TRACE JOENAL

The art of good living is when one is attracted to healthy foodstuff. In this edition of Inside The Market, attention was drawn by traders and buyers about the latest sardines in town, Anny Sardine. Traders as well as buyers that spoke to Inside The Market yesterday at Kroo Town Road market, Congo Market and Dove Cut among others described Anny Sardine as one of the healthiest sardines in town. Manteneh Daboh one of the buyers at Kroo Town Road said Anny Sardine is very nutritious and readily available. “From the first time I bought Anny sardines, my entire family has gotten used to it. It is a must for us to use it on a daily basis.”   Marilyn King one of the traders at Kroo Town Road market said at first she thought Anny sardines was just like any other sardines until she decided to use it in her breakfast and felt the difference.

By Mariama B. Bah In their joint effort to help children affected of ebola, Soroptimist International paid a courtesy called on the Foundation for Children of Ebola Affected Medical Workers (FOCEM) beneficiaries in Bo.The visit took place on the 24 th September 2016 at Wan Word link in Bo Town. Madam Cole, Mrs Emsley and team Admin Officer of FOCEM, Andrew S. Coomber said the purpose of the visit was for FOCEM and Soroptimist International to map out ways they can collaborate and sponsor the beneficiaries by providing them with educational assistance. Mr Coomber recalled that, FOCEM was founded in 2014 by philanthropists like Andrew Keilie, Sam Zoker, Winstanley Bankole Johnson and others. He disclosed that FOCEM is operating in five Districts in Sierra Leone namely Bo, Kenema, Bombali, Kailahum and the Western Area and FOCEM   currentlycaters for 100 beneficiates: Bo 21, Bombalie 10,   Kailahun 38, Kenema 16, and 15 Western Area. He went on to mention tha...

By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay As a way of empowering journalists of Sierra Leone with information on access to energy revolution, 25 media houses were trained in a day workshop on decentralized solar technologies. Journalists and Power for All staff looking ahead for better energy access The training which took place on September 21st at the Hub hotel in Freetown was first of its kind as Chairman of the Guild of Newspaper Editors Donald Theo-Harding, Editors and Reporters were in attendance. The workshop facilitated by the Renewable Energy Advisor to the President of Sierra Leone Serry-Kamal was held to provide the press with more information on decentralized renewable technologies-including solar, mini-grids and micro hydro-which will help to address the energy needs of the country. Power for All Campaign Leader, Aminata Dumbuya, informed the Press that the Sierra Leone Energy Revolution has provided an important way to catalyze clean energy access in the country, and it...

Oh yes! TRACE meant what he said. Folks how are you doing anyway? TRACE along with other Freetonians woke up on Monday morning 22nd August this year with the hope that our garbage would have been cleared by no less a company but MASADA Waste Management Company. To our dismay, it was not so as the company staff has laid down their tools for what they described as two months salaries backlog. Admin Director of MASADA Sahr Karku confirmed the strike action to TRACE. According to him there are workers who usually work at night but due to their financially constrain, they failed to show up for duty. He said they have being working for eight months now but they have not been receiving payment for the work they have done from the government. “The workers went out of patience. We have been talking to them to continue working while we are trying to settle their two months salaries but to our surprise they resisted us. Eight months now we have not being paid by the government. We...

F rancis Kamara, a 17 year-old in the Northern headquarter town of Makeni was last seen by those who know him on 1st May last month. Despite searching for him and reporting his disappearance to the police, he is yet to be seen. Francis Kamara  The day he disappeared, a friend of Francis told this medium that Francis had a confrontation with members of the Poro society, a feared cult in Sierra Leone. For one reason or the other, he said Francis was to be forcefully initiated into this cult and was bundled into a waiting car. Francis’ friend said he was forcefully taken away by these unknown men to an unknown destination. Francis Kamara’s friend said he has enquired about the whereabouts of his friend but to no avail; but a business partner of Francis’s father, one Mr. Frank, said the Poro members would continue to look for Francis until they kill him. His friend said the police have not been helpful   in investigating the whereabouts of Francis, adding that the...

Freetonians woke up on Monday morning with the hope that their garbage would have been cleared by MASADA Waste Management Company but to their dismay, it was not so as the company staff has laid down their tools for what they described as salary arrears. According to the staff, the company owed them two months salaries which they said has caused embarrassment for them as they have to take care of their families. MASADA Admin Operator Sheku Jalloh said the workers started the seat down strike on Sunday night when the night shift workers failed to show up for their duty. From Monday there were pockets of garbage on every corner of the streets of Freetown including the premises of the Freetown City Council. Sahr Karku is the Admin Director of MASADA and   according to him, their workers usually work at night but due to their financial constrains, the staff failed to show up for duty. He went on to say that they have being working for eight months now but that they h...

T he telecommunication is one of the fastest growing industries in Sierra Leone. The battle for leading the market is one of the main goals of all Mobile companies in the country. Some mobile companies saw the challenge as very tough and they are left with no option but to pullout of the race whiles others endure it. The latest mobile company that has sold their brand is Airtel Sierra Leone. The company claimed from its headquarters in India that they are not making profit in Sierra Leone, contrary to the claims made by their country office in Freetown. As Airtel is packing their bags to the leave the shore of Sierra Leone for orange to stepping, the company has no option but to confess to this medium that africell one of their competitor have an upgraded network than them. This Press was speaking to one of Airtel Technical Staff identify himself as Musa and June Rose at the company’s Headquarters in Freetown. They were responding to questions posed to them by this Pres...

  “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...