PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela announced the nomination of Independent Electoral Commission vice-chair, Brigalia Bam, for appointment as chair on Friday . Judge Ismail Hussain was nominated for the position of IEC commissioner, on the recommendation of the National Assembly and in terms of the Electoral Commission Act of 1996, Mandela said. Herbert Vilakazi, an IEC member since 1997, is the new vice-chair.
DONORS SUSPEND AID TO S.LEONE
THE International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have decided to suspend all disbursements to war-torn Sierra Leone until the situation improves, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah said on Friday. Annoucing the withdrawal Kabbah, whose government last month survived a rebel invasion of Freetown with the help of Nigerian-led intervention troops, noted that Sierra Leone is ”going through a difficult phase and all should work together to solve the crisis”. In spite of its considerable mineral resources, particularly diamonds, bauxite and rutile, Sierra Leone is officially classed by the UN as the poorest country in the world. It has been torn apart by civil war since 1991.