Day: August 12, 2022

As part of its institutional approach to preventing incidences of corruption in public sector institutions, the Kono Regional Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has engaged the management and staff of the Sefadu Correctional Center (SCC) in Kono, on various issues of corruption. 

Speaking at the meeting held at the Office of the Officer in Charge on Tuesday 2nd August 2022, the Regional Manager, ACC Kono Office, Hawanatu Omotayo Kamara said the meeting was intended to inform and engage staff of the SCC on various corruption issues in order for them to inculcate ethical values in the discharge of their duties. 

In her presentation to the SCC staff on key corruption related offences, the ACC Regional Manager made a simplified explanation of offences in the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 (as amended in 2019) such as; offering, soliciting and accepting advantage contrary to Section 28, soliciting an advantage for a public officer contrary to Section 35, misappropriation of public funds and property contrary to Section 36, abuse of office contrary to Section 42, abuse of position contrary to Section 43, influencing a public officer contrary to Section 30, protection of public property and revenue contrary to Section 48 and receiving gift for a corrupt purpose contrary to Section 47.

She also pointed out that ACC operations are informed by the type of reports and intelligence received from all walks of life. The ACC Regional boss used the occasion to encourage staff to be mindful of the anti-corruption laws and their interaction with the public when performing their official duties. 

Manager Kamara informed them that the 2019 Amendment Act of the ACC has empowered ACC to cancel all contracts deemed not to be in the interest of the public or a section thereof, strengthened the asset declaration regime, introduced trial in absentia, legalized the out-of-court settlement, criminalized examination malpractices and increased the punishment for offences from Thirty Thousand New Leones (Thirty Million Leones in the old currency) or three years imprisonment to Fifty Thousand New Leones (Fifty Million Leones in the old currency) or five years imprisonment. On this note, she encouraged them to maintain best practices and inculcate ethics and anti-corruption measures in the discharge of their duties. 

She commended the SCC for their continued support in the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy adding that SCC is the only Government institution that sent a report of its IMC meeting to the Commission in the region.

In his welcome remarks, the Officer in Charge of the Correctional Centre, Abu Bakarr Kabba thanked the ACC Team for their patience to engage and sensitize staff on various matters of corruption which he said, will guide their operations and enhance collaboration. He expressed commitment to providing an enabling environment and a conducive atmosphere for staff and inmates. 

Public Education Officer, Hawa Deen Conteh who spoke on ethics in the workplace stated that ethics as a key component of integrity controls the conduct, attitude and behavior of public officers to be professional in the line of duty. In terms of internalizing the fight, she said Integrity Management Committees (IMC) provide a road map to the fight against corruption in Government institutions especially service delivery institutions adding that, a functional and operational IMC will ensure strong internal controls to address corruption vulnerabilities in MDAs.

She also highlighted various methods of reporting corruption to ACC and mentioned that whistle blowers are the most important assets in the fight against corruption. She encouraged them to maintain high ethical standards in their daily operations. 

Questions and answers session together with presentation of ACC’s information, education and communication materials climaxed the occasion.

© Public Relations Unit, ACC

Copyright © Heroes Media Newspaper

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, Dr. Turad Senesie has assured all fully paid-up buyers for the plots of State Land for Sale at the John Obey Community that the Government of Sierra Leone will ensure their safety and peace of mind.

He made this statement while taking the purchasers and/or their representatives on an official tour of the various plots of land for identification and allocation on Tuesday August 2 2022 at the John Obey Community. 

At the site, the State Land customers were excited over the outlook of the landscape and the smooth acquisition process thus far.

Dr. Turad Senesie defined the scenery as a representation of the National Flag – Green, White and Blue.

“The forested mountains in the community represent the green; the natural waterfall represents the white, while the beaches represent the blue,” he affirmed.       

According to the Minister, the government is creating the enabling environment for its citizens to access land and establish a micro-city in that part of the country.

“Revenue generated from the sale of land would be used to provide social services including the construction of roads, schools and hospitals for its citizens,” Dr. Senesie disclosed.

He used the forum as an opportunity to announce the provision of an additional 150 Plots (One Hundred and Fifty Plots) of State Land in John Obey for Sale again to the general public.

The Cost Price for Two Town Lots of Residential Plots remains Le150, 000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Old Leones), which is the equivalent of Le150, 000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand New Leones). And the Four Town Lots of Commercial Plots is Le 600, 000,000 (Six Hundred Million Old Leones), which is the equivalent of Le600, 000 (Six Hundred Thousand New Leones).

The Application Form Portal has been reopened and can be accessed on the website of the Ministry – http://www.molhcp.gov.sl.

Following the submission of the online application, customers can proceed to make payment at the State Land Sales Treasury Account at the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank with the following account details.

ACCOUNT NUMBER:  0110117911

BBAN NUMBER: 003001101179112119

SWIFT CODE: SLCBSLFR

Minister Senesie said the new land sale model is part of the government’s agenda to equitably distribute land to its citizens, while also citing the land raffle model as another.

The Minister announced to the public that the government is engaging the private sector to undertake various development projects in the community including the construction of hospital, ultra-modern shopping mall, school and several other basic amenities.  

Dr. Senesie assured the customers that their documents for the land would be handed over to them within the next two weeks, while authorizing the paid up customers to commence work on their plots within the ambit of the law.

©️ Media and Public Relations Office, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning

Copyright © Heroes Media Newspaper

Stakeholders call for public awareness and evidenced based advocacy around the Sierra Leone’s cyber law

The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) on Thursday 4th August 2022 held a 2nd Stakeholders Consultation Workshop on the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021 to continue the discussion around the law under a project titled ‘Cyber Safe Sierra Leone. The first workshop was held on 8th February 2022.

The essence of the engagements, which brought stakeholders from various sectors, including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and MDAs at the Harry Yansaneh Memorial Hall, SLAJ Headquarters, 56 Campbell Street, was to look at the Cyber security law again and identify gaps and sections that could be open to abuse of the right to freedom of expression and to develop strategies for awareness raising targeting constituent members. Thursday’s meeting was to follow up on the recommendations made at the first workshop and develop advocacy strategies around them.

In his opening remarks and update on the project, SLAJ President Ahmed Sahid Nasralla recalled the first stakeholders’ engagement workshop and the training of journalists across the country on cyber law. He read out the many recommendations made at the first workshop and urged stakeholders to come up with ideas and suggestions for implementation.

“There are two aspects to what we trying to do with this project. First, the law is the law and so we want to promote public awareness about the law so that people understand key provisions to help them avoid coming in conflict with the law. The second, is to build advocacy around certain provisions in the law that have the potential to undermine fundamental human rights such as free expression, online freedoms, and data privacy rights,” said Nasralla.

He called on all professionals engaged in the art of expression- from journalists, bloggers, musicians, actors, artists, writers, poets, etc. to be aware of the law and abide by it.

The facilitator of the workshop, Dr. Francis Sowa, gave a brief recap of issues discussed and recommendations made during the first stakeholders consultative meeting and noted that SLAJ was not in any way saying that cyberspace should not be regulated since the same crimes that exist in the physical space also exist in the cyberspace. 

“SLAJ and the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) were actively involved in consultations following the enactment of the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021. Parliament accepted some of our recommendations and some were not accepted. Now, we want to raise awareness about the law and remind the government about setting up the necessary structures provided for in the Act. And that we should do through advocacy,” said Dr. Sowa, and caution that if you create the law and don’t put the necessary structures in place, it will be left with the police and the judiciary to interpret and implement the law as they see fit.

Dr. Sowa cited the Copyrights Act 2011 as an example of a law that has been passed but has no established body to implement it. 

He went further to draw the attention of all stakeholders present to key areas in the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2018, which include: Part 1 which focuses on structure and infrastructure, Section 44- which is concerned with cyberbullying and stalking, section 33-38 unauthorized use of a device and the Data Protection law and 44(3) which concerns Public Interest, even when no law defines what public interest is, not even the Interpretation Act.

Dr. Sowa mentioned the National Cyber Security Advisory Council which has the Vice President and other government officials on the board noting that SLAJ had recommended for representatives from the media and civil society to be included.

Meanwhile, he cautioned participants to be mindful of the fact that the law still exists, and until it is amended it remains the law. “This is why a forum for educating people about the law is necessary so that they do not fall short,” he said.

Sahr Kendema from Campaign for Good Governance called on stakeholders to ensure the advocacy of the law is evidence-based. He recommended mapping out a clear direction of what the advocacy is calling for and why, whilst ensuring it targets certain groups and has specific messages.

“Our key messages must target specific groups, we must ensure we embark on evidence-based advocacy, whilst targeting specific groups with specific messages. We must also ensure we simplify the law so everyone understands it,” Kendema said.

The representative from the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM), Lamin Lahai, encouraged SLAJ and its partners to bring all parties together to ensure the advocacy is inclusive. On the part of NATCOM, he revealed that the establishment of structures in line with the Cyberlawis ongoing.

The Deputy Director General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), Alimamy Lahai Kamara, spoke about his institution’s concern about one of the country’s critical national information infrastructures at Leicester Peak. He said that the advocacy must call for that place (Leicester Peak), and other areas where critical information infrastructure, is to be protected.

“It is a security risk allowing people to freely hang out at Leister Peak. It can affect all of us if anything happens to that critical national information infrastructure. We must engage the government, consult with them and urge them to establish the necessary bodies to implement the cyber law,” Kamara said.

The Cyber Safe Sierra Leone Project, which is implemented by SLAJ with support from Internews SL, aims at supporting and defending rights online and free expression in Sierra Leone, while simultaneously bolstering digital literacy and improving the adoption of safe cyber security practices among Internet users in the country.

The next activity under the project, according to the SLAJ President, is engagement with bloggers to help them also understand the law and contribute to advocacy.

Copyright © Heroes Media Newspaper

The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) has commenced a 2-day Regional Stakeholders’ engagement for Political Parties, Religious and Traditional Leaders, CSOs, Human Rights and other Interest groups in Port Loko City.

The Port Loko engagement is chaired by the Electoral Commissioner for the Northern Region, Mr Abubakrr M. Koroma.

The objective of the engagements is to update the abovestakeholders on the following:

1. Update on the ECSL Strategic Plan 2020-2024

2. Elections Observation Mission (EOM) Recommendations and the Electoral Legal Reforms leading to the enactment of the Public Elections Act 2022

3. Electoral Timeline and Preparedness for the conduct of the 2023 presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government elections 

4. Delimitation of Constituency and Ward Boundaries  

5.  Voters Registration and Education Strategies 

6. Stakeholders Engagement and Accreditation

Copyright © Heroes Media Newspaper