Thousands of Sierra Leoneans on Wednesday graced the main activities marking the country’s Fiftieth Independence Anniversary celebrations at the National Stadium in Freetown.

The Anti Corruption Commission has indicted the Director of Attitudinal and Behavioral Change Secretariat and two others working for the same office. The Anti Corruption Commission boss, Joseph Kamara told journalists at the information ministry’s press briefing that the ACC has slammed nineteen count charges of corruption against Phillip Conteh, his public relations officer and spokesman, Alieu Kamara and Zanto Kamara.   The ACC boss said his commission has already charged the three suspects to court.   Although details of the charges were not disclosed to journalists, but reports say the indictment of the three suspects may not be unconnected to misappropriation of funds meant for the running of the secretariat.   The Attitudinal and Behavioral Change Secretariat was set up after President Koroma took office in 2007 and made the national plea for attitudinal change.  

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Joseph Bandabla Dauda is leading the country’s delegation to the Eighteenth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the Sixteenth Assembly of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Dauda is representing President Ernest Bai Koroma during the Assembly of Heads of State. President Koroma is not attending the Summit because he is part of an ECOWAS delegation to the United States that will be briefing the US President Barrack Obama and the United Nations Security Council on the Ivory Coast standoff.   The theme for this year’s summit is "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values.”   The Summit aims to provide a unique opportunity to reflect on the path that has been established and the measures that can be adopted to accelerate the implementation of already adopted Shared Values Instruments which could, in turn, speed up the Continent’s integration process.        

A couple of government ministers have met students of Fourah Bay College at the Mary Kingsley Auditorium on the college’s campus. Speaking at the event, the Student Union President of Fourah Bay College raised concerns over what he called the deplorable state of learning facilities at the college. Alfred Minkailu Koroma raised the concern on Thursday at a symposium organised by the Fourah Bay College Students Union on the theme: ‘Enhancing an Interface between the Students Union and State Actors’ at the Mary Kingsley Auditorium, Fourah Bay College. The symposium was attended by Dr. Minkailu Bah, Minister of Education, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, Minister of Information and Communication, Alhaji Alpha Kanu, Minister of Political Affairs and Dr. Richard Konteh Minister of Trade. The student union president called on the government to improve on the college’s hostels and classroom facilities, which he described as inadequate and deplorable. Responding to the students’ demands, Dr. Minkailu Bah said it would be difficult for the government to provide accommodation for all students, but noted that they were working on a proposal by the students’ union government to improve the situation. Dr. Bah said the government was committed to lifting the falling standards of education by implementing the White Paper on the Professor Gbamanja Commission of Enquiry on education and the president’s Agenda for Change. Alhaji Alpha Kanu in his remarks highlighted the job opportunities in the mining sector of the country and encouraged the students to offer meaningful courses in order to tap such opportunities.