THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

Dominant stories on today's newsstand include the death of the lone confirmed ebola patient in Liberia, the ongoing Constitutional Review Committee conference in Gbarnga and the dismissal of three officials at Liberia Institution of Public Administration, by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Dominant Stories

Lone Ebola Patient Dies

The Government of Liberia has disclosed that the lone confirmed Ebola case patient died last Friday.  The government says the patient blood was analyzed and confirmed on Friday following a reported fever (38.1C), fatigue and diarrhea at the Redemption Hospital Emergency Triage last Thursday. Addressing a news conference Saturday, the head of the Incident Management System (IMS) Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said prior to her death, the patient was transferred to one of government’s sophisticated Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia jointly runs by the Ministry of health and the United States Public Health Services (USPHS). Assistant Minister Nyenswah disclosed that there is no confirmed E bola case in Liberia following the death of latest Ebola victim. He said all 211 contacts of the last Ebola patient are uder 21 days observation, The NEWS reports.

Related Caption: Liberia's Only Ebola Virus Disease Patient Dies in Monrovia (FrontPage), Newest Ebola Patient Dies (Heritage), Lone Ebola Patient Dies (New Republic), Liberia's Newest Ebola Patient Dies (Parrot) and Latest Ebola Patient Dies (In Profile Daily)

CRC Validates Over 56,000 Public Views

The Constitution Review Committee (CRC) has begun the validation process of the 56,729 spoken and written public suggestions it collected from the 73 electoral districts of the country for constitutional amendment. According to the Chairperson of CRC, Cllr. Gloria Musu Scotts, since the establishment of the CRC by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2012, the committee has been working across the country to get views from citizens on those things that are needed in the constitution. Madam Scott was speaking at a news conference held at the office of  CRC in Monrovia over the weekend ahead of the review conference, which kicks off in Gbarnga today, March 30, 2015. She pointed out that the review conference is aimed at building national consensus from those citizens' views before taking them to the Legislature for consideration, reports the Heritage newspapers.

Related Caption: Gbarnga Constitutional Meeting To Highlight 56,729 Views (Daily Observer), CRC Convenes Validation Confab (New Dawn), Liberia Edges On Reformed Constitution..National Conference Set For Today (Analyst)and CRC Confab Begins Today In Gbarnga (In Profile Daily)

For “Unilaterally” Increasing Their Salaries: Ellen Sacks Three At LIPA

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has with immediate effect dismissed three officials of the Liberia Institute for Public Administration (LIPA) for “unilaterally” increasing their salaries during the absence of the entity’s head. According to an Executive mansion press release, those dismissed are: P. Emmerson Harris, Deputy Director General for Administration and Management; Richard S. Panton, Deputy Director General for Training and Development and Harris F. Tarnue, Deputy Director General for Research and Consultancy,  Heritage reports.

Related Caption: President Sirleaf Dismisses Three At LIPA (Daily Observer), Ellen Dismisses Three LIPA Officials(New Republic), President Sirleaf Goes Drastic (Parrot) and Three Dismissed At LIPA (In Profile Daily)

Foreigner Ambassadors Give More Letters Of Credence

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has received the Letters of Credence from two new Ambassadors accredited near this capital, H.E. Mr. Dmitry Suslov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Liberia and H.E. Claudia Turbay Quintero, Ambassador of Colombia to Liberia. According to an Executive Mansion release, Ambassador Suslov, presenting his Letters of Credence at an earlier ceremony, said his term of service in Liberia started at a difficult time, during the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease. He assured President Sirleaf that the Russian Federation will continue to help Liberia and the two worse affected countries, Guinea and Sierra Leone, to overcome Ebola and its consequences. Ambassador Suslov emphasized that next January 11, 2016 both countries will celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and in Moscow, they consider this event as a good reason to recall the history of the bilateral cooperation and to plan new joint measures to further develop relations in the coming years, reports the New Republic.

Related Caption: Russian Ambassador Presents Letters of Credence (Daily Observer)

Gov’t To Upgrade BWI To ‘Center Of Excellence’ – President Sirleaf Earmarks US$10 Million For The Project

According to the Daily Observer newspaper, the government of Liberia has decided to upgrade the Booker Washington Agricultural and Industrial Institute (BWI) to a Center of Excellence, making it second to none in the sub-region. The Minister of Youth and Sports, Eugene Nagbe, announced this bold initiative last Saturday when he delivered the Institutes’ 64 commencement address on the schools’ campus in Kakata, Margibi County. Speaking on the theme, “Technical Skills Development: A Panacea to Liberia’s Unemployment Challenges”. Minister Nagbe said the country had reached a critical stage where the need to increase government efforts to find innovative solutions to technical skills shortages cannot be over emphasized.

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GoL, UNFPA Relaunch ‘Supply Medicine’ Program In 5 Counties

The Daily Observer reports that the Ministry of youth and Sports and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have restarted the Supply Chain Management’ program, which is geared towards the procurement, storage and distribution of critical medicines in five counties. The program, known as 'Reproduction Health Commodity Security', was initially launched in April 2014 with the training of 50 Liberians, but was interrupted in July by the outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Speaking on behalf of the Liberian Government, Deputy Youth Development Minister Saah N’Tow said the resumption of the program is aimed at saving lives by making access to medicines a dominant issue, and developing the career of Liberian youths.

Turkish Ambassador Presents Letters Of Credence

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has received the Letters of Credence from the new Ambassador of Turkey to Liberia, Her Excellency Turkey to Liberia,  Her Excellency Penbe Nersrin Bayazit.  Ambassador Bayazit, on behalf of the Government and people of Turkey and personally on behalf of the President of Turkey, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed condolence and solidarity for the loses Liberia has sustained as a result of the Ebola virus disease. President Sirleaf, for her part, welcomed Ambassador Bayazit to Liberia and hoped that both countries can work together with a view to reactivating some of the understandings that have been reached, Daily Observer reports.

Gov’t To Pay Benefits To Residents Along Ganta-Guinea Highway

The Government of Liberia has pledged to pay resettlement benefits to mark for demolition to pave the way for expansion of the road. Disclosing this at a meeting he held with residents of Ganta City recently, Public Works Minister William Gyude Moore explained that the project was intended to expand the Ganta-Guinea border road to ensure the free flow of traffic. Amidst cheers from residents, Minister Moore said following the payment of resettlement benefits to affected residents, the China International Henan Corporation Group (CHICO) will immediately commence construction  of the road Minister Moore informed Ganta residents that expansion of the road will enhance economic activities and trade, disclosing that CHICO has set July 2015 as the date to complete the road project, pens the Heritage newspaper.