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Aw yu du? What a month. Diving straight in, the sad news of the month is the unfortunate helicopter crash which killed 22 people. Twenty of these were Togolese nationals including the Togolese Minister of Sports. The news was met with anger, embarrassment, and sorrow, probably in equal measure. As mentioned in the January newsletter, the helicopters were grounded due to safety concerns but less than 2 months later, the services were resumed – apparently they had passed the necessary safety checks. International Civil Aviation Organization which allegedly carried out the safety checks claims they know nothing of it. All very confusing… anyway as a result, the Minister of Transport was promptly suspended pending an investigation. He has since resigned and is being investigated. There is a lot of information on this in the news but to gauge some of the reactions see the forum discussion. You can get various links from the relevant thread. Discussions on the VSL forum also
looked at some of the steps that could be taken to ensure that firstly, this never happens again and secondly how to tackle this issue of challenge of a fast, safe, convenient and cost effective transfer between Lungi and Freetown. Travel News All helicopter services have been suspended till further notice. However, the hovercraft services have now resumed. A one way trip costs $50. 
AccessPointCash - http://www.accesspointcash.com AccessPointCash is the first dedicated on-line money transfer service to Sierra Leone and is ideal for business or personal use. Get free instant delivery to Sierra Leone with SNAPcard, visit our website to find out how. Some great news for business… Govt. Dismantles Investment Hurdles You may also want to check out the new Ministry of Trade website for further updates: Some not so great news for business… News that the customs fee for clearing vehicles has increased by 200% Hey… life is all about balance right? :) Calling Sierra Leone..Hello? HELLO??! In the last month many folks, including myself have been having a torrid time getting through to Sierra Leone. There have been many issues such as calls not been connected (but being charged anyway!), not been heard on the other line or just plain unable to get through. The telephone companies have been blaming Sierratel as a recent act gave exclusivity to Sierratel for all incoming and outgoing traffic. Sierratel however, insists that this has nothing to do with them. Service has marginally improved over the past couple of weeks but many are still experiencing problems. This is very bad news for business and those trying to call family and friends. Calling direct from your mobile or landline is really an expensive option. I now mostly use SKYPE's SkypeOut
Not wanting to cast blame, but whoever is responsible really needs to get this sorted. Blogs and Videos Our friend from the VSL family “Nas” has safely arrived in Freetown and she is already asking questions… enjoy… Welcome to Sierra Leone, Helicopter Crash Update,
… and she also cast a keen eye over parliament… In The Mist of Power: President Kabbah's Farewell Speech,
Check Out: Bambai Bling: http://www.bambaibling.org The hip hop community’s emphasis on “bling” led a group of US rappers and filmmakers to travel to Sierra Leone to learn firsthand about the impact of “conflict diamonds” and the decade-long civil war they helped to fund. Next month is special... VSL is turning 3. Visit Sierra Leone is turning 3 in July and I will talk a bit about that in next month’s edition. The election in Sierra Leone is just over a month away and hopefully we can get some updates for that in July edition as well. Welcome to new subscribers Welcome to our new subscribers to the newsletter. Expect it delivered to your inbox once a month. It is a good idea to add our address to your safe list to avoid missing future issues. Visit the newsletter archive for past editions: That's it for this month. As always, please provide feedback about the newsletter and come hang out with us in the forum sometime. Until next time - take good care of yourself and each other. Bimbola Enjoy the newsletter? Please forward it on. Thanks.
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June 2007 |
I arrived in Salone at 5:15pm on the dot on Friday evening after a short 6 hour trip on Astraeus Airlines. The man sitting next to me on the plane announced before we landed that he wasn’t going to let his luggage be searched by SL customs officials. I asked him “why not” as opening up suitcases was well within their responsibilities. He replied: “because they shouldn't”. My response: “How is it that living in London you would never question airport officials’ right to open your bags but in SL, it is unacceptable?” He smiled and I thought….. “Ah Salone, this is going to be an interesting year”.
