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President Bio tells inhabitants of Dea Chiefdom President Julius Maada Bio has, on Tuesday, 21st March, 2023, told the inhabitants of Dea Chiefdom that when the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) was in power, it used to spend public funds on individual pockets in the street but since 2018, his government has been spending public funds on the free quality education which is the foundation for an enlightened Sierra Leone. President Bio made this statement in Baiwalla town, Dea Chiefdom, in the Kailahun District, Eastern Sierra Leone, during a working visit to the district, where he also said that some unreasonable Sierra Leoneans were grumbling that President Bio does not dole out cash in the street like his predecessor, thereby ignoring the fact that he has been doling out cash on their school going children. “I prefer to spend public funds in educating the future leaders of this country than putting them in private pockets. The economic burden of paying school fees for over two million Sierra Leonean children is very heavy but I will carry it because it is the surest way to alleviating poverty in Sierra Leone,” he told his audience who were mainly supporters of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). He said the investment in education will not give an instant profit but in the long term, Sierra Leoneans would know that it worths doing so, noting that already, the recent results from public exams have vindicated him in that regard. He reminded the people of Dea Chiefdom that the SLPP is theirs and their own way of developing Sierra Leone, adding that whenever the SLPP is out of power, APC would destroy everything that the SLPP has built and invested in. “We have heard that the APC is now threatening to remove the free quality education scheme if they will the June 24, 2023, election. Once that happens, the paying of school fees, the school buses that my government has provided, the teaching and learning materials that we are providing, the free school meals, among other benefits, will be removed. That is the APC for you. So, we should not allow them to come back to power,” he told his audience who responded with a thunderous shouting and clapping in acceptance of what he has said. President Bio he was happy to see the return of Daniel Gaima, who served as Deputy Minister of Lands, Deputy Minister of Youth, under the former APC-led government, to the SLPP which he left in 2007. “Kailahun district should not vote again for the APC because they have threatened to destroy everything that the SLPP has built. You should not vote for any APC candidate that is vying for parliamentary and Local Council seats in this district. It would be a waste of votes,” he told them and they accepted with a standing ovation and shouting. He told them that the five-year-term was not enough to develop the entire country, and solicited their votes in the June 24, 2023 general elections. Former Deputy Minister of Lands in the APC-led government, Daniel Gaima, said that he was happy to return to the SLPP which is the most democratic and politically tolerant party in Sierra Leone. “I was a founding member of the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) party. So, when we supported the former APC-led government in the 2007 presidential runoff election and they won, I was appointed deputy minister in three ministries but I have now returned to the party which was the party of my forefathers,” he said happily.]

Young rapper Foodie Kay, real name Fudie Kargbo has taken to his facebook handle to narrate his reason for not trusting the school system in Sierra Leone which revolves around bullying by his university lecturer. According to the rapper, whilst in the university studying Mass Communication an honors student, his teacher had informed him to quit school and go to the streets where he belonged. The young man furthered that his teacher also took his love of quiet as a sign of his partaking of drug substances, particularly marijuana. Foodie concluded that this act of bullying led to his mental health issues and made him never want to return to school. The young man now a rapper, has released four singles, one of which is "Baba" with a singer called Big Morse, which I highly recommend. Here's a link to Baba https://audiomack.com/foodiekay1/song/baba

Ibrahim Koroma known as Prezo KOroma is to start a new Television show on Karima TV in Kenema, starting this weekend on March 25th. The show will be focused on entertainment, primarily celebrity profile of various sector participants including Artists, Athletes, DJs, bloggers and more. The show called celebrity profile, will be streamed online as well. According to Prezo Koroma, the industry needs as many shows to promote works done based on our perspective and narrative. He stated that his absence from the scene has reinvigorated his passion to contribute to the improvement of his colleague entertainers. He refrained from speaking on his recent conviction relating to the Laj case and reaffirmed that his focus is now on making entertainment grow as before.

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio over the last four days has been visiting districts, towns and chiefdoms in South and Eastern parts of Sierra Leone. The President is accompanied by the First Lady of the Republic Madam Fatima Bio, some of his ministers and senior members of the Sierra Leone People's party. The trip which commenced in Bo, had President Bio meeting with leaders in Taiama and Mano Dasse and the acceptance of a honorary degree conferred on him at Njala. In Mano Dasse, the pupils thanked First Lady for her hands off our girls project and distribution of sanitary pads. They expressed the need for construction of more school buildings and approval of teachers. At the conferment of the honorary Doctor degree of Letters, Vice Chancellor of Njala University Professor Bashiru Koroma highlighted that President Julius Maada Bio’s contribution to peace after autocratic rule, the education sector in declaring free quality education and overhauling of the higher education infrastructure, the management of the economy, energy generation improvements and more, despite global challenges are few of the reasons for the conferment of the doctorate degree. In Kono, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio informed them that the construction of the Kono University of Science and Technology, roads, bridges, installation of 24 hours electricity are all ongoing developmental drives to demonstrate his thanks and readiness to make up for eleven years of social injustice and neglect by other administrations. In Kailahun, President promised the construction of a college within the district and to that end, had concluded the procurement process with the construction company and by 5th April of this year, after requesting of the site from the locals, construction will commence. Also in Kailahun, President Bio turned the sod for the construction of the Manowa bridge in Pejeh Bongay Chiefdom during which he explained that the bridge could be the beginning of interconnecting Kailahun and Koidu to significantly improve trade of agricultural produces between districts. He also donated ten motorbikes to the bike riders' union and promised the construction of a youth centre. Also in Jojoma, Segbwema, Kailahun during the commission of a sixty bed maternity hospital, President Bio expressed joy at one of his keenly followed projects and hopes for the completion of it, to greatly impact on health of mothers and soon to be mothers.

Mohamed Basiru Sanusi, a youth Ambassador and Media man who had announced his candidacy for the Mayoral office of the Freetown Municipality in January, has stepped down. He made the decision Public on Epic radio, when he was asked for an update on his bid. According to him, his announcement was an awareness campaign to inform young people that they are never too young to run for any political office besides the Presidency which has a set age requirement of forty years. He continued that young people should be excited to be politically active to influence change and new initiatives. He stated that young people who shy aware from politics should be embracing it. He furthered that his focus on his media empire would have been halted by media laws in Sierra Leone (one of which is the IMC code which prohibits media politicians from becoming owners of main stream media entities) if he had indeed meant to fully carry out his political ambitions at this time.

Kadiatu Koroma, mother of seventeen month old Hannah Kanu, has received seventeen million old Leones from the Sierra Leone police as compensation for the death of her child whilst in police custody, in December, 2021. Kadiatu Koroma had been arrested on allegations of theft in Makeni but due to the age of her child, had declined to be separated with her child and had then been placed into a cell along with her child, at the Panlap Police station. The item she had allegedly stole was a handbag containing items worth seven hundred and fifty thousand Leones. During the evening hours, the child who had been mildly sick got worse and though the mother had tried to plead with the police to assist her with her child, they had interpreted her cries as a way to be let out. By 9pm that night, the child had died. The incident investigated by MENA police had determined that the police officers on duty had only been guilty of negligence and not murder. The cause of death has also been reported to be malnutrition