Sierra Leone News

Well, what I can I say… back to square one - noisy generators, no light during the day and so on! I keep hearing excuses - fixing technical problem, waiting for the rains etc.

In April, we had light almost throughout starting from Good Friday only for it to off on the 29th April, 2 days after independence.

I mean what’s going on? Sierra Leoneans deserve 24/7 light and nothing less. I’m tired of hearing all the different excuses.

To those in charge of Salone light: just get on with it and give us the light we deserve. Confound the doubters and make Sierra Leone proud.

In case you haven’t heard, Mr Tejan cole has resigned his position today as the Head of the ACC (Anti Corruption Commision) :!:

This is a tragedy for Sierra Leone - a country riddled with bribery and all forms of corruption,

hearing of which will make your ears tingle! YES, it’s even official, Sierra Leone is more corrupt than Nigeria…if you don’t believe me click here to see what I’m saying.

Having said that, a lot is being done to reverse, this dreadful image of this beloved country. I can reliably inform you that, quite apart from the various government officials and individuals that are being hauled to court by the ACC, different arms of the government are implementing systems designed to stop the onslaught of corruption.

For instance, last week, we went to the port to collect our stuff and much to our surprise, a new system is in place now. (read about our previous experience here.)
All monies are now being collected directly by Ecobank directly into bank coffers so the port officials/employess no longer handle money. This is a step in the right direction and other departments like SierraTel, NPA etc are doing the same.

Sure I can’t list 10 other things they can do to make it better but this is not the place.

The fact is, while these new changes are good, the fight is far from over. When people are used to extorting money from other people as a way of living, when one avenue is stopped a new one emerges. And we saw that at the quay last week. (I’ll write about the new corruption tactics in a future post)

There may be a myriad of reasons why Mr Tejan Cole is resigning. So far no reason has been given, it could be personal, it could be moreon a matter of principle, who knows Fighting corruption is a hard and one cannot give favours to anyone. Here in a Sierra Leone, I can imagine, it takes its toll rather quickly.

Whatever it is, I wish him well, and hope we get someone just as passionate to fight corruption and bring a good name and to the country once again.

The dry season along with its heat is slowly giving way to the rainy season. It’s been singularly hot this year but I’m not complaining considering the bumper harvest I got this year from the plum tree in our backyard

See pictures here. Actually, I harvested about 5 bowls, each containing between 200-300 fruits!

Unfortunately, I don’t eat a lot of the stuff so I gave most of it away. Still I’m excited about the potential of harvesting one’s own crops and it’s got me thinking about planting fruits and vegetables I really like.

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On our way to Lakka beach 2 weeks ago, I noticed big improvement in the Penninsular Road. (I’ve got some picture to prove.) And that’s not the only one, a number of main roads are being fixed or have been fixed. For instance, I’m told the road to Bo is now pristine and the road to the Liberian boarder has also been graded with contract already awarded.
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Since 1995, Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ordering the countries of the world according to “the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians”. The organization defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”

The higher a country’s score, the less corruption there is. New Zealand ranks No.1 overall with 9.4 points. For Africa, Botswana, ranking at No.37 with 5.6 points, is the least corrupted country (kudos to them) It’s worth of note that there is no African country in Top 36.
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I’ve got good news today…well actually it happened on Tuesday: I finally received my Business Registration Certificate!! BRAVO!.  Feel like I’ve fought a real battle and WON but without any fanfare or trumpets! I’ll tell you why: in exchange for not succumbing to any shady tricks, I sacificed precious time.

In continuation, to my previous posts (read Part 1 and Part 2), I went to the OARG on Monday and I finally got the NRA personnel who was missingon Friday - to sign the written statement. My Business Registration was then printed but it had no signature and after waiting for an hour or so, I gave up and told Mr B. I’ll come back on Tuesday.
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Got a few people asking so here we go. This list is by no means comprehensive or mandatory as everything depends on your personal taste, likes and dislikes. Also, by all means do suggest some more by leaving a

comment.

This list here comprises of things you’ll save SERIOUS money on if you buy them abroad and import yourself. You can get these items in Freetown Sierrra Leone but either the prices are exhorbitant or the quality is not good.

Without much ado here’s the list:
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OK today, I’ve calmed down following my fury at the Business Registration Bureau in town. Now as I write this entry, I’ve been to this place a total of 10 times since my initial post about regisitering a business in Sierra Leone (click here to read Part I) and till today I’ve not completed eveything!

Remember, I don’t know anyone in this office and I’m not paying an bribes to push through my application. I just want to see how long it will take me and ordinary Joe who is in a similar situation.

Officially, it should take 1-3 business day to register a company, so far it taking me 10 working days, and 2x I’ve been asked blatantly for money by Mr. B (not putting full name here) who’s been dealing with my application. I know for a fact that it shouldn’t take this long because I have friends who recently (within the last 6 months) registered and they didn’t have the problem I’m having because they admitted they paid their way.
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