April 25, 2016 By John Baimba Sesay in CHINA

The Embassy of Sierra Leone in China Friday, 22 April, 2016 hosted journalists a group of 20 Sierra Leonean Journalists to a working lunch,  rounding up a three week long training session on New Media, organised by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

The working lunch was aimed at fostering cooperation between the media, represented by 20 participants who had arrived in Beijing three weeks ago, and the embassy, as well as creating an interactive and open dialogue session between the two.

Deputy Head of Mission and Acting Ambassador, Madam Kumba Alice Momoh, in welcoming the Government Information Officers and mainstream journalists  said, the doors of the embassy would always remain open to Sierra Leoneans, and that she was particularly happy hosting journalists, being a former broadcaster at the then Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (now Corporation).

Madam Momoh congratulated the team for going through three weeks intensive training session, which she said might have materialised as a result of the participants’ hard work and commitment

She encouraged them to go back home and “use the skills got to give Sierra Leone a voice” by creating awareness, informing and educating people “from a perspective that is not driven by the West or East but fuelled by the passion you have for the field of journalism…” and urged them to “add value to the country through the knowledge gained in China”

The platform media practitioners hold, she said, is well respected, but one that comes with great responsibility and expectations from the public. “You can make a difference to the wellbeing of Sierra Leone”, she said, while also calling on them to sell Sierra Leone positively for the good of everyone.

Also speaking was Head of Chancery/Minister Counsellor, Unisa Sahid Kamara. He underscored the crucial role that the media plays in national development, which he said should be properly executed if a country should advance.

Given the value that the Sierra Leone Government has for the media, he said, by 2007 Information Attachés were appointed to a number of the country’s embassies as well as journalists being appointed Government Ministers by the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma.

Mr Kamara encouraged the team to do all they could to help in changing public perception about Sierra Leone since without accurate information people won’t be well informed about development in the country.

Austin Thomas, Team Leader, made a commitment, on behalf of the participants, return home and make an impact based on what they have gained from the training session.

He expressed the team’s appreciation to the embassy for hosting them, and highlighted the growth in diplomatic and people-to-people relations between Sierra Leone and China, thanking the Chinese and Sierra Leone Governments for facilitating the training seminar and giving assurances of doing all they could in changing the negative perception people have about the country.

…UNAOC High Rep. warns

April 28, 2016 By: Sahr Morris Jr. in Baku, Azerbaijan

The United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, has warned countries that gender inequality, unemployment, particular youths unemployment, could stimulate radicalisation and push people towards violent extremism.

HE Al-Nasser made this statement during the opening ceremony of the 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

He said: “The rising disparity of wealth and opportunities within societies always lead to marginalisation and exclusion. Gender inequality, unemployment, and particularly youth unemployment, fuel radicalisation and push people towards violent extremism.

The UNAOC representative further stated that too many people, especially young people, join terrorist groups, gangs, cliques because they lack prospects and meaning in their lives.

To combat this global menace, His Excellency Al-Nasser said there was need to make special effort to reach out to young people and recognize their potential as partners and leaders.

“We need to support their dreams of a better life and a positive vision of the future.  Their voices need to be heard in political processes and decision-making. Their participation is an important element in building inclusive societies that can resist the threat of violent extremism,” he said.

The UN Rep further stated that building inclusive societies requires overcoming challenges in amalgamation, education, youth, cultural diversity, migration, media and communication.

“Understanding, preventing, and thwarting violent extremism is one of the most challenging issues facing humankind. Violent radicalism is an affront to the purposes and principles of the United Nations,” he underscored and added that war begins in people’s minds, while the way to peace is through people’s hearts.

The UNAOC high rep said he was hopeful that the platform UNAOC provides could help reach out to the hearts and minds of people to build bridges to peace.

... Says investors are champions of African development

April 28, 2016 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma

 Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu, has stated that African investors are champions of African development because they are what he referred to as ‘Africapitalists’.

He made this statement recently at the 5^th edition of the annual forum organised by the Ivorian National Council of Employers, General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI), where he was awarded the 2016 CGECI Lifetime Achievement Award.

The event was attended by over 3,000 delegates across Africa, including the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan, and Prime Minister of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, business leaders, established and aspiring entrepreneurs.

“Through Africapitalism, I seek to evangelise what works for successful business investments and inspire other entrepreneurs like yourselves; to also make the promotion of national and regional development a strategic priority for your businesses,” said Tony Elumelu after receiving the award, which bestowed honour on him for his key leadership role as an African business champion.

Mr Elumelu, who also doubles as Chairman of African investments company Heirs Holdings, and Transcorp, also advocated for the collaboration of the private and public sectors to create value in the global competitive business landscape.

He urged the over 3000 delegates to seek opportunities to accelerate success in their investments through The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).

“TEEP is my US$100 million commitment for a 10 year period to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create one million jobs and add US$10 billion in revenues to Africa’s economy. So far, seventeen (17) entrepreneurs from Côte d’Ivoire have received grants and training from this programme,” he revealed.

Since the CGECI was initiated in 2012 by the Ivorian National Council of Employers, the annual economic forum, CGECI Academy, has provided a platform to raise awareness among African entrepreneurs about existing sources of capital and investors available to help grow and develop their businesses.

The annual economic forum seeks to change the paradigm of access to finance in Côte d’Ivoire, creating a platform for sharing experiences and expertise. Furthermore, it aims to present the Ivorian private sector to regional and international partners and highlight the achievements and opportunities within it.

Other activities at the event include the announcement of the yearly business plan competition and a segment dedicated to sharing experiences and testimonials of entrepreneurs.

UBA is one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and three global financial centres: London, Paris and New York.

From a single country operation in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, UBA has evolved into a pan-African provider of banking and related financial services to more than 8 million customers through diverse channels globally.

EU says freedom of information “key component of democratic governance and development”

May 3, 2016 EU High Representative, Federica Mogherini

On this day we celebrate the World Press Freedom Day. On the 25th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration the EU wishes to recall the principle that “the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development”.

The right to freedom of opinion and expression includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information. It is a key component of democratic governance and development. People need to be fully informed to be able to form an opinion and participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives. Freedom of information also contributes to better governance as it enhances transparency in public affairs and can be used as a tool to make governments accountable for their actions, in particular when access to information results in the exposure of human rights violations or corruption practices.

Ensuring access to information can serve to promote justice and reparation, in particular after periods of grave violations of human rights.

The EU is committed to continue promoting and protecting freedom of opinion and expression worldwide, not only offline but also in relation to the cyberspace and other information communication technologies, as highlighted by the adoption in 2014 of the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline.

It condemns the increasing level of intimidation and violence that journalists, Human Rights Defenders, media actors and other individuals face in many countries across the world when exercising the right to freedom of opinion and expression online and offline.

In addition to combating outright violence the EU is determined to fight against laws or practices that impose censorship, encourage self-censorship or provide legal penalties, including criminal, financial and administrative sanctions, as well as against the misuse of market powers and poor economic conditions.

The EU reaffirms its determination to promote and support, freedoms of opinion and expression as rights to be exercised by everyone everywhere, based on the principles of equality, non-discrimination and universality – through any media and regardless of frontiers. This is your Right!

Word Press Freedom Day: Time for Media to Focus on Transparency and Accountability in Governance

May 4, 2016 

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) which is being observed today (May 3) around the world, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is challenging the media in West Africa to focus on promoting transparency and accountability in governance.

One of the biggest challenges confronting development and governance in West Africa remains corruption, lack of transparency and accountability in nearly all sectors of society. The spate of corruption, lack of transparency and accountability can also be said to be linked to the challenge of bad governance which then gives rise to the other numerous challenges facing the region, including challenges to press freedom.

A major requirement for ensuring transparency and accountability in governance in society as a whole, is the empowerment of the citizenry to be able to seek and receive information on how their national resources are being managed by the people they elect to manage such resources.

In a transparent and accountable governance environment, citizens ought to have the legal right to access information on how their tax monies are spent, how their natural resources are being utilised, who is benefiting from state contracts and under what terms, among other conditions.

As the fourth estate of the realm and as the agenda-setters, the media have the power to help improve transparency and accountability in governance by advocating for citizens’ right to access information.  This also means that the media must be strong advocates for the passage of laws that guarantee citizens’ right to information and the effective implementation of such laws.

The MFWA thus, finds the theme for this year’s WPFD celebrations, “Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms: This Is Your Right!” as the right theme, dealing with the most important issue and at the right time.

We are gladdened by the fact that so far a number of West African countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea have all passed a law that guarantees their citizenry the right to seek and receive information of their choice and not just information that government is willing to give out.

At the same time, we are saddened by the fact that countries like Ghana, Senegal and others continue to deny their citizenry the most basic democratic right – the right to information. In the case of Ghana for example, the current government and previous ones have for the last 13 years failed to heed to the cry of the citizenry to grant them their right to information by passing a law guaranteeing such right.

As Ghana goes into elections in November, we call on the media in Ghana to help make transparency and accountability the focus of the election and demanding of the government and the opposition to demonstrate their commitment to transparent and accountable governance by passing the right to information legislation that will empower the citizenry to hold their elected official accountable.

The MFWA and its national partners across West Africa celebrate all the media and journalists.

May 5, 2016 By Sulayman Koroma*

One of the biggest challenges facing universities in modern Sierra Leone is how to ascertain the relationship between graduates employability and the relevance of the discipline or subjects they study. Universities should be seen as sources of talent development and acquisition of skills and knowledge. This is why it is extremely necessary that they bridge the existing gaps.

The World Economic Forum in 2013 focused on talent scarcity and population dynamics and developed countries are fighting this wave by reviewing their universities educational systems, making it relevant to the present and future society needs.

The Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Thong, famously stated: “A nation’s wealth in the 21st century will depend on the capacity of its people to learn and a dynamic educational systems.” Singapore is seen today as the third most competitive economies in the world. The government was successfully matching supply with demand of education and talent development.

The World Economic Forum 2016 Report also states that competitiveness – understood as higher productivity – is a key driver of growth and resilience. This wave has moved countries to upgrade their educational system that best meets the needs of a competitive economy. The  average growth rates report of most of the least competitive economies in sub-Saharan Africa showcase  Mauritius, South Africa, Rwanda and Botswana as having  good global percentage ranking, because  of their talent-driven economies that best  adapt to the changes brought about by technology revolution. These nations reverse their downward trends largely due to an increase update of ICT in university curriculum, improvement in innovations and they look at talent development as an essential aspect of growth and sustainability.

Sierra Leone is an exception, though it is doing its best, given the prevailing trends; we lack the appropriate human capital skills that will contribute substantially to socio-economic development. That is, we don’t have National Human Resource Development Scheme, relevant educational system and proper workplace environment for talent integration. And we cannot boast of having a human capital report that will showcase the type of expertise that is available in the country.

The Population dynamics and talent scarcity wave are trends towards today’s global talent shortage. McKinsey & Company projected in their annual report of human capital management that the number of workers aged 35–44 years in the United States will decline by 15% between 2000 and 2016. In countries like Germany, Italy, and Japan, the problem is even more acute. In Japan, the working population between the ages of 15 and 29 years has declined from 34% to 20% since 1970 as a result of decreasing birth rates.

According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTDA ) on  Least Developed Countries (LDC) Report 2013, between 2010 and 2050, the LDC working-age population (i.e. those between 15 and 64 years of age) is expected to increase by 630 million people, or an average 15.7 million people per year.  By 2050, the Least Developed Countries will account for 19 per cent of the global working-age population.

In eleven (11) LDCs, that population is likely to rise by at least 0.5 million a year.

The projected increases are highest in African LDCs: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and  Sierra Leone for example, will each increase their working-age population by more than 1 million people per annum. These countries need to know where they stand today, so that they can make the right kind of talent investment that will be absorbed into the new labour market entrants.

For example, the World Economic Forum 2016 also focused on technological shifts. That is, businesses should be preparing for technological shifts in the labour market. And this phenomenon has threatened five million jobs in the global market.

Inasmuch as the government is doing its best to create a platform for the technological shift by installing the fibre optic, universities in Sierra Leone, on the other hand, should start automating their operations by creating an online class room management, integrating technology in their curriculum and developing staff capacity for new advancement in technology.

Kimani Njoroge (Human Capital Leader, Deloitte Consulting (Pty) Ltd) stated that talent acquisition, development and access have changed in fundamental ways due to shifts in global talent markets, skills shortages, new ways of working and the growing importance of social media and employment brand. These are phenomenal social planners that educationist and politicians should take into account when planning the future of the country.

To reiterate, for a university to become a talent pipeline in 2020, it must move to more marketing oriented, technological innovation and global approaches to talent development. This demand for a re-examination of university curriculum, making it more relevant to the changes in society. Universities need to include new skills and knowledge in their curriculum when the need arises at regular periods in order to meet the challenges of a dynamic and unstable economic climate.

Such developments ask important questions if universities in Sierra Leone have a relevant educational system or unit in terms of reviewing curriculum contents, assessing teaching mechanism and learning processes, skills acquisition and expertise of educational professionals.

Also, organisational behaviour and performance should be tied to the universities’ curriculum. The dynamic trends of organisational performance should be studied and followed, if we are to produce graduates who are of quality, with the right skills, knowledge and competence.

Universities’ strategic priority should be to produce students of quality, but only quality curriculum will produce quality students, which will replicate the organisation’s total quality management process and performance.

Taking cue from George Ayitteh, I have deduced from this article that if universities curriculums are not re-examined, the number of mismatch graduates will increase for each academic year and the non-functional illiterate rates will increase in Sierra Leone.

Having made the above observations there are still ways in which we can solve the persistent malaise of the vacuums between curriculum contents and needs of society.

I therefore recommended thatuniversities in Sierra Leone:

üShould embed a talent mindset in the entire universities, which breeds competitive advantage,with benefits for both the graduates and the universities.

üShould keep databases of their graduates on completion and work performance.

ü Should involve the employment sector in the development and reviewing process of curriculum. This will enhance campus recruitment.

üShould establish an internal audit of skills and competence framework for on-going students required by the employment sector.

ü Should launch labour market surveys in order to collect information and forecasting the employment situation for graduates and introduce new programmes.

*The author is Dean of Technology, IAMTECH.

May6, 2016 By Alusine Sesay

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Having some fun with school kids at the White Lake Park in Nanny City, Guanxhi Autonomous Region in China

It was in the first week of March 2016, when I received a phone call from the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, informing me about a seminar in China. My phone rang and the voice of the Second Secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, Gou Xin, echoed: “Hello Mr. Sesay, we would be having a three week seminar for journalists in China and we want you to attend, will you be interested?” I replied in the positive and Mr. Xin further told me that he would send my name to the Foreign Affairs Ministry for confirmation. Two weeks later, I  received another phone call from him, informing me that my name had been confirmed for the trip to China.

Gou Xin told me to visit the Chinese Economic Embassy at Hill Station in Freetown for some documentation. I went there as directed and met a gentleman, who provided me some travelling documents, which I filled. He referred me for medical examination at the Jui China – Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital. “Go and see Doctor Kanu and he would direct you as to how you should go about the medical.”  Indeed I was the first to see Doctor Kanu the following morning at the hospital and he provided me with the necessary directives. Fortunately for me, the medical examination went successfully. I was later given a three-month Chinese visa although the Seminar in Beijing should last for only three weeks.

We left the shores of Freetown on 2 April onboard Air France airbus 330 at 7:30pm and headed for neighbouring Guinea, where we spent about 2hrs. We left Guinea at about 9:30pm and arrived at Charles D’ Gulle Airport, Paris, in France  at 5:46am on 3 April. We spent about 18 hours on transit at the airport and later headed for Guanghou, one of the provinces in China, from where our flight to Beijing was delayed from 20:20 to 23:30 pm. We finally arrived at the Beijing Airport at 2:30 am on 4 April. We waited there for some few moments after claiming our luggage and made some few phone calls to one of our guides. Finally, John the man who would ‘sail us throughout the journey’ of the three weeks seminar arrived at the airport, holding a placard with the inscription ‘Seminar for Media Officials and Journalists of Sierra Leone.’  We entered a bus and headed for the training base at Shunyi District in Beijing.

We were to attend the Seminar for Media Officials and Journalists of Sierra Leone, organised by the Research and Training Institute of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) in Beijing. SAPPRFT is the largest educational institute for media and it has trained over 2,300 people from 143 countries in the past ten years. The theme of the seminar was ‘Media Cooperation: Open a new chapter of China–Sierra Leone Friendship.’ In all, twenty Sierra Leonean media officials and journalists attended the three weeks seminar in Beijing.

In Beijing we were greeted by the usual but rather unpredictable weather –extremely cold and moderate at times. Although the weather was not extremely cold all the time, it was surely not friendly to many of us because we were used to hot tropical weather in Sierra Leone. It was spring in Beijing and we had to cope anyway. For residents in Beijing, it was a kind of very normal weather as compared to winter.

We were housed at the training base of the institute in Beijing, where we spent almost 70% of the three weeks, with a week tour to Nanny City in the Guanxhi autonomous region. I will never forget room 313 at the training base in Beijing. Memories of that beautiful and purposeful room would linger until death. Do not be surprised that I may go for more!

Since we arrived very late in Beijing, preparation for our dinner was already in place with snacks and bottles of water placed in our individual rooms. Tired and hungry as I was after long hours and days of travel, I stretched out for the snacks and helped myself with one of the delicacies. I took a bottle of water and drank, while I later left for the bathroom and did some laundering and bathing. I finally went to bed at around 5am and woke up at 9:47 am. Tuesday was a free day for us because the seminar was supposed to commence on Wednesday, 6 April with orientation and a welcome banquet.

To say that the Chinese are hospitable would be an understatement, but I am permitted to say so because there is no other better way of describing them. Despite the massive development in all spheres of life, ranging from infrastructure, social to economic, the Chinese are humble and down to earth. I would not hesitate to say that they are humble to a fault, but very much determined and optimistic about the future.

Throughout our twenty days stay in China, we were given treatment equivalent to diplomats! The two project team members assigned to us –Gou Shengyan (John) and Ma Ao (Miracle) were ready to serve us at any time and every moment of the day. We could even disturb them of their sleep at night but they always remained calm, open and ready to serve us.

Beijing is a classical example of urban planning in modern times. Aside from the perfect road network, the city is dressed with beautiful flowers that produce abundant oxygen necessary for human survival. Despite being one of the most populous cities in the word with over 50 million people, Beijing has all the basic social facilities to serve humanity. Thanks to the Communist government for being sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the citizens. The Chinese Government is working hard to ensure that development is uniformed across all regions, and that, I believe is achievable due to the political will that is guided by national interest.

“According to our development plan, we don’t want to leave anyone behind. All regions and tribes would be taken onboard and everybody would benefit and enjoy equal opportunities,” says the ruling Party Secretary Li Shaoxin.

On the whole, the country is blessed with a lot of tourist attraction centres – the Great Wall, Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, among a host of others form part of China’s sources of revenue. Millions and millions of tourists from across the world visit all those centres on a daily basis. And guess what, even the citizens of China are willing to pay money and visit those places. Absolute show of nationalism and patriotism!

In terms of media development, I would not compare the Chinese media to the west, but they are assiduously working towards perfection. And the government is determined and working hard to achieve absolute digitalisation of all media content.

Lastly, China is a force to reckon with because they are ready to working with development not only in Africa but across the world.

May 20, 2016 

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) recently held its inaugural Senior Leadership Forum, reflecting the strategic importance and growth potential of the Group’s pan-African business.

UBA Group Chairman Mr Tony O. Elumelu convened the Forum to review the impressive growth of the Bank’s African network over the past 11 years and to provide a platform to reaffirm and embolden its strategic goals.

The Forum brought together 90 participants, including the entire Board of UBA, all Chairmen and CEOs of UBA subsidiaries across Africa and the United Kingdom. It was timed to coincide with UBA’s Annual General Meeting and Group Board Meeting.

“We are one bank, the United Bank for Africa,” Mr Elumelu said as he opened the Forum. “Bringing together our senior leadership talent from across the continent and the distinguished leaders who chair our subsidiary businesses is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to forge one bank for Africa.”

“As long-term investors and pioneers in pan-African commercial and investment banking, we are deeply committed to the markets in which we operate and to harnessing the potential represented by the wider African economy. Our intention is to be the leader in African financial services, and our recent transaction track record shows this. We are realising the potential of Africa,” said Mr Elumelu.

UBA subsidiaries operate in 18 African countries including Sierra Leone and now contribute more than 25 percent to Group operating revenue. UBA is increasingly recognised as a strong pan-African brand, hailed for democratising banking in its countries of operation whilst participating in leading financial transactions, including a US$315 million facility to the Government of Ghana for road projects on the strength of Road Fund levies, domiciled with UBA Ghana, a US$250 million crude pre-payment facility for Democratic Republic of Congo-based Orion Oil, representing the largest reported transaction structured by an African investment bank in 2015, involving fresh capital within the African market, a 234 million Euro oil and gas financing deal with Société Africaine de Raffinage (SAR) of Senegal, a US$180 million to Delta Energy Zambia for the procurement and supply of petroleum products to marketing companies in Zambia, a US$90 million University of Dakar hostel construction project financed solely by UBA Senegal – African capital, building African infrastructure for African education and a US$1.2 billion oil financing with NNPC and Chevron where UBA provided funding for Chevron and NNPC to develop 36 new oil wells that will significantly expand Nigeria’s oil production capacity.

“We have done a lot but in many senses we are only beginning to reap the rewards of our network and potential. We are a truly pan-African institution and after a period of consolidation, we know that the continuing expansion of our Africa footprint is a key goal. We must ensure that we have presence in at least 25 countries in the near to medium term, starting from the UMOA and CEMAC zones,” said Mr. Fogan Sossah, Chairman of UBA Senegal, during the Forum.

In keeping with the objective of creating an institution worthy of the patronage of clients and the trust of regulators and governments, the three day Forum focused on the critical issues and drivers for success across the continent. Seminars were held on Corporate Governance, Corporate Institutionalisation, Board Effectiveness, Compliance, Accountability and more.

Speaking on the breadth and depth of the Forum’s individual sessions, Mrs. Gisele Mudiay, Chairman of UBA Democratic Republic of Congo said: “Our aspiration for the next five years is to pool knowledge of our individual operating environments and leverage that knowledge to help our customers realise their business goals.”

Noting the difficulties that exist in operating in the diverse economic environments across the African continent, Mr Ekoto Mukete, Chairman UBA Cameroon said: “While we operate in challenging business environments, we benchmark ourselves against global standards, which means we are able to add real value to our stakeholders. This Forum has ensured that we are an army of one, working in each corner of Africa and driving toward one common goal.”

The approval of additional injection of capital into its East African subsidiaries in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania was announced at the Forum, as the Group re-affirmed its commitment to growth in its countries of operations across the continent.

Commenting on the importance of consolidating pan-African financial expertise and exporting the successful Nigerian model, incoming Group MD/CEO and previous head of UBA Africa, Kennedy Uzoka said: “I have experienced the potential of our pan-African businesses. I know that we can and I commit to ensuring our leadership across Africa. The Senior Leadership Forum reaffirms UBA’s ambition to be the leading pan-African Bank across key indices – brand equity, human capital, customer service and profitability.”

Other items on the agenda at the Forum included Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies and compliance standards across the Group. The Group Compliance Officer Uche Ike stated that “compliance is non-negotiable. We operate as a global bank, in global centres. We have seen how swiftly, internationally and within Africa, banks have lost hard earned reputations, through laxity in policy compliance and we will not tolerate this in UBA Group“.

The Forum coincided with the 54th Annual General Meeting of UBA (where participants were also able to celebrate the Bank’s strong financial performance) as the week long activities culminated in the dedication of staff at the annual UBA CEO Awards ceremony.

UBA reported strong financial results in 2015, in what is largely recognised as a challenging macro environment. Gross earnings were N315bn whilst operating profits stood at almost N70bn. UBA Africa operations currently contribute approximately 25% of these earnings but are expected to grow significantly and over time contribute as much as 50% to overall Group profitability.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) is one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and 3 global financial centres: London, Paris and New York.

From a single country operation in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, UBA has evolved into a pan-African provider of banking and related financial services, to more than 11 million customers, through diverse channels globally.

May 20, 2016

Mrs Lara Taylor-Pearce, Auditor General of Sierra Leone, in her capacity as the current chairperson of African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) had the honour of addressing her peers at the 13th Governing Board Meeting of AFROSAI-E held at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria from 9 to 13 May, 2016.

In her address, Mrs Taylor-Pearce referenced this year’s theme: ‘Leadership Driving Action’, calling it timely and appropriate as a lot of valuable synergy had been expended by all in the august body to ensure that an effective and efficient leadership drives AFROSAI-E’s continental accountability process. To this end, she told her peers and audience that AFROSAI-E was proud to report that after over 13 years of existence it has an exemplary leadership that is capable of responding to the challenges posed to the accountability landscape. This growth in capacity, she said, would not only occasion enhanced and fruitful working relationship within Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) at national levels, but would also engender in other stakeholders in the accountability process greater action and commitment in the pursuit of the institution’s wider objectives.

The AFROSAI-E chair reiterated that as an accountability organisation, AFROSAI-E would continue to work assiduously towards the professionalisation of public sector auditors and accountants in Africa by working with and expanding its relationship with other professional bodies and institutions towards this end. Through the Executive Leadership Development and Management Development Programmes, She said, AFROSAI-E was capacitating and empowering the drivers of national accountability processes in various supreme audit institutions in AFROSAI-E’s member countries. In a bid to meet the challenges of the ever-changing and demanding accountability landscape, she went on, AFROSAI-E was also designing training programmes in line with the new UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Mrs Taylor-Pearce encouraged her counterparts to urge their teams and other stakeholders into action by engaging them, striving to understand and respond to their country specific needs. She craved her peers to strive to be innovative in leadership of their respective national institutions, as only such would motivate the change that AFROSAI-E demands.

“The most effective and reliable way of increasing our employee and stakeholder’s satisfaction and confidence is by providing them with a more effective leadership in a bid to motivate them to be more effective and more responsible to their tasks. Let us drive our team by providing them with a clear vision of our purpose and direction and let us encourage team work and be ready to lead by example and be seen to be involved in the job,” Mrs. Taylor-Pearce said.

In his welcome address, Auditor-General for the Federation of Nigeria, Mr. Samuel Ukura stated that the role of Audit Institutions in public financial management systems has become dynamic and continues to be modified and expounded in response to emerging global development activities and events. To this end, he commended AFROSAI-E for providing a platform for cooperation among its 26 members and also for helping, through institutional strengthening initiatives, to reach the levels of audit performance necessary to justify their mandates.

-calls for new improved tariff

May 20, 2016 By Ibrahim Tarawallie

The Country Manager for the World Bank office in Sierra Leone yesterday stated that license fees paid by trawlers sailing in the country’s waters are too low, and that as a result about 95 trawlers currently sail the country’s waters.

Parminder P.S. Brar told a joint presser organised by his office, the United States Embassy and the European Union that based on their assessment, the number of trawlers that should embark on sustainable fishing in Sierra Leone waters should be between 30 and 40.

He noted that Sierra Leone currently charges less than one percent of the ex-value of the vessel as compared to the international normal charge of between 5 to 8%.

At present, the country only receives US$6 million annually from licenses obtained by fishing trawlers, in spite of having about 95 trawlers registered to fish in its territorial waters.

According to the World Bank Country Manager, because of the low license fees, most trawlers in the West Africa sub-region are attracted to fishing in the country’s waters, which inevitably leads to over fishing.

“The tariff needs to be repriced and improved. Liberia charges 10%. If Sierra Leone is to develop its fisheries, it needs to involve the private sector. For that to happen, they need a sustainable resource which is not available right now and good legal framework, which is also in the process of setting up,” he said.

Also, Mr. Brar said the draft fishery law is 186 pages long, with lots of materials in it that should have been included in fisheries regulation.

He urged that the proposed law should be in compliance with international best practices, adding that based on an assessment by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank, it is not.

“We need to work with the government and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to revise and improve the fishery law before its goes to Cabinet and Parliament. Also, the country urgently needs a jetty on the Lungi side, where fish can be landed, processed and exported as per international standard,” he stated.

United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone, John Hoover, said that the country’s fisheries are probably its greatest natural resource.

He said that a well-managed fishery sector could help strengthen nutrition, health and food security of Sierra Leoneans, as well as generate jobs and provide revenue for the government.

“Fisheries are a renewable resource and if managed properly they can contribute to economic development and prosperity on a sustainable basis,” said Ambassador Hoover.

Head of the European Union Delegation, Ambassador Peter Versteeg, also spoke about the EU’s contribution to the improvement of artisanal fisheries in the country.

May 26, 2016 By Ehizogie Ighobor

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Ehi Zogie Ighbor

I am an African — a mix of Sierra Leone and Nigeria. I was born in Sierra Leone, and I lived there for 10 years before moving to the United States. My mom was born there too, but my dad was born in Nigeria. When Africa is the topic of conversation, some people talk about the common misconceptions of Africa that the Western media often portray. I am now impatient with the media as they are constantly deceiving those who don’t have adequate knowledge about the continent. Now, I want to set the records straight and this is a perfect opportunity for me to do so.

 Below are some common myths and misconceptions about Africa

1.)  AFRICA IS A COUNTRY

I have personally not heard this one but after conducting a research on the topic, I realize that most people view this as the number one misconception about Africa. First of all, Africa is not a gigantic country. It is a CONTINENT! As a matter of fact, it is the second largest continent in the world, after Asia. It is almost three times the size of Europe. The population is about ONE BILLION. It comprises roughly 54 different countries and one “non self-governing territory” – The Western Sahara.

2.)  AFRICANS SPEAK AFRICAN – “AFRICAN IS THEIR LANGUAGE”

This is completely false! English and French are the most common languages in Africa. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t other languages being spoken. In fact, there are several more languages. Each tribe or ethnic group has its own language. Within one country alone, you may find several languages. For example, there are roughly 521 spoken languages in Nigeria. Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Ibibio are just a few of them.

3.)  EVERYONE IN AFRICA IS POOR

One common misconception about Africa is that everyone lives in poverty.

While it is true that a high percentage of Africans live in extreme poverty (less than $2 per day), that is not the case throughout the continent or among all Africans. Africa is in fact rich in many other areas such as minerals and other natural resources. Forty-six percent of the world’s diamonds come from African countries. Botswana, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone are top exporters.  Africa has more than 50 percent of the world’s fertile and unused land and currently uses just 2 percent of its water resources.

4.)  AFRICA IS “DISEASE-RIDDEN”

Many African countries don’t have advanced health resources; therefore it is likely that diseases will spread. However, there have been several innovations to prevent the spread of diseases in Africa. For example, the mosquito net, which prevents mosquitoes from having any contacts with humans, has led to the decrease of malaria in Africa.

5.)  Finally, I’d like to address the misconception that Africa is a very unsafe place to visit. This is completely FALSE! Though there are certain parts that may not be attractive to foreigners to visit, those parts do not reflect the beauty of the continent as a whole. The Western media nowadays tend to focus on the negatives. People around the world hear about the wars, diseases, and poverty, but Africa is way more than that. Africa has some of the most beautiful beaches, Safaris and natural environments in the world.

It is very important for people who do not have enough knowledge about Africa to be educated about the beautiful continent. Yes, some places may be unsafe or not attractive to foreigners, but there lots more that everyone believes are really beautiful, even by world’s standards. As Africans, it’s our job to fix our economies and rebuild our societies.

Zogie Ighobor is an SS2 student who lives in the United States

May 27, 2016 By Gabriel Benjamin in Antayla, Turkey

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Ambassador Vandi Chidi Minah

 Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mission headquarters in New York has affirmed that resilient institutions and the economy are key to building human capital economic growth and social development in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

H.E. Vandi Chidi Manah made this statement yesterday in Antalya, Turkey, during the pre-ministerial press conference on “building quality human capital development for sustainable economic growth and social development of the Istanbul Programme of Action.”

Mr. Vandi opines that: “If Africa wants her human capital economic growth and social development to improve significantly and meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of 2030, it must begin to build resilient institutions and economy,” adding that “this is the only way we [Africa] can make any significant progress.”

Amb. Vandi also noted that it was time for Africa to protect her youths by creating opportunities for employment, as there could be no economic growth and development if the youths, who make up 40% of the continent’s population, are jobless.

“This is not the time to shift the goal post; we must all rise and face the challenge of youth unemployment in the continent. This is the huge challenge before us, once we are able to fix this, we [Africa] are on the right trajectory to building the continent’s human capital economic growth and development,” he noted.

The erstwhile Transport and Aviation minister and deputy Foreign Affairs Minister also pushed for special budgetary allocation for women and children, since they are the most vulnerable in the society. “African Finance Ministers should allow their yearly budget to be gender and children friendly,” he urged.

Also speaking during the press conference, Somalia’s Minister of Planning and International Co-operation, H.E. Abdullahi Shekh Ali said youth unemployment in Africa was the root cause of violent extremism, citing Somalia as a reference point.

The Horn of Africa nation imploded into violent conflict in the early 1990s and despite the presence African Union peacekeepers, the country remains volatile, with Al-Shabab insurgents – mostly youths – making the country unsafe by launching sporadic attacks and suicide bombings in Mogadishu, the capital, and elsewhere.

According to Mr. Ali, “there is so much pressure on unemployed youths in Africa to join extremist organisations, become violence and get involved in all social ills. We must tackle and halt this ugly trend with legitimate weapon at our disposals. We can’t afford to lose this war.”

 The Midterm Review of the Istanbul Programme of Action, organised by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), co sponsored by the Government of Turkey, is aimed at re-affirming the global commitment to address the special needs of the LDCs made at the 2011 Fourth United Nations Conference on the LDCs in Istanbul and to further strengthen the global partnership for development for LDCs in all priority areas, and to likewise draw synergies with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

May 30, 2016 By Gabriel Benjamin in Antalya, Turkey

The World Bank said on Friday, 27 May in Antayla, Turkey, that it was committed to ending extreme poverty in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Speaking during the Opening Plenary of the Comprehensive High-Level Midterm Review of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IoPA) for the LDCs, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank Group, Ms, Mulyani Indrawati said the bank was committed to ending extreme poverty, as well as contributing to global economic growth and prosperity.

According to Ms. Mulyani, LDCs have enormous potentials, adding that the bank sees them as a strong partner, central to their mission.

“We are fundamentally committed to achieving the goals slated out in Istanbul five years ago. This meeting comes at a critical time, with the introduction of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our sheer commitment to end extreme poverty by 2030.

“The World Bank, with the public and private sector, will bring a unique and powerful set of services to deliver results in the 77 poorest countries in the world. We present a path forward for the world’s poorest countries,” she said.

The International development association (IoDA) is a critical tool of the international community to help address the challenges of LDCs. IoDA has provided over US$77billion in grants and concessional financing to LDCs.

“Within 2011 and 2015, the period under the MidTerm Review, IoDA provided more than US$73 billion in financing to LDCs across sectors and borders to deliver solution to the toughest challenges confronting the LDCs,” noted the bank’s chief.

She further said that in just three years, solar power has been provided to 3.7 million people in rural communities in Bangladesh and about 50,000 homes are still been connected each month.

The IoDA has also provided US$84 billion to support education, health and access to education in the country.

She said Ethiopia has gotten a US$6 billion in financing, which has helped fund the distribution of 78 million text books to school children.

The bank has also contributed US$2.2 billion to the Democratic Republic of Congo to provide clean portable drinking water for over one million people in just one year.

“We have facilitated the recruitment and training of five million teachers in the LDCs.

“Over 15 million people have access to clean drinking water in the LDCs.

“We have immunized over 200 million children and have provided essential health services to over 400 million people. We have constructed or improve over 100,000km or roads in LDCs. But There’s an urgent need to do more,” admitted Ms. Mulyani.

Although the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen below 10%, an estimated over 700 million people still live among the ranks of the poorest, which number is expected to triple by 2030.

Despite the continued weakening and volatile global economy, low quality prices, climate change challenges, growing geo-political tension and conflict, which are increasing the volatility, the former Finance Minister of Indonesia in the Second United Indonesia Cabinet said she was optimistic that making progress is fundamental to ending extreme poverty and achieving the global development goals.

“We at the World Bank are committed to help address these challenges across all fronts. We are going to invest in inclusive society that promotes equality of opportunities and growth. IoDA, which is known for his response to severe shock and crises, will continue to finance countries and help them to accessing essential services, build stronger social and political institution, and safety nets to protect the most vulnerable.

“We are supporting Guinea and Sierra Leone to respond and recover from the devastating Ebola crises. Also we will work hard to see that these counties [are] govern effectively and fairly, provide services and securities to their citizens, create environment that will foster job creations and economic growth,” said Ms. Mulyani.

On gender equality in the LCDs, the World Bank Chief noted that: “It is important…we are strongly committed to see our clients reverse genders disparity, by getting girls into schools, and helping women access finances for small scales business.”

She also said that the World Bank was expanding domestic resources and catalysing plans for private sector led growth to bring a positive spillover to the global communities.

Although LDCs account for 12% of the world’s population, they generate only less than 2% of global GDP, with per capital income less than US$850 million.

“This is unacceptable and should be changed. We have come together to discuss financing for LDCs…this discussion is under way and will come in December

2016,” she said.

“LDCs need strong concessional financing and support. The World Bank will continue to do its part to improve the LDCs both financially and operationally,” she assured.

May 30, 2016 By Abu-Bakarr Sheriff

Magistrate Tonia Barnet (Mrs) was awarded a Master of Laws (LLM) degree at the prestigious Harvard University in Massachusetts, United States of America, last Thursday.

The young female magistrate was the sole Sierra Leonean among 180 new graduates to have completed the rigorous advanced legal education at the famous Harvard Law School, which has as one of its illustrious alumni United States President Barack Obama.

As the judiciary, under the enlightened leadership of Chief Justice Abdulai Charm, embarks on structural reforms, Magistrate Barnett will add to an increasing number of home grown lawyers who have scaled the heights in the legal profession within the jurisdiction, almost 27 years since Sierra Leone started training home-grown lawyers.

Previously at the Pademba Road Magistrates’ Court No.1, the wife and mother of two lovely kids will soon return home to continue her astute service to country and compatriots, in dispensing sound judgements and sharing what she has learned with others.

In a snap interview with Concord Times via telephone, the pioneering female magistrate said she was elated to have completed the advanced legal studies at the renowned Harvard University.

She said the 9 months course was “quite challenging and demanding but exciting”, adding that “it has opened doors for me and an opportunity as to how I can contribute to making the world a better place.”

She thanked the judiciary for the support given to her to read at Harvard. Also, she was full of praise for her family, especially her spouse, whom she said was a constant pillar of strength. She thanked friends and colleagues for their prayers and well wishes.

However, she bemoaned the fact that her widow mother and retired school teacher was not given the opportunity, unlike her other colleagues from around Africa, to witness the commencement, after the consular section of the United States Embassy in Freetown bizarrely refused to grant her a visa.

- Says Gyan Chandra Acharya

May 31, 2016 By Gabriel Benjamin in Antalya, Turkey

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Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya

On 28th May, 2016 in Antalya, Turkey, the Under Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) told journalists that the UN was committed to building strong health institution in the LDCs.

Speaking during the press conference, Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya said the synergy and coherence in the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) in the context of the 2030 Development Agenda, with the participation of Member States, non-governmental organisations, civil society, the private sector and academic institutions, cannot be over emphasised.

According to Mr. Chandara, epidemic outbreak remains one of the main factors that push households from poverty into deprivation and this imposes a large burden on the already weak national health systems of the LDCs. “We at the UN are concern about this and we hope to do everything within our reach to improve the weak health system of LDCs countries,” he told journalists.

Sighting the Ebola outbreak in the Mano River Union, he said: “Ideally, at first we didn’t have any action plan to deal with Ebola when the outbreak was first reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone which are also LDCs,” adding “For the first time, the UN Secretary General came up with a comprehensive support plan and a strategy for all UN agencies including the World Bank, the Africa Union and Development Partners to defeat the virus.”

While responding to a question asked about the preparedness in the UN in an event of a future epidemic, the Under Secretary General said the UN now has a robust action plan in the event of a future outbreak.

“We now have a planning phase, an idea… so in order to make sure when such a pandemic take place we make an early warning, not only early warning but an intervention mechanism that we are currently working on, and I am sure that we be something that will really helped the LDCs because of the likelihood that those things [epidemic] are very high due to the weak national health systems of this countries. However, in the event it happens, we have a robust response team on ground to deal with it,” Mr. Chandra said.

He also noted that the UN hopes that such epidemic would not happen in any of the LDCs countries again.

“The long term policies again are to have the national health system that will be responsive to any epidemic outbreak. But again, the outbreak has taught us a lesson… we hope that such epidemic don’t happen again,” he said.

It should be noted that the Sustainable Development Goal 3 aspires to ensure health and well-being for all, including a bold commitment to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases by 2030. It also aims to achieve universal health coverage, and provide access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines for all.

June 6, 2016 By Alusine Sesay

The Sierra Leone Bottling Company (SLBC) has collaborated with UN Women to empower over 200 women entrepreneurs in Freetown, Makeni and Kenema through the company’s flagship program called 5By20.

5By20 which was launched in 2010 by the Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola ,Muktar Kent ,is the company’s commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs across their  value chain by 2020.

Speaking on Friday at the launch of the program, Country Manager of SLBC, Isreal Okujagu said the company was making history to empower women in Sierra Leone.

The initiative he said offered women access to business skills training courses, financial services and connections with peers or mentors, adding that they would directly empower 200 women by giving them start-up kits of mini table set after going through training.

He said the program would initially focus on women in Freetown, Makeni and Kenema with further expansion into other areas of the country by 2017, adding that the company was responding to UN Women’s strategic plan to promote the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

The program ,he said was a  complement to UN Women’s strategic focus aimed at seeing women lead and participate in decision–making at all levels, economically empowered and benefit from all development among a host of others.

United Nations Resident Coordinator to Sierra Leone,Sunil Siagal said there are more women entrepreneurs in Africa than men ,but noted that they were  far more vulnerable to poverty than men.

He said women can do better should they be given the needed opportunity and that the program was a complementary support which UN provides to assist the government achieve its objective of empowering women.

Coca-Cola Franchise Manager ,Equitorial Africa Limited,Rodrgue Billa said the program was being implemented through the Coca-Cola foundation which believed in women empowerment and the overall wellbeing of people, and that “ We believe that we have a sustainable business, when the community in which we operate, is healthy and viable.

He said the partnership between SLBC and UN Women was very much important because both believed in women empowerment.

Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ibrahim Mansaray said SLBC has always been committed to the development and support of communities either through direct retails sales strategies of through strategic supports of water and sanitation enhancement facilities in selected communities.

He said the company has made significant contributions in the zone of 41 billion Leones to the revenue of the country, thus praising the launch of the 5By20 program as laudable.

Deputy Minister of Social Welfare ,Gender and Children’s Affairs,Rugiatu Neneh Turay said the agenda for prosperity has a standalone pillar for women empowerment, noting that women have limited access to opportunities and that more attention should be paid to them.

She said women form bulk of the country’s population and that empowering them would help reduce poverty, thus commending SLBC for taking such step.

June 7, 2016

The Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, Shen Xiaokai  has stated last week  that his office was  coordinating Chinese financial banks and agencies so as to provide more commercial loans from the Chinese Government USD 60 billion funding support  to Africa for Small and Medium Enterprises in Sierra Leone.

Shen Xiaokai  said to benefit from the USD 60 billion funding support , every  African country was entitled to raise its project proposals and the  use of the fund  would be determinant  on the basis of the feasibility and evaluation results of the projects rather than being allocated on a country-specific basis.

Mr.Shen further emphasized that the principle of China aid is that projects should be raised, agreed and led by the recipient countries, adding that the Sierra Leonean people and government best knew which project should be their first priority.

“Within the USD 60 billion funding support to Africa, Sierra Leone could make the best out of it and submits more project proposals and try to secure more fund resources to implement as more projects like the Mamamah New Airport as possible,” he said.

His said his office would always be opened to any feasible and practical project proposals from the Sierra Leonean government, which would tremendously accelerate the process of Agenda for Prosperity and the Post-Ebola Recovery Plan for Sierra Leone.

He said besides the well-known projects including the National Stadium, the Youyi Building, the Mange and Kambia bridges, the New Building for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Regent Youyi Road among others, China was now planning to support Sierra Leone.

“With grant, China is going to implement two projects and the first would be the West African Tropical Disease Research and Prevention Centre, which is the most significant project for the Post-Ebola recovery plan. The centre will include a new CDC office building and it would help to strengthen the long term ability of public health system for Sierra Leone. The second one is the 3.2km Freetown link way road from Lumkokwing University to Regent which is also very important to facilitate the movement of people from capital of Freetown to the provinces. With this link road, directly connected to the Regent Youyi Road and the Wellington-Masiaka Highway, it will only take around half an hour to travel from Mamamah New Airport to Hill Station in town,” he said.

With loans of preferential natures, he said China would be focusing on the Mamamah International Airport Project and the Rokel Water Supply Project.

Mr. Shen said that China understood the importance of the Mamamah International Airport Project as the No.1 priority for the Sierra Leonean government and people; therefore the project has already been included into the budget of the USD 60 billion.

He also emphasized that with USD 200 million to implement the Phase I of the project, the new airport would be fully functional and in line with international standards.

“After Phase I, Sierra Leone could further apply for more funding support from China to do the Phase II which would make the new airport a magnificent landmark. It is advisable that Sierra Leone grasp this funding opportunity so as to let the new airport be kicked off as soon as possible,” he said.

As for the Rokel Water Supply Project, Mr. Shen said China had noticed the serious lack of water supply for Freetown and the urgent need for the Rokel Water Supply Project.

“We are quite concerned about the livelihood of the Freetownians, who are struggling with no reliable and sanitation water supply. The Rokel Water Supply Project will definitely and significantly help to solve the problem of water shortage in Freetown. This project would be implemented as soon as the Mamamah New Airport  kicked off and the living standard of the people in Freetown would greatly  be improved,” he said.

Meanwhile, during the Johannesburg Summit and the 6^th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in South Africa in December 2015, President Xi Jinping announced at the summit to upgrade the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and to implement ten cooperation plans on industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure development, and public health with African countries.

 To ensure the successful implementation of the ten cooperation plans, China has decided to provide a total of USD 60 billion funding support. It includes USD 5 billion of grant and interest-free loans, USD 35 billion of loans of preferential nature with more favorable terms and export credit line, an increase of USD 5 billion to the China-Africa Development Fund and the special loan for the development of African Small and Medium Enterprises respectively, and establishing the China-Africa Fund for Production Capacity Cooperation with an initial contribution of USD 10 billion.

June 7, 2016 By Mohamed Gibril Sesay

Last week the great boxer, Muhammad Ali died. There were positive stories all about him. That was mainly because he first started telling positive stories about himself. He called himself the GOAT. Small minds may wish that to refer to the four footed bearded animal that we eat as goat pepper soup. But no, Muhammad Ali told us the meaning of GOAT is the ‘Greatest of All Times.’ And the world got used to calling him that. And he became that. He once said that if anyone dreamed that he was not the greatest, then the person should wake up and apologize.

Today the world pays him great respect because he confidently blew his own trumpet. The task of blowing Africa’s trumpet rests with her communicators and commentators. Yes, Africa still has many challenges; we must point those out- the facts and threats of terrorism, piracy, corruption and trans-national crimes. But we must also tell the stories of the many actions we are taking to combat these challenges. We must tell the stories of the many good that is us, that is our people and our continent.

The late Chinua Achebe once said stories or narratives are the most durable of human achievements. The stories you tell will outlive you, so you better tell great stories. As communicators of the story of Africa’s Premier institution, the African Union, how you tell your story is how the Union will be seen by the people of Africa.

For too long we have allowed others to tell our stories, and most of them have told our stories badly, they have said too many bad things and few good things. So much so that many people think only bad things happen in Africa.

But what I see are also stories of good people who love their families, farmers who work hard to feed the continent, women leading the African Union, democracy taking roots, youths taking over their countries’ destiny by being the most technologically proficient Africans ever. Africa is not only about wars and disease and corruption, it is also about resilience, progress, activism, development, and compassion. A continent of neighbors and families helping each other out.

Sierra Leone and the sub-region fought a deadly Ebola disease, and we moving passed it now. It was a hard fight, with many tragic accounts. But it also showed human resilience, charity, love and commitment. We often forget that the disease spread because so many had showed great care for their sick ones and touched them when they should not have touched them. They were not foolish or inhuman, theirs were acts of love and care that turned tragic. But the stories out there are of a diseased people, and not a loving and resilient people. I guessed many people have never heard that the treatment center with the highest survival rates was run by young Sierra Leonean doctors, and that over 90% of the frontline workers were citizens of the sub-region and the wider African continent. We salute the world, but we must also salute our African brothers and sisters. Praises must start at home.

Don’t get me wrong, there are bad stories in Africa, stories about corruption and ignorance and tyrants. But which of the stories should we be telling more? I have not seen other societies and continents telling the bad sides of their stories more than we do. Every continent has its type of mess. But when you concentrate on the mess, you denigrate yourself, you obscure your own goodness and lose confidence. Let us give more writing space, more airtime, more Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram posts to our positive stories. I am not saying stories about bad things should not be told. Hell no. But let us be earnest in telling our good stories, our positive initiatives, the fact that Africans have constructed more roads, built more houses, established more schools, universities, and hospitals in the last fifty something years of Independence than were built in the much longer colonial period. We need to do more, but we must not fail to tell the stories that the AU is a force for good in the continent, and that it is moving forward with a vision for democracy, progress, development, gender equity and stronger African voices in global forums.

The choice of Sierra Leone as host of this workshop on the popularization of Agenda 2063 is remarkable. We need to show case the vision of the African Union to Africans, we need to show that the African Union is a union of African people and not just of states, that it is Union for the common man and woman and not a trade union of Heads of State. This is the vision that is taking root- a union dedicated to ensuring that African rulers obey the voices of their people, uphold the tenets of democracy, protect human rights, foster development.

Our communicators must tell these stories, a people with greater emphases on their positive stories become a very positive people. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation lauds the initiative of the pioneers and organizers of this workshop. This landmark effort offers an opportunity to citizens of Africa, especially those outside the Embassies and International Organizations and State Institutions, to have a better understanding of the role of the African Union in promoting peace, stability, economic integration, governance and human rights in the African Continent.

This workshop, will no doubt, maximize the visibility of the actions of the African Union, which hitherto, was confined to the margins of Summits and the Diplomatic Community.  We salute the Directorate of Information and Communication of the African Union for thinking it prudent to engage the Press Attachés of Embassies, Focal Persons responsible for communication and Editors in Chief of Africa Media Organs. We applaud the Directorate for pushing for increased outreach at national levels in the popularization of the activities of the African Union.

Concluding, I just want to remind all of us that every minute billions of stories pop out of the various activities of humankind. Let’s hitch the stories we tell to a narrative frame of a confident and rising Africa- an Africa with a Vision 2063, an Africa with an African Parliament that is moving towards being of greater relevance to the voices of Africans, an Africa that is setting precedent of getting dictators to account, as we see in the recent case of Hussein Habre, an Africa that is increasingly holding the cold feet of tyrants to the fires of democracy, an Africa of youthful energy, an Africa of greater faith and acknowledgement in the leadership and contributions of women, an Africa that receives more from its own people in the Diaspora than it does from foreign aid, an Africa that is rising. And remember, the stories you tell ultimately define who we are. Once again, welcome to Sierra Leone. May your deliberations be fruitful.

Editor’s Note: The author is Sierra Leone’s Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The article is from a speech he delivered on the occasion of the Pre-summit Workshop on Engaging Press Attaches and Focal Persons in Communication at the Embassies of African Union members states in the implementation of the African Union Communication Strategy – 2014-2017 at the Bintumani Hotel, Freetown, on 6^th-7th June 2016.

June 8, 2016 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma

In a bid to provide speedy and reliable internet service for their customers, one of the Sierra Leone’s leading mobile service providers, Airtel on Monday, 6thJune, 2016 launched their new *800#data bundles product.

Speaking during the launching ceremony at their headquarters, Hill Station in Freetown, Managing Director of Airtel Sierra Leone Oladapo Olasope said the new product would help customers browse the internet successfully without any headache.

He said an Airtel customer would be able to browse the internet, using the bundles, after purchase from the *800#data bundles, and that the bundles could be used or expire in line with the pack chosen.

He said customers would not be able to browse from the main account on the phone unless a bundle was purchased.

He continued that customers could continue to make calls, send SMS texts or subscribe/join any other service, including ‘top-up Le1, 000’ and ‘buy 2 megabytes’ for Le450, with balance of Le550 remaining on the phone.

He added that when the 2 megabytes are used or expired, the customer could be able to browse the internet with the remaining Le550 on his phone.

He said the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) in March, 2016 imposed a fine of USD$1.2m on Airtel for failing to offer quality mobile network service, adding that any misunderstanding with the telecoms regulator had been put to rest as they now provide full service to their customers across the country.

In March this year, Airtel commissioned its new Data Centre, a move which affirmed the company’s commitment to the continuous improvement of service to their customers throughout the country.

June 8, 2016 By Moses A. Kargbo

The second anniversary of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone passed off quietly on May 25th.  Maybe it’s because no one really wants to relive something that led to the deaths of nearly 4,000 people. But St John of God Catholic Hospital (Mabesseneh Hospital) in Lunsar, Port Loko District, has not forgotten its fallen heroes even as it still cares for survivors.

Sierra Leone was declared free of the Ebola virus by the World Health Organization almost three-and-half months ago, but the staff at Mabesseneh Hospital are not taking any chances. “We had problems with hospital supplies; protective gears were in short supply and this exposed some of our medical staff to the Ebola disease,” said Brother Dr. Michael Koroma, Chief Executive Officer at the hospital. “We have learnt some good lessons, so we wouldn’t want a repeat of what caused the spread of Ebola at the hospital. Therefore, we pay strict attention to the adherence of safety procedures both by hospital staff and visitors.”

Aside from enforcing safety measures at the hospital, the management is focused on September 25–a day designated to honour the 11 hospital staff killed by the Ebola virus, including a renowned Spanish surgeon, Rev. Dr. Manuel García Viejo, who was a volunteer since 2002.

“Brother Manuel’s presence was not only key, but a source of hope for both staff and patients,” recounted Dr. Koroma. “He was responding to emergency cases in the whole of Port Loko District and from other regions of the country. With the caliber of medical staff we had, people had confidence in the center. They believed no matter their condition, they’ll get healed of their sickness once they come here.”

Photos of the deceased staff, including sanitary and laundry workers and a student nurse on training, and that of Rev. Dr. Viejo are displayed on a well-crafted stone carving at the main entrance. “We don’t have money to offer their families except their benefits, which we paid to their relatives; and this was one-off payment,” Koroma said. “We believe the only way we could pay them back for their selfless service to mankind is to celebrate their lives and the worthy sacrifices they made to save their compatriots.”

Yeabu, a female survivor residing some 400 metres away from the hospital said the disease completely devastated the Mabesseneh community and that had it not been for the resilience of the hospital management and staff, the disease would have decimated the entire community.

Koroma said they continue to cover a very big community and they need support both from the government and partners so that they could also attract more surgeons and doctors. “We are happy and grateful that a lot of institutions are visiting the hospital but especially pleased for the interest the World Bank has in us. We know the Bank deals with governments and not institutions, and we hope they’ll help,” he said.

On May 26, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors reaffirming government’s “continued determination to collaborate and work together [with survivors] to ensure the post-Ebola recovery priorities.”

The MoU determined concrete steps to help the survivors, including creating an Ebola Survivors’ Desk within the ministry. It also provides for intensifying media and community outreach to register all remaining survivors and to fundraise for programs to sustain the socio-economic and psycho-social welfare of survivors.

Al-Hassan Kanu, an Ebola survivor currently resident in the village of Feredugu, said: “We were treated free of charge [at the Mabesseneh Hospital], and they are still supporting some of us that survived the disease. We want government to support the hospital so that it will continue to provide free medical care for us.”

(CREDIT: Inside Africa, a World Bank publication)