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/ 24 April 2008

Rising food prices leave Sierra Leoneans bitter

As Sierra Leoneans prepare to celebrate the 47th anniversary of their country’s independence on Sunday, the mood is not festive, but bitter, as people find it more difficult to put food on the table. Rising food prices have swept the West African state, and have also raised expectations on the government to act to soften the blow for consumers.

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/ 16 November 2007

S Leone leader promises ‘zero tolerance’ on graft

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma promised ”zero tolerance” on Thursday for corruption in his country after a leaked government report said rampant official graft had swallowed up donor funds. Speaking at his formal inauguration in Freetown, the 54-year-old former insurance executive called for a change of attitude in the West African state.

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/ 10 October 2007

Beaches may wash away Sierra Leone’s war image

Boboh village used to do a roaring trade in the Pa Gbana cocktail, a mix of fermented local grasses, coconut and lime favoured by tourists to wash down freshly-cooked lobster. Nowadays there is little demand for the drink, named after the village’s oldest resident: the only foreigners on Boboh’s pristine beaches, south of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, are development workers taking time out.

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/ 3 September 2007

S Leone poll contenders agree non-violence pact

Sierra Leone’s rival presidential contenders will lead supporters in a joint peace march to cement a pact against violence following clashes ahead of a run-off vote, their parties said on Monday. Opposition frontrunner Ernest Bai Koroma and his ruling party rival, Vice-President Solomon Berewa, agreed the deal in talks on Sunday.