Sewa News Stream

Sierra Leone's Superior Court judiciary is made up of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice.  As in other British colonies, judges are often addressed as "My lord" or "Your ladyship" and other court officials are referred to as "Master" or "Your Worship." Although former British colonies such as Kenya and India have either completely retired or scaled back use of judicial wigs, Hong Kong and Sierra Leone remain attached to this centuries-old British custom. On Nairaland , a forum for Nigerians online, one commentator wrote: Judicial wigs, which once served as the clearest signpost of [an] hierarchical order that afforded most citizens no access to the law, clearly has no place in modern Nigeria. Along with those gowns - adopted  in 1685.

Almost five years ago, a Concord Times reporter had this to say about Moa Wharf, a low lying coastal slum area in Freetown's eastend where three families were quarantined recently. Moa wharf is home to an estimated population of seven thousand people, many of them children.  Life in Moa wharf, as in many Sierra Leonean slums, is difficult. Hundreds of thousands of people live with no proper sanitation. On March 18, the newly confirmed Ebola cases  in the Western Area Urban, were from the Tripoli-Moa Wharf hotspot. International Organization for Migration (Sierra Leone) staff visited with Medair and the U.S. Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance. IOM witnessed as Medair delivered Emergency Interim Care Kits to three quarantined families in the Moa Wharf community in eastern Freetown, they wrote on their Facebook page. As well as care kits, instructions were given on how to use the kits and mix chlorine properly. Basic food supplies were also distr...

Two-wheeled transport is catching on fast. In Sierra Leone, scooters and small motorcycles are the fastest growing transport industry. A new scooter (also known as Okada) retails at around Le4.8 million (about US$1,000). Many of the imported brands are from China, India, Taiwan as well as South Africa. They include iconic names like Suzuki, Jonway, Bashan, Bajaj, Big Boy, Gomoto, Zongshen, and Honda. 'Honda boys to Okada boys and girls' Hadi Bah, the popular Sierra Leone 365 commentator, notes Okada riding first started in 1970's Koinadugu District, where the riders were simply known as “Honda boys.” Koinadugu is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the largest district in geographical area. It has a total area of 12,121 km2 (4,680 sq. mi). "Isolated and served by a poor road network,” Bah writes, “enterprising young men began making money using Japanese-made Honda and Yamaha motorcycles to convey passengers all over the district.” Bah...

No surprises in the newly published Passport Index. Have (Rich) Passport. Will travel. A ccording to Arton Capital, which compiles the Passport Index and empowers high net worth people to become global citizens, the country list is based on the 193 United Nations member countries and 6 territories (Macao, Kosovo, etc.) for a total of 199. W ithout a doubt, western nations give passport holders the most global mobility. They  can visit more countries without a visa. In the top 5, passports with the number of countries they offer access to are: 1. U.S., U.K. (147 countries) 2. France, South Korea, Germany (145) 3. Sweden, Italy (144) 4. Denmark, Singapore, Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands (143) 5. Switzerland (142) I sland nation Seychelles has the highest passport power in Africa, followed by Mauritius and South Africa, with one of the largest economies in Africa. In the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Guinea leads, topping even global sup...

The World Bank Group announced Friday, April 17 that it would provide at least US$650 million during the next 12 to 18 months to help Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia recover from the social and economic impact of the Ebola crisis and advance their longer-term development needs. The new World Bank Group pledge brings the organization’s total financing for Ebola response and recovery efforts to date to US$1.62 billion. W orld Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim chaired a high-level roundtable at which the heads of state of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia presented their Ebola recovery plans to finance and development ministers and international partners. President Alpha Condé of Guinea, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone presented their Ebola recovery plans to global development leaders at the meeting. T he additional funding announcement comes as the World Bank Group releases new GDP estimate...

President Koroma gave a passionate speech for Sierra Leone and the Mano River Union region to top investors at a luncheon hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa Thursday. The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is the premier American organization devoted to United States-Africa business relations and includes as members more than 180 companies, which represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. CCA’s members range from America’s smallest to largest corporations. They represent a diverse pool of industries from Africa's most promising sectors, including agribusiness, capacity building, energy, finance, health, ICT, infrastructure and security. B elow is a transcript of President Koroma's remarks : Ebola has had disastrous consequences. We’ve lost a huge number of our compatriots, the economy is almost grounding to a halt, and the nation, and the region, has been isolated. But because of the support we have received from the internatio...

President Barack Obama met with presidents from the three Mano River Union countries that have been most affected by the recent Ebola outbreak Wednesday. The photo shows President Ernest Koroma (left), President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, President Obama, and President Alpha Condé of Guinea in the Cabinet Room of the White House Wednesday, April 15, 2015 P resident Obama discussed  the progress made in the international Ebola response to date  with his West African counterparts. They also reviewed how the United States can continue to partner with the Mano River region to pursue the ultimate goal of getting zero Ebola cases, turn sights to long-term economic recovery, and establish capacity to prevent future outbreaks from becoming epidemics. "We're proud to partner with you, and we intend to see this through until the job is done," Obama told Presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Alpha Condé of Guinea and Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone. "La...