THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

News of President Johnson Sirleaf’s proclamation declaring Thursday, May 14 as National Unification Day, the Chinese Government’s closure of the Ebola Treatment Unit at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville and the visit of the U.S Agency for International Development Associate Administrator Eric Postel to Liberia are stories dominating today’s edition of the summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

Tomorrow Is Unification Day

The Daily Observer quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying tomorrow, May 14, has been declared a National Holiday and is to be observed throughout the Republic. All offices and businesses houses are ordered to be closed. The day has been set aside by the National Legislature to commemorate National Unification, which was born in 1964 during the administration of President William V.S. Tubman, Liberia’s 19^th President. The Unification Policy was one of the principal pillars of the Tubman administration. The climax of the Unification Policy was the creation in 1964 of the four new counties –Bong, Lofa, Nimba and Grand Gedeh. This meant that for the first time in Liberian History, the people of the interior came on the same political plane as the people in the five original counties--Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Sinoe, Maryland and Grand Cape Mount Counties. This also meant that each of the new counties, like the five old ones, were entitled each to elect their own two senators as well as members of the House of Representatives, according to their respective populations. The Unification Policy made President Tubman very popular among the interior and indigenous people, who were in the vast majority of the population. This is one of the reasons for Tubman’s longevity as President--twenty seven years, unmatched by any other Liberian President.

Related Captions: Tomorrow Is National Unification Day(FOCUS), Thursday National Unification Day(INSIGHT), Tomorrow Is National Unification Day(In Profile Daily), Thursday Is Unification Day(The New Dawn), Tomorrow Is National Unification Day To Be Observered As National Holiday(Heritage)

China Ends Liberian Ebola Mission

The New Dawnnewspaper reports that China has closed its Ebola treatment unit, located at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium in Paynesville, outside Monrovia. The Chinese also turned over a few armor personnel carriers, as well as a 20 bed-room facility equipped with more than 1,500 different kinds of medical instruments valued at about US$7m, to the Government of Liberia, through President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. At the closing ceremony yesterday, President Sirleaf officially launched the renovation of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex where the Chinese have been operating. Chinese authorities assured that a Chinese company was now ready to renovate the Stadium. Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Zhang Yue told President Sirleaf that “the whole package consists of more than 920,000 units, with the total value of around 7 million U.S. dollars,” which, he said, was a good asset for recovery of the nation’s public health system. “Today, we are here not only to call it an end to Ebola, but a start to the journey to future”, Mr. Yue noted, further assuring that as a reliable partner, China would continue to stand closely with Liberia during its post-Ebola era rebuilding agenda. He announced that in the field of public health, China will assign more medical experts to Tappita Hospital in Nimba County, provide more technical trainings, as well as ensure experience exchanges and collaborative research so as to help Liberia restore and improve its health and disease prevention system aimed at preventing similar “massive epidemic outbreaks”. President Sirleaf said the closure of the Chinese ETU yesterday evident the departure of the difficult days, recalling that China was one of Liberia’s first partners to air lift supplies in bulk to aid the country in the fight against Ebola. She also appreciated local workers and engineers at the Chinese ETU, and urged health workers there to join the partnership not just to operate ETU, but also their own clinics, among others, given the level of self-preparation they had from the Chinese counterpart.

Related Captions: China Decommissions Ebola Treatment Unit, Ambassador Hails Chinese Medical Team(FrontPage Africa), SKD ETU Decommissioned-As Chinese Govt Breaks Ground For Stadium Renovation(INSIGHT), ‘You Got The Mission Accomplished’ -Amb. Zhang Yue Tells PLA Medical Team, As Ellen Decommissions Chinese ETU(Daily Observer), Chinese Decommissions ETU…Turns Over Facility To Liberian Government(Heritage). At the same time, the FOCUS newspaper writes under the caption “Ebola Treatment Unit Shut Down In Bomi”, that the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Tubmanburg, Bomi County has been shut down, the government-run Liberia News Agency (LINA) has reported. Samuel Folley Brow, Bomi County Superintendent and Coordinator of the County Task Force on Ebola revealed the dissolution of the ETU, according LINA.

USAID Associate Administrator To Visit Liberia

According to the News newspaper, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Associate Administrator Eric Postel will visit Liberia May 13-16, 2015.  His trip which is part of a three-country tour that will take him to Guinea and Sierra Leone, will focus on USAID's development assistance supporting post-Ebola recovery efforts in West Africa. During his visit, Associate Administrator Postel will meet with government officials, leaders from non- governmental organizations and the private sector, other donors, and implementing partners to learn about program impacts with a focus on preventing the loss of development gains and strengthening key institutions and infrastructure. He will lead a delegation that includes USAID Africa Ebola Unit Senior Coordinator Denise Rollins, USAID Global Health Deputy Assistant Administrator Jennifer Adams, U.S. Global Development Lab Executive Director Ann Mei Chang and National Security Council Senior Advisor Christopher Kirchhoff.

Related Captions: USAID Associate Administrator To Visit Liberia(Daily Observer), USAID Associate Administrator Visits Liberia(In Profile Daily), USAID Associate Administrator Visits Liberia(New Democrat), USAID Associate Administrator To Visit Liberia(Heritage)

OTHER STORIES

Pres. Sirleaf Writes House

President Sirleaf has requested the Plenary of House of Representatives to ratify a loan agreement signed between the Government of Liberia and the Saudi Fund for Development. The agreement is in the tone of Twenty Million United States Dollar (US$20,000,000.00). She made the request in an official communication to the House’s Plenary on Tuesday, read before that body during its regular session at the Capitol. The President’s communication indicated that the purpose of the loan was for the co-financing of the rehabilitation of the Robert International Airport, including its runway. She Also submitted for enactment into law a bill titled “An Act to Repeal chapter 57, title 12 of the Executive law of the Liberian code of law revised 1973 and to establish in its stead a new chapter 57, title 12 to be known as the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority”. According to the New Dawn newspaper, two communications were sent into committee rooms to report to the house plenary within two weeks.

Canada Lifts Visa Ban On Liberia

The Canadian government has lifted a visa ban imposed on Liberia, with authorities saying that Canada will again issue visas to people from Liberia, now that the country has been declared Ebola free, FOCUS has gathered. The policy did not impede the return of Canadian medical personnel or those working for international aid organizations who traveled to Ebola-affected countries to help combat the outbreak. Following the successful control of the outbreak in Liberia, the temporary suspension of travelers has been lifted with immediate effect”, Health CS James Macharia said in a statement.

Related Caption: Canada Drops Visa Ban For Liberia(New Democrat)

Pres. Sirleaf Extols Security Forces For Role In Ebola Fight

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has showered praises on the security forces of Liberia for their effort in ensuring that the security of the state remained stable all through the Ebola crisis. “When we needed somebody to protect our people ad join the fight against the Ebola virus during the difficult hours, we called upon them, and so I want to say how much we appreciate our security forces”, the Liberian leader said Monday at the thanksgiving program to commemorate the declaration of the end of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, the News newspaper asserts.

AfDB Rep. Calls For Resilient Healthcare System

The Resident Representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Margaret H. Kilo, has called for the building of a resilient healthcare system that will combat future disease outbreaks in the country. “The key word now is urgency to everything we need to do especially in the rebuilding of a resilient infrastructure and quality technical and managerial capacities among Liberians to prepare for future occurrences,” Kilo emphasized. She said AfDB will continue collaboration with other international financial institutions to support the country’s economic stabilization and recovery plans, writes the Daily Observer.

Related Caption: Resilient Health System Needed(New Democrat). The Country Manager of the World Bank Mrs. Inguna Dobraja also says a strong and resilient health system is capable of dealing with future outbreak of diseases, and such should be an essential part of the post-Ebola recovery, the INSIGHT newspaper reports under the caption “World Bank Country Director Calls For Resilient Health System”.

US$104M For UNMIL Replacement In Red

The estimated US$104 million needed to finance national security is too much for Liberia to afford and is reliant on donor funding, the Chair of the Senate committee on Defense ad Intelligence has hinted. Senator Steve Zargo said it would cost the country over US$100,000,000 to fill the security gap due to UNMIL departure and that Ebola recovery money (pool of donor fund) would be used to support the budget. “There is a plan, a holistic plan for the UNMIL drawdown and that plan calls for a budgetary allotment of US$104 million, New Democrat newspaper reports.