The battle for the cleaning of Freetown is taking a new twist among the Freetown City Council, Ministry of Local Government and the Strategic Policy Unit. This twist needs the attention of the President and the people of this country if the desire is to have a clean environment that will house the general public, safe and clean.

The manager for Masada Energy International Sierra Leone Ltd displaying a letter from the office of the President allowing them to take over the cleaning of Freetown

For the past months, there has been correspondence sent from each of these institutions to the other with one of them calling on Masada Energy International Sierra Leone to take over the cleaning of the city of Freetown and the management of the Freetown Waste Company.  It became explicit that while the call was being made others were engaged in manipulating the process and setting artificial blockage to prevent the possibility of what the city of Freetown would look like if it is clean and safe.

Report of 14^th May 2013 and correspondence from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has requested the Manager of the Freetown Waste Management Company to hand over the entire activity and Management of Waste Collection to Masada Energy International. Yesterday 15^th May 2013 development from the Strategic Policy Unit has spoken a different language that is not in the interest of a clean and habitable city that Sierra Leoneans would like to live in. Moreover, it is like inciting the Council to continue leaving the city and its people to wallop in filth. The SPU has   called on the Freetown City Council not to handover the cleaning of the city to Masada until further notice.

The Management of Masada Energy International, while preparing to receive the national assignment was surprised to learn from the stakeholders that its dream of cleaning the City of Freetown has been thwarted. At a joint press conference between the Waste Management Company and Masada Energy International question relating to a letter authorizing the handing over was posed.

A representative of the Mayor of the Freetown City Council responded by stating that they should not be bothered on such matter at this time.  “Don’t ask me any question” The representative said in a very hostile manner and went on “We are not going to handover to anyone/Company and let the Minister call me I will challenge him even to the President” Councilor Samba Turay remarked, according to him  on behalf of the Mayor of the Freetown City Council. The Councilor emphasized that they will not handover any Waste Collection duty until they know the context of the contract.

Although the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had placed a tender for Waste Management collection in the country which saw Masada as the winner, however the representative, Councilor Samba Turay said “Cleaning of the City to the Freetown City Council is not a devolved function, which anyone must come and take away. “The Ministry of Local Government is just playing a supervisory role to the Council; therefore any contract signed must be done by the City Council”.

The Freetown Waste Management Company seemed not happy with the present situation. According to Mr. Sulaiman Parker, being a small man his decision is not to challenge any authority, political figure, the Minister of Local Government, the Mayor of Freetown or the Director”

He confessed that he was in a confused state and has been receiving correspondences from three big decision makers, countering one decision of the other. “What I am asking at this point is for the Freetown city Council, Masada, SPU and all other stakeholders solve the problem to their satisfaction and for the good of the country. The Project Manager for Masada Energy, Ms. Aminata Dumbuya said the Freetown City Council like any other stakeholders will like to see the city clean and if they collaborate it well the bigger picture would be achieved.

masada’s equipments

She reminded the audience that her Company has won the contract for which they are prepared to undertake in full as they have the capacity. “We have paid staff of the Waste Management for two months and have procured cleaning equipment for the exercise” She disclosed and added “We now awaits the full handover ceremony” She added.  Meanwhile, the Masada Company is undertaken cleaning exercise of the City at night.

It would be recalled that the Freetown City Council over the years has been blamed for the piles of wastes in the city. The government of Sierra Leone has spent billions of Leones to Freetown City Council to ensure a cleaner municipality with no positive result achieved.

BY SAHR DUMBAR MATTURI

 Two Prosecution witnesses have testified in the trial of DPC547 Abu Toto Bangura held at the Sierra Leone Police Headquarters yesterday. It would be recalled that the trial commenced two days back, when the Complainant Mamie Iye Koroma presented her case against Police Officer 547 Abu Toto Koroma. She narrated how she was manhandled, humiliated, sexually harassed and dumped into a stinking Police Cell where she was further humiliated and went unconscious.

She told the tribunal that when the officers discovered that was unconscious she was hurriedly transferred to the Kingtom Police Hospital, where she regained consciousness and noticed that she was in handcuff, half naked and tied to her hospital bed. To her surprise, she questioned how she found herself in a Police Hospital, almost half naked. Mamie Iye Koroma gave her testimony in tears as the “Presiding Magistrate” listened to her in shock and dismay. The hearing continued yesterday 8^th May 2013 with two prosecution witnesses taking the stand.

The “Presiding Magistrate” Inspector Sheiku Bahja Koroma called on Woman Police Constable (WPC) 1316 Mariatu Conteh the lock-up officer on duty that fateful day. WPC 1316   Mariatu Conteh explained that she was on duty when two Female General Duty Police Officers handed over the Complainant to her and ordered that she should be locked up in Police cell for an alleged disorderly behavior and Assault. This trump-up offence was what DPC Abu Toto Bangura had relied upon to set him free after the hearing that the Complainant had behaved in a disorderly manner and assaulted him. On the first day of the hearing he admitted that he pushed the Complainant, but described it as a minor attempt.

At night WPC 1316 Mariatu Conteh said that she monitored the Complainant while in Police Custody and discovered that she laid down on the bare floor of the Cell very unconscious “I immediately informed the Chief Commandant, Sgt. Regina and the Crime Officer, Inspector Tucker about the condition of the Complainant in Custody and together we opened the door of the Cell and took her to the Charge Office” She testified, and went on,  “She was still unconscious when we took her to the Charge Office and seeing her condition, fear gripped the Station and LUC Memuna Conteh ordered that she be conveyed to the Kingtom Police Hospital for treatment with handcuff still tied to her hands” She said.

The next Prosecution Witness was Madam Walamatu Sesay, Mother of the Complainant who explained that she was informed by a Police Officer attached to the Station that her daughter had slept in Police Custody at the Eastern Police Station where she had fallen ill and had been conveyed to the Kingtom Police Hospital for treatment. The Officer, according to PW2 requested her to bring her some clothes to put on at the hospital which she did.

This sad news when received by the Complainant’s Mother and friends of her family prompted them to move immediately to the hospital. On their way they saw a white Police Ambulance. They beckoned to the driver and when stopped, they saw the Complainant half naked with her hands in handcuff. “I pleaded with the officers to untie the handcuff in order to allow her put on a fresh dress, but at first they refused” PW 2 explained. According to them they have received instruction from LUC Memuna Conteh not to comply with any demand from them, however, the officers used their discretion and allowed the Complainant to change her dress inside the vehicle and handcuffed her again. On our arrival at the Eastern Police Station, PW 2 continued, the Complainant was detained again in the stinking Police Cell.

For over three days, PW 2 said; she made several appeals to LUC Memuna Conteh for the release of her daughter, but her request was flatly turned down, for reasons that she could not understand. “At one point I was frog – march out of the Station on the instruction of LUC Memuna Conteh. Madam Walamatu Sesay and others will continue their testimonies today Thursday 9^th May 2013 in the presence of Human Rights Commission workers who are also witnessing the hearing.(Keep tuned)                          

The former home of Mr. and Mrs. Macauley at No. 4 Vinton Street, Off Bombay Street in Freetown Sierra Leone is now a no-go-area especially when the husband is not at home. According to Mrs. Macauley, they have been informed that on a regular basis, the hooligans who hardly identify themselves at night threatened use to threatened people in the compound to ask about their way about for what they allegedly say the husband’s relationship with the Special Court that was adjudicating for justice for those who bear the greatest responsibilities during the country’s brutal civil wars in the 90s.

Mrs. Muriel was in Holland with her husband and decided to come back home on the 30^th of April 2013 to see her grandmother’s house that was consumed by fire in the 28^th January 2013 at Cole Farm along Wilkinson Road. To the dismay of Madam Muriel, the same hooligans who had been giving them sleepless night had also started their ugly behaviors. On the 5^th of May 2013, “the same hooligans in their old manner knock our door and by the time I asked they starts to rage words against me and break the door. Luck was on my way when I used the window at the bedroom to escape”. While on the way running to protect my life and neighbors coming out to see where the noise was coming from, the hooligans reportedly ran away.

As at time of press and for security reasons, Mrs. Muriel rents a house for a living for the remaining time that he is in Sierra Leone before she is expected to meet her husband back in Holland on the 4^th of June 2013.

It is not known if the husband of Mrs. Macauley will also face such threats again when he comes back into Sierra Leone. Close neighbors who spoke to this reporter opined that it is better for him to remain disguised at this time.

What is heartbreaking and has been described as inhuman, indecent, professionally wrong and unethical was when Mamie Iye Koroma body parts were photographed by unknown persons at night in the hospital when she was sleeping. Police Officers at the Eastern Police Station are now entertaining themselves with the photos during their official hours.

According to an official source at the CDIID, the case against DPC 547 Abu Toto Bangura is not only grave, but a clear show of abuse of police power and irresponsible behavior and if proven right  based on statements obtained from the witnesses and evidence, medical report inclusive the Police Officer would have himself to blame for his reckless and unprofessional behavior.

The source revealed that DPC 547 Abu Toto Bangura will soon be called upon by the CDIID to explain himself, but when will that happen the source has failed to disclose “We are not entertaining such behavior from any Police Officer in this 21^st Century Policing”

Evidence against the Chief Superintendent of Police(CSP), who is also the Local Unit Commander(LUC) of the Eastern Police Station, Memuna Conteh is now being shelved under the carpet, on the pretext that the evidence against her is not substantial, circumstantial or incriminating as it contains inconsistency. LUC Memuna Conteh allegedly collected Le150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Leones) as a pre-condition for bail after a protracted negotiation between family members of Mamie Iye Koroma and  LUC Conteh. With this   flimsy excuse relied upon by the CDIID, it is expected that she will not be rope in on any offence of professional misconduct.

While, some Senior Police Officers may be protecting LUC Conteh, witnesses of the victim, including her mother who was openly humiliated by the Chief Superintendent of Police are determine to spill the beans if called upon by the CDIID to testify during interrogation.

Police sources at the Eastern Police Station are reportedly giving advice to their colleague DPC 547 not to leave any stone unturned, by way of protecting LUC Conteh who was desperate in making money out of the situation, describing it as serious and tantamount to jail term if the matter goes to court. Initially, police sources say, LUC Memuna Conteh demanded the sum of Le400,000(Four Hundred Thousand Leones) as a bail fee. The intervention of a petty trader who used to credit her with second hand clothes and braziers report alleges made her to soft pedal in her demand and accepted Le150,000(One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Leones), instead of the initial amount she had requested for prior to Mamie Iye Koroma’s release.

Up to press time, reports reaching the Standard Times Press; state that family members of the victim are in consultation with a private legal practitioner to take the matter to court, since the Police hierarchy and CDIID are playing delay tactics.

Recent development, involving inhuman treatment out on an Indian national had convinced police to believe that Mohammed Mbakui had a hand in the killing of the Canadian national who was his guest at the time, and was in Sierra Leone on his invitation to transact diamond and other precious mineral business in the country.

It is no secret that Mohammed Mbakui’s life and style in acquiring wealth is connected with human right abuse, alleged killing and consultation with the underworld spirit and devilish acts.

Prior to his recent arrest by officials of the Trans-Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) reports that he allegedly dispatched to the United Kingdom a “walking corpse”, who was his diamond business partner after allegedly infecting him with witch gun bullets through the services of a Witch Doctor from the Kailahun District.  The British National, named Taria Mohamed came to Sierra Leone on his invitation to transact diamond and other precious minerals business in the country early this year.

Sadly, he has been reported dead after returning home and family members are perturbed as to what went wrong with him while in Sierra Leone that culminated to his death few days after he returned home. Medical report, according to sources  at the Kenema Government Hospital did not state any life threatening illness or history of a particular ailment when he visited the Hospital, only that he reported about malaria, cold and fever.

Mohammed Taria reportedly came in contact with the notorious and disrespecter of humanity, who disguised to the British national that he is one of the biggest miner and seller of precious minerals including diamonds with very strong connections in the present government, who can help him get as many diamonds as his pocket could carry. Samples of receipts, certificates of business registration, and pictures of diamonds were reportedly displayed by Mohammed Mbakui to properly lure in the young British national.

Having succeeded in milking every dollar from the British national, Mohamed Mbakui decided to play his inhuman game the way that could leave no trace about him or be caught as a criminal act. He hired the services of a Witch Doctor from the Kailahun District who came to Kenema where Mohammed Taria was residing and allegedly released some invisible witch bullets on him.  By the time the Witch Doctor left the residence of Mohammed Taria, sources say he started experiencing different body temperature such as cold and body pains.

The Witch Doctor, investigation revealed returned to the Kailahun District on 31st March 2013 after he had allegedly accomplished the task for which he was hired to do. Investigation by this medium has further revealed that when Mohammed Taria complained about feeling feverish and pain, Mohammed Mbakui instructed two of his aid on 1^st April 2013 to take his sick friend and business partner to the Kenema Government Hospital for treatment and was taken to Room 3, Annex Ward of the Hospital.

The sum of Le 75,000 was paid as an admission fee and receipt issued to him. The receipt number was 02045 that the Hospital authorities issued out to Mohammed Taria, who was administered with intravenous medication including drips and advised to take a rest at the Hospital and later proceeded home, where he was provided by Mohammed Mbakui since his arrival in Kenema.

Report states that nurses at the Kenema Government Hospital battled to save the life of the foreign British national, but proved futile and when they discovered that his condition was increasingly getting worse than expected, owing to the fact that the medication prescribed and administered on him was not making any progress on his health. He was advised to return to the United Kingdom immediately.  His host Mohammed Mbakui conscious of what had happened drove him to the Lungi Airport and boarded a flight to the United Kingdom, where it is reported that he had passed away, without taking any diamond or money to his family.

At a well attended and highly profiled event with the special theme chosen for the purpose of the industry: ‘The West African Insurance Industry: Its Challenges and Opportunities in the light of recent Economic and Socio-political Developments’ held at Hotel Bintumani on 14-16^th April, 2013 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the conference has elected and installed the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trans-world Insurance Company of Sierra Leone, Hon. Hassan Gbessay Kanu as its 35^th President.

The incoming President Hon., Hassan Gbessay Kanu welcome guests including the Presidential entourage with humility. He said “On behalf of the Sierra Leone Insurance industry, I feel greatly honored and privilege to extend to you a very warm welcome to this 3th Annual General Meeting an Educational Conference of the West African Insurance Companies Association.

At the conference, participants discussed issues of fundamental importance to the industry such as Assured Perspective, the General; Insurers’ Perspective and Brokers’ Perspective etc. At the dinner hosted in honor f the delegates, Hon. Kanu said, “It is with great humility that I have accepted this mighty honour that you have bestowed on me this evening. Each one of you distinguished delegates ‘has made this occasion possible by your many interventions which, together, have constituted the WAICA force and has inspired the spirit of the traditions of the Association. Thank you very much for this magnificent gift.”

In conclusion,  he thanked his predecessor Mr. Dawda Sarge and assured the Executive Committee that if he cannot step into his shoes, he will daringly follow his footsteps. He also extended similar sentiments to Mr. Val King, the Solicitor who administered the Oath of Office; and Mr. William Coker the Executive Secretary of WAICA, not forgetting Professor Irukwu and Mrs. Alice Onomake who inspired him to take on the office several months ago.

The West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) was founded in 1973 by insurance institutions of the five English speaking West African countries of the Republics of The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the blessing of their respective governments.

The activities in the various member countries are still attended and supported by distinguished Government personalities at ministerial and occasionally higher levels. Because of the international nature and structure of the organization it was agreed by the Founding Fathers to locate the headquarters of WAICA in Accra, Ghana. However; for various reasons the organization did not operate on a full-time during most of its existence and was managed on a part time basis from the offices of the then State Insurance Corporation, now State Insurance Company of Ghana.

The Current Executive Committee determined to develop the organization into its full potential, and given the international make-up of the organization, has, after a rigorous selection process which included interviewing potential candidates from each of the member countries, unanimously thought it fit and agreed to appoint Hon. Hassan Gbessay Kanu of Sierra Leone as its 35^th President.

The Association has two category of membership, namely Ordinary and Associate members. Ordinary Membership is open to institutions in the insurance industry in West Africa and registered in accordance with the laws of the country in which the company or corporation operates, provided the head office of the company or corporation is situated in West Africa.  Associate Membership is open to any company/institution that is affiliated or associated with WAICA members. Therefore, organizations or institutions whose objectives and aspirations are considered to be in line with the vision of the association are also considered for membership as Associate Members. Though its Secretariat is based in Accra, Ghana, yet its activities are spread over the whole of five West African countries that make up its membership.

The President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, also a WAICA Member and former President of the Institution was among the highest-profiled personalities in attendance. The President keynote’s speech was quite poignant as he addressed Chief Executives of the Insurance Industry with hopes that despite they are faced with challenges, yet light is in the tunnel.

Courteously, he thanked the Executive Committee of WAICA that allowed him to address the occasion as Keynote Speaker on the Topic: The West Africa Insurance Industry: The Challenges and Opportunities in the Light of Recent Economic and Socio-Political Developments.

The President went further to find out what the new opportunities and challenges are?, and elaborated on how relevant the mentalities and mechanisms within the profession to seize the opportunities and meeting the challenges head-on. The questions caught the audience in shock and made them sit up for a good day’s ride for some insurance lectures.

Though the theme provided some doubts, yet President Ernest Bai Koroma gave hope to the insurance magnates that assembled at Bintumani in Aberdeen, West of the city that “Africa is on the rise, and West Africa is on the rise”. He supported his statement with statistics showing that the continent is registering some progress as its economies are growing, and West Africa is growing faster than other regions in the last five years.

In his closing remarks, the President congratulated the organizers of the conference stating that he had always loved the business of Insurance. The Executive Committee of WAICA was happy to learn from him that he was happy and honoured to attend the occasion, which presented to him refreshing moments of his ideas and reinvigorates his spirits. The refreshing is important as he embarks on a second and final five- year- term in office as President of Sierra Leone. After those courtesies, President Koroma officially declared the 35^th WAICA Annual General Meeting and Educational Conference opened.

Within the last few days, rumours were being circulated that the Ministry of education Science and Technology is going to delete over 7,000 Teachers from government pay vouchers because those Teachers were considered “Ghost Teachers”. We, at the Ministry of Education, consider this as total misinformation and part of the dissemination of such misinformation is carried out by some Executive members of the Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union (SLTU) to all Teachers across the country. The Ministry would now like to share with members of the public how this whole thing came about:

The Government of Sierra Leone and its development partners, particularly those partners that are focused on helping us improve on the standard of our education, decided that in order for the country to realize the full benefit of the resources that are being directed toward our education system, particularly in the area of improving the conditions of our Teaching force, we need to know the exact number of Teachers we have in the country. As a result, the Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU), in the office of the President, contracted a private firm to conduct a nation-wide biometric registration exercise on all Teachers to ascertain the exact number that the government would be catering for.

At the conclusion of such exercise, the firm presented its findings in the form of a report that was presented to the Minister of Education and his team. In the report, among other things, it was stated that 7,761 Teachers that are currently on government payroll could not be verified. This represented 22% of our total Teaching force. The firm however maintained that the Teachers may have been legitimately employed but at the time of this registration exercise they either did not make themselves available or failed to submit relevant documentation that could prove that they were genuinely hired as Teachers.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Minkailu Bah, was the first to challenge those figures, stating that they were too alarming and therefore subject to further verification by his ministry. The Minister therefore suggested that a Task Force, comprising the staff of the firm that carried out the registration; his ministry’s staff and representative from the Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union (SLTU) should conduct a follow up re-verification exercise that should last for 90 days. He asked that Heads of Schools and Proprietors be sufficiently notified so that they too could notify all Teachers on their lists. During this second phase of verification, Teachers who refuse or do not make themselves available to be properly verified would eventually be deleted from the government pay vouchers, the Minister cautioned. The SLTU Representative was given a soft copy of this report.

Somehow, these representatives from the SLTU decided to send a message to all Teachers around the country, particularly those whose names are on the list for re-verification (7,761), notifying them that they have been maintained as “Ghost Teachers” and therefore their names are going to be deleted from the government pay voucher. One can therefore see why these Teachers would become restless and alarmed about this development. In a meeting held by the SLTU with a good many of those Teachers whose names needed to be verified, the Director of Education, Inspectorate, Mr. Mohamed Sillah Sesay, clarified this point and assured the Teachers that the ministry of Education has no desire to delete the names of Teachers from the government pay vouchers at this time. He also assured them that their salaries for April will be paid without trouble.

It is important for the public to know that those Teachers who were physically present during the biometric registration exercise and were given registration slips to prove that they were actually reached by the staff of this firm may not necessarily fall under the category of those Teachers who would be classified as “Verified” if the Teachers in question did not submit relevant documentation to show proof of being legally hired by the Ministry of Education. Therefore, while they may argue that they were present on site at the time of the registration exercise, the fact would still remain that they cannot be classified as legitimate Teachers until they can produce the required documentation to that effect.

The 90 days re-verification exercise will eventually clear this doubt. As a Ministry, we want to assure the public that we care so much about the conditions of our Teachers and therefore would not subject them to situations that will further exacerbate the difficult economic situation under which they currently operate. As the Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education, I have made two appearances on Television and have had three radio discussions on this same issue all in the name of trying to set the records straight and allay the fears of our Teaching force. We will work with the SLTU to further strengthen the communication between the two entities and reaffirm our strong commitment, as a ministry, to improving the conditions of service of our Teachers across the country. We want to further apologize for any inconvenience this miscommunication may have caused our Teachers and their dependents.

The SUN newspaper on its Saturday front page headline screamed “FG uncovers fresh N3.2trillion Abacha loot”, reporting that the billions of dollars stashed away in foreign bank accounts by the late military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, may far exceed the already established US$ 5 billion, as a Special Investigation Panel (SIP), tracing what has now become ‘Abacha loot’, stumbled on fresh clues indicating that the stolen funds still trapped in offshore accounts stand at over 3.2 trillion Naira.

Quoting a competent source close to the panel, Saturday Sun said that about four different meetings between the SIP team, headed by a retired senior military officer, and a Switzerland-based lawyer, Enrico Monfrini, hired by the Federal Government to assist in the recovery of the Abacha loot in foreign jurisdictions, had taken place outside the country in the last eight months.

Monfrini is an Attorney-at-Law and head of the Monfrini Grettol & Associés in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the paper, “In the course of the recent meetings between the Nigerian team and authorities in about four other jurisdictions as well as the team from the foreign legal firm, it was discovered that a lot of underhand dealings must have taken place in the recovery of the Abacha loot.

“This was largely responsible for the under-declaration of what has been recovered so far by three successive governments and worse still what is still trapped in offshore accounts, which, in our estimation, in our last meeting with our foreign team, stands at US$ 210 billion.”

Some of the foreign jurisdictions, where the stolen funds had been traced are Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. One of the latest discoveries included a US$ 550 million in a coded account in France.

“It has been very difficult to get details out into the public domain so far because the latest process is being secretly coordinated by the retired senior military officer heading the SIP in the presidency and the Attorney General of the federation, who is providing legal advice for the team,” the paper quoted the source as saying.

The Federal Government was said to have been encouraged to dig deeper into the Abacha loot because of a recent statement credited to the Swiss lawyer, Monfrini, handling the case. While giving further insight into previous efforts to recover the stolen money, the lawyer was quoted to have said: “Civil action was initiated by the Federal Republic of Nigeria before the High Court of London in May 1999. It resulted in the seizing of only US$ 60 million in the United Kingdom. The ‘full account’ given by the members of Abacha family was notoriously incomplete, notably in respect of their Swiss, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg assets, totalling US$ 1.5 billion, which were entirely omitted.” “Less than US$ 10 million of frozen assets being forfeited and recovered in the United Kingdom, none of which was through civil proceedings.”

Only the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been able to record the highest amount of US$ 1.25 billion from the Abacha loot. The preceding regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the succeeding government of the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua could not do much in this regard notwithstanding the efforts also made.

On the baby thieves, the INDEPENDENT headlined its story “Police smash gang of child traffickers in Imo”, reporting that barely two weeks after it warned members of the public to desist from the ungodly and shameful act of stealing and selling children, the Imo State Police Command  last Thursday announced the arrest of another gang of child traffickers. According to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Musa Katsina, the babies were abducted or stolen only 72 hours after delivery. Katsina, who briefed newsmen in Owerri on the latest success of his command in crime control and prevention, said the suspects are not indigenes of Imo State and that the original scene of the crime was not in the state but at Uzoma village in South- South Rivers State.

According to him, the two women suspects who are indigenes of Oredo and Azagba in Edo State but were domiciled at no 14, Densan Ikorodu, Lagos, took off from their abode in Lagos on Wednesday, 27 March, 2013, to Port Harcourt with a sinister motive to steal or abduct the two babies for reasons best known to them.

The police boss said that it was while they were transiting the state that they were caught by his command’s ambush squad, saying that the driver of the vehicle in which they were caught knew that the consignment he was carrying was illegal.

The Commissioner of Police gave the identities of the suspects as Patience Abangbe (55), Felicia Edegbe Mrs. (59) of Ihude Egonebo village, Edo State, Jacob Ademuyiwa (41) from Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, adding that they all would soon be charged to court. The SUN simply headlined the same story “Baby thieves”, saying that one of the suspects said that a woman she identified as Mrs. Okoro had brought her some herbs from Port Harcourt last June to enable her conceive.

According to her, the woman told her not to go to any hospital for ante-natal care except in Port Harcourt, where she would be delivered of her baby and had promised that she will deliver on 10th March, 2013.

She said that she gave birth to the babies on 28 March, a few weeks after she was booked for delivery, adding that the same woman came while she was in labour and gave her herbs which appeared to be drugs that forced her to dose off and after she woke up, she saw in-between her legs blood and the babies.

The suspect said that she had been married for many years without any child, adding that she had spent 1.8 million Naira (US$ 12,000) from the time she was pregnant till when the babies came.“Boko Haram victims seek compensation” was the headline in the NATION on Wednesday with the story saying that Christians in the North have set a precondition for amnesty for Boko Haram members.

“Victims of the sect’s violence must be compensated,” the Northern Christians Forum (NCF) said last Tuesday. Also demanding compensation is the pan-Igbo socio-political organization, Ohaneze Ndigbo, which lost many of its members.

According to the NCF, Christians became targets of the sect’s mayhem for supporting the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, describing the amnesty offer as “wickedness”, if “nobody is talking about compensation for the innocent people who have been affected”.

It said: “The Northern Christians Forum has been marginalized; deliberately underdeveloped; treated like vassals; seriously brutalized; and slaughtered under the watchful eyes of this regime more than in any other regime before.”A statement issued in Abuja by the NCF Chairman, Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye, said: “Government spent billions of naira on nomadic education; 5 billion Naira on almajiri schools, which is specifically for Muslims, while Christian schools and hospitals taken over by the government without compensation are still being held tight by the government.

“Boko Haram has tried to annihilate us and our Igbo Christian brothers and now the government is talking about granting the sect amnesty without saying a word about the people they bombed, slaughtered and traumatized.”

The INDEPENDENT, with the headline “Boko Haram: Amnesty International wants compensation for victims”, reported that Global watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), on Wednesday added its voice to the growing debate over anticipated amnesty for the insurgent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, calling on government to pay reparation to families of the victims of killings by the sect.

The current debate is coming on the heels of the recent setting up, by President Goodluck Jonathan of a panel to look into the possibility of working out amnesty packages for the sect members.

Addressing the on-going 53rd Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul, The Gambia, a spokesperson for AI, Lucy Freeman, said “it is only by clarifying the truth about events and bringing to justice those responsible and ensuring that victims obtain full reparation will have confidence in the justice system be restored and human rights guaranteed.”

She added: “Amnesty International calls on Boko Haram to immediately cease and refrain from all acts that are inconsistent with respect for human rights, including particularly the targeting of civilians for attack, a practice that can never be justified in any circumstances.

On power, the PUNCH headlined its story “Power generation drops by 1,074MW”, saying that the poor supply of electricity being witnessed across the country currently is as a result of a significant drop in power generation from a peak of 4,517 megawatts attained on 21st December, 2012 to 3,443MW on Tuesday. The 1,074MW drop is, however, a slight improvement over the 2,987.6MW peak generation recorded on 6th April, 2013, when a whopping 1,529.4MW was lost.

The drop in power generation, the PUNCH reported, was as a result of low gas supply to thermal power plants. The power generation report provided by the Ministry of Power revealed that peak generation as of Saturday was 2,987.6 MW, while the peak demand forecast was 10,200MW. Energy generation was put at 68,953.24 megawatts hours, while the actual energy sent out was 67,360.24MWH.

This is considered by power industry analysts as a huge break from the highest peak generation of 4,517 MW on December 21, 2012 and 98,580MWH energy on December 19, 2012, one of the highest ever sent out in the country. The Executive Operations Summary issued by the General Manager, National Control Centre, Osogbo, Mr. A. Alade, on December 4^th, 2012, revealed that the previous energy peak was 96,768.53MWH recorded on August 31st, 2012.

The PUNCH had on 16^th February, 2013, reported that the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, had condemned the frequent rate of system failures in the power sector. Nebo, who spoke at the opening of a retreat organized by the Presidential Task Force on Power in Abuja, described the development as embarrassing and warned system owners and managers to sit up because such would no longer be tolerated.

In its second story on power, the PUNCH headline was “Expect more power cuts, minister tell Nigerians”. According to the paper, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, on Wednesday said there would be more power cuts in the days ahead due to ongoing maintenance work on installations across the country.

Nebo, explaining why there was a sharp drop in power supply at a briefing in Abuja, said the country lost 1,112 megawatts of generated electricity in two days due to the shutdown of the Chevron gas plant. The SUN ran the same story under the headline “Nationwide blackout looms”.

On fuel scarcity, the TRIBUNE Friday screamed “Fuel scarcity looms”, saying that there are strong indications that fuel scarcity may be looming as fuel supply to System 2B pipelines is on hold due to a system break down at Atlas Cove jetty, Lagos.

Quoting a marketer who preferred anonymity, the paper said that loading from NNPC depots in the South-Western states, including Kwara state, has stopped due to non-availability of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol.

He said depots in Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and Ondo states are not getting fuel supply.

System 2B pipelines transport over 15 million liters of petroleum products daily from Atlas Cove to depots in Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan, Ilorin and Ore.

However, the Manager, Public Affairs, Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Nasir Imodagbe, said on Thursday that although there was system breakdown at Atlas Cove, it won’t affect distribution because PPMC engineers are on site working round the clock to fix the problem. However, THISDAY reported the same story from a different angle, headlining its story “NNPC Debunks Alleged Scarcity of Petrol”. It reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its downstream and marketing subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), have said that reports of imminent scarcity of petrol in some parts of the country were false. In a statement last Friday in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, the NNPC specifically urged members of the public to discountenance reports of imminent fuel scarcity in the South-West, adding that there was no iota of truth in such reports. According to the acting Group General Manager Public Affairs of NNPC, Tumini Green, the corporation had temporarily shut down its depot at Atlas Cove for the maintenance of its power generator in line with standard industry practice. Green explained that it was not true that loading of petrol from depots in the South-West stopped since Monday, adding that the Atlas Cove depot was not a loading but a storage depot and that loading could not have been affected.

With the following headlines — “Bakassi: FG promises to respond to attacks on Nigerians by Camerounian gendarmes” by the VANGUARD, and “FG Vows to Halt Further Attacks on Nigerians in Bakassi”, the papers reported that the Federal Government has promised to take appropriate action against attacks on Nigerians resident in Bakassi by the Camerounian gendarmes. Speaking with State House correspondents, in Abuja, after the meeting of the Presidential Committee on the plight of the Displaced Bakassi People, the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, said government was studying reports on the attack and would take appropriate action.

The VANGUARD quoted Moro as saying”As a good player on the international scene, Nigeria has subscribed to the Green Tree Agreement and on our own part we will continue to abide by the provisions of the agreement. For one reason or the other, resulting from skirmishes here and there, the Camerounian Gendarmes have attacked some innocent Nigerians. That report is being presented to government and the Nigerian government will take appropriate action to redress the situation.”

Moro called on the people of Bakassi to remain calm as government was determined to ensure that they are not left to their fate as government was taking every step to ensure their safety in the peninsula.

THISDAY reported that “The federal government Thursday condemned the attack on Nigerians living in Bakassi Peninsula, which is under Cameroonian sovereignty, and assured the people that it was taking measures to protect them from further attacks by that country’s gendarmes.”

On Corruption, the PUNCH, reporting under the headline “FG worried about corruption in civil service”, said the Federal Government has expressed worry over the rate of corruption in the civil service, adding “To address the problem, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has tasked the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, to put in place an internal mechanism to check the negative trend.” According to a statement by the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, on Friday, the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Lamorde, who cited the involvement of civil servants in the ongoing pension fraud investigations and prosecution, lamented the rising incidences of economic and financial crimes committed by civil servants.

The AfDB in a statement received said that the new report explored how structured finance techniques can mobilize African domestic capital to support economic infrastructure projects and economic growth.

The new report, entitled “Structured Finance – Conditions for infrastructure project bonds in African markets”, is said to set conditions for successful infrastructure project bonds in African markets. The bank said: ”The release of this new report comes at a very opportune time when African countries have been growing at rates in excess of five per cent.

Indeed, seven out of the 10 fastest-growing countries in the last few years are in Africa. This has created a growing middle class and a flourishing financial sector.”The bank said that savings in Africa are accumulating with institutional investors such as the pension funds and insurance companies.

”Africa has the financial resources to play a significant role in building African infrastructure, especially since domestic capital markets are growing in several countries,” the statement noted, adding:”Domestic government bond markets are well established and becoming increasingly sophisticated. In many markets, non-government issuers are actively raising funds.”

Furthermore, the report is said to have explained the crucial role of constructive government policies and draws the lessons from other markets that might be useful for Africa. The report is expected to be launched by the AfDB Vice President, Charles Boamah, on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC

The Guaranty Trust Bank has not just been proving that it is one of the best financial institutions in Sierra Leone and Nigeria over the past years but has continued to prove successful and thus receiving laurels across the African continent. In a survey titled “Africa Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey” conducted by KPMG, the Guaranty Trust Bank has emerged the most successful in term of its Customer Service followed by the UBA and Zenith Bank. It stated the influence and contribution of regional banks in the top 10 list of rankings. Eight out of the top 10 banks ranked over the industry’s average CSI score for Sierra Leone of 66.2%.

According to the April 2013 KPMG report, GTBank emerged in the first place with 73.8%, followed by Zenith Bank and UTBank respectively. In contrast to the top two banks, UTBank is an indigenous bank, which was previously a non-bank financial services provider until 2008 when it acquired a majority stake in another local player–BPI Bank. The top three banks are all relatively new to the market in the Country, which notwithstanding these financial institutions have been working hard to win over customers from the traditional banks and also targeting the unbanked population.

In Nigeria, GTBank has emerged as the most customer-focused bank with 77.9% followed by Zenith and Stanbic IBTC in the second and third positions.

The KPMG Team Leader of Africa Banking Project, Bisi Lamikanra said in a statement said “I am very pleased to introduce the inaugural edition of the KPMG Africa-wide Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey in which we provided insights and results from our survey of over 25,000 retail banking customers from 14 countries across Africa including Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe”. She said “more than one in two institutional investors see Africa as the most attractive region to invest in the next decade, and went on to inform the audience that with one in three expecting is to put at least 5% of their portfolios into the continent by 2016”.

The survey was conducted from June to December 2012 with the exception of Nigeria and Zambia where it was conducted earlier in 2012. Over 25,000 respondents were surveyed across 14 countries in Africa. A key consideration in selecting the sample size was the banking population of each country. The survey location in each country was selected based on the level of commercial activity and density of bank branches.

Rating the Customer Care, the researchers said African banking customers overwhelmingly about 94 percent voted ‘staff friendliness’ as the most important factor influencing satisfaction with the banks. Yet, while eight in ten expressed satisfaction with this element, results for other customer care elements were rather weak across the continent: just three in ten customers said they were very satisfied with their bank staff’s knowledge of banking products and only 10% indicated that they were extremely satisfied that their complaints were being promptly addressed.

A quick glance at the results reveals the dominance of banks with multi-country presence across the continent. Some of these banks have succeeded in replicating the high service delivery performance established in their home countries in other markets they play. The researchers revealed that their success (the Banks) can be partly attributed to strong knowledge of the local market and leverage on technology and GTBank, Zenith and United Bank for Africa (UBA) appeared in top positions and seemed to dominate the West African coast while Stanbic, Diamond Trust, Kenya Commercial and Equity Bank showed a strong presence in East Africa.

In Sierra Leone, the KPMG report highlighted vast changes experienced in the banking sector with the influx of sub-regional financial institutions due to liberalization of the economy in the post-war era. Survey respondents chose GTBank as the most customer-focused bank with 68.8% while UBA and Zenith Bank occupy the second and third positions.

The survey report further showed that the Sierra Leone banking sector has evolved quickly within the last decade, marked by a post-war influx of sub-regional financial institutions. Prior to the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, Sierra Leone depended heavily on three major commercial banks: the state-owned Sierra Leone Commercial Bank; Barclays Bank (which was replaced by Rokel Commercial Bank after it ceased operations); and  the Standard Chartered Bank. However, the end of civil war witnessed the liberalization of the national economy that is characterized by ‘friendly’ investment policies, which attracted very credible sub-regional banking and financial institutions into the country’s financial market.

The presence of these banks in the industry has increased capitalization and created stiff competition for market share. As a result, banking products have become very accessible and affordable while access to personal loan products has increased dramatically. Indeed, consumers in Sierra Leone are being bombarded on a daily basis with commercial advertisements encouraging them to save and tap into the various loan products in the market.

That being said, the Sierra Leone banking sector continues to face a number of challenges. The payment system is still in its infancy stage and largely under-developed; transactions within the country are mainly cash-based with limited use of alternate channels; and the country lacks an electronic payment system for large-value transactions. Despite these challenges, the capital-asset ratio of the banks is 17%, further reinforcing the potential for growth in the financial sector.

The report indicates that despite the challenges faced in terms of service delivery and alternate channel usage, customers’ loyalty in Sierra Leone is quite high. Sixty-five percent of customers said that they would absolutely repeat business with their banks, while 64% indicated that they would recommend their banks to others. Ten percent of customers indicate that they might change or have recently changed their bank, citing ‘service quality’ as one of the principal reasons for the change.

To gain a clear picture of customer satisfaction with Africa’s banks, the researchers said they asked respondents to judge their banks across five key areas that – in our experience – holds the greatest influence over customer satisfaction and when asked what part of transaction method and system are important to customers, interestingly turn-around time for transactions, processing and accuracy of information provided by banks were of equal importance. However, the results revealed higher satisfaction with transaction turn-around time 81% compared to 71% were satisfied with the accuracy of information provided by their banks on account statements, advice slips and basis of bank charges.

It should come as no surprise that 99% of the respondents said that they still use branches. However, it is clear that ATMs are becoming a vital part of Africa’s banking system; 85% of the respondents said that they are use ATMs; with half of that saying they are using ATMs on a weekly basis.  Other alternate channels have clearly demonstrated value in Africa, such as POS in Botswana that is enjoying 69% usage, while mobile banking in Kenya has topped 50%

According to the survey, mobile penetration in Africa today is higher than the Internet Service, which is expected to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. The cost to serve is unquestionably lower via mobile than any other channel. Africa has a young and vibrant population that tends to be the early embracers of new products and services and financial inclusion is a top agenda for Africa’s policymakers.

Given that all the right market variables exist, banks need to consider how they would optimize the opportunities that the mobile channel presents. A recent study of banking channels in the US reveals that the cost to serve customers via mobile channel is cheaper than the dominant channels in Africa (branch and ATM) by wide margins.

It is 45 times more expensive to serve customers via branch than mobile and 10 times more expensive to serve customers via the ATM. Given these facts, banks need to rethink their strategy, surge forward by taking a bold step, not waiting for critical mass to establish leading positions in the mobile banking and mobile payment space. Although high risks/ uncertainties exist for services that could be offered through mobile channel especially with technology, the reward surpasses such risks. Mobile banking is essential for banks that want to be identified as innovators and customer focused.

Mobile payment, on the other hand, is a sure way of entering untapped areas to gain market share and establish new revenue streams.

The report also highlighted that while Nigeria may be Africa’s most populous country, only about 20% of the population is banked and two-thirds have never banked at all before.

The banking industry is made up of 20 banks with nearly 6,000 branches, most of which are concentrated in the urban areas, a fact that contributes to the low levels of banking penetration. Nigeria’s banking sector is expected to grow from about US$117 billion in 2011 to more than US$168 billion in 2015. The sector has recently experienced a number of regulatory changes including a repeal of the universal banking licenses and the promulgation of more stringent regulations by the country’s Central Bank, among which aims to reduce soaring books of non-performing loans and stamp out severe breaches of corporate governance. However, with the establishment of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to purchase toxic assets of banks and recapitalize troubled banks, some stability has returned to the sector leading rating agency Standard that upgraded the sector in 2012 to a positive outlook due to the country’s improved asset quality, capitalization and corporate governance.

Branches according to the report remain the most used channel in Africa at 99%, followed by ATMs at 85% while all other channels lag behind with rates below 30%.