Excerpts from W.F. Conton's West Africa in History
The Empire of Songhai

...centered on a great trade route across the Sahara...
...wars of religion and expansion build a vast empire during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries...
...Timbuktu - a famous centre of learning and religion...







18/3/2020
Can Ebola Teach about Corona?

...very different virus...
...but share at least one mode of transmission...
27/3/2020
Corona: Less Deadly than Ebola but more Dangerous?

...fatality rate much lower...
...but huge numbers infected...

3/4/2020
Western Liberals Win Big Victory for Girl-Child Promiscuity in Sierra Leone

...Government to provide child care and abortion services for pregnant school girls?...
...Ecowas Court litigation funded by the West?...

25/2/2020
Harmattan Stresses on the Farm

...not a drop of rain for months...
...water company out of water!...
Excerpts from The Empire of Cotton, Sven Beckert
Would the West have Grown Rich without African Slaves?

...In the 1700s they were quite poor...
...then they took Africans to America to grow cotton...
...and got very rich very fast...
...everyone in the world needed cloth...

16/3/2020
West Africa's Brightest and Best, 2012 - 2016

...Can the women continue their strong showing?...
...Ghana dominant in this time period...

20/1/2020
West Africa's Brightest and Best, 2006 - 2011

...What effect does gender have on outcomes?...
...noticeable changes in this time period...

Excerpts from W.F. Conton's West Africa in History
The Empire of Mali

...richer even than the Empire of Ghana...
...gold trade and pilgrimages across the Sahara...

13/2/2020
How Politics Changes the Past


...Historians taking orders from the politicians?...




Excerpts from W.F. Conton's West Africa in History
The Empire of Ghana

...Berbers on camels bring trade and Islam across Sahara...
...Gold everywhere in the Ghana court...

11/1/2020
Liberals Hijack United Nations' Human Development Report
...inequality the overriding message...
...gender discrimination, reproductive rights, LGBTI rights all prominent...


15/1/2020
2019 UN Human Development Report - Africa Analysis

...13 West African countries in Low Human Development, but HDI is increasing...
...Are we catching up with the West?...






8/11/2019
How the USA Began to Grow Rice... then (a little like West Africa), almost stopped... Then Began All Over Again

...Asian rice to take over the world?...


18/11/2019
West Africa's Brightest and Best,
1995 - 2005


...How have they changed the world?...



3/12/2019
Rwanda - African Success Story or Hype?

...Does dictatorship work bettter in Africa?...

...Professor Filomina Steady takes a trip to Kigali...






18/10/2019
West Africa's Brightest and Best,
1990 - 1994


...How have they changed the world?...


28/10/2019
Sierra Leone to Become Self-Sufficient in Rice Once Again

...Turkish company on 110,000 ha plantation...
...3 crops a year...


Excerpts from W.F. Conton's West Africa in History
Africa in Classical Times

...an advanced African civilization "when the scattered tribes of Europe were still illiterate and barbarous"...
...First circumnavigation of Africa - 2,000 years before the Portuguese!...

Excerpts from W.F. Conton's West Africa in History

Africa - The First Inhabitants

...500,000 Years of West African History...


4/10/2019
West Africa's Brightest and Best,
1985 - 1989


...How have they changed the world?...


13/10/2019
Another Disaster on the Farm

...pawpaw crop destroyed...
...experimentation not for the poor and needy...

9/8/2019
Liberal Thought Police Issue New Instructions to Africa

...US Blacks already Signed up!...
...BBC Promises to Spread the Word!...
...Gay rights, abortion rights top the agenda..
.


4/9/2019
Immediate or Delayed Swearing-in - Which is Better for Africa?

...Lame-duck President...
...Judicial Review...
...Are Judges Best-Placed to Decide Elections?.
..



23/9/2019
Sierra Leone's Data Hub Provides Comprehensive Educational Data

...Nationally, by district, by school, by exam, by subject, every which way you want...


Excerpts from Province of Freedom, John Peterson
Sickness and Death in the Early Sierra Leone Colony
...Governors dropping like ninepins...
...Doctors killing off their patients...
...Traditional medicine could have saved them!...

11/7/2019
Apartheid Lives On!
...backlash against multiculturalism...
...not at all limited to racist whites in Europe and America...
...the struggles of peoples to live apart...

Excerpts from The Loyal Blacks, Ellen Gibson Wilson
Granville Town, Province of Freedom
...How did it all begin?...
...well before the Nova Scotians in 1792, Freetown purchased twice!...
...Granville Sharp struggles to establish 'his' province...

Struggling paw-pawThe Development Game

Take a peek into the next 100 years...
Can the African villager escape subsistence?...
Free Download










Reprinted from SL Studies NS5, December 1955
Direct Taxation in the Early History of Sierra Leone  (Part 1)

...Quit rent a relic of medievalism...
...one of the most difficult problems the government faced...
...lessons still relevant today for underdeveloped countries...


17/6/2019
West African Whitefly and Fungal Infestation

...widespread problem in Freetown...
...large and growing threat all over Africa...
...billions of dollars in lost agricultural production...








30/10/2018
2018 UN Human Development Report - African Analysis

...32 African countries stuck in Low Human Development...
...West Africa worst of all...











Sierra Leone Studies, Old Series
Vol 1, June 1918

21/1/2019
Is IMF's West African Fuel Subsidy Still in Place?

...West African average pump price 50% higher than US's...
...Windfall profits going somewhere!...








14/9/2018
West African Fungal Disease in Shrubs and Small Trees

...Deadly fungus kills off fruit trees!...











26/9/2018
From Freetown to Accra (Part 1)

...Black Star Square, Independence Circle breathtaking...
...shopping malls, super-highways and gleaming, five-star hotels...
...a glittering superstructure on a crumbling, shaky foundation?...

9/10/2018
Teenage Pregnancy and Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone - A Crisis of Poverty
by
Professor Filomina Steady

...alarming epidemic of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone...







Reprinted from Sierra Leone Studies, NS 24, January 1969
A Closer Look at Kailondo of Kailahun
by Arthur Abraham and Barry Isaac

"...Human carnage...human sacrifice..."
"...biased and flimsy accounts of early Europeans..."
Was Fyfe misled?











23/7/2018
Does Any West African Country Subsidize Fuel?

...IMF stretching the truth for decades...

21/8/2018
Land Tenure in Sierra Leone
by
Justice Nicholas Brown-Marke


...Krios still "non-natives"...
...Statutory declaration as good as conveyance...








2/11/2017
Freetown Population Increase, 1901 - 2015

...dramatic rise after Independence..
.











Reprinted from Sierra Leone Studies, NS 21, July, 1967
A Preliminary Political History of the Kenema Area
by Dick Simpson

...our knowledge of Mende history is restricted to scattered events...

Reprinted from Sierra Leone Studies, NS 21, July 1967
Kabala--The Northern Frontier Town
by Milton Harvey

"...the most important settlement in the extreme north...ensconced in its cradle of hills..."

31/8/2017
Freetown Population Increase, 1963 - 2015

...continuous high growth, unrelated to rebel war..
.









14/9/2017
The Failing States of West Africa (part 1)

...How long can they continue?...

6/10/2017
The Failing States of West Africa (part 2)

...How long can they continue?...







Africanus Horton
by
Christopher Fyfe

A Review











17/8/2017
The Folly of Uncritical Road Construction

...building roads through the African jungle spurs great African agricultural revival!...

22/8/2017
1000 Feared Dead in Sierra Leone Mudslide and Flooding

Careful investigation urgently needed...








8/3/2017

Africa and the Liberal Agenda

...Sexuality, abortion, religion, family values, gender equality all put Africa with the conservatives...










US Police "completely innocent" in United Airlines Dr Dao Case

...Doctor slips, falls from airplane seat, breaks his nose, loses two teeth...

4/5/2017
2016 UN Human Development Report - African Analysis

...Botswana and Gabon soon to be High Human Development?...
...West Africa stuck in Low Human Development...








27/7/2016
African Economic Outlook 2016 Wants More People in African Cities

...Top economists come up with the latest big answer for Africa!...









 Reprinted from Sierra Leone Studies, NS 16, June 1962
Sierra Leone's Connection with Royalty
by
Dr. M.C.F. Easmon
"...interesting light on a page of Sierra Leone and West African history..."

H.C. Bankole Bright and Politics in Colonial Sierra Leone, 1919 - 1958
by
Akintola Wyse

A Review








29/6/2016
Britain Pays the Price for Decades of Industrial Failure

...failed leadership and poor economic policies...










13/7/2016
US President Hastily Ends Africa Trip!

...impertinent questions, restive tribesmen...

22/7/2016
Sierra Leone's 2012 MCH Aides Finally Get Their First Salary

..."one or two" SECHNs too!...








Excerpts from Spitzer, The Creoles of Sierra Leone
The Syrians Arrive in Sierra Leone











9/6/2016
Sierra Leone Again Last in Maternal Mortality

...Maternal Mortality Ratio goes up, not down...

From Sierra Leone Studies, NS 10, June, 1958
Sierra Leone's Role in the Development of Ghana
(Part 2)
..."The debt of Ghana to Sierra Leone cannot possibly be repaid..."








May 2, 2016
Three Ghanaian Girls Top West Africa's WASSCE Exam

...Ghana dominates big brother Nigeria...
...Sierra Leone, Gambia and Liberia falling further behind?...










May 7, 2016
Coming Back from the Brink in Sierra Leone
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah

A Review

From Sierra Leone Studies, NS 10, June, 1958
Sierra Leone's Role in the Development of Ghana
by
K. A. B. Jones-Quartey








26/3/2016 As World Bank announces $55 m smallholder project in Sierra Leone...
Will Large Agri-Investments Rescue Africa?
...fifty plus years of stagnating agricultural output...
...archaic bush fallow, traditional land tenure...











6/4/2016
Sierra Leone's Population Increases 42% in 11 Years
...10 million by next census?...
"...sharp increase..."

From Sierra Leone Studies, NS no. 11, Dec. 1958
Madam Yoko
Ruler of the Mendi Confederacy








Excerpts from Spitzer, The Creoles of Sierra Leone...
The Creation of Hill Station

...Whites flee Freetown's mosquitoes...
...The beginning of apartheid...
"...Britain's rejection of the Creoles..."













1/3/2016
"Confess or Die in Jail"
US tells Innocent Man

As he wins a new term                     3/3/2016
Museveni to Clock 35 Years in Power
...and counting...
No indication yet of retirement
A young man still compared to Mugabe!









West African Exams Council WASSCE Chief Examiners Reports

...for Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and SL...










Reprinted from SL Studies, no. 11, Dec. 1958
Freetown in 1794
by
A. P. Kup


9/2/2016
UN Accuses UK of Arbitrary Detention Without Trial
...denies detainee access to independent doctors and lawyers...
...Sweden conceals exculpatory evidence...
...all because of a jealous lover and an overzealous female prosecutor???...
...US guilty of political persecution?...








Dec 31, 2015
Should the US Ban ALL Immigration?

... Who gains, who loses?...












Reprinted from SL Studies, No. 2, June, 1954
The Origins of Tribal Administration in Freetown (part 2)
14/1/2015
West African Rice Import Comparison

...Who eats the most rice?...
...Who spends the most on rice imports?...








Dec 2, 2015
West African Income Growth Comparison
...Which country grew the fastest in the last 35 years?...
...Which countries didn't grow at all?...




Reprinted from SL Studies, No. 2, June, 1954
The Origins of Tribal Administration in Freetown

Just released....
2015 UN Human Development Report

...Norway, Australia, Switzerland top the list...
...24 of bottom 25 countries are in Africa...



Nov 11, 2015
Africa's Dictators Fight Back

...democracy gains of the 1990s fast disappearing?...









Nov 17, 2015
Krio Descendants Union Petitions Constitutional Review Committee

...Discriminatory Land Laws Top their Issues...

Nov 22, 2015
Population Growth Comparison of West African Cities

...Which cities are the most crowded?...
...How has migration affected development?..
.







Oct 22, 2015
Cuba's Remarkable Medical Story

...They produce more doctors than anyone else...
...They export medical services around the world..
.
What can the world learn from them?










Reprinted from Sierra Leone Sudies, December, 1954
The Evolution of the Native Affairs Department (Parts 2 & 3)
by
John Hargreaves

...The Protectorate approaches...
...Rivalry between Krio executives and white D.C.s...
Nov 7, 2015
Sierra Leone Declared Free of Ebola







30/9/2015
IMF Does Quick U-Turn on Sierra Leone's Economy
"...challenging near and medium-term outlook..."
Not so long ago they were telling us all was well!










10/10/2015
Suddenly, Sierra Leone Government Faces a Vast, New Challenge
Reprinted from Sierra Leone Sudies, December, 1954
The Evolution of the Native Affairs Department (Part 1)
by
John Hargreaves

...The Colony Creates a Foreign Ministry...








Reprinted from Sierra Leone Studies, June 1963
Book Review - A History of Sierra Leone by Christopher Fyfe

Part 2













Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta. 1830 - 1885

by
Kenneth Dike

A Review

26/9/2015
Sierra Leone's Judges, Mainly Krio, Continue a Long, Dishonourable Tradition







As UN HRC issues a damning report      July 31, 2015
Is this the Scariest Country in Africa?
"...Torture commonplace..."
...Forced labour, arbitrary arrest, dysfunctional judiciary...







Aug 3,2015
Krio Descendants Union Invites Submissions for Sierra Leone Constitution Review
Aug 9, 2015
Singapore Turns 50

"We are amazed at our success"

"We did it on our own"

Meritocracy, Pragmatism and Honesty








June 19,2015
America's Longest Serving Political Detainee Still in Solitary Confinement

...43 years in jail without a conviction...








After Charleston...              June 30, 2015
Obama Wearies of America
"...this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries..."

Latest UN Statistics...     July 15,  2015
Education Spending in Africa by Country
...South Africa tops the list...
...Bottom countries spend just $30 per annum per child!...
...DRC spent $12 in 2010!...








Reprinted from Sierra Leone Studies, June 1963
Book Review - A History of Sierra Leone by Christopher Fyfe









May 20, 2015
Barefoot Womens College enrols new intake
APC discovers how to produce engineers in four months!
Market women soon all to be Bachelors of Arts?

May 31, 2015
Sierra Leone Government Overestimates its Appeal at African Development Bank

...Candidate eliminated in 1st round...







April 13,2015
APC Leading us to Yet Another Disaster
by
Paul Conton











April 15, 2015
Four Tests of (Sierra Leone's) Judicial Independence

...as justices decide crucial constitutional issues...

May 9, 2015
Liberia Declared Free of Ebola!







Mar. 19, 2015
President Koroma Sacks Vice, Appoints Replacement
...Looming Dictatorship?...
,,,Cabinet, Parliament, Judiciary firmly under control...











Mar 29, 2015
How Much does an Ebola Lockdown Cost?

...Is it an effective technique against Ebola?...

From Sierra Leone Studies, no. 16, June, 1962
Trade Routes of the Early Sierra Leone Protectorate
by P.K. Mitchell

Did the decline begin in 1900?

Mar 2, 2015
How Liberia Beat Ebola

.
Mar 8, 2015
APC Sacks Vice President
...APC accuses APC of violence!...


...Impeachment possible?...
Mar 14, 2015
Vice President Sumana Seeks Political Asylum






Feb. 12, 2015
Ebola Dollars - An Efficient Use of Funds?

...Britain spends £325m on Ebola in SL..
.
...Total Ebola spending exceeds £1bn?..
.
Feb. 15, 2015
After Ebola, Sierra Leone Government Decides to Provide Schools with Water

...Hundreds of boreholes to be drilled?...
From Sierra Leone Studies, NS, no. 16
An Account of the Liberian Hinterland c. 1780
...Europeans struggle to unravel the African landscape...








From Sierra Leone Studies, NS no. 2
The New Burial Ground - A History of Circular Rd. Cemetery
by
Christopher Fyfe










Jan 22, 2015
Ebola Chart 6

...The outbreak at last appears to slow...
...Year-end data worse than early projections...

From Sierra Leone Studies, No. 16, June 1962
Liberia and Sierra Leone
by
J. D. Hargreaves
...So near and yet so distant..
...So similar and yet so different...








Dec. 22, 2014
Ebola Case Fatality Rate, CFR - Another Look










From Sierra Leone Studies, June 1960
West Indians in West Africa

...They help the British secure Empire...
...Hardier than Englishmen, more dependable than Africans...

Jan 1, 2015
The (Extreme) Importance of Ebola Case Fatality Rate







Dec. 10, 2014

A Visit to Kingtom Ebola Center











Dec. 17, 2014
Now you've Admitted Torture, Can We Please have the Torturers for Trial!

...US Admits Torture...
...Refuses to put the criminals on trial...

Dec. 18, 2014
Sierra Leone Parliament Accused of Corruption
"...No bribe, no development..."
...International community a laughing stock?...
...Listen to the audio 







Nov 26, 2014
Some Argue Chief Justice is Political Appointee

...APC Set to Manipulate Judiciary?...
...Grand Plan Includes Impeachment of Vice President, Third Term?...










Dec 4, 2014
America Continues to Gun Down its Young Black Men

..Obama unable to stamp his authority on US police...

Dec 8, 2014
Ebola Chart 5

...SL set to overtake Liberia in total cases...








Reprint from Sierra Leone Studies, no. 1
Sir Samuel Lewis and the Legislative Council
by J.D. Hargreaves

...Were Sierra Leoneans ready for leadership in 1890?...

... Governor Cardew jealous of Sir Samuel, disliked Krios...

"...the most formative period...in the history of Sierra Leone."
From Sierra Leone Studies, no. 11
How we Lost Guinea (part 2)

...and almost lost Kono and Kailahun into the bargain!...

...In 1893, the French come the long way round to enter Kono!...

...Butchery and beheadings in the East!...

After encouraging street trading for five decades...
APC Discovers Skills Gap in Sierra Leone!

...Finance Minister offers 400,000 USD in new budget for quick fix...

"200,000 okada riders", unknown number petty traders soon to be turned into doctors!
...read Budget Speech
Oct 29, 2014
Inside an Ebola Center
...We get more than we bargained for!...










From Sierra Leone Studies, no. 9
How We Lost Guinea (part 1)
...British vacillating and penny pinching..
...French grab Fourecaria, want to exchange for the Gambia...


Nov. 5, 2014
Krio Descendants Union Contributes to the Fight against Ebola







Oct 20, 2014
Ebola Chart 4

Ebola chart








Reprint from Sierra Leone Studies, no 8...
The Foundation of the Luawa Chiefdom
...The origins of Sierra Leone's most troubled district...
...The story of Kailondo and Ndawa...

Oct. 27, 2014
A Visit to Freetown's Ebola Treatment Centers







Oct 8, 2014
British, Cuban, Chinese Teams Fight Ebola in Sierra Leone

...Ebola treatment, testing predominantly by non-Sierra Leoneans...


New Hastings Ebola Center Discharges 49 Survivors

...175 patients admitted in first two weeks...

...33 more survivors discharged Oct 16...
Oct 16, 2014
Who Tests the Ebola Testers?
"...lab test the final arbiter..."

...How many false positives and false negatives?...









Sept. 25, 2014
Ebola: Are we Repeating the Kenema Mistake in Freetown?

..."Ebola holding centers" springing up within the city...











From Sierra Leone Studies, June 1957
Prince Naimbana in England
by
 H.A. Rydings

...What persuaded old King Naimbana to sell Freetown the second time?...
...The prince displays delicate writing after just a year in England!...

Oct 7, 2014
Ebola Survival Appears to be Higher in the West

...What are we doing wrong?...
..Are they hiding the medicines from us?..









Sept 16, 2014
Ebola Chart 3
...Plots Ebola trends out to the end of the year...
...SL set for 4,500 cases by Dec. 31...
...Liberia to exceed 50,000?...










  From Sierra Leone Studies, December, 1955
Notes on Bai Bureh, of 1898 fame
by
Douglas W. Scotland


Sept 24, 2014
New Emergency Measures Introduced

...Port Loko, Bombali and Moyamba districts to be quarantined...








Aug 31, 2014
West African Ebola - What is the True Case Fatality Rate, CFR?

...Sierra Leone MOHS CFR lower than WHO figure...







Sept 8, 2014
West African Ebola - What Can We Learn from the Uganda Experience?
Sept 11, 2014
Could Ebola Wipe Out West Africa?
Krio Descendants Union Statement on the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone
As President Johnson-Sirleaf declares curfew...            Aug 20, 2014
Liberia set to overtake Sierra Leone in Ebola cases
eb chart wk20 Ebola chart week 20
Reprint from Sierra Leone Studies, December 1956
Edward Fenton's Visit to Sierra Leone, 1582
by
A.P. Kup


...How on earth did they manage to cross oceans on sailing ships?...
...Two hundred years before the Settlers, who did they find in "Freetown"?...
...What has happened to our de Ruyter's stone?...

August 12, 2014
CHRONOLOGY OF THE EBOLA OUTBREAK IN WEST AFRICA

***How the US Defense Department and the WHO teamed up with a tiny US startup and helped ignite a global pandemic***

---The incredible story of US commercialism gone disastrously wrong---

---African pawns in a struggle between Europe and America?---















As WHO decides scale of the outbreak "vastly underestimated"...
MSF Critical of WHO in Battle Against Ebola

"Statements won't save lives"

"Stronger leadership" needed

Ebola Technical Data
...Full technical details on the dreaded virus...
Is airborne transmission possible?
Was it bats or monkeys that caused this?
How long does Ebola survive outside a host?
Can survivors infect others?









August 6,2014
Liberia declares State of Emergency

"...clear and present danger..." to the existence of the republic

As parliament ratifies state of emergency      August 7, 2014

Additional Emergency Measures Introduced in Sierra Leone







Latest WHO update       Jul 31, 2014

Liberia records 80 new Ebola cases in 3 days

August, 3, 2014

Where have all the Ebola patients gone?

...Can our Ministry of Health do simple arithmetic?...

...The international community should wake up and examine these figures...

August 4, 2014

Joint Declaration by MRU Heads of State on Ebola

“...the disease is not being exported.”








Exclusive interview with MSF mission chief          July 26, 2104

MSF 'unable' to take on Ebola in Kenema

..."in the history of Ebola we have only had one worker.."










July 29,2014

Ebola Diary 2
July 31, 2014

Sierra Leone President's address to nation on Ebola outbreak







July 14, 2014
Ebola Diary
by
Paul Conton












2014 Supplementary Budget in brief
...Huge budget deficit to rise even further?..
...Are we still dependent on donor aid?...
...How much for Ebola?...

According to WHO                         July 25, 2014

Sierra Leone Overtakes Guinea in Ebola Cases

...Government figures still lower than WHO 







As Guinea blames SL and Liberia...
Ebola Death Toll Rises
...First deaths reported in Monrovia...
WHO figures higher than official SL Govt figures
...Read the latest (June 17) WHO update










As President finally addresses the nation on Ebola...
...Is SL Government to Blame for this Plague?...
...Are we doing all we could to stop it?...
Sierra Leone now the epicenter?...
...More new cases in SL than in Guinea or Liberia...

July 10, 2014
As Parliament discusses emergency budget for Ebola...
Hundreds of Health Workers Unpaid for Two Years
...Confirmed Ebola case in Freetown...
...Latest WHO update - 34 new cases in SL, total tops 300...









The Sierra Leone Administration in 1885
 by
Christopher Fyfe









Oh No! Bintumani all over again!
...APC revives a huge white elephant...
...34 years after it died on arrival!...
Pray for tourists or NASSIT pensioners to go hungry!

June 11, 2014
Following sacking of Presidential Chief of Staff...
Sierra Leone in Multiple Crises
...Corruption, Ebola and Education top the list...
***Stop Press - Kailahun District declared restricted area***








On Sir Milton Margaithe 50th anniversary of his passing...
Margai Family Celebrates the Life of Sir Milton
Was he a great leader... or did he simply benefit from the structures he found in
 place
Did he ensure peace and stability...or did his conservatism lay the foundation for future instability?









After 3 years of free health care, WHO says...
Sierra Leone Dead Last in Maternal Mortality
...Health ministry in crisis mode!.
...Millions in donor aid wasted?...
...MCH nurses upaid for TWO years.....

...download the latest WHO report
After that WHO report...
Interview with Sierra Leone's Chief Medical Officer
"...we know we have done so well"
"Free Health Care has done so much for us"
"We have done better than South Africa and Zimbabwe"
MCH Aides working for eight years without pay!







Reproduced from Sierra Leone Studies, June 1955
The Life and Times of John Ezzidio
by
Christopher Fyfe












Fixing Freetown
Freetown City Council unveils its 15-year development plan
...City's population will increase by 1 million - World Bank expert
"It can get better, it can get worse," warns Ghanaian development expert
"We spend all our time picking up garbage," laments City Mayor

Reproduced from Sierra Leone Studies, December 1958
Port Loko
by
Christopher Fyfe
Was it the port of the Lokos, driven out by the Temnes?
Or was it a Portuguese swamp?



















From the Patriotic Vanguard...
Freetown and Romarong...and Christopher Fyfe
"...land was never sold to the settlers..."
"...myths perpetuated by colonial adventurers..."

After that HRW story on African Minerals...
This is what I am Talking about
by
Dr Walcut Metzger









Flashback to 1978...
A year by year record of
A Decade of Progress and Development under the APC
...read more










Flashback to 1978...What were they telling us then?
On the economy: "...a dramatic increase in the per capita income in Sierra Leone, at times as much as 35%
On agriculture: "...the government's priority goal of self-sufficiency in rice and other staple foodstuffs is close to realisation."
On roads: "For much of the last 10 years, road building has received the largest share of the national Development Budget."

Mar 16, 2014
APC looks on admiringly as...
97+% Crimeans vote to join Russia




























Creoledom
by
Arthur Porter

A review












17/2/2014
First it was Works/Roads, now...
Energy Minister, NPA Boss Sacked!
More villagers head for Freetown as...
Human Rights Watch Blasts African Minerals
"A holdover from the precolonial and colonial eras paramount chiefs...play a critical role in land use decisions..."
"We were told, 'Where you are is hell and where you are going is heaven.'"
"Six days later, AML bulldozers began working..."




























Jan 18, 2014
Abel Stronge Resigns
"No longer meets the qualifications
for Speaker of the House of Parliament"











Follow up to that Prince of Wales story...
Dysfunctional Education
How do our WAEC results compare with Nigeria and Ghana?
How much are we spending on education compared to our neighbours?
What progress on Gbamanja recommendations?

After 49++ yrs of complaints from POW School (from just after Independence!)...   SQUATTERS EVICTED!
WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG?

Six reasons why the Sierra Leone government took years to remove squatters from their own top school.
...a la Richie Gordon







Why Freetown, why not Bonthe?
...The Bullom - the earliest recorded
inhabitants of Freetown
...Little evidence of hundreds of years of Bullom and Sherbro civilization
...How did Freetown come to dominate the Sierra Leone coast?











As police open fire again on Socfin protesters in Sahr Malen chiefdom and Sierra Leone government signs another land deal with Chinese...

Addax - A Closer Look
What do we benefit from these large-scale land leases?
What can we learn from this company?


Slaves, Slaveowners and Slave Dealers: Sherbro Coast and Hinterland
by
Carol P. Maccormack







SLPP claims...
APC Tampers with Sierra Leone Constitution
Speaker to be replaced?
Presidential term to be extended?











Education in Sa Lone

Illiterates Rule
As schoolboy is gunned down...
APC government favours petty trading over education

In record time...
SL Parliament Passes Constitutional Amendment
APC travels down old, familiar road
Speaker Abel Stronge's position undermined
Constitutional review process thrown into doubt








read 2009 Old Princewaleans Letter to the President
In 2009 these 450 concerned Sierra Leoneans put their names to a letter to the President expressing concern about the condition of the no. 1 government school in the country
Response to date: ZERO.  Read Prince of Wales School, Symbol of a Dysfunctional System










Sierra Leone Road Maintenance Fund Announces Le56 billion for Road Maintenance

...Money not yet at hand - to be raised by March 2014!
...includes 48 streets in Freetown
...what about the other 1001?








Minister of Works, D-G SLRA Sacked!
Natinpasadvantage was right!!!

"The greatest road construction program in the country's history"?

What hope for Agenda for Prosperity when the roads pillar is in a shambles?










UN Accuses US of Torture

Punished for his political views...

Prisoner wins appeal after 41 yrs solitary confinement!!

...dies three days later

ACTION AID ON ADDAX BIOENERGY IN SIERRA LEONE

"A massive land grab"

Sierra Leoneans back on plantations!

Why can't we grow sugar cane by ourselves?

If we don't make good use of the land, eventually someone else will!









Krio Descendants Union hold sixth annual family weekent in Atlanta, USA
-Nest year's gathering to be held in Freetown

Read statement by President, KDY, Global

Read statement by President, KDY, Freetown










Do we really need a new airport at Mamamah?

-fate of Lungi unclear-

-Aberdeen Bridge now replaced by bridge to Lungi!

AGAIN!...APC government minister MUSA TARAWALLIE accused of THUGGERY

Grabbing of Krio lands

...read more







At the Police Station

Govt Minister accused of rape

A short play














Prince of Wales School - Symbol of a Dysfunctional System (part 1)

-No. 1 Government school is falling apart-

If this is the situation in Freetown, what's it like in Koinadugu and Kailahun?








Vladimir Putin's Address to Americans!










That Saturday Cleaning Exercise - What an APC Admission of Failure
The great constitutional debate
A response to President Koroma's CRC speech - Dr Walcut Metzger

"Sierra Leone constitutional dilemma...two operating systems of laws in place"

"Economic bottleneck caused by the constitutional restraint on land ownership"
Send your constitutional suggestions to natinpasadvantage@yahoo.com







After six years of ernest roadbuilding Sierra Leone's roads are still a mess

-Roads falling apart faster than they are being built-
-APC roadbuilding strategy poorly thought out...fatally flawed-










Mammy Bonga Wins Again?

-Operation WID in retreat-

"No President dares to oppose us"

How the British cheated the Black Poor!
And the Nova Scotians too!

Why it still matters today









Anna Maria Falconbridge
Two Voyages to Sierra Leone, 1791-3

Her husband, after whom an area of Freeton is named, was sent out to rescue the early colony after the first settlement had been destroyed by King Jimmy. Had it not been for his efforts Freetown might not exist today. Read this fascinating account by his wife, who accompanied him, of what they found when they got to Sierra Leone and how they managed to persuade King Naimbana to reestablish the colon
y.











Anna Maria Falconbridge
Two Voyages to Sierra Leone, 1791-3

"Mr. Falconbridge is employed by the St. George's Bay Company to carry out some relief for a number of unfortunate people, both blacks and whites, whom Government sent to the river Sierra Leone, a few years since, and who in consequence of having had some dispute with the natives, are scattered through the country and are just now as I have been told in the most deplorable condition"

In America Man Marries Pig

-US Supreme Court backs the union-

-"Milestone in human rights law"-

-Dog lovers clamor for their rights too!-

-US President takes message of non-discrimination to Africa!-








US Marine shot dead by OSD at Lumley

-conflicting accounts from police and bystanders-

I.G. in full-combat mode!











More Land Grabbing Sanctioned by Government

If they do it successfully in Freetown, how can the villagers of Manonpoh resist?

Chinese nationals again involved!

Police officers injured in confrontation with Addax workers

-Company no stranger to controversy-

Issue of large-scale agricultural land leases once again under scrutiny








2013 Sierra Leone Constitutional Review Process begins!

Will land tenure reform make it onto the agenda this time around?...

"We will work towards ensuring a more equitable, non-discriminatory and fairer land tenure system in the country."
President Ernest Bai Koroma
Dec 2012 State opening of Parliament










Download 2007 Peter Tucker Constitutional Review Recommendations HERE






Click here for earlier edition