{"id":28454,"date":"2026-04-04T06:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T05:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=28454"},"modified":"2026-04-04T06:53:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T05:53:30","slug":"false-sierra-leones-minimum-wage-was-not-le-20000-during-koroma-s-tenure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/false-sierra-leones-minimum-wage-was-not-le-20000-during-koroma-s-tenure\/","title":{"rendered":"False! Sierra Leone\u2019s minimum wage was not Le 20,000 during Koroma \u2018s tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Claim: <\/strong>A popular Facebook user, Tunde Scott, alleged that Sierra Leone\u2019s minimum wage was 20,000 (Old Leones) when Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma took office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d006b7338b0b2932edbf400b5242bd84 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#7f7e07\"><strong>Verdict: <\/strong>Misleading! Although former President Ernest Bai Koroma increased the minimum wage to Le 500,000 during his tenure, it\u2019s not true that the minimum wage was Le 20,000 when he assumed office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the administration of Ex-President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (1996\u20132007), the country was emerging from civil war and grappling with economic reconstruction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most dramatic shift came under President Ernest Bai Koroma (2007\u20132018). In 2015, his government announced a sweeping increase, raising the minimum wage to Le <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jobsearchsl.com\/post\/2014\/12\/13\/sierra-leones-minimum-wage-increase-an-employers-perspective#:~:text=%22Statutory%20Instrument%20No.,spending%20on%20consumables%20has%20hiked\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">500,000<\/a> per month. This move extended coverage beyond public employees to include private sector workers, marking a turning point in Sierra Leone\u2019s labour landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, a Facebook user, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1DmBCDxZg2\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tunde Scott<\/a>, alleged that Sierra Leone\u2019s minimum wage was Le 20,000 (Old Leones) when Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma took office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"884\" data-attachment-id=\"28455\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/false-sierra-leones-minimum-wage-was-not-le-20000-during-koroma-s-tenure\/image-1467\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?fit=1125%2C971&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1125,971\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?fit=1024%2C884&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?resize=1024%2C884\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28455\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?resize=1024%2C884&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?resize=300%2C259&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?resize=768%2C663&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-7.jpeg?w=1125&amp;ssl=1 1125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the claim has not been shared on other platforms, DUBAWA decided to fact-check it to prevent it from going viral.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DUBAWA conducted a Google keyword search and found no evidence supporting the claim. We also reviewed historical data to verify Tunde Scott&#8217;s claim. According to historical<a href=\"https:\/\/countryeconomy.com\/national-minimum-wage\/sierra-leone?year=2008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> archives<\/a>, the minimum wage was Le 21,000 (Old Leones) when Ernest Bai Koroma took office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The minimum was approved by the well of parliament in 1997 under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sierra-leone.org\/Laws\/1997-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minimum Wage Act<\/a> and was not amended until President Kabba\u2019s regime expired in 2007.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2014, the government of former President Ernest Bai Koroma increased the minimum wage to Le <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jobsearchsl.com\/post\/2014\/12\/13\/sierra-leones-minimum-wage-increase-an-employers-perspective#:~:text=%22Statutory%20Instrument%20No.,spending%20on%20consumables%20has%20hiked\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">500,000<\/a> (old Leones).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DUBAWA\u2019s investigation showed that the minimum was at Le 21,000 when President Ernest Bai Koroma assumed office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Claim: A popular Facebook user, Tunde Scott, alleged that Sierra Leone\u2019s minimum wage was 20,000 (Old Leones) when Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma took office.&nbsp; Verdict: Misleading! Although former President Ernest Bai Koroma increased the minimum wage to Le 500,000 during his tenure, it\u2019s not true that the minimum wage was Le 20,000 when he assumed office.&nbsp; Full Text During the administration of Ex-President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (1996\u20132007), the country was emerging from civil war and grappling with economic reconstruction.&nbsp; The most dramatic shift came under President Ernest Bai Koroma (2007\u20132018). In 2015, his government announced a sweeping increase, raising the minimum wage to Le 500,000 per month. This move extended coverage beyond public employees to include private sector workers, marking a turning point in Sierra Leone\u2019s labour landscape. However, a Facebook user, Tunde Scott, alleged that Sierra Leone\u2019s minimum wage was Le 20,000 (Old Leones) when Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma took office.&nbsp; Although the claim has not been shared on other platforms, DUBAWA decided to fact-check it to prevent it from going viral.&nbsp; Verification DUBAWA conducted a Google keyword search and found no evidence supporting the claim. We also reviewed historical data to verify Tunde Scott&#8217;s claim. According to historical archives, the minimum wage was Le 21,000 (Old Leones) when Ernest Bai Koroma took office.&nbsp; The minimum was approved by the well of parliament in 1997 under the Minimum Wage Act and was not amended until President Kabba\u2019s regime expired in 2007.&nbsp; In 2014, the government of former President Ernest Bai Koroma increased the minimum wage to Le 500,000 (old Leones).&nbsp; Conclusion DUBAWA\u2019s investigation showed that the minimum was at Le 21,000 when President Ernest Bai Koroma assumed office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1268,1571,4,3815],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[4456],"class_list":["post-28454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sierra-leone","category-fact-check","category-featured","category-homepage"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-7oW","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4456,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"mohamed-dauda-kamara","display_name":"Mohamed Dauda kamara","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-04-at-6.47.25-AM.png?fit=516%2C519&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28457,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28454\/revisions\/28457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28454"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=28454"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=28454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}