Mohammed Kroma: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 May 2026: On 12 May 2026, the British High Commission in Freetown issued a public statement distancing itself from a report in Sierra Leone’s Global Times newspaper. The report had alleged that unnamed UK diplomats warned that visa applications from twenty-three Sierra Leoneans — government officials and government-linked individuals expected to travel to Leicester, UK for Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister’s Town Hall meeting between 27 May and 3 June 2026 — were ‘frivolous’ and could strain bilateral relations. The British High Commission’s response was measured. It reaffirmed that all applications are assessed on individual merit, in accordance with UK immigration rules. It pointed to the recent launch of e-Visas as evidence of its commitment to facilitating legitimate travel. It expressed surprise at the Global Times report’s framing. It did not say the applications were approved. It did not deny that any concerns had been...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 May 2026: Global Citizen and FIFA today announced the first round of grant recipients from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. 27 grassroots organizations from 10 countries around the world have been selected to receive awards ranging from USD $50,000–$250,000 to further their vital work providing access to quality education and sports to children in underserved communities. The FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund aims to raise USD $100 million by the end of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ to expand access to quality education and football for children worldwide. To date, the Fund has raised over USD $30 million, with contributions from philanthropies, major brands and corporations, individual donors, and proceeds from ticket sales to major music and sporting events, including the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026™. The first cohort of FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund grantees reflects both...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 19 May 2026: The Ubuntuverse Institute has released The 3 Trillion Corporate Advocacy PlayBook: Africa’s 10× CAMPs Accelerating Just Clean Energy’s Green Industrialisation, a field-defining framework charting how corporate actors can unlock the continent’s $3 trillion clean energy opportunity. Drawing on evidence from the IEA, IRENA, the African Development Bank, the African Union and BloombergNEF, the PlayBook identifies a $2.25 trillion private investment gap that, if closed, could compress Africa’s industrialisation timeline from the historical 50 to 100 years to 20 to 40 years — placing the continent at the centre of the global Just Energy Transition rather than at its periphery. Africa holds approximately 30 per cent of the world’s critical mineral reserves and 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources, yet attracts less than 3 per cent of global clean energy investment and captures only 1 per cent of global solar capacity. The...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 19 May 2026: Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, today announced that its Board has approved a commitment of up to US$100 million to invest in Africa-focused technology fund managers. The launch comes at a pivotal moment for Africa. The continent’s digital economy is projected to contribute over US$700 billion to GDP by 2050, driven by a fast-growing, digitally connected population and accelerating enterprise adoption of technology. Yet despite this momentum, a persistent gap in long-term institutional capital continues to constrain the development and scaling of high-potential technology businesses across the continent. Through this commitment, AFC will deploy catalytic capital in leading Africa-focused technology Funds and in particular African-owned fund managers. In doing so, AFC aims to address the underrepresentation of local capital in venture funding by catalysing greater participation from African institutional investors and deepening local ownership within the ecosystem. Africa’s venture...

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 19 May 2026: African leaders are sharpening their focus on digital sovereignty, warning that the continent’s economic future will depend not just on connectivity, but on who controls its data—and where it is stored. At a high-level roundtable during the 58th session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers, held in Tangiers, Morocco, in April 2026, policymakers and technology leaders signaled a decisive shift in Africa’s digital ambitions: from being consumers of technology to becoming architects of their own digital infrastructure and data ecosystems. Central to this shift is the idea of “sovereign data”—ensuring that African data is stored, processed and governed within the continent. Participants emphasized that digital independence is no longer optional; it is a prerequisite for economic security and national resilience. “Digital public infrastructure is as vital today as electricity,” said Américo Muchanga, Mozambique’s...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 12 May 2026: Africa’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are increasingly being positioned as active financiers of the continent’s mining sector and a vital tool for unlocking its over $8.5 trillion in untapped mineral resources. With combined assets now exceeding $164 billion, SWFs are emerging as a potential counterweight to volatile international capital, particularly as geopolitical risk reshapes global investment flows. SWFs are no longer passive investors but are increasingly positioning themselves as active partners in mining development, with countries scaling up SWF participation to reduce reliance on external financing, accelerate exploration, enable local beneficiation and integrate artisanal and small-scale mining into formal value chains. One of the clearest examples of this shift is in East Africa. Ethiopian Investment Holdings – with assets exceeding $45 billion – is playing a central role in advancing mining-led industrialization. In 2026, the fund signed an agreement with the country’s Ministry of...

Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 18 May 2026: The numbers are staggering. (Photo above: President Julius Maada Bio). The silence is deafening. The 2024 Auditor General’s report being the latest release, does not merely point out errors, it reflects a national tragedy. According to the findings, over 243.9 million New Leones have been lost to financial mismanagement and irregularities. More than 13.8 million New Leones have vanished into the pockets of ghost workers. But the rot, as it turns out, goes much deeper than a bloated payroll. In a shocking revelation, the audit has uncovered that 196 government vehicles, procured at a cost of $21 million of taxpayers’ money, have simply vanished. Not misplaced. Not reassigned. Vanished. What has been the response from those entrusted to guard our nation’s assets? Not a word. No cough. No care. Worse still, according to a source familiar with the audit process who...

Yankuba Gbassa Kai-Samba: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 18 May 2026: Given the unprecedented frequency of President Bio’s overseas trips to attend meetings, there is significant public concern that public funds are being wasted. Critics accuse him of seeking validation abroad while failing to deliver for the people at home. Why not delegate some of these international meetings to the Vice President, relevant ministers, or diplomats abroad, who would be far less costly? The fact that President Bio appears to be the only sitting African president attending this Oxford conference is seen by many as part of a pattern to convince an unsuspecting public that his travels are not in vain and that his presence plays an important role in the equation of glabal politics. They point to his role as ECOWAS Chair and Sierra Leone’s UN Security Council seat as examples he uses to justify the trips. However, it does not...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 18 May 2026: While Many in Sierra Leone are struggling to put food on their table and cope with the daily grind of electricity power cuts that is crippling the nation’s hospitals and small businesses, President Julius Maada Bio has once again arrived in London, this time – ahead of what State House described as “engagements at the prestigious universities of Oxford and Cambridge”. Yesterday Sunday, 17th May 2026, President Bio delivered a Presidential Address at the Oxford Africa Conference 2026, hosted by the University of Oxford Africa Society. And today Monday, he returns to Oxford to present a Presidential Lecture on Democracy at the Schwarzman Centre, after killing hundreds of unarmed youths who were peacefully demonstrating against poor governance and brutality of his SLPP government. On Friday, 22nd May 2026, President Bio will visit the University of Cambridge, where he is scheduled to deliver a Presidential...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 May 2026: Sunday, 10th May 2026. Your Excellency President Julius Maada Bio President of the Republic of Sierra Leone State House, Freetown. Dear Mr. President, AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JULIUS MAADA BIO ON THE GROWING INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING LINKS TO SIERRA LEONE As Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, I write with profound concern and a deep sense of patriotic duty regarding the alarming and repeated international reports linking Sierra Leone, Sierra Leoneans, our territorial waters, our ports, our borders and persons associated with our country to international narcotics trafficking and organized criminal networks. Over the last two years in particular, Sierra Leone has increasingly appeared in international criminal investigations, media reports, law enforcement briefings, and extradition proceedings concerning cocaine trafficking, organized crime syndicates, and transnational drug cartels. The frequency and gravity of these reports now pose a serious threat to our national...