BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON NEW SIERRA LEONEAN

UNCLAS FREETOWN 000689 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR AF/W AND INR/B E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SL SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON NEW SIERRA LEONEAN CABINET - PART ONE ¶1. The initial group of cabinet Ministers in the new government has been announced by President Koroma. The process of confirmation by parliament has been completed for most nominees. Three Ministers were confirmed on October 19, and 12 more confirmed on October 24. Biographic information for 15 Ministers follows. A total of 20 Ministerial appointments is expected. In addition there will be three Regional Ministers appointed. Septel will follow with additional information as new nominations are made. ¶2. Minister of Foreign Affairs - Zainab Hawa Bangura. One of three women in the new Cabinet, Mrs. Bangura served as head of Civil Affairs in UNMIL in Monrovia, Liberia before being named Minister. A candidate for President in the 2002 elections, she is a civil society activist. She was co-founder and coordinator of the Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) and later headed the National Accountability Group. Private sector experience in the insurance industry from 1983 until 1996 brought her into contact with Ernest Bai Koroma. A graduate of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, she also holds diplomas in insurance studies and insurance management from UK Universities. Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute UK. Her awards from U.S. organizations include a 2006 Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy, the Bayard Rustin Humanitarian award (2001) and the Human Rights Award from the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (2000). She is married with one son. ¶3. Minister of Finance - David Omosholoa Carew An accountant, he was Managing Partner at the accounting and consulting firm of KPMG in Sierra Leone before being named Minister. He holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Sierra Leone. Qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1982, he worked with KPMG for 28 years. He is in his early fifties, married, with two children. ¶4. Minister of Defence and National Security - Retired Major Alfred Palo Conteh The nephew and former Military Aide to the late APC President Joseph Saidu Momoh. He entered the army as a cadet in 1976 and was forced to retire from the Army in 1992 by the NPRC. After entering the army, he studied at the Egyptian War Academy as a cadet, and later served in the military police. In 1986 he went to the United Kingdom to study law, graduating from the University of London with an LLB in 1990. He was admitted to the bar of England and Wales, and in 2006 received the LLM degree. He was chair of the APC party branch in the UK from 1993 to 2001. He was born in Wilberforce, Freetown. (Note: Currently, the President is the Minister of Defence and Major Conteh is Deputy Minister. However, President Koroma has indicated that he intends to relinquish the Minster of Defence role.) ¶5. Minister of Justice and Attorney General - Abdul Serry-Kamal A lawyer, Mr. Serry-Kamal was elected to Parliament for a constituency in the Bombali District. A by-election will have to be held for his parliamentary seat. His legal specialty is conveyancing. ¶6. Minister of Health and Sanitation - Dr. Saccoh Kabia A physician who has worked for more than 30 years in Atlanta, Georgia. His specialty is nephrology. He has permanent resident status in the U.S. He is one of the PMDC members of the Cabinet. His mother was Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama, the first woman to be elected to Parliament in Sierra Leone. ¶7. Minister of Energy and Power - Haja Afsatu Kabbah Served as an APC member of Parliament from 2002 to 2007. She served as Deputy Minister of Power and Energy from 1996-1998 as a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the coalition with SLPP. Mrs. Kabbah was a candidate for the vice-presidential position on her party's ticket in 2007, and she later acted as vice-chairperson of the transition team. She is described as a Northern with Western Area links and a devout Muslim. She is married. ¶8. Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs - Musu Kandeh She served as a Member of Parliament from 2002-2007 as a member of the APC. She previously was the Principal of a Girls' Secondary School in Mathora, in the north of Sierra Leone. Local newspapers described her as a gender equality activist. ¶9. Minister of Transport and Aviation - Kemoh Sesay Member of Parliament for Port Loko district since 1996. He was re-elected to Parliament in 2007 and is one of four MPs who have been nominated for Cabinet positions by the President. Mr. Sesay was acting as shadow transport minister for the APC in the 2002-2007 parliament. Local newspapers report that he has been involved in a long standing court case for allegedly faking documents to obtain a Sierra Leone passport for a female acquaintance. ¶10. Minister of Trade and Industry - Alimamy Philip Koroma Koroma was elected member of Parliament for Mambolo constituency in Kambia district in the 2007 election, but he will resign his seat in order to take the job as Minister. He rose to prominence as Secretary General of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone. He was involved in organizing church donations during the civil war. At one point served as National Organizing Secretary for the APC. Accused of physical assault on his SLPP rival, Marray Conteh, during the election campaign. He also is reported to have manhandled the Paramount Chief. ¶11. Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs - Hindolo Sumanguru Trye A student activist in the Siaka Stevens era, he lived in the U.S. for some time. In April 1992 he returned to Sierra Leone when the NPRC overthrew the civilian government. He served as Minister of Information in the NPRC government. He also served as an adviser to the AFRC government. He joined the APC in 2006. ¶12. Minister of Information and Communications - Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo Before being appointed Minister, Mr. Kargbo was President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists and proprietor of the New Citizen Newspaper. He has worked as a journalist, newspaper editor, broadcaster, teacher and school principal. He was a Member of Parliament during the government of President Momoh. He was sentenced to death, and later pardoned, for collaborating with the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). He received his B.A.Ed. from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He has won several national awards including the Presidential award of Grand Officer of the Order of the Rokel. ¶13. Minister of Lands, Country Planning and Environment - Capt. Benjamin O.N. Davies Holder of a Master Mariner Certificate, Captain Davies worked with the Ocean Fleet/Nigerian National Shipping Lines from 1974 to 1987. He later was Regional Manager for Maersk Sea Land in Freetown. He has experience in terminal operations, port management, marine administration and international trade and logistics. Since 2002 he has worked with a private home care provider, Southeastern Healthcare Services in the U.S. ¶14. Minister of Mineral Resources - Alhaji Abubakar Jalloh A geo-physicist and running mate of Ernest Bai Koroma in the 2002 elections. He served as Director of Lands Resources and Survey at the Ministry of Agriculture. He also worked as executive director of the National Diamond Mining Company (NDMC). He was a student in the UK. He taught in the U.S. at the University of the District of Columbia and also at Douglas College, Baltimore Maryland, where he served as chair of Mathematics and Sciences. He holds Masters degrees in Geophysics, Atmospheric Physics and Hydrogeology. ¶15. Minister of Agriculture - Dr. Joseph Sam Sesay In common with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, he worked for UNMIL in Monrovia, as a Civil Affairs Officer before being named minister. Secretary of State for Agriculture in the transitory administration of Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, he holds a PhD in Agriculture and Developmental Economics. ¶16. Minister of Employment and Social Security - Minkailu Mansaray Elected as a member of Parliament in the 2007 election, he resigned his seat in Parliament in October, 2007 to take the Ministerial position. PERRY