BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

CAPITOL HILL, MONROVIA

NEWS SUMMARY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Today’s edition of our daily summary is dominated by stories on the transportation of huge quantities of food commodities to the southeast region by the World Food Program, and the disclosure of plan to create green corridors in five municipalities including Monrovia, Buchanan, Gbarnga, Ganta, and Paynesville by the Government of Liberia.

Other stories include the lifting of stay order placed on campaign and other electoral activities for the upcoming midterm senatorial election by the Supreme Court of Liberia, and the announcement of plans to recruit and train over 30,000 temporary staff for the conduct of the December 8 Midterm Senatorial Elections by the National Elections Commission among others.

DOMINANT STORIES  

WFP Moves Huge Quantities of Food To S/East For COVID-19 Distribution 

The UN World Food Program (WFP) in Liberia over the weekend began transporting huge quantities of food commodities to Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County in readiness for the COVID-19 Household Food Support Program (COHFSP) distribution in the southeast, a statement has disclosed. Taking advantage of the relative improvement in road conditions due to the emerging dry season, WFP dispatched a convoy of 8 large logistical trucks conveying 421 metric tons of food commodities. The huge consignment is the first batch of 5,282 metric tons of food items intended for distribution in 5 southeast counties including Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Maryland, Grand Kru, and Sinoe. WFP’s Logistics Assistant, Lysander Martin, speaking via mobile phone from Toe Town, Grand Gedeh, early Monday morning was upbeat about the trip to Zwedru. Meanwhile, WFP’s Logistics Associate, John Clarke, has confirmed that more food truck convoys will shortly depart the Freeport of Monrovia for the southeast through Zwedru to augment initial arrivals, The News newspaper asserts.

Related Captions: WFP Moves Huge Quantities Of Food To Southeast For COVID-19 Distribution (Hot Pepper), and WFP Moves Food To Southeast For COVID-19 (The Inquirer)

Gov’t To Create ‘Green Corridors’ In Major Cities To Enhance Climate Change Mitigation

The Government of Liberia through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has disclosed plan to create green corridors in five municipalities including Monrovia, Buchanan, Gbarnga, Ganta, and Paynesville to enhance its climate change mitigation drive. The creation of green corridors in these cities is intended to enhance adaptation, as the impacts and effect of climate change increase and affect multiple sectors and area in Liberia. The creation of green corridors is the planting of trees that serve as windbreakers, provision of shade and beautification. The EPA and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 concluded a two-day Green Corridor Technical Meeting in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County to provide technical inputs that would help drive the creation of green corridors in the five cities. The meeting which attracted city mayors, development superintendents, and representatives of the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning, Forestry Development Authorities (FDA) and countries engineers placed focus on the conduct of feasibility analysis of the available quantitative data on the adaption potential of adding green corridors to these five cities, The News newspaper writes.

Related Captions: Gov’t Plans To Create “Green Corridors” In Major Cities To Enhance Climate Change Mitigation (Hot Pepper), and Gov’t Plans To Create ‘Green Corridor’s In Major Cities (The Inquirer)

OTHER STORIES  

Supreme Court Lifts Stay Order on December 8 Senatorial …Margibi County senatorial aspirant withdraws case against NEC 

The Supreme Court of Liberia has lifted the stay order placed on the campaign and other electoral activities for the upcoming mid-term senatorial election, following a complaint filed by the lawyers representing Mulbah Jackollie against the National Elections Commission (NEC). The lifting of the stay order came when a major law firm, the Public Interest Law Office, on Wednesday, November 17 withdrew overnight from the lawsuit it filed in favor of Margibi senatorial aspirant Jackollie against the NEC for allegedly denying his candidacy due to his absence to be photographed by the commission as a result of poor health.  The stay order initially placed by Chamber Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh mandated the NEC to put a hold on all others activities, including the publication of the final list of candidates to contest the election, as well as the declaration of the opening of campaign pending the outcome of the hearing of Jackollie’s complaint, Daily Observer newspaper reports.

Related Caption: Supreme Court Lifts Suspension On Elections Activities (The inquirer)

IAA to Begin Auditing Gov’t Institutions Dec 15

The Internal Audit Agency (IAA) will on December 15, begin auditing all government line ministries and agencies including embassies in and out of the country and this exercise is expected to last for 90 days. This year audit will be consistent with part 6 sub-section 6.1 a(i) of the 2013 Act establishing the Internal Audit Agency which grants IAA the authority to establish Internal audit functions and/or bring under its mandate existing audit functions which shall constitute a part of the public sector entity concerned. Making the disclosure yesterday at his IAA office in Congo Town, the acting Director General, Clarence W. Williams, said that the audit will fully carryout by the National Payroll Cleanup Taskforce constituted by  President George Weah with the objective of removing ghost names from national wage bill. Mr. Williams explained that their target for this year’s audit cuts across all government entities to ensure that employees who are working two places and are receiving salary for those areas are removed from the payroll and are made to restitute the money they received over the years, the Inquirer newspaper writes.

WHO Sharpens Media Practitioner Skills On Covid-19 Reporting

The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) yesterday commenced a two-day training of media practitioners on the faces and rumors that are associated with Covid-19 reporting. The workshop that is anticipated to climax today, Wednesday, is also expected to impact over 48 media practitioners which among other, were fetched from Montserrado County and its environs, brought together scores of facilitators including Chester Smith, Hassa Kaiwu, Dr. Monday Julius and others. Speaking during the opening ceremony of the training, PUL Vice President, Daniel Nyenkonah, disclosed that the workshop came into fruition following discussions between WHO and the media on empowering the media on effective reporting on pandemic.  According to the Inquirer newspaper, the PUL official indicated that it seems that Liberians are losing sight of the Covid-19 and political activities have engulfed the airwave, a situation prompting the resurgence of the novel coronavirus disease which among other things is said to have decimated hundreds of citizens globally with Liberia of no exception.

Gender Embarks On Nationwide Monitoring of Adolescent Girls’ Programs                                                                         

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, with support from UNICEF, is conducting a routine quarterly monitoring activity aimed at tracking basic information about NGOs that are involved with adolescent girls; related programs and initiatives. The nationwide monitoring exercise is also measuring the alignment of programs/projects to the needs of adolescent girls in their localities. The exercise focuses on understanding the nature and scope of services being provided for adolescent girls as well as the utilization and accessibility of these services to target groups and the level of coordination among partner organizations providing these services. According to the Hot pepper newspaper, the Ministry has concluded monitoring of thirteen (13) Adolescent Girls’ Programs in Grand Cape Mount and Montserrado counties, which ran from November 12-14, 2020.

UNDP Pledges Support To NEC

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Electoral Support Project in Liberia has pledge its continue support to the National Elections Commission (NEC) to ensure that the work of the Commission is successful and sustained. Making the pronouncement in the James M. Formayan Conference Hall, the Head of the UNDP Electoral Support Project, Lenka Homolkova, said the UNDP and partners will continue to support the NEC, mainly in the area of capacity building. She said , given the current challenges facing the NEC, including the lack of resources, the adjudication of cases before the Supreme Court of Liberia and the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNDP, with support from partners, will do all it can to ensure that the Commission becomes truly sustained even in the absence of donor support. Homolkova said, to advance this support, the UNDP has secured the purchasing of brand new laptops to arrive in the country on November 18, 2020, for onward distribution to the 19 election magistrates of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Hot Pepper newspaper reports.

MBH Power Receives Outstanding Award of the Year

The Country Head of MBH Power Limited, Parvez K. Handa has assured the government and the people of Liberia of World-class service to meet the growing demand of the energy sector of the country. According to Parvez K. Handa, quality energy engineering is cardinal to the growth and development of any nation, maintaining that the economy of Liberia could accelerate if its energy sector develops. The MBH Power Limited has been in Liberia since 2015, contributing to the energy development of Liberia. Handa further indicated, that the company will continue to maintain standard in providing quality energy engineering services for the country in order for its citizens and residents across the country to have easy access to energy, the Hot Pepper newspaper says.

Islamic Scholar Visits Liberia Soon

An Islamic cleric Shiek Muhammad Awal is expected to arrive in Liberia upon invitation by the Islamic Affairs Adviser to President George Manneh Weah, Sheik Usmane T. Jalloh.  Shiek Awal is expected here for a program schedule for November 29, 2020, at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia. The visiting Muslim Cleric is the Founder and Director of Zaitun Dawah Institute (ZDI) a think-tank research center with headquarters in Seattle, Washington, United States of America. The Center also has Branches in New York, Atlanta, Nigeria, and Ghana, respectively. Sheikh Awal is a scholar in Islamic Sciences, Comparative Religion and Logic. He is also a debater motivational speaker and prolific writer. Disclosing this in an interview with reporter in Monrovia recently, Sheik Jalloh called on Muslims and non-Muslims in the country to turn out in their numbers to grace the event, which he said will include a special honor to be bestowed on President Weah for appointing an Islamic Affairs Adviser in the office of the Presidency for the first time since Liberia declared her independence in 1847, the New Dawn newspaper writes.

NEC Recruits 30,000 Temporary Staff

The National Elections Commission (NEC) has announced plans to recruit and train over 30,000 temporary staff for the conduct of the December 8 Midterm Senatorial Elections. The Commission stressed the need for massive voters’ education and gender outreach activities nationwide given the limitation of time for these activities. In a press release, NEC said out of its proposed US$13.5 million, the government has made available nearly US$ 6 million and as a matter of urgency, it hopes the government will provide the remaining funds to enable the commission settle its indebtedness and prepare for the December 8 poll. NEC disclosed that the recent ended Voters Roll Update recorded 299, 969 new registrants, of which 39.6 percent are females. NEC said, prior to the VRU exercise its Data Center reported 2.183, 381 registered voters and with the addition of the new registrants, its total number of registered voters now stands at 2.483,350. The Commission said, four data experts of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and ECOWAS are currently providing Center aimed at enhancing the quality of Voters Roll for the December 8 poll, the New Democrat newspaper reports.

Doe-Reagan Era Ambassador Dies

The Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) is saddened to learn of the passing of Ambassador (ret.) Edward Perkins, who died on Saturday evening at the age of 92. According to the New Democrat newspaper, Ambassador Perkins was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, retiring in 1996 with the rank of Career Minister. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Australia, the United Nations, Liberia and most notably, as ambassador in the final days of apartheid in South Africa. As Director General of the Foreign Service, his commitment to broadly diverse Foreign Service at all levels of the profession has been a lasting legacy to the Quality of American diplomacy. His career represents a deep commitment to global public service and the profession of diplomacy, two values very dear s at ISD. Ambassador Perkins continues his commitment to service until the very end of his life, including as President of the Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA) and through his involvement with other projects advancing the work of diplomacy.