THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015

President Johnson Sirleaf proclamation declaring May 24 - 30, 2015, as Scout Week, the United Nations Special Representative Karin Landgren assertion that in order for Liberia to enjoy a successful security transition in the eventual departure of UNMIL, the Liberia National Police needs to be deploy in all fifteen counties and Liberian female journalists declaration mandating the Press Union of Liberia to work with media institutions in the country to apply gender media policy are stories dominating today’s summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

Liberia Declares Scout Week

The FOCUS newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying: The President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by proclamation, declared Sunday, May 24 - Saturday, May 30, 2015, as Scout Week, to be observed as Working Holidays throughout the Republic. The Proclamation calls upon the Ministry Of  Youth And  Sports, Ministry of Education, Local Government and community leaders, citizens and foreign residents as well as all registered scouts to join the Liberia Scout Association in organizing appropriate programs that will highlight the spirit  and mission of the scout movement throughout Liberia. According to the Proclamation, May 30, 2015, will be commemorated as the 92nd Anniversary of the Liberia Scout Association under the theme: "Taking Scouting to the People". The release further maintains that the spirit of voluntarism which the Scout Movement is ell noted for has now gripped our society, thereby calling upon all scouts to renew this voluntarism by engaging in national programs and project geared towards empowering the young people, as it relates to the promotion of good governance and patriotism.  The Proclamation says the aims and ideals of the Scout Movement throughout the world and Liberia in particular, should be encouraged by the Government and people of this country. The training of Boys and Girls, young people and adults for leadership and good citizenship in the church, school, community and state, is of primary importance to the development of the Republic.

Related Captions: President Sirleaf Declares May 24-30, 2015 Scout Week(The Inquirer), Pres. Sirleaf Declares May 24-30 As Scout Week(The New Dawn)

UNSRSG: Security Transition Plan ‘Depends On Many Things’

The head of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, Karin Landgren says in order for Liberia to enjoy a successful Security Transition in the eventual departure of UNMIL, a lot of things will have to be put in motion. Addressing journalists at a news conference Thursday, the UNSRSG said the police will need to be effective in all counties and earn the trust and cooperation of the various communities, reports the FrontPage Africa newspaper.

Related Captions: Why Security Council Resumes UNMIL Drawdown…SRSG Landgren Explains(Heritage), SRSG Wants LNP Effective In Counties-Described Government’s Security Plan As Encouraging(INSIGHT), UNMIL Drawdown Reflects Liberia Progress…SRSG Landgren Says(The News)

Female Journalists Seek Protection- Mandate PUL To Support Gender Media Policy

Female Journalists in Liberia have mandated the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) to work with all media institutions in the country to ensure access and apply gender media policy. In a declaration at the end of a three-day gender sensitive reporting workshop in Monrovia, participating journalists unanimously called on the PUL to commit media managers to ensuring that female journalists are encouraged to form part of editorial and managerial teams. The three basic concepts of the gender and media situation in Liberia highlighted reviewing the media gender policy, concepts in mainstreaming girls/women in the media as well as a contextual review of the access to information. The workshop was held under the auspices of the Press Union of Liberia and the West African Journalists Association WAJA) to gain better understanding and appreciation of gender sensitivity in news reporting. Facilitators were drawn from WAJA, PUL, Female Journalists Association (FEJA) and E-Jicom, writes the New Republic newspaper.

Related Captions: Female Journalists Issue Declaration (The News), Female Journalists Issue Declaration On Gender Policy, CBA(The Inquirer), Female Journalists Issue Declaration On Media Gender Policy And CBA(FrontPage Africa)

OTHER STORIES

Cameroon’s Role In Difficult Times Acknowledged

Deputy Foreign Minister Elias Shoniyin has said that Liberians will remember Cameroon as a true African friend for its role during the Ebola epidemic. In his address on the occasion marking the observance of Cameroon’s 43rd National Unity Day held in Monrovia, Minister Shoniyin recalled that while most countries were shutting the doors of their embassies for fear of the Ebola virus, Cameroon’s embassy remained open. Furthermore, Minister Shoniyin recalled that a Cameroonian Doctor, Patrick Nshamdze who served at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital during the Ebola crisis, lost his life. These two instances put Cameroon in Liberia’s history and will always be remembered, declared Shoniyin. Cameroon did all these things while it was facing terrorist threats from Boko Haram coupled with the instability in the Central African Republic. On the Boko Haram crisis, Shoniyin stressed the need for concerted efforts among African countries to help restore peace and stability in Nigeria and other neighboring countries, including Cameroon. In his National Unity Day address, Cameroonian Ambassador to Liberia, Beng’yela GANG extended commendation to the government and people of Liberia for their resilience in fighting the Ebola scourge. He said Liberia’s victory was   not only limited to its territorial confines but their assistance to Sierra Leone to help fight the disease, reports the Daily Observer.

President Sirleaf Congratulates Eritrea on Her Independence

The Heritage newspaper reports that: The President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a congratulatory message to the Government and People of Eritrea on the historic occasion commemorating the 22nd Independence Day of the country. In her message to His Excellency, Mr. Isaias Afwerke, President Sirleaf remarked: “I am pleased to extend to your Excellency and the Government and People of the State of Eritrea heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on behalf of the Government and People of the Republic of Liberia, and in my own name. As the people of Eritrea celebrate another year of existence as an Independent Nation, I pray that the Almighty God will continue to endow you with wisdom as you lead your compatriots on the path of peace, economic growth, and prosperity”. President Sirleaf entertains the hope that the cordial ties of friendship and cooperation subsisting between the two countries will be strengthened for the mutual benefits of their respective peoples. The Liberian Leader then wished for the Eritrean  Leader’s personal well-being, good health and happiness, and for the sustained prosperity of the people of Eritrea  as the commemorate this very significant day of that great country.  

Related Caption: Liberia Congratulates Eritrea(FOCUS)

UNMIL Withdraws Troops From Grand Gedeh

The United Nations Mission in Liberia has resumed drawdown of its peacekeeping forces in Liberia, pulling back 80 peacekeeping soldiers from Grand Gedeh to Nimba County. Speaking at a press briefing held Thursday at UNMIL headquarters in Monrovia, the Special Representative for the Secretary General (SRSG) to Liberia, Ms. Karin Landgren, said the decision to resume the troop’s drawdown reflects the progress Liberia has made in the past 12 years of peace. The drawdown resumed on May 13, 2015 when 80 soldiers from Toe Town, Grand Gedeh County, withdrew to Tappita, Nimba County, where they were joined by additional soldiers transferred from Pleebo, Maryland County. SRSG Landgren said the security plan for UNMIL’s transition is linked to the drawdown, and that the security transition plan focuses on Liberia taking over tasks still being performed by the Mission as well as addresses needs and capacity gaps across the security sector. Among the tasks that are to be handed over to the Liberian authorities by 30 June 2016 is the destruction of explosive remnants of war, which will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Liberia, including security at the two largest prisons, according to the New Dawn newspaper.

Mayor Mvogo To Address European Development Day In Brussells

Monrovia City Mayor, Clara Doe Mvogo, has been invited to participate in the European Development Day Reception organized by the Cities Alliance, the European Foundation Centre and BOZAR. According to an invitation sent to the Mayor, she is expected to deliver a keynote address on Tuesday, June 2, in Brussels, Belgium. The keynote address, according to the invitation is expected to dwell on the theme, “Transforming a city:  Monrovia after the Ebola crisis,” and Mayor Mvogo is expected at the conference to discuss how the Government of Liberia and the city of Monrovia propose to transform the city. Liberia’s Ambassador to the European Union, Isaac Nyenabo is expected to attend the occasion and the Mayor of Dakar, Senegal, Khalifa Sall who also serves as president of the United Cities Local Governments for Africa, is to respond. Although it was not disclosed whether Monrovia will receive assistance from Cities Alliance, Mayor Mvogo expressed the hope that from the conference the city may receive funds to help meet up with planned programs to transform Monrovia. Mayor Mvogo said Monrovia has some unspecified amount of money and if assistance comes from any source, including the Cities Alliance, it will complement efforts to achieve its goals writes the Daily Observer.

Russia Earmarks $2M For Ebola Countries

Moscow will allocate $2 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) programs to fight Ebola in West Africa’s Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, according to an agreement signed Wednesday night in New York. The money Russia donated will be spent mostly improving sanitary and hygiene conditions to prevent new outbreaks of the deadly disease. “The current contribution is a part of a bigger assistance our country is providing to the three countries that were hit the most. Since the middle of the last year Russia had allocated more than $40 million to fight Ebola both through bilateral assistance and the United Nations system (including the food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization,)”Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN Dmitry Maksimychev said. At the agreement signing ceremony Olav Kjorven, head of the UNICEF public partnerships division, and Barbara Bentein, UICEF global emergency coordinator, thanked Russia for its contribution, the New Democrat writes.

PUL Opens Book of Condolence for John Taweh Today

The Pres Union of Liberia (PUL) will today open a book of condolence in memory of fallen Liberian journalist John G. Taweh. The book will be opened form 11am at the Union’s Clay Street Headquarters, with family members, well-wishers and friends in attendance. Journalist Taweh died at his residence in Gardnersville on Saturday, May 2, 2015 after a protracted illness and will be interred this Saturday at the Neezoe Cemetery in Paynesville, the News reports.

Liberia Business Incubator Cassava Processing Facility Inaugurated

According to the Daily Observer, the United States Agency for International Development Food and Enterprise Development (USAID FED) Program, in collaboration with the Government of Liberia (GoL), has inaugurated the Liberia Business Incubator (LBI) Cassava Processing Facility in Lower Virginia, Montserrado County. Liberia Business Incubator is a fully incorporated Liberian owned and run agricultural holding firm created in 2010 to tackle food insecurity in the country by improving the livelihoods of farmers and providing them with increased access to domestic and international food markets. Launching the cassava processing facility in lower Virginia on Wednesday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alex Tyler, thanked the CEO of LBI,  Madam Rugie Barry, for taking up the challenge by ensuring that Liberia has a cassava processing facility that is  responsible to add value to cassava by producing gari, fufu and flour.  He said the government will   take into consideration the establishment of plants that will help farmers to keep their products in better condition. US Ambassador, Deborah Malac, said the inaugurated processing plant was supported by the USAID FED project under which the American Government’s Feed the Future Program is responsible to increase productivity and profitability of food crops stimulate agricultural enterprise and build agriculture work force capacity. According to her, the project implemented a cost-sharing development model that encourages the investment of private resources into businesses to ensure their sustainability. She pledged her country’s commitment to working with the Government of Liberia towards achieving the objectives set forth in its strategy documents such as the Agenda for Transformation and the Liberia Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (LASIP).

Related Caption: Ambassador Malac Craves Support For Local Farmers(The Independent)