Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: After 4 years Sierra Leone’s diplomats must return home
Government recently introduced a new policy intended to stop diplomats overstaying and to prevent political interferences when they are recalled after serving four years inSierra Leone’s Missions around the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has drawn up guidance and new rules for all diplomatic appointments that clearly states that the appointment is for four years and that the appointee must be ready to return home on completion of his or her term. Mrs. Ebun Jusu, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in the past, there was no laid-down policy but “an understanding” that when officers are sent abroad, it is initially for four years but over the years this understanding has been ignored. Explaining the reason behind this new policy, she said, “Whenever people take up jobs at the Foreign Ministry, their ultimate dream is to go abroad on appointment, unfortunately however, we know people go abroad and tend to establish links; they possibly get married, have children, the children start schooling and they buy a house and suddenly they do not want to come back home, but they should remember that there are others who are also entitled to the same jobs abroad.”
http://www.awoko.org/2011/09/27/after-4-years-all-diplomats-must-return-home/
Newsline: Sierra Leone President summons US envoy
Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma summoned US ambassador Michael Owen to discuss a leaked diplomatic cable accusing him of protecting an ally implicated in a massive cocaine bust. A presidential aide said the ambassador was on a mission inside the country when he was asked to return to the capital “for a meeting with the President, but no time has been fixed”. A US embassy cable published by WikiLeaks this week said President Koroma “directly ordered the police not to arrest, detain or charge” then minister of Transport and Aviation, Kemoh Sesay, implicated in the trafficking of 600 kilos of cocaine. In July 2008, police discovered the cocaine in an aircraft bearing a fake Red Cross emblem at Freetown’s international Lungi airport, which they said had come from Venezuela, a major source of cocaine shipments destined for Europe. It was a record bust for Sierra Leone. A relative of the former minister, Mohamed Sesay, was one of the key suspects, and the minister was relieved of his duties at the time, which government said was taken “to facilitate the investigation”. Mohamed, who is currently serving a five-year jail term for his involvement in the cocaine saga, was a key financier of the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party during the 2007 elections. The US cable said President Koroma’s protection of Kemoh Sesay “runs counter to public and private statements, which have said he will hold anyone connected to the cocaine bust accountable, regardless of their connections.”
