Express News 6-14-10

Parliament Enacts Weights and Measurement Law

Parliament of Sierra Leone on Thursday June 10 enacted the Weights and Measurement Act of 2009 after few amendments. The long awaited bill was presented by the Minister of Trade and Industry who described the moment as a milestone in trade and business affairs in the country.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Legislative Committee, Honorable Ajibola Manley-Spaine said the Act would enable the country to operate weights and measurements in trade in a “modernized manner.”

He noted that “the imperial system of measurement has become largely redundant.” He added that most countries have moved to the metric system. He said there were provisions in the Act to punish people who would go against its contents.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Zainab Bangura laid before parliament a number of documents relating to agreements signed between the country and the government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Among them was the agreement on Visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic,    

US $700 for Telecommunication

Sierra Leone and 18 other African countries in the Submarine Cable Consortium have signed an agreement for the Africa Coast to Europe or ACE project. The Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) was signed on June 5 in the French capital, Paris.

The US$ 700 hundred million project will see twenty-three countries connected through a fiber optic cable that will stretch from France in Europe to South Africa.

A press statement from ACE says the cable will be landed directly in coastal countries like Sierra Leone, while landlocked countries would be connected through terrestrial links. The consortium says the project will be completed in the first half of 2012.

An ACE press release says “this will be the first international submarine cable to land in Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, the Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe and Sierra Leone.” It is believed that the ACE project would provide good connectivity for the West African coastal region with the rest of the world.

US Bishop To Boost Agriculture

A US citizen, Bishop William Lock is to establish an agricultural project for farmers in Sierra Leone. He expressed his intention at a meeting with more than 60 farmer groups, stakeholders and the Member of Parliament of Constituency 54 in Lungi, Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom.

Bishop Lock said his organisation, KAMLOCK International, would work with farmers in the country. He said the project would be based in the Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom, with the aim of extending it to other chiefdoms in the country.

He said the project would start in November with the arrival of agricultural equipment and American farmers. The MP for Constituency 54, Mohamed Khalil Kanu said the project would create employment opportunities especially for the youth. The Paramount Chief of Kaffu Bullom Pa Alimamy Kargbo Kapen said he was ready to offer land for the proposed agricultural project.  

50^th Year Anniversary Plan Begins 

Sierra Leone’s 50^th Independence Anniversary Planning Committee says it is determined to make the Golden Jubilee a remarkable success. The Committee has come up with the theme “Sierra Leone: 50 Years Forward” for the celebration. The Chairman, Dr. William Konteh, said that the anniversary should be “a period for reflection, celebration and defining a vision for the future.”

“We want to be able to learn from the experiences we’ve been thorough; we also want to celebrate our achievements over this period and find a vision that will be consistent with the Agenda for Change,” Dr. Konteh told Sierra Express in an interview. He said various sub-committees had been set to deal with every aspect of Sierra Leonean life, history and culture. He said every citizen should feel part of the event and endeavor to play a part. But many Sierra Leoneans say very little progress has been made since the country gained independence from Britain in 1961. One of the few surviving members of the Independence negotiations delegation, Hector Bultman has repeatedly attributed the nation’s backwardness to “corruption and self centeredness.”  

Media Call to End Impunity

Article 19 has called for an end to what it describes as the “culture of impunity” surrounding attacks on journalists. The group which promotes the right to freedom of expression says journalists around the world have been very vulnerable to attacks in situations of armed conflict and violence.

During a panel discussion held at the Human Rights Council, Article Nineteen’s Senior Legal Officer, Sejal Parmar said denying journalists their human rights during conflict and violent circumstances had a serious effect on press freedom and the public’s right to know.  Journalists in Sierra Leone have been victims of recent physical attacks by politicians and the police.

In his address to the International Federation of Journalists in May, SLAJ President Umaru Fofana said the war on press freedom had still not ended in the country.  

Boyfriend Beats Girl to Death

Adama Amara, a resident of Loven Lane, Suctarr, in Lungi was allegedly beaten to death by her boyfriend Foday Neneh. The incident occurred in the evening hours of Tuesday. The Local Unit Commander of the Lungi Police Division, Superintendent Max Kanu, told SEM that Foday allegedly beat his fiancé during a heated argument between the two. He said Foday was in police custody, while the corpse of the deceased was at the Lungi Government Hospital for postmortem. He said they were undertaking a thorough investigation into the matter.

FCC Call for Support

The Chairman for the Development, Planning and Security in the Freetown City Council (FCC) says the council needs public support to enforcing the new Municipal Bye laws.  Councilor Sam Franklyn Gibson’s call follows concerns by the public over “the council’s inability to enforce the laws.”He said the laws were “not meant to intimidate or punish people but to maintain sanitation and development in the capital.”He said the council had made progress in enforcing the bye laws since its inception.

“We have arrested more than 45 people who have been violating the new bye laws,” Councilor Gibson said. He said the council together with its partners would continue with its robust moves to see a successful enforcement of the municipal bye laws.

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