THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

The ongoing one day retreat for stakeholders in Bomi County, Senate recommendation for the reopening of schools in March, the death of Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman, Former Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia, and the tightening of ties between Liberia and China/Egypt are the dominant stories in today's dailies.

Dominant Stories

Ellen Hosts State-Owned Enterprises, Commissions And Agencies At A 1-Day Retreat

The Daily Observer reports that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will host heads of State-owned Enterprises (SoEs), Commissions and Agencies at a one-day retreat in Julijuah, Bomi County on Friday, January 30, 2015. According to an Executive Mansion release, participants will include Cabinet Ministers, Heads of SoEs, Deputy Heads of SoEs, Commissioners, Director-Generals and Deputy Director-Generals, Board Chairpersons and Members. They are expected to discuss challenges and expectations of what each institution would hope to achieve over the next three years of this administration. The Director-General of the Cabinet, Mr. Jordon Sulonteh will report on Actions Items from the last Retreat and Action Matrix from the President’s Annual Message; while the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Amara Konneh will discuss the Mandate, Performance and Expectations for the SoEs under the Public Financial Management Law. The Acting Chairman of the National Investment Commission, Mr. George Wisner, will highlight the Commission’s Priority Plan for Investment Promotion and Facilitation; while the Acting Managing Director of the Liberia Airport Authority, Mrs. Rose Stryker, will discuss Modernizing Liberian Airports. The Director-General of the National Bureau of Concessions, Ms. Ciatta Bishop, will discuss the Role of National Bureau of Concessions and provide a Status Update of Concessions; while the Director-General of the Liberia  Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Dr. Edward Liberty, will provide a Status Update on Production of Official Statistics and Post-Ebola Production Plan.

Related Captions:Ellen Hosts State-Owned Enterprises, Commissions and Agencies At A 1- Day Retreat (Daily Observer),President Host Stakeholders Today (New Democrat),Pres. Sirleaf Hosts State-Owned Enterprises, Commissions & Agencies At A One-Day Retreat In Julijuah Today (INSIGHT),President Sirleaf Hosts State-Owned Enterprises, Commissions, Agencies At A One-Day Retreat In Julijuah, Bomi County On Friday (In Profile Daily),Ellen Hosts State-Owned Enterprises, Commissions And Agencies (Heritage), and Pres. Sirleaf Host Another Retreat In Bomi(FOCUS)

Senate Recommends March 2nd For Reopening Schools

According to the Daily Observer, the Joint Legislative Committee on Health and Education of the Liberian Senate has recommended that schools in the country reopen on March 2, 2015, instead of the February 2, 2015 as was announced by authorities of the Ministry of Education.

The nine-member joint committee chaired by Senators Peter Coleman for the Committee on Health, and Dallas A.V. Gueh for Education, recommended to the plenary yesterday, that the reopening of schools for instructional purposes be delayed for one month to allow adequate preparation of the facilities, and the delivery of all needed sanitation kits to the 5,181 schools within the Republic of Liberia. During this period, the committee recommended that renovation of 500 schools targeted must commence and most likely made ready for reopening. The committee in its five-page document advised that the registration process remain ongoing to enable parents do the registration of their kids in a much more flexible manner; and further recommended that schools must not be allowed to have on their information sheets any fees attached to acquiring Ebola-related materials and violators to be sanctioned administratively by the Ministry of Education. The recommendation is the outcome of findings from a hearing conducted by the joint committee on January 27, 2015 on the level of preparedness of the two sectorial ministries towards the reopening of schools. For its part, the Ministry of Education informed the joint committee that the training of County Education Officers (CEOs), District Education Officers (DEOs) and administrators is ongoing, but will not be completed before the February 2 date of reopening throughout the country. Members of the committee include Senators Peter S. Coleman, Chair, Committee on Health; Dallas A.V. Gueh, Chair, Committee on Education; Geraldine Doe-Sherif, Armah Zolu Jallah, Jewel Howard-Taylor and Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence, all under Committee on Health. Also on the joint committee under Education are Senators Edward B. Dagoseh, Jewel Howard-Taylor, and George Manneh Weah.

Related Captions:Reopening Postponed (New Democrat), Schools To Reopen In March (New Dawn),Lawmakers Set March For Reopening of Schools (Heritage),  Schools To Reopen March (In Profile Daily),Legislative Joint C'ttee Wants Sch. Reopening Extended (Inquirer),Revisit School Reopening (FrontPage Africa),andMarch 2nd Set For Reopening Of Schools (New Republic)

Liberia Tightens Diplomatic Ties With China, Egypt

On the margins of the 24th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Liberian delegation on Monday, January 26, 2015 held productive discussions with representatives of the governments of China and Egypt. In two separate sideline -meetings, the head of Liberia's delegation to this year's African Union Summit, Foreign Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan and his counterparts from Egypt and China discussed wide range of issues focusing on the deepening of bilateral ties and support to Liberia in its fight against Ebola. The meetings also produced commitments of support from the two countries to Liberia’s post-Ebola recovery efforts. In his meeting with His Excellency Zhang Ming, Vice Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Ngafuan extolled China's extraordinary demonstration of solidarity with the Government and people of Liberia during the Ebola crisis, which he said distinguished China as one of Liberia's "all-weather friends". Minister Ngafuan thanked international partners including China for the outpouring of support and assistance to the Government of Liberia in its anti-Ebola fight. He said that due to the strong leadership of President Sirleaf and the resilience and cooperation of the Liberian people buttressed by strong partnership with China and other members of the international community, Liberia is now seeing the light end of the tunnel as the country walks the last but critical mile in the fight against Ebola. Minister Ngafuan stressed that as Liberia begins to recover from the crisis, it was critical that all partners and private sector actors including Chinese contractors and investors fully resume operation and projects that were suspended at the height of the Ebola crisis.   He informed the Chinese Envoy of the call by the UN Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA) and other members of the international community, with the endorsement of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, for the cancellation of debt of the three countries worst affected by Ebola. He said debt cancellation will give Liberia and other worst-affected countries more fiscal space to cope with the huge socio-economic effects of the crisis, and therefore called for China’s support to the call at the relevant international levels. For his part, the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping hailed President Ellen Johnson’s strong and effective leadership in the fight against Ebola and expressed President Jinping's heartiest condolences to President Sirleaf and the people of Liberia for the lives lost to Ebola. The Chinese Special Envoy Zhang Mings said that as Liberia's second largest trading partner, China was deeply interested in the deepening of economic and other forms of cooperation with Liberia. He noted that China is committed to the partnership with Liberia and was prepared to continue to support Liberia in its post-Ebola recovery efforts, writes the Daily Observer.

Related Captions:Liberia Tightens Ties With China, Egypt(New Dawn), and At AU Summit: Liberia Tightens Diplomatic Tie With China, Egypt (Heritage)

Former Liberian Army General, Abdurrahman, Dies At 62

The second Nigerian senior military officer, Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman, who led the post-war Liberia Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) resurgence, has died in New York, while undergoing treatment, Defense Minister, Brownie J. Samukai, Jr., disclosed yesterday in Monrovia. He was 62.   According to Minister Samukai, the former Commander in Charge of the AFL died Wednesday in New York, where he was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment he had suffered for some time now.  Minister Samukai told this paper late yesterday that with the loss of Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman, Liberia and the AFL are indebted to the late ‘professional soldier’ for his “immense contributions” made to help transform the country’s post-war military.The Defense Minister said he received the sad news at about 11:35pm local time, from Nigeria. "He apparently was not well when he left here last year. He went to New York, where he was being treated. The treatment was going on quite well from what we understand until the last few days," said Minister Samukai. The late Major General held a PhD in Architecture from Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom. Born on September 9, 1954, Abdurrahman was an Architect, Engineer Officer of the Nigerian Army prior to taking up his post in Liberia.  Meanwhile, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a message of condolence to the Government and People of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following news of the death of Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman. In her message to her Nigerian counterpart, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President Sirleaf extended her heartfelt condolences to the Nigerian leader, and through him, to the Government and People of Nigeria, especially the bereaved family for the irreparable loss sustained. “We have learned with profound sorrow, the news of the death of Maj/Gen. Abdurrahman, former Chief of Staff of the AFL,” President Sirleaf declared with deep sorrow.  The Liberian leader further noted that the late Nigerian soldier will be remembered for his “numerous contributions” made to the Government and People of Liberia, most especially his role played in forming the new AFL, in the spirit of African solidarity, reports Daily Observer.

Related Captions:Liberia Mourns Former Chief Of Staff Death (In Profile Daily),Former Liberian Army Chief Dies (The News),andMajor General Abdurrahman, Former Liberian Army Chief Dies In New York (FrontPage Africa)

Other Stories

VP Boakai Inspects Kebbah Road Rehabilitation

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has termed as highly positive and impactful the 11 kilometer Kebbah Road that wraps around the Barnesville area toward the Caldwell community, relieving residents of these communities from a major transportation problem. Vice President Boakai said he was impressed with the level of work that is ongoing on the road and thanked the residents of Barnesville for the level of support they continue to give to the Engineering Battalion of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Vice President Boakai made these remarks when he on Tuesday inspected the project to get firsthand information on the level of work done do far. Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Daniel Dee Ziankan said the visit of the Vice President was a big motivation to the engineers of the AFL, the New Democrat writes.

Related Caption:VP Boakai Inspects Ongoing Working On Kebbah Road(Heritage)

Ambassador Sele, Keeping Liberian-Moroccan Relations In Tact

Relations between the Republic of Liberia and the Kingdom of Morocco date back to decades. However, like all other bilateral relations that slowed due to the civil war, Liberia's relations with the North African state took a rather snail-pace direction. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Administration finally decided to post a resident Ambassador to the Kingdom following almost a decade of only having a Charge d'Affaires in the North African country, it was no one but Ambassador Edwin Faseyen Sele who was called to the rescue to revamp a mission that needed to be started from scratch. With just a year in charge, the Government's decision to have the experienced diplomat oversee its interest in Rabat is paying off immensely. As January of 2015 marks one anniversary of Ambassador Sele and his team's presence in Morocco, ties between both countries have heightened to the extent that the Kingdom heads the list of African countries that have unconditionally stuck with Liberians and Liberia in the midst of the deadly Ebola virus scourge. As dozens of other countries adopted an abandoned posture while others instituted more of a stigmatization posture in the face of Ebola, the Moroccan Government ensured that its national airline, the Royal Air Maroc, remained one of the only two commercial flights to maintain its flying schedules between Monrovia and the rest of the world, the other being SN Brussels. While he thinks there's a need for future government to remember what Morocco has done for Liberia, particularly during the Ebola crisis, he wants Central Government to pay heed to this: "With due diligence and proper policy coherence, Morocco is a willing and trusted partner in the context of South-South cooperation”, pens the  Daily Observer.

Related Caption: Ambassador Sele, Keeping Liberian-Moroccan Relations In Tact (Inquirer, andIn Profile Daily,)

Several Students Complete Vacation Job Today

According to Heritage newspaper, a total of 3,000 grade school students from various high schools across Monsterrado County will today, Friday January 30, 2015 end a week-long vaction job program. It can be recalled that at the end of last week, several students trooped at various recruitment centers assigned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) in search of the 2015 vacation job. But the recruitment for the vacation job program was done through a raffle draw due to the large number of students who showed up at all the 78 recruitment centers. However, the process was conducted in a manner and from that promotes gender equity. Out of the total number recruited, 38% was allotted to male students, 37% to female students, and the remaining percentage was allotted to the disables.

Related Caption:MYS Ends Annual Vacation Job Program Today(In Profile Daily)

Gov’t Tightens Grip On Foreign Funding

The government last Monday announced that all international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOS) receiving foreign funds would now be disclosing details of such funding, including the source, purpose and how the funds were spent. Making the announcement during her Annual Message to Legislature, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the decision was in line with her government’s “compliance and regulatory environment” policy. Interestingly, people may consider the policy as government suppression of NGOs,’ but President Sirleaf clarified that it is intended to strengthen the NGOs by encouraging them to be transparent and accountable in their stewardship. “Last year, I announced several policy measures on the operations of NGOs that are intended under a compliance and regulatory environment, to strengthen them for proper transparency and accountability of the resources they receive and the results that they produce,” she emphasized.  Instructing the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to enforce her administration’s policy, President Sirleaf declared, “The Ministry is to ensure implementation of those measures by finalizing the NGO’s policy guidelines and re-registration process to be announced by the end of the first half of 2015.”  “NGOs operating in Liberia continue to be very strong partners in our development work. The speed and effectiveness of their response during the Ebola outbreak made tremendous contribution to our national effort,” she said, pens the Daily Observer.

President Sirleaf Consoles Nigeria

Inquirer newspaperquotes a Foreign Ministry's release: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a message of condolence to the Government and People of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following news of the death of Major General Suraj Alao  Abdurrahman, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia,  and Major General of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who died after a period of ailment. In her message to her Nigerian counterpart, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President Johnson Sirleaf extended her heartfelt condolences to the Nigerian leader, and through him, to the Government and People of Nigeria, especially the bereaved family for the irreparable loss sustained. “We have learned with profound sorrow, the news of the death of Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia,” President Johnson Sirleaf declared with deep sorrow. The Liberian leader further noted that the late, Major General Abdurrahman, will be remembered for his numerous contributions made to the Government and People of Liberia, most especially his role played in forming the new Armed Forces of Liberia,  in the spirit of  African solidarity.

China Tightens Grip

According to the New Republic newspaper, on the January 29, 2014 Medical Team of China People's Liberation Army was out in the GSA where it donated materials to a primary school as it a proff of commitment to working with the Liberian Government and partners in the fight against the Ebola virus. Spokesman for China Ebola Treatment Unit Captain Yu Hao told this paper during donation of anti-Ebola materials Thursday to the primary school in the GSA Community that the Government of China was happy to continue the fight to stop the spread of the virus in Liberia.

Gbowee Foundation Empowering Female Groups

"We have worked with many community based organization, but our partner African Women Development fund is very interested in how we can engage females directly on grounds that females are the primary caregivers in the home." Williametta Saydee-Tarr, Executive Director Gbowee's Foundation. Monrovia - The Gbowee foundation has given out a grant of over US$20,000 to several women's groups. Madam Williametta Saydee-Tarr said building the capacity of women and girls in Liberia is a major priority of the foundation. "As you know we have worked with several community-based groups, but this time, our donor AWDF has encouraged us to engage with females directly on grounds that females are the primary caregivers in the home," she said. Madam Tarr disclosed that though the Ebola epidemic is slowing, Liberians cannot be complacent. "We have to make sure that we keep on our toes, as regards keeping the disease out of our homes and communities and this time we give the challenge to Female-led organization," she said. The Gbowee's Foundation Executive Director disclosed that in December, eight groups were awarded the grant and presently 12 groups would benefit from this phase. She said the foundation is also working with the local media institution. "The media institutions are involved because we want the public to be in the know on the outcome of the grant," she said, writes FrontPage Africa newspaper.

US$1.5M Children Village Completed

The G. Edwin Bryant School System with branches on Barnesville Road, ELWA Road 24^th Street Sinkor has constructed a US$1.5 Million Children Village on the Buchanan Highway for the use of Ebola orphans and other vulnerable children in the country. Making the disclosure in an exclusive interview, Mr. G. Edwin Bryant, Director of the School and Principal, said he has been envisioned to build the Children Village in order to help children who have been orphaned by the Ebola virus and some whose parents cannot afford to send them to school. In a survey conducted, Mr. Bryant said he discovered that many children are roaming the streets because of lack of support and that he has been enthused to cater to those vulnerable children whose parents do not have the capacity to provide the necessity for them, the Focus.

Liberia Keens on Ethiopia for Education

The Democrat newspaper reports State Minister of Ethiopia Dewano Kedir has discussed bilateral relations with Elias Shoniyin, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia on Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Mr. Shoniyin, who noted that Liberia and Ethiopia have had a long and historic relationship of over a century in Africa, outlined the areas in which Liberia would renew cooperation with Ethiopia. He said Liberia was keen to cooperate with Ethiopia in education and gain from Ethiopian experience in the education sector as well as in various other areas including trade, investment, mining, manufacturing and agriculture. He also said Liberia would like to reach a general cooperation framework agreement with Ethiopia. State Minister Dewano briefed Mr. Shoniyin on Ethiopia’s economy development, and its potential in agriculture, mining and trade. The State Minister, who noted that Ethiopia had sent 86 health workers to Liberia to help with the Ebola crisis, welcomed the progress made dealing with the epidemic.

Senate Confirms 22 Commissioners for Sinoe

The Liberian Senate has confirmed 22 District Commissioners nominated by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for Sinoe County. The decision was taken Tuesday, January 26, 2015 following recommendation for acceptance of the nominees by the Senate Internal Affairs Committee in its report of January 26 to the plenary. The report, overwhelmingly welcomed by senators, indicated that the nominees in their confirmation hearings stressed peace and reconciliation in the county which, according to the committee, is a foundation for progress and development.  On March 21, 2014, the Committee began the confirmation hearings at the Capitol Building of 22 Commissioners designate for Sinoe County, pursuant to Article 54 of the Liberian Constitution, which provides that the body consents to presidential nominations, the News writes.