FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: The irony could not be more obvious as two weeks after delivering a tediously long sermon on attitudinal change at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and after a large and expensive attitudinal change banquet at State House, Hon. Alpha Kanu has apparently been caught telling lies about his government's ban on opposition radio broadcasts on Unity Radio 94.9 FM. Radio france Internationale staff are NOT AWARE OF ANY TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AT RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONAL and the relay FM station in Sierra Leone RFI 89.9FM has continued broadcasting uninterrupted. This proves categorically that Hon. Alpha Kanu is telling lies in order to justify his APC government's illegal ban on Unity Radio 94.9FM. READ MORE

FREETOWN: ABU KOROMA: Recent heated exchanges between the Deputy Minister of Information, Mohamed Daudis Koroma, and opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) leaders highlighted his very stiff antipathy to the existence of the Unity Radio FM94.9. That angry stance took a new dimension last night at the residence of a senior APC official (who is currently out of the country). Mohamed Daudis Koroma, held, what he terms a "security meeting" with members of the APC's Security and Task Force team. A participant at the meeting, who is well-known former SLA soldier and who later fought in a sqaud commanded by Idrissa Kamara (Leatherboot), revealed details of the meetings to the New People correspondent, under the impression that Abu Koroma is a staunch sympathiser with the APC because he had served as an official in the Johnny paul junta between May 1997 and January 1998. The Task Force member revealed a macabre plan, well detailed, and well justified - a plan so well laid out that the deputy minister had already anticipated handling the public and international outcry from this action.READ MORE

CHARLES MARGAI TELLS SUPPORTERS: "APC Government Nor Able".

5.12.2008

SLPP Official Letter of Complaint to the Independent Media Commission.

5.12.2008

IF THIS IS NOT COMEDY then We Are Ignorant.

5.12.2008

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: The Head of the Independent Media Commission has confirmed on national radio that SLPP's Unity Radio 94.9 FM is properly registered, installed, and licensed to operate in Sierra Leone in accordance with all laws and regulations of Sierra Leone. This announcement puts a serious credibility dent in the official APC government explanation for banning broadcasts from Unity Radio. The IMC head also urged the government to reverse its decision in order to maintain the democratic gains of freedom of speech that Sierra Leoneans have enjoyed now since 1996 READ MORE.

FOR RADIO BAN, British Foreign Secretary Informed by SLPP UK/Ireland.

5.11.2008

COUNTRY Director for Journalists for Human Rights Justifies Closure of Opposition Radio Station and Stays Quiet on Serial Human Rights Abuses.

5.11.2008

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: Reports reaching The New People indicate that the APC government's electrification plans may be in trouble. Mr. O. Matthew Edevbie, the CEO of one of the Independent Power Providers (IPPs), Income Electrix, is an unhappy man. Sources indicate that the government had requested his Income Electrix company to bring in an additional 15MWs of generating capacity for the Wellington site. Income Electrix is said to have brought the additional generating plants which are at the moment housed in containers at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay in Freetown. However, the APC government has now changed its mind because it cannot even afford to pay for the existing generating capacity. Income Electrix is now faced with the possibility of having to re-ship its generating plants to NigeriaREAD MORE

FREETOWN: STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE SIERRA LEONE PEOPLES PARTY ON RADIO BROADCAST BAN.

SIERRA LEONE PEOPLE'S PARTY

The Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) wishes to draw the attention of the public to an attempt by the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) government to muzzle freedom of expression and debate in our country.READ MORE

APC GOVERNMENT THUGGERY, LIES, AND BANS: The Continuing Saga of Unity Radio FM 94.9.

5.10.2008

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: The New People reporters have been busy ferreting out information about the shut down last night of the SLPP Radio Station, Unity Radio 94.9 FM. It has been confirmed now that the order to shut down the radio station came officially from the Ministry of Information. But sources close to the Minister of Information, Alhaji IB Kargbo, argued that the man believes in the fundamental principle of free expression, and he has lived his life by that principle. Asked whether that meant that he would not give such an order, the source refused to further comment on the issue. Alhaji Kargbo himself was unavailable for comments.READ MORE

FREETOWN: PRINCE MANNAH-LUSENI: The embattled Minister of Energy and Power Haja Afsatu Kabba has ordered the closure of the office of the World Bank Energy Sector Coordinator, Mr. Mustapha Kargbo, our sources reveal.

Afsatu Kabba is said to be unhappy with the expert’s role in the Independent Power Providers (IPP) contract the government. She is alleging that Mr. Kargbo has been the factor behind World Bank’s skepticism over the IPP contract with Income Electrix in particular. In fact, the Minister is reportedly saying that Mr. Kargbo has been leaking information about the contract to the local press which attracted the attention of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) which has mounted a full scale investigation into the entire deal. This has made Haja Afsatu Kabba very unhappy and she is still struggling to explain the IPP contract to the Anti-corruption Commission amidst accusations of a cover up.READ MORE

FREETOWN: PRINCE MANNAH-LUSENI: Our Freetown sources have discovered another dent in the credibility of the nominees of the president for diplomatic assignments. The sources say that one of Pres. Ernest Bai Koroma’s nominees for the post of Press Attaché to the United Kingdom, Chernor Ojuku Sesay, has been denied a visa by the British High Commission. It is understood that Chernor Sesay was rejected a visa because of discrepancies in his bio-data which has Sesay as PRO of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) had applied for a UK visa when the national team Leone Stars was to travel to England for friendly fixture with one of the teams in the lower tier of English football, Leyton Orient, last year. He was denied a visa for some inexplicable reasons by the Brititsh High Commission(BHC)READ MORE

FREETOWN: DR SAMA BANYA: The general outcry among the people of Sierra leone today, especially among President Ernest Bai Koroma's supporters who helped to get him into State House either by "immatt" "celtel" Christiana Thorpe, is that the hardship is getting worse by the day, if not by the hour.

As I said before and as I will continue to say until I see signs that the goverrnment is getting to grips with its current dilema, all we hear is that the APC government is well aware of the economic hardshipis facing the people and is taking steps to address them. And all the time the people cry aloud that this was not what they voted for. READ MORE

FREETOWN: MUSA KABIA: Koidu Holdings Limited the only Kimberlite company in the country whose operations were suspended in December last year has been forced to terminate the services of three hundred and forty nine (349) more workers.

According to reports, letters of termination of contracts have already been prepared to layoff 349 workers to reduce financial burden on the company whose operations were suspended five months ago.
The Public Relations Officer of Koidu Holdings, Ibrahim Sorie confirmed the would-be sackings last night when New Vision contacted him.READ MORE

FREETOWN: PRINCE MANNAH-LUSENI: One of the vices the All People’s Congress (APC) is notorious for is deceit. Unfortunately, Sierra Leoneans have a thin memory and had forgotten too soon the deceptive nature of the APC as displayed during their 23 years (mis) rule prior to the April 29 th 1992 coup which forced them to take to the tall grass in shame and ignominy. The same if not worse deception has been adopted by the current APC which carries a misnomer of ‘new’ APC.

During the campaign period there were several banners strewn all over the place depicting Ernest Bai Koroma and two school pupils emblazoned with the words “WALK WITH ME TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE”.READ MORE

WEST AFRICA MEDIA FOUNDATION: PRESS RELEASE: The Press Secretary to State House, Sheka Tarawally, on May 6, 2008, threatened New Vision, an independent Freetown-based newspaper, with legal action if the paper failed to retract three articles it published accusing President Ernest Bai Koroma of being wasteful.

FREETOWN: DR. SAMA BANYA - PUAWUI: This evening, Unity radio, the official voice of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) went off the air. On making inquiries, I learnt that this was on the orders of the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mr. I B Kargbo. We have yet to receive official confirmation of this information from the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service, (SLBS) and of the Minister's reason.

It has to be remembered that the then opposition APC party's radio had been operating from Leiceater Peak long before the 2007 Parliamentary and Presidential elections without let or hindrance. Even when some of the station's broadcasts tended towards incitement, the government of President Tejan Kabbah did not allow anyone to interfere with its operations READ MORE

MARYLAND: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Editor,
I commend your newspaper for exposing Alieu Iscandari's willful exploitation of a grieving woman in Arizona. You have justified that you are really serious about stopping corruption and I hope other Sierra Leonean newspapers will emulate your good examples.
Alieu is one of the people who enjoy pointing wrong fingers at men/women with good character only because he has a personal hatred for them, or if those people act in a way he perceives is wrong. It is very appropriate that his actions have been brought out so that the public will see that he is a lawyer who is not committed towards acting in accordance with the ethics of his profession.READ MORE

ARIZONA: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: All of The New People's stories are well sourced although we deliberately refuse to publish the names of sources and our evidence both because of confidentiality and security concerns and because the All Peoples Congress (APC) has a very violent and repressive history that they have demonstrated in the spate of violent arson attacks by their militia of violent thugs (called APC Task Force) on opposition members and their offices. So Mr. Alieu Iscandari's threat of legal action and the usual defensive nonsense that The New People's stories are unsourced has forced us to deviate from our editorial policy and publish some of the extensive amounts of evidence in our possession regarding this alleged scam. For Mr. Iscandari's professional and other reputation, we are hopeful that he will prevail on his partner to pay Kadiatu Kamara's compensation or we may continue to publish an item of evidence a day of his alleged role in the scam. READ MORE

ARIZONA: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE - DALE LEZON. dale.lezon@chron.com

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: In several interviews with world media since his accession to power, President Ernest Bai Koroma has had just one bragging point: "I have supplied 24 hours of electricity to the capital city in less than 90 days in office." Recently, the APC spin boxes and machines have seemingly gone as mute and as quiet as the President himself about the "24hrs electricity" bragging point. Yesterday, the All Peoples Congress (APC) attempted to put a fine face on this failed and largely expensive promise. They announced formally that they were rationing electricity with large parts of Freetown slated to be thrown into perpetual darkness for 3 days at a time. Most Sierra Leoneans are now asking in the midst this pervasive hunger, unemployment, filth, hardship, and now darkness and hopelessness whether this is the paradise that Ernest Koroma and his APC promised? READ MORE

FREETOWN: ABDULAI SAMURA: About nine months ago, Ernest Koroma and his APC cohorts promised heaven on earth in Sierra Leone if he won the election. He condemned all the policies of the SLPP as nothing to write home about. He told the Sierra Leone electorate that he has what it takes to govern a country. It is becoming clear that the government of Ernest Koroma will end up being the most incompetent in the history of Sierra Leone. Yes more incompetent than J. S. Momoh’s. The extreme hardship in the country is set to expose the policy nakedness of Ernest Koroma’s government. It is my contention that Ernest Koroma is fully responsible and should be rightly blamed for the hardship he has brought upon the people of Sierra Leone through his lack of policy direction READ MORE

FREETOWN: RACHEL HORNER: In responding to the current price hike of fuel and essential commodities, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning yesterday revealed that the increment was a blessing in disguise as it creates awareness among the people. "We have neglected our traditional farming and other means of sustaining ourselves. The current price hike in commodities should signal to the people that we need to work hard to sustain ourselves as a nation instead of depending on other countries," David Carew said.READ MORE

"EAT DI REHS EN VOTE YU VOTE:" Outrage as Citizens Learn of APC Ploy to Import Rice for Local Government Votes.

5.06.2008

FREETOWN: PRINCE MANAH LUSENI: Our impeccable State House sources have revealed that President Ernest Bai Koroma has spent a whooping $1, 02 0,600 (one million, twenty thousand and six hundred dollars) on foreign trips to African countries only since he came to power almost eight months ago.

The usually reliable State House sources who have been monitoring the President’s foreign trips said that since Ernest Bai Koroma came to office in September 2007, he has made a total of nine trips to African countries including Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Libya, Senegal, Gambia to name but a few, but returned with very little. READ MORE

FOR ACCEPTING PUBLICLY That SLPP Left a Good Foundation, Alpha Kanu Takes President Ernest Koroma to Task.

5.06.2008

ERNESTO THE LIBERATOR: Taking Us Into the Future.

5.06.2008

NEW PEOPLE INVESTIGATIVE TEAM, USA: The National Organization of Sierra Leoneans in North America (NOSLINA) has finally shown its true colors that its leadership is merely a front organization for APC. A couple of weeks ago, we exposed the biased way their awards were given. It has become clear that NOSLINA has been trying all along to appease APC with the possible hope of some of the executive members getting positions in the already failing APC government. In their verbose attempt to do damage control through a sorry excuse for a press release, NOSLINA executive members did not only raise many more questions, but they actually vindicated New People. NOSLINA admitted that they continued to call elections for the awards until they had the desired outcome, which is, giving two APC operatives, Yaya Fanusi and the so called Rev Kabs-Kanu awards. It should be noted that NOSLINA has never done that and this was done specifically to appease APCREAD MORE

SYNDICATED - TIMES, UK - THE CRAIG BELLAMY FOUNDATION WILL BE LAUNCHED TODAY: Sometimes perceptions can be wide of the mark, in which case we should be reappraising Craig Bellamy. The Wales and West Ham United forward is announcing plans today to bring a football structure, an education structure and millions of pounds of investment into Sierra Leone, the war-ravaged West African nation.READ MORE

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: The explanation from the Presidential press secretary was as shallow as ever and as sparse on detail as is his wont. Sheka Tarawallie, in his rush to powder up this odious and unethical act that has cost the state of Sierra Leone more than one billion Leones at a time when the majority of Sierra Leoneans are suffering extreme hardship, is as unacceptable as the deed itself. In his serial and perfunctory presidential press release, he notes that "the catering contract for the Independence Day celebrations awarded to Paladio Restaurant cost READ MORE

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: The National Election Rigging ‘Kommission’ hereby registers its apologies for the delay in the release of the results for the 447 polling stations that were invalidated in the September 2007 Presidential elections. Owing to the persistent writings by the local newspapers and the opposition SLPP for the release of these results, and after several attempts by ouR election rigging experts, Messers Sharva and Carlos to Doctor the data at the tally centre, it is our pleasure to now make the results public. READ MORE

THINK TANK FREETOWN: Free Indeed as APC Ruled Freetown is as Filthy and Congested as Never.

5.03.2008

SIERRA LEONEAN WOMAN to Suffer Double as Lawyers Stall to Pay Her Settlement.

5.03.2008

A Lonely Figure in a Northern-dominated APC Leadership Structure: Is Vice President Sam Sumana's Authority and Stature Being Undermined?

5.03.2008