congress (APC). The party dominated Sierra Leone's politics from its foundation in 1951 to 1967, when it lost the 1967 Sierra Leone parliamentary election to the main opposition All People's Congress (APC), led by Siaka Stevens. In 1996 the SLPP returned to power when its leader Ahmad Tejan Kabbah won the 1996 Sie...

O h yes, it was a wonderful moment for TRACE to tour the streets of Freetown without hindrance by the flocks of commercial motorbikes aka okadas. TRACE learnt from the okadas riders that they were being harassed by the Minister of Internal Affairs Paolo Conteh for what he deemed as their lawlessness in the city.  TRACE like many other road users was  engaged in a physical exercise on Monday. TRACE walked miles to see what will be the outcome of the okadas boys strike. This strike turned out to expose the okadas boys rather than disturbing passengers. It was a very peaceful and well-ordered city on Monday, the noise was less, no accident throughout the day all because okadas were absent from the streets of Freetown. Drivers, passengers and pedestrians were so happy and they also felt safer to walk and cross on the streets of Freetown. The issue of okadas has caused a lot of tension in the city due to their manner of riding. Most of the okadas riders don’t obey the traffic...

I n his one in a million entertainments, one of Sierra Leone’s finest musician Jerome Michael Corshu also knows as Mr. One has donated school materials to pupils of the Wilberforce community. After donating the materials to the pupils, Mr. One put on his best performance and thrilled the kids of that community for them to feel belonged and happy because it was a very special and remarkable day. He said later he will entertain the kids and make them  feel belonged and happy cause it’s a very special and remarkable day all over the world, also thanked the nations telecommunication for their support.