The recent press release issued out by NASSIT in reaction to Standard Times numerous publications about the shady deal of the former United States Embassy building on Walpole Street in Freetown is an attempt by the establishment to put what they would refer to as the “record straight”. Unfortunately, the attempt exposed them further, as the necessary information required by the public was deliberately ignored. What is interesting is that Mr. Edmond Koroma, the 21^st Century dictator of NASSIT failed to give the proper tutoring to the writer of the release.

Normally repetitions are done for the purpose of emphasis and to send correct messages to the recipients. This happens in the case of positive repetition either in a learning atmosphere or in a different setting. It becomes contrary based on the principles of learning when negative repetitions are done. This is because negativity is not an achiever of positive results, but a destroyer of good things. 

It would have been most difficult to entertain the thought that a misunderstanding between Messers John O. Benjamin and J.B. Dauda would ultimately involve the SLPP encyclopedia, Dr Sama Siama Banya.Indeed, the Guest Commentary entitled, “Between two SLPP Finance Ministers: where lies the Truth” which was published in the Monday, June 16, 2008 edition of the “New Vision” newspaper by Francis Cooper has opened up a Pandora’s box of intrigue 

SLAJ is seriously concerned about and denounces what appears to be a move by certain senior UN Radio staff acting in connivance with a handful of journalists of the Independent Radio Network (IRN) to hijack and personalise the transformation process of UN Radio, into an independent national public service broadcast media entity, without due consideration to SLAJ and other legitimate local media stakeholders like the Sierra Leone Reporters Union (SLRU) and the private sector. 

The decision by the hierarchy of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) to politically resurrect and immerse Mr. Solomon Ekuma Berewa, after his humiliating and devastating loss to Ernest Bai Koroma, in the 2007 Presidential election in the July 5, 2008 local council elections, should remind readers about the statement, “fools walk where angels fear to tread”.  As the SLPP Presidential candidate, Mr. Berewa was so overconfident of victory that he bragged to all the 1.8 million registered voters that he only needed “two votes” to win the election.

This is not about recalling, rewriting or restating the words of Aristotle that the public has a right to know about the activities of the governors, it is about transparency and accountability and getting state officials to account and live up to the expectations of the masses that they always claimed to seek their interest.

There are certain incidents which when seen or even heard of, one is left with no alternative but to appraise those who have made it happen, just as well as when things happened negatively one utter curses on those who are responsible for the bad incident, such as the 10 years civil war that left our country dragging on its knees.

The African Children's Choir ""Defending the Cause of the Fatherless, Oppressed and the Orphans"(Ron Lewis Ministries)

Since its promulgation in 1991 by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU), June 16th has come to represent the honor bestowed on the mainly courageous Soweto black students that braved the deadly South African Apartheid killing regime in protest over the inferior Afrikaans type of education taught them.

Since the devaluation of the Leone in the late 1970s, it has been the trend to denominate rental and property prices in Sierra Leone with the United State Dollars.  Given the recent free fall of the US dollar in global financial markets, it is time for property owners to be introspective and examine whether they are winning or losing. In other words, are our property investments making money or losing money? One would like to clarify an issue that is a source of confusion, sometimes acrimony with respect to property transactions in Sierra Leone

All over the world, people who are appointed to responsible positions of authority are expected to behave responsibly, respectfully and with dignity privately and publicly, locally and internationally.  This is a reasonable requirement and expectation because the behaviour manifested by high ranking public officials has the potential to impact either favourably or unfavourably on the image of a country.  In essence, the behaviour of high ranking public officials are supposed to be exemplary all the time because of public perception that they are role models and ambassadors at large.