Wednesday’s edition of Sierra Leonean dailies is dominated by news of the refusal of President Julius Maada Bio to sign the controversial Finance Act 2020.
The piece of legislation which was passed about two weeks ago caused uproar among the public after it emerged that a section of it gives carte blanche to the president, vice president and the speaker of the House to spend per diem given to them for international travels.
There were calls for the president not to sign it, and he did heed to the public’s call, returning the bill to the lawmakers with proposals for amendment.
The story dominates the front pages of most papers. ‘Bio rejects JJ Saffa’s 2020 Finance Act,’ screams Salone Times as its front page lead. JJ Saffa [Jacob Jusu Saffa] is the Minister of Finance and the paper argues that the Act is his idea.
‘President Bio returns 2020 Finance Bill unsigned,’ says Calabash as its front page banner headline.
‘President Bio refuses to sign 2020 Finance Bill …sent back to parliament,’ says Independent Observer.
‘Bio spares parliament’s blushes,’ says Sierra Express Media. ‘President disagrees with parliament,’ says News Watch. ‘Bio rejects controversial money bill,’ says Politico Newspaper. Other stories of the day are as follows: EDSA [power authority] to increase tariff come December (Salone Times); EWRC [power regulator] explains EDSA tariff review (Global Times); Rural women lead solar energy revolution (News Watch); Norther region of Sierra Leone records highest rate of child poverty [Politico Newspaper].
KC/abj/APA