Emmerson Bockarie ( Borbor Belleh ) was almost stripped naked by anxious Sierra Leoneans in the United States during his maiden tour in that country.

Reliable sources intimated this press that the incident occurred when over 3,000 people turned-up to receive one of Sierra Leone’s best artist.

During his first performance at Washington D.C. it was revealed that the entrance fee had to be increased from $20 to $25 to watch the slim and moderate artist. The show was reported to be hectic.

At Zanzibar on Saturday October 9, Sierra Leoneans had the opportunity to listen to the lyrics and watch the live performance of Sierra Leone’s only female reggae artist, Khadie Black and Emmerson’s 20 - vocalist Lady Vee, who was also reported to have been very sensational.

Over and above, all special honour was reportedly accorded to M.B. Atilla, formerly of 96.2 fame, who officially opened the show with a bang followed by the country’s National Anthem which was echoed by all and sundry.

Stepping into the show proper, the tall and unassuming former NUC student appeased the crowd with his usual five lyrics given a deep moaning of every song on his ‘Borbor Belleh’ album sending Sierra Leonean into wide ecstasy despite the month of Ramandan.

What was even more important, was the patriotism demonstrated by anxious Sierra Leoneans in the US. They were reported to have demonstrated a true sense of belonging and reflection of their native land- and how best they could contribute meaningfully to make a difference in their war-ravaged country.

"The raw and untapped talents are in abundance, hence the need for them to be tapped at all cost," one was quoted as having said.

Our source further disclosed that Emmerson will be performing in nine states and will have a special VIP show at Gathesbury; Maryland at JJ’s Grill Funding event were about 200-300 guests will be attending at America’s Legions building.

Emmerson is supposed to have dinner and raise some funds for his Youth Foundation Scheme which is a non profitable organisation.

Berewa Excels In USA

In spite of the propagated political mischief that Vice President Berewa was in Guinea for medical treatment , The Exclusive can authoritatively reveal that the SLPP leader is actually well and alive in the United States of America.

A source who accompanied the VP to the U.S. intimated The Exclusive Wednesday, that the Vice President was in Atlanta, Georgia, where he met and stayed with Solomon Berewa Jnr.

In Atlanta, Sierra Leoneans in all the nook and cranny of USA flooded that state to meet with Mr Berewa, who one observer described as, " the next rising star of Sierra Leone after President Kabbah."

Wednesday evening, Vice President Berewa, met with Sierra Leoneans in other states in the USA, who came to see him at Atlanta and pledged their support and the formation of Friends of Solo B – FOSB USA Chapter.

Earlier in the day, Vice President Berewa granted an exclusive CNN interview which will be tele-broadcast live next week Saturday.

The VP in his CNN interview, highlighted the problems of post conflict Sierra Leone and the attendant problems of post war challenges and how his eventual leadership would benefit Sierra Leone.

Thursday, VP Berewa held important discussions with US officials.

The VP is expected to shuttle to Rome, Italy and then to United Kingdom before returning to Sierra Leone next week, sources reveal.

On a witty note, when asked about his travel plans whilst abroad, the VP responded "I am from Forekariah, after Kindia, and Nzerekure – "tell the political mischief makers" the VP was quoted to have said from the USA via cell phone.

The President Alhaji Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has expressed dissatisfaction and frustration over the level of financial commitment from the donor community to Sierra Leone.

President Kabbah said Sierra Leone is a post-war country and therefore financial pledges from the donor community to Sierra Leone’s development programmes must be adhered to.

The President’s statement came during the formal launching of the Millennium Development Goals report 2005, at the Miatta Conference Centre, 11 October 2005.

"I must say that some of our donor community are indeed generous but some of them make pledges which they do not fulfill," President Kabbah asserted. He used the occasion to appeal to the donor community to fulfil pledges made at the adoption of Millennium Development Goals in the United States, in 2002.

He said the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is a responsibility that rests on all nations and that the world must come together to push the African continent to the peak of prosperity.

He called on Sierra Leoneans to do everything possible to ensure the achievement of the MDGs for the socio-economic and cultural development of post-war Sierra Leone.

Earlier, the Minister of Development and Economic Planning, Alhaji Mohamed B. Daramy said the MDGs project is further intended to eradicate poverty and guarantee the provision of safe drinking water coupled with combating HIV/AIDS, the ecosystem and biodiversity.

Hon. Daramy said the project also focuses on human development, the reduction of poverty, global inequality and the reduction of infant mortality rate among Sierra Leoneans.

He noted that Sierra Leoneans enjoy unprecedented international interest and that the donor community is willing to support basic education, food security and other priority programmes including youth skills training programmes and gender equality.

Although journalism covers a much wider field than the daily and weekly printing and circulation of newspapers, the great majority of working journalists are engaged in newspaper or news agency staffs or are in some says concerned with the collection and presentation of news.

Sierra Leone, for instance, was at the fore-front of journalism, dating back to the colonial days. This was partly due to the establishment of Fourah Bay College which was the only institution of higher education in British West Africa. Records show that Fourah Bay College was founded by the church Missionary Society in 1827 to train teachers and clergymen.

Perhaps, the establishment of Fourah Bay College influenced the practice of journalism and newspapers publication in the country during the colonial era. Research suggests that, there were eleven newspapers in the country during the colonial era, namely The Daily Mail, which was then controlled by West African Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of The Daily Mirror, London. Others were Shekpendeh, The African Standard, The African Vanguard, The Evening Dispatch, The Sierra Leone Observer, Weekly Bulletin , Sene Lokoi, Advance, Ten Daily News and African Crescent.

Unfortunately, however, all the newspapers published in the colonial days are non-existent or have folded up. The question is: what caused the newspapers to cease publication? The answer to this question can be looked into from the perspective of newspapers production and distribution in Sierra Leone. For example, the newspaper industry in Britain is, thus, a very highly organized and closely integrated system for the collection and dissemination of news.

Thus, production and distribution are essential tools for sustaining the newspaper industry.

It is for this reason that work on a weekly is such an excellent training ground, for here news-gathering and production jostle each other cheek by jowl, often in cramped premises, and the beginner has a chance to get the printer’s ink into his blood. The secret lies in co-ordinations concerted daily or nightly effort to get the best and most up-to-the minute paper to the reader with uniform punctuality helps to explain the affection and loyalty the average newspaperman feels for his own particular sheet, so that it becomes for him a living thing, much more than a mere commercial enterprise on which he depends for his bread and butter.

To a larger extent, journalism in Sierra Leone has been following this trend of newspaper production. As often reporters and editors spend sleepless nights at printing houses, in the anxiety to get the newspapers circulated in the morning. But the many us: are the newspapers really being effectively distributed, circulated or marketed? Thus where the problem lies and, this often lead a good number of newspapers to fold up or cease publication.

Over the years, there have not been an effective distribution systems for the newspapers. Newspapers distribution have been placed at the mercy of news vendors. Regrettably, however, most of the vendors are cash-strapped and only afford to buy few copies out of thousands of printed copies. In a essence, heaps of newspapers are always left in the hands of vendors on credit basis for them to distribute and account for the sold copies later-minus their commission.

This "porous" system of distribution had exhausted for decades to the disadvantage of most publishers and editors of newspapers in the country. Barely last week, publishers and editors of newspapers took the bull by the horns and entered into a new agreement with the vendors. Now the vendors have been asked to buy the newspapers. This suggests that the old system of giving out newspapers on credit to vendors no longer exists.

But how effective is the new system going to work, considering the "mushroom" of newspapers circulation daily in the country? Will the vendors afford to buy, over 15 daily newspapers in circulation at the cost of Le600 each, and if so how many copies of each newspapers? This is the sticky point now surrounding the whole system of distribution of newspapers in Sierra Leone. It is, however, hoped that the new system would work effectively to the advantage of publishers and editors of newspapers of Sierra Leone.

At a recent press conference convened at the Sierra Leone News Agency (SLENA), the Chief Electoral Officer and the chairperson of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) Miss Christiana Thorpe, re-echoed previous assurances that the forthcoming presidential and General elections in 2007 will be transparent.

It is one thing to utter the assurances and quite another to ensure that, contrary to the speculations of critics, Madam Thorpe and the NEC will live up to expectations in 2007. This is because one feature of the history of general elections in Sierra Leone and indeed many African countries is that they are often fraught with electoral fraud.

Over the years, Sierra Leone has hardly learnt its lessons. As Madam Thorpe herself revealed at one of her press briefings, the 2004 Municipal elections that were reintroduced after 32 years was proven to have some flavor of fraud. This indicates that though we have entered the new millennium, old habits die hard.

Indeed the 7 steps to a transparent election planned by the NEC boss are being closely monitored with interest. Each step appears to complement the efforts of the commission, and each step is indispensable to the holding of a free and transparent elections.

No election in this country will be considered transparent except it ensures that there are widespread consultations and broad participation of key stakeholders.

The civil society groups, political parties and the general public are to be given a chance to express themselves on electoral matters at every stage of the exercise.

One particular aspect of the NEC press briefing was the introduction of two female expatriates working in the UNDP system for the objective of ensuring that the 2007 elections will be free and transparent. This is a clear signal that not all the supplications for assistance have fallen on deaf ears.

According to the NEC boss, the commission is to shortly embark on boundary delimitations, one of the 7 steps earmarked.

The record shows that the last time boundary delineation was done in this country was in1986, which is over fifteen years ago. The 1991 constitution mandates boundary delineation to be carried out once every five years for both parliamentary constituencies and wards.

The Sierra Leone constitution stipulates that the number of parliamentary constituencies and wards should not be less than sixty. The number of parliamentary seats in the present unicameral parliament on the basis of the proportional representation system stands at a hundred and twelve.

According to one of the two UNDP Electoral Advisors, who has vast experience and expertise on boundary delineation matters, the 2002 elections was not based on constituency boundaries due to the conflict situation, but rather on proportional representation.

The expert disclosed that the disadvantage is that the elections will not be proportionate to the population density and in this instance, votes will not reflect the number of seats in parliament, which lends credence to the significance of boundary delineation.

To ensure a credible boundary delineation exercise, the NEC experts would have to heavily rely on maps and statistical data furnished by the updated 2004 National Population and Housing Census of statistics-Sierra Leone.

Apart form the digital maps to draw the boundaries, NEC would also have to take recourse to a parliamentary Act that would essentially dictate the number of seats and each district in the country will get parliamentary seats on the basis of population density.

The expert equally made allusion to a process to seek the help of key stakeholders, civil society and public sensitization and consultations and this will be done by publishing the descriptions of delineated boundaries in draft forms so as to solicit views on possible errors that may crop up.

A question that became the spot light was the guarantee that the population figure be furnished by Statistics Sierra Leone are reliable and the reaction was that this is why the public will be involved to correct loopholes detected.