THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015

The signing ceremony between the Liberian Government and the Saudi Fund for Development for the rehabilitation of the Roberts International Airport runway, Vice President Joseph N. Boakai and delegation’s trip to Indonesia for the 10^th Anniversary of the New Asia-African Strategic Partnership and the Press union of Liberia’s plan celebration of World Press Freedom Day in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County are stories dominating today’s edition of the local dailies as captured in our summary.

DOMINANT STORIES

Liberia Signs Loan For RIA Rehabilitation

The New Republic newspaper reports that following prolonged discussions and negotiations, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning Amara M. Konneh has signed on behalf of the Liberian Government, a 20 million United States Dollars loan agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development to assist with the rehabilitation of the Roberts International Airport (RIA) runway. The ceremony took place on the sidelines of the annual IMF-World Bank Spring Meeting held in Washington DC.  Minister Konneh who commended the Saudis for accepting the Government’s appeal, assured the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Saudi Fund for Development, Yousef Al-Bassam, who signed on behalf of his organization, that all necessary modalities will be put in place as soon as possible for the smooth implementation of the project. Mr. Al-Bassam expressed his institution’s willingness and readiness to provide assistance to the Liberian government in its quest to improve nor replace damage infrastructures given the destruction of major facilities in the country. 

Related Captions: Loan Signed For RIA Revamp(New Democrat), Liberia Signs US$20M Loan For RIA Rehabilitation(Heritage), US20 M Loan For RIA Rehabilitation(In Profile Daily), Liberia Signs US$20M Loan Agreement(The News)

Veep Boakai Off To New Asian-African 10^th Anniversary

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai at the head of a seven man delegation is in the Indonesian Capital Jakarta to attend the 10^th Anniversary of the New Asia-African Strategic Partnership, NAAP, also known as the Bandung Conference. According to Vice Presidential Press Secretary George Saah, Vice President Boakai is expected to deliver a speech to the Conference this Wednesday the 22^nd of April at which time the Vice President is expected to highlight the a number of important international issues including Liberia’s fight against the Ebola Virus, the Inquirer newspaper reports.

Related Captions:  VP Boakai Off To Indonesia(Heritage), VP Off To Indonesia(In Profile Daily)

PUL Takes World Press Freedom Day To Zwedru

Liberian journalists will celebrate this year’s World Press Freedom Day in Zwedru City, Grand Gedeh County, the Press union of Liberia (PUL) announced on Monday in Monrovia. The celebration will climax with an Annual Awards Night & dinner in Monrovia on Friday May 29, 2015 during which the PUL will present various prizes to journalists, for excellent performances during the last one year.  According to PUL, journalists will depart from Monrovia on Friday, May 1, 2015 to Grand Gedeh, and will be joined by others from rural Liberia, the Inquirer newspaper reports.

Related Captions: PUL Takes World Press Freedom Day To Zwedru (Heritage), World Press Freedom Day Goes To Zwedru(In Profile Daily), PUL Takes World Press Freedom Day To Zwedru(Wes Africa  INFO POST)

OTHER STORIES

Liberia’s Envoy Calls on African Ambassadors to Remain Supportive to the Continent’s Growth

Liberia’s Ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and the European Union, Ambassador Isaac W. Nyenabo has called on African Ambassadors and Diplomats working in Belgium to remain supportive of all programs of the Continent. Ambassador Nyenabo said African Diplomats must begin to galvanize support and mobilize resources that will help in the development of the African Continent and promote growth and development. According to a dispatch from Brussels, the Liberian diplomat made the remarks separately when he was inducted as one of the newest members of the West African Ambassadors, the African union Group of ambassadors, the African Caribbean pacific Ambassadors and the African Caribbean pacific Ambassadors at the European Union during the week, Heritage newspaper reports.

Rivercess By-Election Today

According to the New Dawn newspaper, voters of Electoral District #2 of Rivercess County are today, April 21, 2015, going to the various polling centres to cast their ballots for candidates of their choice in a By-Electioon. Electoral District Number 2 comprises 19 voting precincts and 42 polling places, with a total number of 16,003 registered voters. The Acting Chairman of the Commission, Cllr. Sarah Toe said a total of 24,200 ballot papers have been printed and delivered to the National Elections Commission and are now in the county for the poll. 

Govt Identifies Priorities

Government has identified priority areas for use of the recent donations from the World Bank, promising that it will remain committed to good working relationship with its donor partners. In a special statement from the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, Government said “The priority areas of the US$650 million will be strengthening health systems and frontline care, agriculture, education, cash transfers and other social protection programs, as well as lifesaving infrastructure such as electricity, water, sanitation, and roads. The new funds will also be used to develop a regional disease surveillance system across West Africa to help prevent or contain future pandemics, New Democrat newspaper reports.

Local Farmers Must Properly Manage Seeds

The New Democrat newspaper says Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has challenged local famers to utilize and manage the seeds they have received from the government and its partners to promote agricultural ventures so that they can produce more food in the country. Speaking in Gbarnga, Bong County, at the official launch of the Economic stabilization and Rapid Recovery Seed Intervention program,  a post-Ebola Initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture for Liberian farmers, Vice President Boakai, himself an agriculturist, urged local farmers to carry on their farming activities, saying agriculture plays a major role in reducing hunger. “We cannot continue to look at people when we are all independent, we should put our houses in order and support the farmers and export to other countries”, the VP said.