The News Review:

- The World Bank and the whistleblower
- Widow denies Sankoh’s body missing
- Eco: All Politics, No Economics

The World Bank and the whistleblower
Guardian Unlimited – Aug 31, 2003
By the time I worked there, it was the black man’s graveyard: a baby had only an even chance of surviving until it was five. Malaria and hunger were the big killers. I was there to do something about it, advising the Sierra Leone government on the economics of food policy. They had tried to get along with no policy, and the effects were obvious. I was starting from scratch, trying to catch up in four months. I started by talking to, or rather listening to, everyone I could find who had anything to do with food or agriculture. There was the Ministry of Agriculture, my client, of course, starting with the Minister and the Permanent Secretary and my contact man, the Director of Agriculture, and ending up with the people working in the farming areas… I give them all information, but nothing ever happens. ‘ But many of them thought: ‘Who is this white man, to tell us what to do? I have a better degree than him, my Master’s is from Oxford. Also I have worked in Sierra Leone for 15 years, and know all about it, but this is his first visit. But he is paid more for one day than I am paid for two years. In fact his hotel bill for one day is my salary for a year. ‘ The potential was there for a hostile interview and a complete lack of co-operation. But depth interviewing is my key professional skill, and within a few minutes I had them talking away, telling me much the same as they had told other consultants.

Widow denies Sankoh’s body missing
abc.net.au – Aug 31, 2003
The court rejected an appeal to have Mr Sankoh’s trial halted on health grounds, despite signs that his mental state had been profoundly altered by a stroke last year. At his last appearance in court on March 15, Mr Sankoh appeared incapable of speaking at all. RUFP secretary-general Jonathan Kposowa said the Sierra Leone Government had still not released 49 of the party’s men. “They are still in prison and the government does not want to release them,” he said. He urged the Special Court to “try speedily those indicted as justice delayed is justice corrupted and denied”. The RUFP official also urged the UN Security Council to lift a travel ban imposed on the party. Mr Kposowa said the death of Mr Sankoh “cannot retard or dilute the aims and objectives of the party”.

Eco: All Politics, No Economics
This Day – This Day (subscription) – Aug 31, 2003
The countries are Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Guinea and Liberia. Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) governor, Chief Joseph Sanusi, says the countries have demonstrated a strong political will individually and collectively for the currency’s use on the take-off date. We commend this unaccustomed political commitment to a collective goal because such a will is not commonly found in the sub-region. All the same, we urge the member countries to tamper political will with economic realism. Expecting to adopt a single currency in less than two years from now is not a matter of political will but pure day dreaming.