Sierra Leone News Today
NRA removes import duties and GST on imported rice
The National Revenue Authority (NRA) has removed both import duties and Goods and Services Tax (GST) on imported rice in a bid to ensure that the prices of rice in the market will go down. Before now, rice importers in Sierra Leone used to pay 15 per cent GST on all purchases of rice they made. With this new policy, the government will be losing over SLL 33 billion on every transfer of foreign currencies, this is adding to the already existing SLL 400 billion loss as import duty waiver on rice.
SLRSA declares May as National Road Safety Month
The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, has declared the month of May as National Road Safety Month, which starts from the 1st to 17th. The declaration is in acknowledgement of the many road safety issues and challenges facing the nation, as road traffic death is now a public health concern.
Members of Parliament suspends parliamentary sitting to discuss welfare issue
Members of Parliament in Sierra Leone have on Monday, May 10, 2021, suspended parliamentary sitting to discuss issues relating to their welfare which includes health care and others. Yesterday, the Parliament was supposed to receive the proposed Government Motion on the Freetown International Airport Terminal, the CyberCrime Bill 2020, which was sent to the Legislative Committee for scrutiny. The MPs raised concerns over the health condition of colleagues who had fallen I’ll and could not access better medical attention.