Feature

By Abdul Tejan-Cole

Spontaneous celebrations erupted in the streets across Gabon as the news of President Ali Bongo's removal by the military spread like wildfire. The Bongo family's long-standing rule of 56 years had ended. This jubilation unfolded against the backdrop of a declaration of election results cloaked in darkness following days of internet shutdowns, curfews, and border closures.

In 2016, I was privileged to be selected as a young and emerging leader from Sierra Leone to participate in one of the most prestigious fellowships, The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), under the Mandela Washington Fellowship, an initiative of former President Obama. 

By Emma Black

The group of young men gathered under a makeshift overhang known as an “ataya base”, in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone. The discussions (and arguments) revolve between Premier League football, politics, the price of a bag of rice, and money hustles (or the lack of). The local “ataya base” is a meeting point, like a small-town coffee shop. But, one topic that seems to be off-limits is health, especially sexually-transmitted diseases.

By Emma Black

The Freetown Secondary School for Girls, known fondly as “FSSG”, is a haven for pre-adolescent and teenage girls in the heart of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The junior secondary school hosts around 1,100 girls and Daniella Bangura, 14, will soon transition into senior secondary school with approximately 1,500 other girls. “Yes, I see girls getting pregnant; some show up with bruises or sores and are quiet in class; some bring their market to sell after school and many of my friends are tired. It’s not easy being a girl in Sierra Leone.”

By Franklin Sisabu Bendu

Petroleum products are an important cog in the running of any economy. The agriculture, industry and services sub-sectors are all reliant on different types of petroleum products for their daily functions.

Sadly, for Sierra Leone, we do not produce these petroleum products. All of what we consume must be imported. Over the last five years, the import value of petroleum products has averaged US$ 253 million (Two Hundred and Fifty-Three million US dollars).

By Mohamed Asmieu Bah
Some two weeks ago, in a hall jam-packed with colleague presidents and journalists drawn from all the ECOWAS member states, the newly-elected Nigerian President stated that the days for military takeover were over.

As Parliamentary and Local Council results of the June General Elections were made public, our Editor and Vice President of Women in the Media Sierra Leone, Mabinty Magdalene Kamara, held a face-to face interview with Manty Tarawallie then Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, who soon after this interview, was appointed by President Julius Maada Bio as new Minister of State, Office of the Vice President.  In this interview, she took us through the processes leading to an increase in the number of female representation in elective and appointive positions this year.