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29 rioters freed, 13 in court

Chief Superintendent of Police, Philip Wellington, who is also Local Unit Commander of the Kissy Police Station in the capital Freetown, oversee the release on Wednesday morning of 29 suspects held since last Friday while 13 others made their way to Freetown Magistrate court following rioting by students of the Muslim Congress Secondary School in Freetown.

The 13 were brought to court under very heavy escort with armed personnel from the Police Operational Support Division (OSD) providing security. Three of the badly wounded police officers who will testify as witnesses for the prosecution, also joined the convey yesterday.
Some of the exhibits in police custody include a school blackboard were the students had inscribed “War to War – Students Vs Police on Monday. Don’t Touch.”
Another is a motor bike from which the police claim, petrol was removed to set fire on a newly bought Toyota Dyna Van costing US$ 20,000.
And indeed on Monday, the students attempted to set fire to the police station but the timely arrival of the Police Delta Squad saved the situation. This happened shortly after President Ernest Bai Koroma, Vice-President Samuel Sam Sumana, the Inspector-General of Police, Brima Acha Kamara and the Assistant Inspector- General in charge of Crime Services Francis Munu, among others had visited the School and the disputed land that sparked off the trouble.
Some police personnel alleged yesterday that market women around Brima Lane and Portee contributed money to buy petrol which the students was to have used in the operation.
In an other development a gang of armed robbers fired several shots into the air on Monday afternoon as they made their gateway after a botched attempt to rob Lebanese businessman Riad Hassan.
The incident happened at The Mase, at King Street off Congo Cross just as Riad and his family was driving into their residence at about 4pm.
Reports suggest that the armed men positioned themselves at strategic locations, with one of them planted at the entrance of the residence.
As Riad and his family waited for the gateman to open for them to enter, one of the robbers stationed at their entrance, pulled out a gun and smashed the passenger front door glass of their jeep and attempted to snatch Riad’s briefcase.
His son-in-law, Alie who was driving, seeing that there was trouble ahead, applied the reverse gear and sped away.
At the same time, a Peugeot car used by the gang tried to make it gateway but was chased by the victims whose efforts were thwarted when other members of the gang that were stationed up the road opened sporadic firing attracting the attention of soldiers at the nearby Freetown Garrison at Wilberforce, and officers at the Congo Cross Police Station respectively.

AfricaNews – Sierra Leone: 29 rioters freed, 13 in court – RSS english

Deadly detour on journey to help others

Initially, I felt really tired and nauseated. Then I couldn’t keep my food down. Everything I ate or drank, I threw up.

I knew Sierra Leone was a hotbed for malaria but it took two visits to the doctor before I decided to get a blood test. I was shocked when the test was positive for the most serious of the four strains of malaria.

Since my arrival in Sierra Leone, West Africa, I had been taking all the recommended precautions – sleeping under a net, using bug spray, covering up my arms and legs in the evenings and taking a daily dose of the anti-malarial drug doxycycline.

Soon, nights became unbearable. My temperature bounced between 38C and 39C. I was delusional. Each day, I would tell my flat-mates to be careful when they left for work. I had a sense of impending doom and felt completely at its mercy. My body ached and, when everyone in the house was sleeping, I quietly sobbed in my bed fearful, of the outcome.

I’m sure most Canadians have no idea what malaria is. I’m pleased to now be working as a spokesperson with the Canadian Red Cross to promote awareness of the disease, which affects 40 per cent of the world’s population, mostly young children and pregnant women, who are daily at risk of contracting this deadly illness.

Since 2003, the Canadian Red Cross, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has hand-delivered 2.5 million mosquito nets to six African nations: Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Malawi, Niger, Zambia and Togo.

There is no vaccine for the disease. The best weapon against malaria is an insecticide-treated bed net. These nets last for up to five years and will protect a child or family from being bitten at night by a mosquito carrying malaria parasites.

The use of anti-malarial drugs, insect repellents, mesh screens on windows and air-conditioning in a house are also deterrents, but these are luxuries in countries where the disease is most prevalent.

I had travelled to Sierra Leone with a Canadian non-governmental organization to teach local journalists the basics of reporting and work with them on human rights stories.

The country was holding its first independent elections since the civil war ended in 2002. The brutal conflict that began in 1991 subjected hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, to mass amputations and rape; kids were abducted and forced to become soldiers. I was there to witness this.

Instead of helping journalists, I was in the hospital being treated for malaria. There I saw people lying on mats in hallways because they couldn’t afford a bed. In Sierra Leone patients pays their own medical costs. I was billed for everything, including the syringes that were used to test my blood. My first round of treatment consisted of eight pills and cost 25,000 leones, the equivalent of $10. It represents approximately one-third of the average monthly wage there. A bag of rice is 70,000 leones. Those who get sick must choose between their health and feeding their family.

Malaria has been called a disease of poverty and continues to affect nearly half a billion people a year, mostly in Africa. The Canadian Red Cross estimates 1 million people die from malaria each year.

The disease kills more children than AIDS, TB or any other infectious disease. Every day, 3,000 children, most under the age of 5, die from malaria. That works out to a child every 30 seconds. Staggering.

Shortly after I was diagnosed, doctors told me that I also had typhoid. A few days later, I was near death. I was so sick that I was flown out to the U.K. Once there, my fiancé took me to the doctor on a weekly basis. I was suffering from severe anemia and had relentless migraines, something I had never suffered from.

Just walking a few feet left me exhausted and panicky. I couldn’t sleep and I had nightmares about the day I almost died.

Following weeks of bed rest, it was decided that I couldn’t return to Sierra Leone. I was devastated. I felt defeated. I had travelled to Sierra Leone with an agency that promotes human rights, only to have my fundamental right to health be violated – a right that is denied from millions of people around the world on a daily basis.

It is a lesson that I will never forget.

I experienced first hand what can happen when you get sick in Africa but at least I had the resources to get help.

Last month, the Canadian Red Cross distributed 2 million nets to Madagascar and Mali. I invite all Canadians to donate a $7 net. It can be the difference between life and death.

To donate, visit malariabites.net.

TheStar.com | living | Deadly detour on journey to help others

4–DAY ART EXHIBITION TO SHOWCASE SIERRA LEONE TALENT

Freetown, Sierra Leone — Thursday, 29 November 2007 — A four-day art exhibition begins at 3pm next Tuesday, 4^th December at Lumley Beach Roundabout in Freetown. The colourful exhibition will showcase the talents of Sierra Leone artists. Organised by the National Tourist Board, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the exhibition is a first of its kind for Sierra Leone.

An extensive range of paintings and sculptures from over twenty talented youths will be displayed and sold during the four days. Allusine Bangura, one of the country’s leading artists, sees this initiative as a real opportunity to display the artistic talents of Sierra Leoneans; “we don’t see this exhibition as a one-off event, but rather the beginning of the creation of an arts market where we can live on our art.”

According to the Executive Representative of the Secretary General, Victor Angelo, ‘UNDP is committed to the development of youths in Sierra Leone, and this exhibition is an opportunity to tap into the creative talent of the young people of the country and expose their work to the international market.”

The exhibition will be opened by the Honourable Vice President of Sierra Leone, Samuel Sam-Sumana. Also expected to attend the ceremony are members of the Government of Sierra Leone, senior UN officials, members of the diplomatic community and international visitors.

Statistics Sierra Leone Launches Household Survey

The Central Government, Local Councils and Private sector owe the highest number of primary schools in the Western Area while those in the East are owned mainly by Nongovernmental Organizations.
With regards to ownership of secondary schools, the Western Area and Northern regions attract more providers/owners. Apparently, the Western Area benefits most from both primary and secondary school owners.
It is also important to note that the SLIHS shows 9.2% of all adults (representing about two hundred and seven thousand people) have never been to school. In addition, 55.8% (one million two hundred and thirty nine thousand) went to school without taking BECE at the terminating JSS level.
It must also be noted that about 15% (approximately three hundred and twenty four thousand) and 16% (approximately three hundred and fifty nine thousand) have JSS/BECE and WASSCE as their highest qualifications.
Considering those who have attained SSS1WASSCE level, the number of males is almost two times that for females (two hundred and twenty three thousands as against one hundred and thirty five thousand), a glaring gender disparity in educational achievement.
Notwithstanding the fact that English has been an integral part of the curriculum since the beginning of education in the country, only 25% are found literate in British English.
The survey further indicates that the average amount paid per person attending school in the last twelve months is highest in the Western Area (Le294, 000), whereas the amount paid per pupil attending school is below Le 75,000 in each of the four regions.

The New Citizen Publications

Sierra Leone Football Fans to enjoy Africell Premier League

Africell Lintel Sierra Leone in its stride to promote sports in the country especially Football has yesterday Tuesday 27th November 2007 convened a press conference to declare to journalist that they are going to take over the entire Premier Football Competitions throughout Sierra Leone.

At the Press Conference held at the luxurious Country Lodge Complex up the cool airy Hill Station prestigious area, the Commercial Director of Africell (Lintel Sierra Leone), Joe Amara Bangali (Jnr) disclosed that the company decided to sponsor the Sierra Leone Premier Football League on a long term basis and as a result the league will now be known as the Africell Premier League.

Mr. Bangali said that by sponsoring the Premier League, their aim was to help develop home grown football talents which would further develop the competitive nature of the league and also help increase the country’s success rate at international football competitions. He said that competitive sports is a sector which Africell is keen to help develop in Sierra Leone.

In his reaction, the President of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), Nahim Khadi thanked Africell for their timely intervention especially at the time when the Sierra Leone Commercial who had been the official sponsors of the Premier League, decided to withdraw from the league. He said that football was all about money and without money, both football and sports in general cannot develop further.

Nahim therefore called for unity amongst the officials noting that with unity everything can be achieved. Mr. Khadi said that Africell was really making an impact in the country especially in the sporting field and therefore as Sierra Leoneans, we must commend Africell for their corporate responsibility to the nation and ensure that the company thrives by using their services.

According to one of the football stake holders in the country, Nat Johnson, the entire football community of Sierra Leone was grateful to Africell for what he described as the “right step in the right direction” that had been taken by Africell.

Nat Johnson also thanked SLFA especially the President Nahim Khadi for his initiative to approach Africell to sponsor the league so that Sierra Leonean football fans might have the chance to watch their celebrities on the field once more. He called on more and more citizens especially football lovers to continue to patronize Africell.

Sierra Leone Football Fans to enjoy Africell Premier League: Sierra Leone News

Iceland is now the coolest place to live. Per capita GDP is 45 times higher than in Sierra Leone

ICELAND has overtaken Norway as the world’s most desirable country in which to live, according to the latest UN index on human development.

Rich, free-market countries dominate the top places, with Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland the first five, while AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states are once again at the bottom.

The United States slips to 12th place from eighth last year in the UN Human Development Index, with the UK taking 16th place behind Austria at 15th.

But the index, which blends 2005 figures for life expectancy, education levels and real per-capita income, finds all 22 countries falling into its “low human-development” category are in sub-Saharan Africa, with Sierra Leone last.

In ten of these countries, two children in five will not reach the age of 40, said the compilers at the UN Development Programme. Last year’s report said HIV/AIDS had a “catastrophic effect” on life expectancy in the region.

The index ranks 175 UN member countries, plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian territories. Seventeen countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, are omitted because of inadequate data.

Norway had held top spot for six years, but was edged into second place by Iceland this year because of new life- expectancy estimates and updated figures for gross domestic product.

Iceland, with a population of only 300,000, has developed rapidly. While it still depends on fishing for about 70 per cent of its economy, it has harnessed its vast reserves of geo-thermal energy, invested heavily in technology and has a remarkably even distribution of income.

Per capita GDP is 45 times higher in Iceland than in Sierra Leone.

Luxembourg has the highest per-capita GDP at £29,126, and

Japan has the longest life expectancy at 82.3 years.

The Scotsman – International – Move over Norway, Iceland is now the coolest place to live

CHOGM – Winners And Losers

The Chogm Business Forum in Kampala might have opened opportunities for Uganda but apart from President Museveni, no Ugandan technocrat or minister was on hand to advance the country’s interests

The Commonwealth Business Forum ended successfully last week, especially so for every businessman that was in attendance.

Zain Group, the owners of Celtel, for example, made a very impressive show of their organisation at a gala lunch they hosted at the Sheraton Hotel. Barclays Bank Chairman Gary Hoffman equally managed to sell his Bank exceptionally.

The political businessmen at the Forum, however made the most significant effect on the participants.

Our very own President Yoweri Museveni gave a passionate speech on the need for economic transformation.

He pointed out the need for empowerment of the populations; not just growing populations that he has always advocated for but the need for a bigger and economically empowered ones in Africa.

The applause from the audience left no doubt that he had been appreciated.

President Museveni’s move to sell his country was however let down by lack of presence of the technocrats and ministers in his government at this great event.

Scanning through the room he chanced on Uganda Investment Authority Executive Director Maggie Kigozi who he promptly introduced and instructed to ensure the business people knew her, just to be sure that the investors knew who to talk to.

But where were the ministers, the members of Parliament and the technocrats? Was the opportunity to talk to some of the world’s leading business brains not of any importance to them?

Some ministers like Finance Minister Ezra Suruma and Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu were in attendance but just for a while. Did you not envisage lessons to learn from people that have turned small companies to the world’s biggest empires?

Or even so from presidents like Bharrat Jagdeo, who as finance minister of Guyana in 1993, managed to cut his government’s budget reliance on debt from over 90 per cent percent to just 5 per cent?

Let’s leave the economics and talk about leaders that exhibited passion about their countries.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, for instance, may not be a member of the Commonwealth but the benefits his country will reap from the Commonwealth cannot be under estimated. For the three days he camped at the Business Forum, Kagame came well prepared. He knew what he wanted and clearly came to Kampala with a mission and strictly for business.

Kagame talked about issues like having a public a service that is more accountable, having their work assessed in terms of weeks or hours of work done.

What miracles this would perform for a country like Uganda?

Long delays at border posts and the invisible barriers between countries that are hampering trade were also another concern he raised.

These not withstanding, Kagame will early next year host officials from the Commonwealth Business Council in Kigali to discuss recommendations made by the forum.

This is a big step taken, especially so by a non-Commonwealth country and the strategic approach by the President is evident. President Kagame also took a moment to talk to business executives in person.

At one of the diners, his bodyguards were not seen anywhere around him and he took time to take business cards and personally woe these men to invest in his country. The passion of the leaders here to woe investors into their countries and the passion by the businessmen was very strong.

Talk about President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana who came from the airport to the forum. He took time to sell his country, dispel myths about countries that have had troubled pasts and urged his fellow heads of state to tell the good success stories of the developing countries.

Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone did nothing but talk about the democratic transformation of his country and its vast untapped potential. In his appeal, he made it clear that his country is willing to put its turbulent past behind and in fact, he is planning to host the world’s cream businessmen to a diner in his country to foster business interests further. We are talking about leaders that are passionate about their countries; passionate to see change in their countries!

President Jagdeo talked about what his country needs to transform itself and lift up its peoples. Top on the agenda was to further reduce his country’s debt burden which he said to him was as an “obsession”! This comment left many Ugandans asking, do we have ministers who ever get “obsessed” with the need to change certain things in their ministries!

Do we have leaders who do not hold titles simply to enjoy living in the high society but who genuinely believe in true leadership? There are people, of course, who gave their best in this historical business forum that must be commended. The Private Sector Foundation did a good job and even facilitated its members from as far as Mbarara and gave them the opportunity to attend the forum.

The Uganda Wild Life Authority also did a commendable job in promoting the country, to mention, but a few. President Museveni, Dr Margie Kigozi and the tireless James Mulwana tried their best to promote Uganda during this forum, but even then the case for industrialisation was packaged in generalities than broken down opportunities that the serious businesspeople would remember after returning home.

This is where the technical people and other leaders would have been expected to pitch in after the President had spoken. Their absence did the country a lot of injustice.

The presence of Celtel staff was more evident and felt than the presence of our government leaders. Uganda could have simply set the stage for other countries to foster their business interests, while our officials and MPs enjoyed the public holidays.

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Kampala CHOGM – Winners And Losers (Page 1 of 1)

ECOWAS Energy Ministers adopt common stand on energy

ECOWAS Ministers of Energy have adopted resolutions of the draft Supplementary Act on the regional regulation of the electricity sector, t h e establishment of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulation Authority (ERERA) a nd the creation of a regional agency on access to energy services.

Other resolutions adopted by the ministers at their one-day meeting here Frida y are the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP), Emergency Power Supply Security Plan, t h e WAPP Transmission Line Implementation Strategy and the Accelerated Improvement
of the Electricity Sub-sector in West Africa.
The supplementary act seeks to institute a regulatory authority for the electr icity sector in the region to foster open and transparent cross-border electrici t y exchanges among member states. This they believe would ensure improved efficie n cy of power supply to ECOWAS citizens.
The act will serve as a regulatory framework for the power sector and is a pre lude to the establishment of a regional regulatory body, which received the appr o val of ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments, in January 2005.
The setting up of the ERERA is to encourage regulation of the regional power m arket by establishing good contractual practices and cooperation among national r egulatory authorities in cross-border power exchanges.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the ministers commended the French Development Agency (AFD) for its recent provision of 5 million euros towa r ds the creation of the regulatory authority as well as the World Bank, the Unite d Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United States Agency for Internati o nal Development (USAID) for their firm commitment to the development of the ECOW A S energy programme.
They also called on the ECOWAS Commission to work closely with the AFD on its initiative to intimate other donors towards the establishment and operation of t h e regulatory body.
The regulatory authority is a pre-requisite for the promotion of infrastructur al development and attraction of investments to West Africa.
Its mandate includes ensuring regulation of regional electricity exchanges, as sisting the ECOWAS Commission in the definition of strategic orientation of the r egional policy and in the harmonization of policies and national power structure s and supporting the establishment of the regional market to open to competition.
Also, the regulatory authority is expected to supervise regional market operat ions, ensure communication with and between actors as well as establish efficien t procedures for dispute resolution between stakeholders.
The regulation project, a critical activity under the West Africa Power Pool ( WAPP), is to ensure the establishment of an attractive environment for public an d private investors to develop and strengthen electricity supply as well as power
exchanges between the 15 member states.
The ministers also adopted the recommendations made by WAPP to the Emergency P ower Security Plan and a plan of action that was developed to curtail power shor t ages experienced in member states.
The disturbing electricity supply situation has been attributed, among other f actors, to a rapid population growth, lack of adequate investments in the electr i city sector and increased oil prices in the world market, which has had grave co n sequences on existing generation facilities in the region.
Similarly, the ministers endorsed the WAPP Transmission Line Implementation St rategy, which is a concept of developing WAPP transmission lines through special
purpose companies under a public-private partnership arrangement as well as the a ccelerated improvement of the electricity sub-sector in the region.
In addition, they made recommendations on the implementation of the Regional P olicy on Access to Energy Services for Rural and semi-urban populations adopted b y regional leaders in January 2006.
The policy, which seeks to provide energy access to, at least, half of the pop ulation in rural and semi-urban areas by 2015, includes an action plan, an imple m entation strategy, based on the principle to create a Regional Agency for Energy
Access and an investment programme.
Critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly th ose of poverty reduction, improved health, education, water supply, the Energy A c cess Programme aims to promote harmonized political and institutional frameworks
to energy access as a key priority for ensuring human development.
In adopting the resolution relating to the implementation of the Regional Poli cy on Access to Energy Services (also called the White Paper) on Access to Energ y Services, the ministers recommended the creation of a Regional Agency for Energ y Access (RAEA) as a specialized institution of ECOWAS.
In this regard, the ECOWAS Commission is requested to oversee its establishmen t.
As a first step, it will set up a dedicated unit at the Commission, which will work towards reaching the necessary conditions defined in the road map, to effe c tively set-up the agency, by developing deeper collaboration with member states,
national and regional stakeholders and development partners, along the four line s of the regional plan of action.
All the resolutions and related recommendations will be presented to the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, through the regional Council of Ministers, at the i r next summit.

AfricaNews – ECOWAS Energy Ministers adopt common stand on energy – Articles

Kallon’s Saudi deal collapses

Kallon denies that he approached his former club Al-Ittihad

Mohamed Kallon’s 10 million dollar move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal has fallen through.

The Sierra Leone captain was to have signed an 18-month contract with the Riyadh team.

He says that Al-Hilal allege that after receiving a $250,000 payment from them, he then went on to attempt to sign for rival club Al-Ittihad of Jeddah.

Kallon played for Al-Ittihad in 2005, and was in Riyadh last week to undergo a medical examination and finalise some clauses in the pre-contract agreement.

Kallon told BBC Sport that following the fall-out, he has been banned from playing in Saudi Arabia for three years by the country’s football authorities.

“All the allegations against me are false, I never attempted to sign for Al-Ittihad,” said Kallon.

“I was not even contacted to give my own side of the story.

“The truth of matter is that I went to Jeddah to visit friends and to make sure that my mother, who is performing the Muslim Hajj, is in good hands.

Qatar a possibility

The former Inter Milan and Monaco striker has now left Saudi Arabia and is looking for a club elsewhere.

“Even if my ban is lifted I’ve no intention to play in Saudi Arabia again, because of what has happened.

“I just want the ban to be lifted for my reputation, and if the Saudi FA fails to do that soon, I’ll take the matter to Fifa.”

“In fact am now considering offers from Qatar.”

BBC SPORT | Football | African | Kallon’s Saudi deal collapses