REVIEW OF SIERRA LEONE MEDIA REPORTS

Public Information Office (PIO) of UNIOSIL – 21 May 2008

 

[Disclaimer: Excerpts below are from print media and news agency dispatches. UNIOSIL cannot vouch for the accuracy of the media reports].

 

Training and voter registration materials arrive ahead of Local Council election

A commercial plane past Friday arrived with over 2,725 training and registration kits at the Lungi International Airport in readiness for the 5 July Local Council Election. While receiving the materials at the ware house of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) office at Wellington, Dr. Christiana Thorpe, Chairman of the Commission expressed satisfaction that preparations for the Local Election are on track. “Everything is falling into place and our preparations are well under way,” she is quoted as saying. Dr. Thorpe admitted some delays, but said she was pleased with the progress so far. According to New Vision, more than 8,000 staff would be involved in the voter registration process, which is scheduled from 29 May to 1 June.

 

High level meeting discussed assistance to Sierra Leone

Representatives of the United Nations, individual member states, regional organizations, the private sector and civil society reportedly met past Monday to discuss ways of increasing the level of international involvement in Sierra Leone’s efforts to make the transition from civil conflict to sustainable peace. During the UN Peacebuilding Commission’s high level stakeholders’ consultation held in New York according to Concord Times, a new initiative and partnership were considered in order to generate more support for existing peacebuilding activities in the country.

 

ECOWAS Bank to provide US$100 million to support regional agriculture

The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) will reportedly provide US$100 million annually to support agricultural productivity in West Africa as part of the regional contribution towards resolving the ongoing global food crisis. New Vision says this decision was part of the outcome of a one-day extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Agriculture, Trade and Finance held in the Nigerian Capital Abuja past Monday. EBID contribution is part of the short term measures agreed by the Ministers who also directed the ECOWAS Commission to take the lead in mobilising international support to raise over US$2 billion required in emergency food support for the 44.4 million vulnerable population living in abject poverty in the sub region. In the long term, Member States agreed to improve their budgetary allocation to agriculture and further suggested to ECOWAS to assist in the coordination of the bulk purchases of basic food items so as to enable the region get discount for such purchase.

 

President Koroma launches National Consultative Forum on Youth Development

President Earnest Bai Koroma yesterday reportedly launched the National Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Youth Development at the Atlantic Hall of the National Stadium, under the theme: “Youth Empowerment and Attitudinal Change”. He said he was please to be part of the initiative as his Government placed premium on development. He reiterated that in his campaign trail, he had mentioned several times that his Party, the All Peoples Congress, would establish a Youth Commission as a key strategy to promoting youth development. “This nation owes our young people a clear policy and practical measures to ensure that they contribute to and benefit from our democracy” the President is quoted as saying. The Head of the UNDP, Bernard Mokam, observed that youth unemployment contributed to the country’s instability and supported moves to enhance the status of the youth, report For di People, We Yone, The New Citizen and Awoko.

 

 

 

 

Security agents collaborate to tackle drug trafficking

The Office of National Security and the Sierra Leone Police, in collaboration with the security at the Lungi International Airport would reportedly hold a strategic planning meeting aimed at combating drug traffickers using the airport as transit point. The Inspector General of Police is reported as reiterating that the security partners were working hard in addressing the situation including the arresting and bringing to justice defaulters, reports The News.

 

Justice in shambles in Bonthe District

The Justice system in the southernmost district of Bonthe is reportedly in shambles. Awoko reports that the district is in dire need of a resident Magistrate in addition to a custodian facility and police personnel. The Assistant Superintendent of Police in Charge of the virtually dilapidated former Ministry of Works building housing the police station complained that only four of them were manning the so-called station covering five chiefdoms in the Island district and using a hurricane lamp while on night duty. The Magistrate Court, run by two Justices of the Peace, is said to be in bad shape with broken benches and tables; and is mostly used for social programs such as parities and general meetings.

 

 

 

(Compiled by UNIOSIL, Public Information Office)