Ernest Bai Koroma celebrates his victory

A graduate of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, he taught in a secondary school in Makeni before entering the insurance business.

President Koroma and his wife, Sia, are parents of two children, Alice and Dankay.

The Wesleyan Church, whose world headquarters is in Fishers, Indiana, has its roots in John Wesley’s Methodism. The denomination has nearly 400,000 constituents in 5,000 churches and missions in 80 countries.

However his government faces a “sea of challenges” says Michael J. Carter in a story released by the Inter Press Service (http://ipsnews.net/africa) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In his story, Carter wrote, “A voting process that has stretched over more than a month came to an end this week with the announcement that Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) had won the presidency in Sierra Leone's general elections.

“Koroma collected 54.6 percent of ballots in a run-off poll that was held after the first round of elections (Aug. 11) failed to provide one of seven presidential contenders with a majority of votes; this left the two front runners to do battle on Sep. 8.
“The APC head took the lead in last month's poll, winning 44.3 percent of ballots. His opponent in the second round, the vice-president in the previous government -- Solomon Berewa -- garnered 38.3 percent.

“Berewa had been tipped by some to win the election. However, a decision by Charles Margai of the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) to throw his weight behind Koroma helped the APC leader transform his first round gains into victory. The PMDC, a breakaway faction of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), was established by Margai after the former ruling party named Berewa as SLPP presidential candidate.

“Koroma was sworn in Monday (September 17) for a five-year term shortly after final results in the presidential run-off were announced. He faces a mammoth challenge in improving life for the five million citizens of Sierra Leone where jobs are scarce and many social services almost as hard to come by -- and where the shadow of a decade long civil war still looms large.

“Blood diamonds”  

A child soldier in Sierra Leone

“Rebels from the Revolutionary United Front who fought against army forces and pro-government militants gained international notoriety for amputating the limbs of civilians as part of their campaign. The war was funded by profits from the sale of Sierra Leonean diamonds -- widely referred to as "blood diamonds", or "conflict diamonds" -- only ending in 2002.”

The story went on to say that fighting in the West African country came partly in reaction to governmental corruption. Graft in official circles remains endemic, and is another of the major issues clamoring for Koroma's attention. Regional and ethnic divides between the northern Temne group, which in general supports the APC, and the pro-SLPP Mende in Sierra Leone's south and east will also need attending to.

Carter’s story added: “The APC's success in the presidential election came after victory in the parliamentary polls. The party won 59 of the 112 seats contested, against 43 captured by the SLPP. The remaining ten seats were won by the PMDC. Parliament includes a further 12 seats occupied by chiefs, which were filled in a separate process of nomination and election from Jul. 30 to Aug. 2.”

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.