Commentary By Amara Omar Kuyateh, Maryland, USA. As Sierra Leone gears up for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2007, there is an unprecedented clamour for information as to what Political or management skills make the 3 contenders for the Presidency, Vice President Solomon Berewa of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Ernest Koroma of the All Peoples Congress (APC), and the leader of the newly formed People’s Movement (...)

By Theophilus S. Gbenda As the political tempo in Sierra Leone gathers speed the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) has scored yet another goal in its bid to take over the reins of government from the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), come the 2007 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections. This time around, the PMDC has captured another big fish in the person of Abu Bakarr Turay(photo) popularly known as ABT, an Investigator assigned to the Hinga Norman Defence (...)

Reports from Freetown say there is an ongoing tussle over who is to rid the city of its perennial garbage problem although the ruling SLPP government seems to be having the upper hand by constitutional fiat. A December 22 press release from the office of president Kabbah states that due to mounting concern about the state of the city, his government has decided to to transfer the responsibility of garbage collection from the Freetown City Council to the ministry of Local Government and (...)

By Abu B. Shaw, Vanguard London Bureau Chief The criminal justice system in England and Wales ushered in an early Christmas for the Sierra Leone community in London after successfully concluding a murder trial involving a Sierra Leonean woman. It was a huge sigh of relief when the jurors pronounced the guilty verdict at the Old Bailey court in London on Thursday December 21, 2006, especially for the bereaved family of Zainab Kalokoh(photo), who was shot dead in Peckham, South London on (...)

According to an AFP report over the weekend, Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission will on February 26 begin voter registration for presidential and parliamentary elections next July. "Selected registration centres for voters will be identified soon and these centres will also be used as polling stations," the news agency quoted a press statement from the Commission. Only Sierra Leone nationals aged over 18 will be registered. The police, the agency report went (...)

By Sahr Musa Yamba, Winnipeg, Canada. The UN Security Council Friday 22nd July unanimously resolved to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), a statement from the UN states. The extension was for another year with a temporary agreement to increase the number of staff members. The extension of UNIOSIL’s mandate follows the UN Secretary General’s recent recommendation to the Security Council. "Elections and the wide acceptance of their (...)

Commentary By Mohamed Boye Jallo Jamboria, Bergen, Norway. A tentative date has been announced. It is tentative because from experience the announcement is a purely political statement made to attract some from of credibility from the international community following the recent visits of the World Bank president and the other high ranking internationals. From experience also, this move to get more credits from the international community can be interpreted as a desperate move to (...)

By CHRISTIAN BOONE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution About 100 survivors of the civil war in Sierra Leone watched Hollywood’s depiction of the bloody 11-year conflict at an Atlanta theater Sunday afternoon. Reviews were positive, but the experience proved difficult. "I saw everything I saw back in Sierra Leone," Henry Shyllon, 48, said of "Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Shyllon was caught in the crossfire for two months, witnessing barbarism he’ll never forget. (...)

By Abu B. Shaw, Vanguard London Bureau Chief A Hollywood blockbuster movie, BLOOD DIAMOND, reminiscent of the illegal diamond trade around the world particularly from war-ravaged Sierra Leone, has been screened recently in cinemas across the United states and Canada with an exhilarating impact. The release of this film early December has coincided with the dogged determination of western powers, led by British Prime Minister Tony Blair,to remove the stigma of exploitation and carnage (...)

NEWS RELEASE The World Bank and IMF Approve Debt Relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative as Sierra Leone reach Completion Point under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative. The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have determined that Sierra Leone has made sufficient progress to qualify for debt relief by reaching the completion point under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Sierra (...)