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FACELIFT AT SLENA

7 Jun 2011

Upon taking office in 2007, one of the things President Ernest Bai Koroma promised this nation was to inculcate a maintenanceand rehabilitation culture that will improve performance and good governance. True to his promise to this national, the incumbent government has taken series of rehabilitation of facilities within the governance of Sierra Leone, not least of them are the news dissemination agencies.

When the Minister of Information and Communication Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Fargo paid a short visit to Sierra Leone News Agency (SLENA) yesterday morning,it was to immediately start the rehabilitation of SLENA which has been dormant for a long time.

The government has through the ministry of information provided the wherewithal to rehabilitate SLENA primarily to enable it contribute to good governance through access to reliable information which it can then sell to news agencies such as newspapers and radio stations.

Beyond the rehabilitation of SLENA, the government also plans to rehabilitate news agencies in the regional headquarter towns of Makeni, Bo and Kenema that will also serves as resource centersthat allow journalists and students to lay hands on true and accurate information. To that end, the general manager of SLENA and the procurement office have recruited contractors to start the rehabilitation work onSLENAfacility.

Some of the equipment to be used in the rehabilitation work will be donated by UNDP to support government's effort to improve the communication strategy of the nation. "The government of President Ernest Bai Koroma takes very seriously the process of allowing everybody to have access to accurate information as a way of promoting good governance," I. B. Kargbo told the New Citizen.

SLENA will billusers of the information notably governance agencies, Embassies, Media houses and education centers, adding, "but we insist that the information must be reliable and original." I. B. Kargbo emphasized.

Also, the reactivation of resource centers in the provinces is expected to assist SLENA greatly in news gathering and dissemination. According to Mr. I. B Kargbo, Minister of Information and Communication, the government will start this resuscitation and rehabilitation with SLENA office in Freetown and three resource centers in the provinces.

Already, twenty graduates are billed to participate in the process of news gathering and sales; and all of them have proved their mettle in this assignment. Unlike the old SLENA, the rehabilitated SLENA will endeavor to recruit only the very best in the profession.

The Minister of Information thanked President Ernest Bai Koroma for these latest initiatives and also thanked UNDP for its keen interest in news gathering and dissemination and providing equipment for the rehabilitation of SLENA.


Posted by the Editor.
Main News Headlines
1. FACELIFT AT SLENA
7 Jun 2011
Upon taking office in 2007, one of the things President Ernest Bai Koroma promised this nation was to inculcate a maintenance and rehabilitation culture that will improve performance and good governance.
2. WOMEN TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION
7 Jun 2011
The increase in discrimination against women with head scarves on their heads in the country have become a great concern for authorities and women themselves.
3. In Masingbi…A warm welcome for President Koroma
23 Mar 2011
Hundreds of school going pupils drawn from secondary and primary schools and electorates within the Masingbi Township, Kunike Chiefdom, Constituency 65, in the Tonkolili District, past Sunday March 20th , 2011, were in long lines warmly welcoming President Ernest Bai Koroma and entourage on their way from Kono.
4. Windfall for Kamabai school
23 Mar 2011
Member of Parliament for Constituency 110, Chernor R. M. Bah aka Chericoco popularly known for his goodwill and willingness to promote education within and outside his constituent, past Friday extended a helping hand to pupils of Kamabai Secondary School when he awarded a Le 4.5 million scholarship package.
5. SLAJ converges in Kenema
23 Mar 2011
Within the next few days, nearly 500 members of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) will converge in Kenema bringing together all stakeholders of SLAJ and the out going executive of Umaru Fofanah.
6. Health Issue: How can HIV transmission be prevented?
23 Mar 2011
HIV can be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, labour and delivery, and later through breastfeeding.
7. 17 health workers certified
23 Mar 2011
Port Loko District Medical Officer, Dr. Matt Lebbie, last Friday distributed Certificates and drugs to seventeen health workers after undergoing a ten-day successful training on basic course in eye disease at the Baptist eye Hospital Lunsar.
8. ‘No lantern parade on Independent eve’
23 Mar 2011
There will be no lantern parade on the eve of the golden jubilee celebrations according to Alhaji Unisa Alim Sesay also known as ‘Awoko’ Chairman cultural Committee for the country’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations.
9. Commentary: Why low voter turnout?
23 Mar 2011
The preparation leading to the 2007 general and presidential election included the registration of voters that occurred much earlier in 2007 or late 2006.
10. Last word: When you over pamper a child, don't be surprised if he beats you up.
23 Mar 2011
Pa Roke Soth Kamara reclined in his hammock, puffing his pipe, when a crowd of neighbors invaded his house, protesting that Bockarie, the only son of Pa Roke Soth Kamara had dropped a dead dog in the village water well and that they wanted Pa Soth Kamara to take firm discipline measures to correct his wayward boy.
11. Dr. Sylvia Blyden & President Ernest Koroma’s Generosity
23 Mar 2011
My appointment as a government officer might be serving as a check-point to my responses on several misleading articles. But however caged I might be, I feel obliged at once to respond to a recent article by Dr. Sylvia Blyden headlined, “Sierra Leone’s Presidential Imprests and Per Diems: Educating the Griot of the President”.
12. Sylvia Blyden & The President’s Generosity - A Rejoinder
23 Mar 2011
Chernor Ojuku-Sesay, indeed I am a practitioner of the Temne proverb, which says, "Give a thousand chances to your enemy to become your friend, but don’t give a single chance to your friend to become your enemy".
13. Action Government
28 Oct 2010
President Ernest Bai Koroma in addressing a mammoth crowd past Friday, 24th October, 2010 in Kailahun said emphatically that his governemnt was a government of action, supervision and achievment.
14. Commentary: Farmer education needed.
28 Oct 2010
Many farmers in Sierra Leone today who are struggling to harvest large quantities of rice crop in their expansive rice farms wish that they could lay hands on the combine harvesters to speedup the harvesting of their rice fields.
15. More Facilities For This Year’s Hajj.
28 Oct 2010
The Saudi Red Crescent Authority is preparing to launch the first air-ambulance service for this year’s Hajj season with five aircraft to carry sick or injured people to hospitals, said a report quoting the Director of Information in the Red Crescent Authority.
16. ‘I did not dodge’– Foreign Minister Clarifies
28 Oct 2010
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Haja Zainab Hawa Bangura, did not dodge past Thursday’s weekly press briefing hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communication as claimed by certain sections of the press.
17. Police deprives NRA of revenue.
28 Oct 2010
Liberians doing business in Sierra Leone have accused the police deployed in Kambia, Port Loko, Bo and Gendema checkpoints of unnecessary harassment and extortion, a sad development that has resulted to them using illegal routes to Liberia.
18. ‘There is enough food to eat’- Hon. Turay Asserts
28 Oct 2010
Member of Parliament for Constituency 112, Western Area Urban, Hon. Salamatu Turay (APC), has reaffirmed that there is enough locally produced food in the country to eat and mentioned, among others, cassava, which can be eaten in various forms, sweet potatoes, yam, couscous and maize.
19. Movement of Faith School Cries for Help
28 Oct 2010
Movement of Faith Islamic Secondary School, Bamoi Luma, Magbema Chiefdom, Kambia District was established on 1st September 2006 to propagate and train pupils in the way of Islam that would lead them to be God fearing.
20. Last Word: A son can be more intelligent than his father.
28 Oct 2010
The farewell party organized by the Sammy Town Descendants Union to celebrate the departure of Samson Ojukutu Mason to the United Kingdom lasted until four o’clock in the morning. Before the guests departed, the village headman, Pa Andrew Coleson, stood up and made a brief speech as part of the closing ceremony of the part.
21. Trip to Tripoli
6 Sep 2010
After a two day visit to Libya, the Minister of Information and Communication, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo has told the New Citizen that President Ernest Bai Koroma’s visit to Libya was a great success. He underscored that the success of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s visit to Libya can be found in the successful bilateral ties between Sierra Leone and Libya centered around agricultural development and telecommunications.
22. President Koroma commissions new AML train
6 Sep 2010
Sierra Leone made history past Friday when President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma commissioned the newly arrived railway locomotive train engine to be used for the hauling of iron ore by African Minerals Limited at a ceremony held at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay.
23. Ministers unveil hospital service charter.
6 Sep 2010
The Ministers of Defense and Deputy Health and Sanitation, retired Major Alfred Paolo Conteh and Mohamed Daudis Koroma on Thursday 2nd September 2010 simultaneously unveiled the Anti-Corruption Commission Service Delivery Charter for the administration of the 34 Military Hospital and Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH).
24. Africell Intensify ‘Ifthar’ With Muslims
6 Sep 2010
Past Friday, Africell had ‘Ifthar’ (fast-breaking) with Muslims in the east end of Freetown when the company donated food and non-food items to the Freetown Central, Al-Ghadafi Mosque, Rokupar.
25. Why do we need to talk about reproductive health.
6 Sep 2010
Reproductive age of ‘humans’ influence one’s attitude, values and behavior, and society in general. Societal change caused by industrialization and urbanization has led to the loosening of family ties, leaving many people unable to rely on intergenerational relationship for information about responsible sexual behavior relationship.
26. Splash Expands Call Center Hours
6 Sep 2010
The only mobile money transfer service in the country, Splash, on 26th August 2010, announced the expansion of its call center to seven days a week. Splash Managing Director, Michael Foley, disclosed that the growth of the company’s registered customer base in addition to new merchant and payroll services continue to increase demand for service, the reason why the company thought it prudent to keep the call center open seven days a week noting, “Splash now has almost 50,000 registered users in Sierra Leone and more than 110 retail agencies, making Splash the financial institution with the largest geographical footprint in Sierra Leone.”
27. Lebanese Community Disowns Nasser Ayoub.
6 Sep 2010
President of the Lebanese Community in Sierra Leone, Samirr Hassanyeh, said in Freetown past Friday that Nasser Ayoub is not a Lebanese but Palestine national and that his recent campaign to become a naturalized Sierra Leonean citizen has nothing to do with the Lebanese community.
28. UNFPA Trains TBAs on GBV.
6 Sep 2010
To reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in the country aimed at attaining the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, over one hundred and fifty Traditional Births Attendants (TBAs) from fifteen chiefdoms in the Bo District have benefited from a four-day capacity building and awareness raising workshop on Gender Based Violence (GBV) at the Sahara Hotel, Bo.
29. The last word: In Africa, a successful politician is the one who changes sides with great frequency.
6 Sep 2010
It was steaming hot day in Robailo as the crowd of people lined up the route of the main street in the township in readiness to welcome the newly elected Prime Minister, Sir Robert Alieu Musa.
30. Parliament credits 3
23 Aug 2010
Members of Parliament on Thursday 19th August 2010 unanimously approved John Sahr Francis Yambasu as the new Ambassador to Russia replacing Dr. Salieu Turay while Oumar Farouk Sesay was approved as Chairman of the National Youth Commission (NYC) and Rev. Michael Samura, member of the Board of Trustees of the same Commission representing the Western Region.


News in brief.
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Drivers & Bike Riders form union

A one-day consultative and planning meeting between the Sierra Leone Drivers Union and Bike Riders/Owners Association in Lungi has ended at the Masoila Community Centre, Lungi. The objective of the meeting was to resolve differences between the two factions as the latter creates employment for youths in the community. Sierra Leone Drivers Union Chairman, Foday Rashid Kamara, enlightened that the Bike Riders Association is an arm of the Drivers Union and that after consultations between the two parties, it was unanimously agreed that a management committee be setup to administer the affairs of both unions until elections are held and expressed appreciation to the Drivers Union executive for bringing the two Unions together. Secretary of the Drivers Association, Lungi Branch, Osman S. Kamara cautioned his colleagues to be very careful when electing officials to key positions as only members with integrity should be voted into office.