New People Editorial Team

After recent trips to Sierra Leone, Fatmata Conteh felt compelled to assist in the development of the post war country particularly in the rural areas. There are so many problems that the country is tackling with. Remnants of the war are still visible, lack of adequate healthcare, poor infrastructure; many children are not in school because of simply not being able to afford school fees and the increased poverty.

When she returned back to the US, Ms. Conteh wanted to start an organization to help empower the underprivileged in need. She joined forces with a friend, Mr. Beresford Coker who also shared the same passion as she did and formed an organization called MEAGAINSTPOVERTY. It was started last February and their mission is to use education and microfinance as a platform to help alleviate the poverty in Sierra Leone.

ELECT KADI SESAY TEAM

PRESS RELEASE

RESPONSE TO INNUENDOS DIRECTED AT THE KADI SESAY CAMPAIGN IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN PUBLICATIONS 　　　　　　

Issued July 19, 2010

Over the past ten days the Elect Kadi Sesay Campaign Team has closely followed publications on the internet and in local tabloids regarding an SLPP delegate opinion poll emanating from a controversial source. Particularly, our team woke up to the statement that ... "certain candidates for the SLPP flag–bearer position are getting desperate and have started engaging in unsavory tactics to raise their visibility". The July 14, 2010 edition of Awareness Times newspaper was categorical that "unscrupulous supporters of Kadi Sesay" were the source of the suspect delegate opinion poll.

By Dennis Deen-Sie

With inquest into the deaths/murders of former APCers (Bambay Kamara & Co.) as its latest development policy (coming to think of it, apart from selling off the country's resources to foreigners - some with dubious reputations - for pennies, while making millions of dollars for themselves in kickbacks, the APC geniuses back home cannot be accused of having any other policies at all!) that will lift Salone out of the chronic underdevelopment, economic retardation, nepotism, entrenched corruption, etc. quicksand in which it is firmly anchored, our self-appointed defenders of the rule of law and justice and opponents of impunity (APC and the rule of law, justice and impunity = oxymoron!) in the so-called new APC government and their supporters should go a step further. That is, establish an inquest/a commission to investigate the deaths/murders of Taqi & Co., as well as dozens of other Sierra Leoneans the old APC of Siaka Stevens and Momoh Tumba sent to the gallows or, like the late Sam Bangura and other less known, had murdered in cold blood!

PUAWUI….DR. SAMA BANYA

Some soldiers who fight in some of the world’s very terrible wars suffer from a kind of mental stress after they have been discharged from the army. Many such cases have been reported among United States and United Kingdom servicemen who served in Iraq or in Afghanistan and have remained a cause of concern with the top army brass but especially with the men and women themselves as well as with their families. I am not sure what the treatment is or whether there is now a cure for the condition. Whether it is due to personal experience, or some of the ugly scenes that the affected servicemen see is not quite clear and doctors are still trying to understand it.

PUAWUI…DR. SAMA BANYA

The blame game appears to be a hall mark of this regime; nobody is prepared to come forward or own up when things go wrong, no matter how serious the matter may be. It was either someone else’s fault, or “it was Puawui who told me to do this,” only for Puawui to respond with, “it was Dr. Banya who gave the instructions and so forth.” In my days as a minister I often reminded those with whom I worked that while I respected their views which I never hesitated to seek, the ultimate decision rested with me. Therefore, I followed up, “if I give a verbal directive with which somebody has some concern, they should protect themselves by writing back with something like, ‘Minister, at the conclusion of our discussion, you directed that “A” must take precedence over “C”; I simply want to make sure that I understood your directive.”