Vol 57 No 7 | SIERRA LEONE Reshuffle and a long goodbye 22nd March 2016 A raft of new cabinet appointments has reignited suspicion that President Koroma may be planning to stay on beyond the end of his second term President Ernest Bai Koroma named 13 new ministers and deputy ministers, some of them his most devoted and hardline supporters, on 14 March in Freetown. One Freetown daily dubbed t...
Vol 57 No 4 | SIERRA LEONE The political toll of Ebola 19th February 2016 Unused ambulances parked in the open in the midst of the outbreak are just one image of horror emerging in a new report Standing prominently in front of the maternity ward of Kenema Government Hospital is a newly erected plaque bearing the names of 36 health workers who perished combating the recent...
Vol 57 No 4 | SIERRA LEONE Stuck at the airport 19th February 2016 President Ernest Bai Koroma is planning to take out a massive Chinese loan to build an airport despite promising the International Monetary Fund he would not, we hear. Africa Confi...
Vol 56 No 24 | SIERRA LEONE Stalemate over Koidu diamonds as economy sinks 4th December 2015 After inconclusive talks in London, the government is at odds with the mine- owners and their bankers as it tries to keep the operation alive Britain's Standard Chartered Bank is caught in the middle of an increasingly bitter feud between the Sierra Leone government and the heavily-indebted Octéa Limited, owner of... READ FOR FREE
Vol 56 No 24 | SIERRA LEONE Chinese inherit law suit 4th December 2015 While villagers sue a major mine over human rights abuses, all the country’s iron ore mines remain out of action Bankrupt iron-ore mining company African Minerals Limited is being sued for millions of dollars by 142 Sierra Leonean villagers in the High Court in London claiming human rights ab...
Vol 56 No 23 | SIERRA LEONE Unclear for take-off 20th November 2015 President Ernest Bai Koroma's government informed the International Monetary Fund it had abandoned his flagship project, the Mamamah international airport, during its team visit in...
Vol 56 No 23 | SIERRA LEONE Koidu's future in the balance 16th November 2015 The country's biggest diamond mine could close as its indebted owner struggles with the government to keep its licence A ten-strong team led by Mines Minister Minkailu Mansaray is in London for crisis talks set for 16 November, on the future of the Koidu diamond mine, which is currently owned by Oc...
Vol 56 No 19 | SIERRA LEONE Court rescues Koroma 24th September 2015 Five months after being asked to rule on the President’s summary sacking of his Vice-President, judges have dismayed many by endorsing it In a decision mourned in Freetown's legal and political circles alike, the Supreme Court has ruled that President Ernest Bai Koroma did indeed have the power to sack his deputy, Vi...
Vol 56 No 13 | SIERRA LEONE The discord lingers on 26th June 2015 The constitutional crisis over the vice-presidency drags on while an unwelcome spotlight falls on the President’s affairs A full explanation of why Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana was summarily removed from office in March has just emerged. President Ernest Bai Koroma feared he was building support f... READ FOR FREE
Vol 56 No 13 | SIERRA LEONE 'Lack of focus' on Ebola 26th June 2015 New cases of Ebola are still turning up in Port Loko and Kambia districts, over a month after the World Health Organisation declared neighbouring Liberia Ebola-free. A lack of gove...
