The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

Today’s summary of the local dailies highlights news of the United States’ Congress passage of a resolution calling for free, fair and peaceful elections in Liberia; the signing of a US$5.8 million agreement aimed at empowering the young people through Sustainable Partnerships for Economic Transformation in Liberia by the Swedish Embassy and Mercy Corps and the National Public Health Institute Director General, Mr. Tolbert Nyenswah’s statement delivered at the International Association of National Public Health Institutes, in Atlanta.  

US Calls For Free Elections In Liberia

According to the Daily Observer, the United States Congress this week passed a resolution calling for free, fair and peaceful elections in Liberia come the October polls. The resolution was introduced by Senator Christopher Andrew Coons of Delaware and Senator Cory Anthony Booker from New Jersey. According to a dispatch from Washington, Congress called for the holding of peaceful elections in Liberia as many organizations, including those within the country and nations across the world, are looking forward to a new age, particularly so the democratic governance transition of an incumbent president to one elected in an election. The resolution made reference to the hundreds of thousands of Liberians who died in the civil wars (from 1989 to 2003) and said today the United States is home to an estimated 80,000 people of Liberian ancestry.  The US Congress also called the United States Government and international partners, especially election-focused non-governmental organizations, to continue to support successful elections in Liberia’s anticipated historic democratic post-electoral transition of executive power; and welcomes the visit of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the United States Congress for her final address as President of Liberia.

Related Caption: U.S/Liberia Reaffirms Resolution(The New Dawn)

Sweden, Mercy Corps Sign US$5.8m Agreement

The Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia and Mercy Corps have signed an agreement of about US$5.8m aimed at empowering the young people of Liberia through a program which comes in phase three of Promoting Sustainable Partnerships for Economic Transformation (Prospects). Mercy Corps Country Director Mr. Douglas Copper and Swedish Embassy Charge d’ affaires Ms. Elisabeth Harleman signed on behalf of their respective institutions on Tuesday, 26 September at Mercy Corps office on 15th Street, Sinkor, suburb of Monrovia. During the signing attended by representatives from Liberian ministries including Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Labor, the Sweden Embassy official Ms. Harleman said her Embassy has taken a decision to support the program with 46 million Swedish Kronor or about US$5.8m. Ms. Harleman reveals that the aims of the support are to contribute to increased youth employment, work to improve the skills and confidence of 16,500 youth to seek economic opportunities and provide 1,302 young men and women on - the - job training and access to employment information to improve their employment chances, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

Nyenswah Addresses IANPHI

The Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Mr. Tolbert Nyenswah has addressed the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI). According to a dispatch from Atlanta, Director Nyenswah spoke at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia on the establishment of public health institutes in the developing world amid Post-Ebola Liberia as a significant example. The New Dawn newspaper says the lecture is kind courtesy of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) based at Emory and Emory University Atlanta, U.S.A. Ahead of the lecture Director Tolbert Nyenswah is also expected to hold separate meetings with senior CDC officers on Friday, September 29, 2017 at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta with a view to fostering partnership with Liberia-CDC, which is NPHIL and US-CDC.  

Related Caption: Liberia’s Tolbert Nyenswah Addresses International Association Of National Public Health Institute(FrontPage Africa)

UNMIL To Airlift Electoral Materials To Seven Counties

The FOCUS newspaper reads that the National Elections Commission NEC has disclosed that the United Nations Mission in Liberia UNMIL has agreed to airlift electoral materials to hard-to-reach counties. The NEC Chairman Jerome Korkoya identified the counties as Gbarpolu, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Maryland and River Gee. According to the daily, Chairman Korkoya made the disclosure Wednesday at the NEC Weekly Press conference held at the commission’s headquarters in Sinkor. He said the Commission is grateful to UNMIL for its kind and timely intervention. The daily also newspaper reports that during the NEC press conference, Chairman Korkoya confirmed the death of a Representative candidate in District #7, Nimba County and said that the name of the deceased candidate will remain on the ballot paper for the October 10 elections. 

LME Launches Capacity Development Plan

The Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy Transformation (LME), has launched a Capacity Development Plan (CDP) which aims at strengthening the mining sector. Deputy LME Minister for Planning and Resource Development, Stephen B. Dorbor, says the CDP is a document formulated to identify the strength and weaknesses of the ministry in relations to its statutory mandate. He says the CDP is intended for the ministry to carryout gap analysis on its performance, adding that the idea behind the CDP is to look whether the ministry is executing its mandate as an arm of government that is responsible for lands, energy and natural resources, asserts the New Dawn newspaper

Housing Authority And UN-Habitat Partner To Improve Living Conditions Of Monrovia’s Slums Dwellers

Cities Alliance is expected to support local authorities in greater Monrovia to make the city and metropolitan region work for the urban poor, through an enabling national environment citizenship. The country program focusing on Greater Monrovia will run from 2016-2021. The five-year program will involve in depth consultation, community infrastructure projects, partnership and technical assistance, investments with organized civil society groups, urban local authorities, national Government bodies, international development partners and research training. According to the FrontPage Africa newspaper, the program is initiated at the request of the Monrovia City Corporation and the Liberian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the progarmme aims to provide direct service investments, especially for the urban poor and youth living in Monrovia’s informal settlements which supports Liberia’s goal of achieving middle income status by 2030.

LRA Gets LS OBSERVER Spectrum Monitoring SystemsSystems delivered as part of USAID technology package for LTA

According to the Daily Observer, LS Telcom, Inc., a worldwide leader in Spectrum Management and Spectrum Monitoring solutions, Thursday announced the installation of multiple LS OBSERVER sensor-based monitoring stations for the Liberian Telecommunications Authority (LTA). According to a dispatch, the purchase of the systems was facilitated through the non-governmental organization (NGO) NetHope as part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) technology package for the country. Following the Ebola crisis in 2014-2015, improvement in communications was identified as a top priority for the country. The acquisition of the LS OBSERVER technology provides LTA with the foundation for spectrum monitoring capability including identification of spectrum conflicts, identification of free spectrum, isolation of dead zones in coverage, and locating rogue networks.

ALHRP Committed To Building Capacity Of HR Professionals

The President of the Association of Liberian Human Resource Professionals (ALHRP), Jonah S. Kotee, said ALHRP is committed to building the capacities of human resource professionals across the country to ensure that they perform well, and address the country’s HR professional’s gap. Mr. Kotee made the assertion yesterday at the kickoff of a two-day intensive ongoing training of over 80 human resource professionals from different institutions held at the Monrovia City Hall. According to Kotee, ALHRP, among other things intends to collaborate with the Ministry of Labor in rolling out portions of the Decent Work Act, creating and sharing job opportunities to support members and non-members and providing HR management consultancy for some international organizations, including GIZ/Participe, Action Aid Liberia, Medical Mondiale, ArmLib Liberia among others, says the Daily Observer.